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Olympia and especially Tacoma have increasingly hip and sophisticated dining scenes, with everything from laid-back cafés to seasonally driven restaurants with water views. After those cities, Gig Harbor and Bellingham have the best food scenes—they’re not terribly big, but support fine little crops of notable restaurants. You’ll also find good brewpubs and indie coffeehouses in most of the larger towns in the area. Edmonds also has a growing bounty of exceptional eateries.
On the road, refueling takes place at country-style cafés, farm stands, and kitschy or specialty shops like the ’50s-style sweets shops of Port Gamble and Snoqualmie or the Norwegian bakeries of Poulsbo. None of these is in short supply, and many eateries, however small, pride themselves on using local ingredients.
This warmly lighted tavern in the historic North End operates under a clever and ambitious premise: every four months the kitchen unveils a new menu dedicated to the cuisine of a different region of the Americas or Europe, from Barcelona to Montreal to Argentina. To keep fans with less adventurous tastes happy, the restaurant maintains a number of noteworthy dishes on every menu.
Nestled beneath towering trees, this old-fashioned roadhouse with rough-hewn fir floors and knotty-pine walls is along the main road to Mt. Rainier. It's been a favorite lunch and dinner stop since it opened in the 1940s, and these days parkgoers still come by in droves to fill up on hearty, straightforward comfort fare, such as biscuits and gravy and chicken-fried steak and eggs in the morning, bacon-and-blue-cheese burgers at lunch, and wild Alaskan salmon with blackberry vinaigrette in the evening. The restaurant is part of a rustic inn with conventional rooms and cabins.
One of several popular seafood restaurants along Ruston Way, Duke's can be counted on to serve some of the freshest and most creative fare of the bunch—it's not just about the view here, although the tables on the patio offer dazzling panoramas of Commencement Bay. Chowder fans having a tough time deciding what to try might want to order the "full fleet" sampler, with small servings of clam, lobster, crab bisque, chicken-corn, and Northwest seafood varieties. Other notable dishes include the greens with crab cakes and Laura Chenel goat cheese, and pan-seared wild salmon with a balsamic-infused beurre blanc.
The rarefied setting—soaring ceilings, Palladian windows, polished-wood tables—inside downtown's neoclassical 1910 post office building is one good reason to book a table here. But don't overlook the well-prepared classic Italian and Spanish fare, which ranges from simple but hearty meatballs in red sauce and garganelli pasta (a short, tubular variety) with venison Bolognese to Spanish lentil stew with chorizo, paprika, and sherry.
The 1907 brick building that once housed the horse-drawn fire-engine brigade is now a convivial pub that's filled with firehouse memorabilia. The hearty, eclectic comfort food—burgers, tacos, mac and cheese—are well-priced and tasty. The adjacent E9 brewery turns out a nice range of craft ales and serves creatively topped pizzas.
Set in the middle of the genial and hip Proctor retail and restaurant district on the city's north side (not too far from Point Defiance), this charming, affordable neighborhood spot focuses on regional Italian recipes. Regulars feast on traditional panfried zucchini with goat cheese and crostini, slow-roasted lamb over pappardelle noodles, seafood risotto, and thin-crust pizzas.
This long-running microbrewery and tavern in a slightly industrial section of downtown has a bustling, open dining room with mounted fish on the walls. It's a funky and fun standby for big portions of pub standards—nachos, smoked wild salmon platters, black-bean burgers, fish-and-chips, and a much beloved Mudshark Porter dark-chocolate cheesecake. The ales are well crafted—try the Winterfish Organic Seasonal Ale during the cooler months, or cool off with a light Organic Blonde Ale on a hot summer night.
It's a scenic 20-minute drive east from downtown to reach this intimate but lively contemporary bistro near the north shore of Lake Whatcom, where the chefs emphasize local, seasonal ingredients. In the evening, you might start with Cajun-style shrimp and three-cheese grits or mac and cheese with tasso ham, before moving on to Low Country–style bouillabaisse or seared duck breast with a cherry reduction. Breakfast and lunch are served on weekends—try the eggs Benedict with pork belly, accompanied by a Bellini cocktail. The owners also run a similarly good sister restaurant in La Conner, the Fork at Skagit Bay.
Set in a rather ornately decorated country house beside the Willows Lodge, this nationally renowned dining destination helped usher in farm-to-table dining in the Pacific Northwest when it opened in 1986. The carefully choreographed, multicourse feasts here are quite the production and include discussions about the food with the kitchen team, tours of the surrounding gardens, and classical guitar music; thoughtfully curated drink pairings are included in the prix-fixe. The food on the seasonally changing menu is exquisite, with many ingredients sourced from the restaurant's 5-acre garden.
This sleekly modern, dimly lighted space with a gurgling stone and glass fountain in the center serves generous portions of pan-Asian fare. The well-prepared array of Thai, Chinese, Indian, and Japanese cuisines includes curries, stir-fries, soups, and seafood, from honey-glazed walnut prawns to Filipino pork adobo.
The vibe is friendly and upbeat at this downtown taproom offering a menu of made-from-scratch Caribbean dishes, with an emphasis on healthy organic ingredients, along with notable Northwest wines and a well-curated selection of local brews and ciders on tap. Dishes like Cuban-style borscht, smoked tofu with pineapple kraut, and king salmon po'boy sandwiches burst with flavor.
Brewing memorabilia, including a big wall of vintage beer bottles known as the "beer shrine," greet patrons to this rambling roadhouse and brewery along the scenic Mt. Baker Highway, about 20 miles northeast of Bellingham. After a day of skiing or hiking, stop in for a pint of Bavarian-style hefeweizen or a heady barley wine, along with one of the filling pizzas or a bowl of clams steamed in garlic-chipotle broth.
Above the shore on a steep, wooded bluff in the northern reaches of Bow, this intimate restaurant is famous for having one of the best marine views of any Washington restaurant. People come here to dine on refined seafood, wild game, and steaks while watching the sun disappear behind the San Juan Islands to the west or the full moon reflect off the waters of Samish Bay.
With its clubby interior, huge wine list, and proximity to downtown attractions, it's easy to see how this flashy restaurant is a favorite for special occasions and high-end business meals. Here you can expect a menu of contemporary variations on seafood and steak, including Columbia River steelhead with a maple-balsamic glaze and New York strip with red-flannel hash and a red-wine sauce; vegetarians shouldn't pass up the unusual roasted cauliflower "steak" served with olive gremolata, tomatoes, orange, and capers.
This warmly lighted, inviting downtown spot for Pacific Northwest–inspired Spanish tapas is adjacent to similarly excellent Burrata Bistro and is popular for its afternoon and late-night happy hours as well as for lunch and dinner. Paella is the big star here—it's studded with fresh local seafood, but you could easily make a meal of delicious tapas, including achiote-marinated beef short ribs over polenta, and roasted brussels sprouts with pancetta and manchego cheese.
In the morning, fuel up at this convivial, sprawling tavern with a latte and a breakfast burrito or bagel and lox plate before a local hike or skiing at nearby Snoqualmie Pass; South Fork is on a rural road surrounded by greenery. Later in the day, a friendly, outdoorsy crowd gathers to mingle over well-prepared gastropub fare, including tofu banh mi bowls, blistered shishito peppers with garlic aioli, and blackened-chicken Alfredo.
Serving some of the most flavorful and original Thai food in Washington, this cheerfully decorated restaurant in an unassuming strip mall in Burlington (10 miles northeast of La Conner) is helmed by a young, gracious chef-owner who learned her trade at Bangkok's Thai Royal Grand Palace. Authentically prepared standouts include a salad of poached chicken with coconut milk, banana blossoms, and fried shallots, and a fragrant massaman curry with fresh pineapple.
The wood-fired pizzas with thin, blistered crusts and gourmet toppings are just one draw of this cheerful neighborhood restaurant within steps of the many wineries of Woodinville's Hollywood District. Vivi also serves first-rate arugula-pear salads, spaghetti carbonara, and prawn- and clam-studded cioppino.
This cavernous downtown brewhouse has a soaring, barrel-vaulted ceiling, monitors airing regional sports, and plenty of bar and booth seating, but it's known first and foremost for turning out some of the area's best ales—strong, barrel-aged Belgian-style beers are a specialty. There are tasty, filling pizzas and pub fare, too, including a notably good bacon burger with mustard, grilled onions, and a tangy house sauce.
If you're looking to fuel up before a big hike in the park, this festive restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating is a good bet. It's run by record-shattering Mt. Everest climber Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa and his wife, Fulamu, who helms the kitchen, serving up a mix of Nepalese and classic American dishes, including traditional pork momo dumplings and thali chicken, mushroom, and garbanzo bean platters. On the American side of the menu are hefty burgers, sandwiches, and fish-and-chips.
