city guide: seattle
everything you need to eat, drink and explore your way through my favorite city.
It’s a longstanding joke, when people ask where I moved to Seattle from - that I tried out all the coasts before landing on the best one.
My path here was not a direct one: raised in Atlanta, family roots in the midwest, college in Boston, four years in LA. We visited Seattle for the first time on a whim in 2017, one of the only “just for fun” domestic trips we have ever taken. We scored one of those perfect July weeks that tricks people into moving to the PNW: glorious bluesky, the water, the mountains, the thrill of turning a corner and being met with the majesty of Mount Rainer. We repeatedly turned to each other in awe: “this is amazing. isn’t this amazing?!”
Even the way we eventually ended up here was not a direct one: The move was a life move, made possible by work moves.
Less than a year after our original visit, and the aches and pains of living in LA were starting to chafe just around the time that I lost my job. The day after, reeling and puffy eyed, I looked up from a frantic revision of my resume, struck with inspiration.
“what if we just moved to Seattle?”
A vague, quarterlife crisis took shape, turned solid, tangible, and suddenly, into a very very real plan: less than 4 months after I initially brought it up, we were one a one-way roadtrip to our new home.
may it never be said that we are not people who *commit to the bit*.
There are many things I miss about the other places we have lived: It feels weird to consider Boston and LA and Atlanta as places I used to live, and now revisit like an old boyfriend you catch up with every so often — with great affection, a little bit of nostalgia, and sometimes a stark realization of how much you both have changed in the time you’ve been apart.
But we have now lived in Seattle for five (almost six??!!!!) years, a duration of time that feels like forever and only a matter of moments. This guide a collection of the places and things that make Seattle feel like home to us: the things that Mark and I bring our friends and family to when they visit, and the first places we recommend to people.
There are some admitted gaps in this guide, due in part to the arrested development in our exploration caused by the pandemic, and in part to the fact that we currently have a 15 month old and don’t really get out as much as we used to 🙄 - but I promise it’s absolutely packed to the brim with something for everyone.
Seattle is such a special place, and I have so much love for the nature, local businesses, restaurants and community that I recommend here. Whether you are a PNW local looking to explore, or planning a visit to Seattle, You truly cannot go wrong — we can’t wait to have you visit!
okay that’s it - love you!
without further ado: thrilled to share my literal, actual pride and joy, a guide developed through my own explorations through my home. this is a long one, so I’ve divided her up into the following sections:
Neighborhoods to know (preview)
Food & Drink (preview)
Sections include: top favorites, other go-tos, plant-based, drinks, breakfast/brunch, & ice cream
Fitness
Shopping, etc
Outdoors, etc.
Arts, Culture & Activities
As with all my travel guides, you can find the full guide saved into a google map I’m always updating for easy planning and references. This guide focuses primarily on Seattle proper, but let me know if you want recommendations for the greater Puget Sound / San Juan Islands area!
neighborhoods to know
Something that can be challenging when visiting / thinking about moving to or visiting any city is trying to figure out where anything is and where you want to be in relation to all those things. I’m sharing a generalized neighborhood guide and my recommendations as they relate to living / visiting there. These are by no means the end all be all - more my general reflection based on my experience here.
BALLARD / FREMONT / WALLINGFORD
I live in this area, and I love it!
Ballard has a good mix of young people and families, and a great selection of bars / restaurants (as well as my favorite farmer’s market on Sunday). The growing brewery district is also a ton of fun and always worth a visit. Fremont is like Ballard’s artsy sibling — similar, but with decidedly funkier vibes (#fremontcenteroftheuniverse) while Wallingford is the more mature older sibling. It’s quite easy to commute downtown from here.
CAPITOL HILL / CENTRAL DISTRICT
Cap Hill is a lot of fun - I liken it to West Hollywood in LA, with a lot of bars, restaurants, nightclubs, cafes, etc. I would say it’s a fun place to stay on a visit, and while I personally wouldn’t want to live there (it can be a bit busy, and crowded) I know lots of friends who have lived there and love it. It has a good proximity to downtown and the east side (Bellvue, Kirkland, Redmond) if you need to consider a commute.
SOUTH LAKE UNION
SLU is very centrally located (see: convenient) with some growing food and drink options. Although it is largely office buildings (hello @ amazon and google) , a bunch of apartments have been built up in the last year or so. I stayed in SLU the first time I visited and I would definitely recommend it just for ease of access — if you’re looking for a special occasion, highly recommend the Pan Pacific.
QUEEN ANNE / MAGNOLIA
Queen Anne and Magnolia are lovely - lots of families and great views. Both neighborhoods are a little sleepier (and if i’m honest, pricer) than Ballard or Cap Hill. QA has good proximity to Seattle Center (the Space Needle, etc) and downtown but staying in SLU is more central.
DOWNTOWN / PIONEER SQUARE
Downtown and Pioneer Square are a little complicated - there are some truly incredible spots, but not many people live there. I worked downtown everyday for almost 2 years before COVID (and have recently started heading back into our offices a few times a week. Outside of work though I rarely head downtown except on limited occasions. These neighborhoods do have some excellent resturants, and the big tourist attractions: Pike Place Market, Seattle Art Museum, Nordstrom Flagship, etc.
If you’re visiting (and looking for something fancy) I highly recommend the Lotte hotel (to stay or for dinner at their gorgeous top floor bar and restaurant). Otherwise, you can reach all the quintessential tourist destinations from SLU, QA or Cap Hill just as easily, and I’d encourage you do that.
WEST SEATTLE
What can I say about West Seattle except that people who live in West Seattle LOVE living in West Seattle, and people who don’t live in West Seattle don’t go there as often as we should . The few times I’ve made it over it’s been absolutely lovely, with good food and great views.
INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT
One thing I know about this guide is that it doesn’t include nearly enough information about things to do, see and eat in the International District. A lot of the places on this list are from neighborhoods we explored pre-covid, and i’m generally bummed with how little with have gotten down into the ID to really explore.
SOUTH SEATTLE (GEORGETOWN/MT. BAKER / HILLMAN CITY / COLUMBIA CITY / BEACON HILL)
Another of my lesser explored neighborhoods, but whenever I make it down I inevitably add a new favorite to my top all time list. Friends who live there love the community.
EASTSIDE (BELLVUE, KIRKLAND, REDMOND)
AKA Microsoft land. It’s on the other side of Lake Washington from Seattle proper, which can mean more space and different commutes. Similar to West Seattle, we don’t see the friends who live here as often as we should just due to distance and logistics (but it is home to our all time fave off leash dog park!)
food & drink
disclaimer: this guide is *extremely long*, and doesn’t even include coffee. the official coffee with maggie seattle guide will be available to paid subscribers later this week.
MY FAVORITE MEALS IN SEATTLE:
MAMNOON:
Mamnoon is my favorite restaurant in Seattle — middle eastern food that is consistently excellent and wows everyone we bring there. We always start with the moushakal mezze platter with all the dips (and extra pitas), get the cauliflower, and then order as many things on the menu as you can before the staff tells you it might be too much — and that’s exactly as much as you want. Finish with a Turkish coffee and the baklawa. other excellent spots in the same family: mbar (rooftop perfect for celebrations), manna (to-go lunch and coffee with an excellent market), and mamnoon street (fast casual middle eastern street food).
SAINT BREAD:
Saint Bread quickly became our go-to for easy weekend breakfasts or lunch - an excellent cafe with one of my favorite breakfast sandwiches *and* one of Mark’s favorite burgers, a consistently excellent coffee program, and some extremely fun pastries. There is a lovely outdoor patio, and the group recently expanded to have a food truck and small bar headed by alums of Seattle great London Plane. Lines get long on weekends, and the pastry case clears out quick! if the cardamom sticky bun and miso caramel capp have no fans, I am dead.
CIUDAD:
A Mediterranean - style restaurant focused on meat & veggies cooked over a charcoal grill, Ciudad is probably tied with Mamnoon for our all time favorite. Everything is shared plates style with absolutely incredible flavor - both meat and plant based options are phenomenal. I can’t recommend the falafel and the pita and dips enough.
HOMER:
With Mediterranean and Middle Eastern inspired food (are you sensing a trend yet?) Homer has more PNW influences than the other similar restaurants on this list. Everything is wood-fired and served to share. Don’t sleep on the house-made soft serve — it’s always great. looking for something more casual? Don’t sleep on sister restaurant MilkDrunk: the absolutely iconic combination of fried chicken and perfect soft serve.
DELANCEY
My favorite pizza in Seattle - Delancey is unreal in an extremely simple but sophisticated way. The cheese pizza is a perfect, oven blistered thin crust complimented with a salty and melty cheese combo. Salads are great, and so is the wine list.
FRELARD PIZZA / BALLARD PIZZA:
I am a little biased here because we live within walking distance, but Ballard Pizza is probably our most frequented restaurant, and it’s always delicious. Pro-tip: Our order: Half Ballard Bridge (Mark), half Veggie Bomb with no tomatoes (Me).
BANGRAK MARKET:
I love Thai food, and Bangrak Market is always good. I always order the mango and sticky rice, the curries are excellent, and you can never go wrong with tofu spring rolls and spicy tom yum soup (Mark also has had a bunch more of the full entrees and raves about them all). Highly recommend the passionfruit margarita.
RACHEL’S BAGELS & BURRITOS:
One of my favorite Seattle food stories: a meat-based dinner spot in Ballard pivoted to exclusively make bagels and burritos to keep the lights on during COVID (talk about crushing a sourdough hobby). They were so successful that it stuck, and they have expanded into the space next door. I *love* the Nick & Nora, an everything bagel with cream cheese, smashed avocado and a perfect house made chili crisp. if you arrive after 11 am on a weekend be prepared to order ahead or wait!
OTHER TOP RECS:
Y’all we love food. I’ll spare you my novel-style recommendations for the rest of these, and will just give the TLDR below!
M-bar: Mamnoon’s sister restaurant with a rooftop. Great drinks, great view. Make reservations, or be prepared to wait.
Oxbow Bakery: Seawolf bakery’s sister restaurant serving up some of the best sourdough bagels out there. I love the coffee counter, and almost always stop in after a walk around the arboretum.
Sushi Suzuki: Run, don’t walk.
Mainstay Provisions: breakfast, sandwiches, coffee, pizza, market, baked goods, soft serve. They do everything, and they do it well.
Westward: Oysters, skyline views, and some great happy hours.
The Whale Wins : a veggie focused cafe with a delightful little larder shop inside it. whatever you do, don’t forget to order a chocolate chip tahini cookie.
Lupo:(pizza) - Lupo’s Neapolitan pizza is really exceptional for a lighter option. (and don’t sleep on the wine list).
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to early bird to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.