A while back friends of mine came for a visit from San Francisco, for what turned into three practically perfect Seattle days. Because I get a lot of requests from readers for what to do and where to eat when they visit, I thought I would share my favorite spots. If you came to Seattle, flying in on a Friday afternoon, here’s where I might take you.
For that post-flight and pre-dinner cocktail and snack, a classic Seattle destination is Zig Zag, a small bar off the Pike Street Hill Climb—the stairs that lead from the promenade on Elliott Bay up to Pike Place Market. But if you find Zig Zag packed with too many people, as we did the day my friends arrived, you might end up grabbing snacks and drinks at Oddfellows Café on Capitol Hill. There’s a little back patio, and on a summer’s evening you might have it all to yourself.
Other worthy destinations include Canon (especially if you like whiskey and bitters), Café Presse and the wine bar at Melrose Market (there’s also this intriguing tequila bar, I have yet to try). If you don’t want to leave the Market area, you can pop into Matt’s at the Market, and if you are the sort that craves oysters within minutes of being on the coast, you should proceed directly to Taylor Shellfish, next to Melrose Market, to have your fill (happy hour from 2-4pm, weekdays).
But if you happen to find yourself at Oddfellows, you should definitely duck next door to Elliott Bay Books. This venerable old Seattle bookstore moved to a new location on Capitol Hill and it’s a literary dream. You’ll never have enough time to wander all the aisles, but any time you spend here will be rewarded. This is the beating heart of a book-loving city.
And if it happens to be Pride weekend, as it was for my friend’s visit, you might see the best game of cross dressing, gender-twisted rugby being played at the park across the street. Seattle has a sense of humor and fun.
For dinner, I’d take you to Poppy, where chef Jerry Traunfeld blends Northwest ingredients into Indian thali-style platters, every bite inventive and spritely with herbs from an amazing back garden (Traumfeld made a name for himself at The Herbfarm, so it’s no wonder). The flavors are bright, sometimes surprising, but never gimmicky. If you don’t feel up for a full thali meal, the food at the bar is worth the trip (get the eggplant fries), and the drinks are equally pleasing. My favorite is called A Dog Named Turnip: apple jack, ginger and lemon with an allspice dram. It’s not always on the menu, but if they have the ingredients and you ask nicely, they will generally oblige.
I’m not always a dessert eater, but at Poppy you really must. Uber-talented pastry chef Dana Cree established the dessert program here, and though she’s since left the city (weep), her touch can still be felt. You owe it to yourself to taste her take on the nutterbutter, which can be ordered a la carte (ask for it, it’s not on the menu), as well as part of the dessert thali (seen above), which features the choice of one ice cream, one dessert, and an array of treats (which you can take home with you if that’s really too much dessert all at once). And make sure to walk through the herb garden in the back on your way out. In the summer, especially, it is glorious.
You might find yourself dreaming that night of purple shiso and anise hyssop. And if you’re not ready for bed yet, wander back to Pike and Pine Streets, where upstairs from Oddfellows you will find the Century Ballroom and can dance your night away.
Other dinner options: Sitka & Spruce on Capitol Hill (if you can get a reservation), Spring Hill in West Seattle (which is in the process of changing its name and concept, but Mark Fuller, the chef/owner, will not steer you wrong), Lark for Northwestern cuisine, and Spinasse for the freshest of pastas.
The next morning, I’m hoping it’s clear and sunny. On our three-day weekend it was. You might want to grab coffee and drink it on a bench in the charming leafy neighborhood of Madison Park. From the beach there you can look out over the water of Lake Washington and, if the day is clear, all the way to glorious Mt. Rainier (top photo). This is one of the places that first made me fall in love with this city.
When you’re ready to eat, one of my favorite places to go for brunch is Volunteer Park Café. This sunny yellow café is smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood on North Capitol Hill and feels like a local’s secret. On the weekend you’ll be squeezing in amongst regulars who line up for pastries and weekend brunch favorites, including a decadent baked French toast with caramelized bananas that is not to be missed. If you are more interested in savory breakfast, the egg and bacon panini hits the spot, as does the chopped salad.
After that breakfast, a walk up the hill is in order, to Volunteer Park. Here you’ll find the Asian Art Museum (wander on in, if you wish), and the Conservatory of Flowers (worth a visit, especially if you’re here in winter), and a prime view of the Space Needle, as well as an intriguing water tower you can climb up into. In the summer the wading pool will be filled with laughing kids, and in the evening you might catch a performance of Shakespeare in the Park, with attendees on picnic blankets on the grass.
If you’re in need of coffee at this point (because when in Rome Seattle), wander down to Vivace on Broadway, one of the oldest coffee roasters in Seattle, where you can taste the roots of Northwestern caffeinated culture. Tea drinkers here can order a cup of Earl Grey steeped in slightly sweetened steamed milk called Sweet Stephanie. You won’t feel like you’re missing out at all (though serious tea fans might prefer Remedy Tea on 15th Avenue instead).
If you’re the type who wants to check out Pike Place Market, now is the time to go. Normally I’d steer clear of the market on a weekend, and especially on a summer weekend, but sometimes out-of-towners want to visit. And the market is fun, even when packed. You can hop a bus from Capitol Hill, or better yet, walk. It’s all downhill.
Pike Place Market (which locals just call “the market”), is a rabbit warren of stalls and vendors. You could spend the better part of a day exploring it all. I usually pop into DeLaurenti’s, so see what new things they might have in stock. I like walking the main hall, to see the impeccable fruit and vegetable displays. With their dramatic lighting they look like a Renaissance still life painting.
I always make a point of visiting World Spice Merchants, which is in the lower part of the market, on Western Ave (take the stairs down from the main hall). There you can sniff and explore more spices than you’ve probably ever seen in one place (though be careful, it’s possible to blow out your smell receptors here, I’ve done it).
If you need a break from the market, and are looking for a snack, I usually step a few blocks away to Le Pichet, which does a pretty good job of making me feel like I’m in Paris.
Or, if you’re a drinks in the afternoon type, and you missed your chance at Zig Zag the night before, you could stop in there now. Or Matt’s at the Market, which is hidden upstairs (away from the tourist hordes) and lets you peer down on the market and ferry boats in the distance.
If it is a sunny day, however, I would try to convince you to get out on a boat. Because Seattle is a city best seen from the water, and on a sunny day there are few better places to be than in a boat. If you make your way along Westlake Avenue, you can rent kayaks from Northwest Outdoors Center. Just show up and they have all the gear and will give you a map (they’ll even tell you where the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat is, if you dare to ask). If a canoe or rowboat is more your style, you can rent them from the University of Washington Rec. Program, a bit north of downtown. And if you prefer a much larger boat, you can hop a ferry to Bainbridge Island, which gives you a taste of the islands and bays in the Puget Sound and the opportunity to stroll around the small town of Winslow. If you don’t have enough time for the ferry, in summer you can take a water taxi from downtown to West Seattle. However you do it, you deserve to experience a bit of Seattle water culture.
If you are a boat-lover but don’t want to paddle your own, you might enjoy checking out The Center for Wooden Boats, at the southern tip of Lake Union. Or perhaps a stroll along the houseboats of Eastlake. Any of these activities will make you begin to understand that this is a city that has a deep relationship with the water.
And if boats and lakes bore you to tears, I would suggest we wander on over to the Olympic Sculpture Park, a nine-acre industrial plot of land that has been transformed into an open air sculpture exhibition along the waterfront that is free to the public. There are stunning views here of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains beyond. In this city, the water and mountains are everywhere.
All that wandering, and possibly paddling, may have worked up an appetite. It’s time to begin thinking about dinner.
High on my list, if you’re in a pizza mood, is Delancey. Yes, the place is owned by friends of mine, but even if it weren’t I’d be lining up for the thin crust pizzas and inventive salads and starters (last night I had a bitter chicory salad with citrus and pistachio nuts that I would be happy to eat every day for a week). Get there by 4:45 if you want to be in the first seating (they open at 5), or be prepared to wait for a table. I suspect you will find it worthwhile (and save room for dessert, the specials are always tempting, but even the grey salt chocolate chip cookie is worth a nibble, I often take one for later).
If pizza doesn’t sound appealing to you, perhaps we’d go to Revel, for inventive Korean-inspired fusion food in one of the most interesting and open kitchens (sitting at the bar you are literally across a butcher block counter from the chefs making your dinner). I like to pair this with a wander through Fremont, a neighborhood of charming small cafes and bars and shops.
Other recommended dinner spots: Walrus & the Carpenter (more about that in a sec), Golden Beetle, Volterra and Emmer & Rye.
No matter where you spend your evening, I like to top off the night with a quick stop by Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill. If you hit it right, as I did with my friends, the view of this city will take your breath away.
By Sunday, you’re probably getting into the swing of this lovely laid back city. It’s time to visit a farmers’ market, which in Ballard on Sunday doesn’t open until the civilized hour of 10 o’clock (in the summer, Capitol Hill’s Broadway market doesn’t open until 11 am. How nice to sleep in). Here you’ll find farmers and artisans and street musicians arrayed up old Ballard Avenue in a market that feels like a street fair.
You want to keep an eye out for the shops along this street, for they are some of my favorites. Lucca, Camelion Design and Home Comforts are great (there is also the intriguing Dandelion Botanical up the street, if you like poking about herb stores). Clover, on the west side of Ballard Ave., will set you up for presents for any kids in your life. Cooks and kitchen gearheads will be happy browsing through Dish it Up.
Make sure to check out the little garden behind Lucca, which is strung with lights that have filled with water. It’s lovely.
If you are hungry for brunch, I’d recommend Mexican at Señor Moose, a block away from the market (unless you are visiting from California, Texas, or New Mexico, in which case you have plenty of Mexican at home). The place is deservedly popular, so put your name on the list and wander the market a bit. And seriously consider a cup of steamed horchata if the weather is chilly. You won’t regret it.
If you want to save your meal for later and prefer morning nibbles, wander up to Café Besalu on 24th Ave NW, for a chocolate croissant or other treat. And if you want a heartier breakfast and a communal dining experience, sit down with the locals at Belle Clementine, which offers two seatings for Sunday brunch (10am and 12:30) and an ever-changing menu, some of it even sourced from the market a stone’s throw away.
You could spend a good chunk of the day wandering around Ballard, where new shops and cafes are sprouting up nearly every day. Some of my favorites include Miro Tea, where I stock up on teas, and Savour, a speciality food shop on Market Street that offers prepared foods as well as wines and gourmet treats from around the world, and The Secret Garden, a charming children’s book store.
If you are in a walking mood, you could wander down to the Ballard Locks, where boats make the passage between the salt water of the Puget Sound to the freshwater of the ship canal to Lake Union though a carefully engineered system of locks. Here, in season, you can watch salmon swim upstream through a series of underwater viewing windows on the south side, or just spend a pleasant hour or two sitting on the grass watching the boats go by.
If you want to wander further, you can walk all the way down to Golden Gardens, where there is a sandy beach and a stunning view across the water to the Olympic mountains beyond.
If you are an active and outdoorsy type (or want to burn off your dinner from the night before), I might suggest climbing the stairs up from the beach. Or for more greenery, you could hop up to Carkeek Park for a woodsy loop and more views of water and mountains, or down to Discovery Park, which offers even more trail options. There’s no lack for trees and green in this leafy city.
If you prefer city to park, head back to Fremont, where a Sunday street market takes place, featuring antiques and crafts and excellent people watching. Theo Chocolate is here, and you can pop into their showrooms to buy and sample, or take a tour of the factory to learn more about this fair trade organic chocolate company (reservations recommended, especially in the summer, and try the curry and coconut bar, it’s my favorite).
There are plenty of shops to wander through, and if it’s a sunny day you might just be happy to sit on a bench next to the canal that runs through Fremont and watch the ships go by. Get yourself a coffee and you’ll look just like a local. Or go visit the Fremont Troll and look like a tourist (we won’t judge if you do). Fremont is a lovely neighborhood to while away the afternoon. There’s a reason locals call it “the center of the universe.” And if you are in town for the summer solstice, Fremont hosts a parade famous for crazy creativity and naked cyclists (dare I say it’s the Berkeley of Seattle?). You won’t be bored here.
If you happen to have squirrelly kids with you, take them to the kite shop on Stone Way, buy them a kite (the easy fliers are only .99) and go to Gasworks Park to let them run their yahoos out while you enjoy a stunning view of downtown (you can thank me later).
If you grow hungry in the afternoon, join the rest of Seattle in line for amazing Cuban sandwiches at Paseo (two locations: upper Fremont Avenue and Golden Gardens by the beach). You will have to wait, you will have to pay cash, but I don’t think you will regret it. The Cuban Roast is a marvel of a sandwich (meaty and goopy and great), but even their simple rice and beans are wonderful (and vegetarian). I like to get one order of each and split both with a friend. Find a seat if you can—or if it is good weather, take your lunch up the street to the Rose Garden at Woodland Park Zoo or to the beach at Golden Gardens and have a picnic. [Though make note that you can't actually do this on Sunday or Monday, because Paseo is closed (and all January as well), so plan accordingly.]
If you are interested in food and cooking, don’t leave upper Fremont without popping across the street to The Book Larder, the gorgeous new cookbook bookstore run by my friend Lara. Here you’ll find an amazing and enticing display of the best cookbooks around, all in a store that feels cozy and charming. You can read more about the story behind this wonderful store.
By this point, with all the wandering and walking, it might be time to take a break. One thing my friends taught me when they came to visit, is that traveling is just as much about hanging out as it is about go-go-go. On our Sunday afternoon, after browsing stores and market stalls in Ballard, we ended up in a cozy booth at a local pub, The Nobel Fir on Ballard Avenue, which then was newly opened. We talked, and sipped our beers (dry Irish cider for me) and wrote in journals and spent a few hours just chatting and dreaming and watching the world go by. It made me feel like I was in Europe, that sit in cafes and enjoy life feeling, and it was a good reminder that this is more a state of mind than a state of geography. You can be on vacation in your own hometown, and it can be lovely.
I resolved then and there to block out some time on a regular basis to do just that—dreaming in cafes and pubs—and as of yet I have not made good on that promise, but hope springs eternal and perhaps this is the reminder I need to get myself going.
Dreaming and laughing, if you do it right, can work up an appetite, and there is one last Seattle treat I want to share with you. From The Nobel Fir, walk south down Ballard Avenue to the grittier end (though not for long, this street is being transformed every day) and get in line for The Walrus & The Carpenter. The place opens at 4pm and you want to be there a little early, so as to make sure you get a table. It’s a small oyster bar, intimate and inviting and rightly popular (raves from Frank Bruni and Bon Appeitite have pushed things over the edge). But if you have to wait, it is worth it. I promise you.
[If you do have to wait, check out the wares in the next door Dutch Bike Company. I have a serious crush on the 8-speed robin’s egg blue Mixte.]
I’ve written at length about The Walrus & The Carpenter, you can read the details if you wish. The oysters are excellent, of course, but I love the rest of the menu even more. The smoked trout and lentils is a perennial favorite, the salads and vegetable dishes always make me happy (I had an endive cesar-esque salad there recently that made me want to lick the plate), and the cocktails are a treat. I can think of no more lovely place to close out a weekend in Seattle. You’ll be off to the airport—or off to your bed for an early airport call—dreaming of this green city on the water.
Whew, are you tired now? I am. Do you want to come to Seattle? I hope so.
Of course this is an entirely incomplete and extremely personal list of things to do in Seattle, I haven’t been everywhere, and my favorites are ever-changing. If you’ve been here, or live here, what spots have I missed? It’s hard to fit it all into only three days.
You’ll just have to come back for a longer visit. Or be like me, and stay on in this lovely water-bound city. We’ve barely scratched the surface here—there’s so much more to see and do.
I say this from experience, Seattle can be a very hard place to leave.
Tea & Cookies
