Dining in Seattle

becca846

Hello all, 
 J. and I are going on a cross country (well cross two technically hehe) road trip - we leave on Sunday - SOOOO excited.
 Anywho, we are staying in Seattle for an evening at a fairly nice hotel (in the Renton area - does that make any sense?) Just wondering if anyone can reccomend a good place to eat. We want something fairly fancy (nothing too formal though - the boy does NOT enjoy dressing up haha) to make up for the crappy packaged sandwhiches and who knows what else we'll have eaten haha.
 Also, if there's anything that's fun (and cheap) to do to kill an hour or so?

Thanks!!!

amandasw

well that's fun!  Renton isn't exactly Seattle... I think at least a 40min drive?  But anyway, if you're looking for a restaurant in Seattle I can help with that! 

My absolute favorite place that has a fancy atmosphere, but you wouldn't feel terrible if you weren't dressed up is Il Fornaio in Pacific Place downtown.  I think the food is always really good (sorry, but I'm not a fan of places like Cheesecake Factory...) and the desserts are amazing.  I like going for a later dinner when things have quieted down and it's not super busy.

For fancy fancy (yes, you'd want to be dressed nicely) we really like Campagne and Il Bistro in Pike Place Market.  Both are very romantic and fun locations with amazing food, seriously, amazing.

jamers22

Depending on where you are in Renton, its only about a 20-30 minute drive to Seattle, depending on traffic of course, too.

One of my favorite restaurants is The Metropolitan Grill... they have an AMAZING happy hour, and their calamari is to die for. Best calamari I've ever had. If you go for the works, like drinks, wine, appys, entree, dessert, etc, you could easily spend $200+. But its soooo worth it.

Have fun on your road trip!

mergator

You just cannot come to Seattle and not eat seafood! There are so many incredible places to get great seafood. One that's great where you don't have to dress up is Ivar's Salmon House on Lake Union.  Also, Ray's Boathouse on Shilshole Bay (eat at the cafe for a slightly less expensive menu) Forgive me, amandasw, but Il Fornaio is a chain restaurant, and it's in a mall.  If you are coming to Seattle, I would recommend a restaurant that's local and has a great view of the sights/city. The two I just mentioned definitely do!

carrieoz_76

I'd go to a Tom Douglas restaurant - he's one of the things Seattle's famous for after all!  There's the Dahlia Lounge, Palace Kitchen, Etta's, Lola and Serious Pie - all of which are really well-reviewed and totally different.

Otherwise, I'd probably look into the Kingfish Cafe - it's southern food, supposed to be awesome, with amaaaaazing desserts.

jamers22

oh, and whatever you do, don't go to the space needle's restaurant. yeah, its cool to be circling above the city while you eat dinner, but the food isnt that great, and definitely way overpriced. i have a friend who used to be the manager there, and even he says its overrated. LOL.

amandasw

I don't want this to turn into anything, I just want to say that I didn't say it was the only one in the world, just that the food is good and I like the atmosphere and location.  I mentioned two other restaurants that I think are really worth going to, especially since they are in The Market.  For good food on the water I would recommend Anthony's.

But really, for a true Seattle dining experience you should go to "Richard's" for burgers

(omg, it won't let me write in the actual restaurant name! Which is not "Richard" but something short for that...)

dreamwinds

There are only two restaurants in the Seattle area that require a certain dress code: The Herbfarm and Canlis. The rest, you could theoretically go to in jeans and a t-shirt and no one will say anything. That said, it's still nice to dress at least casually nice to go to a nice place.

Renton isn't really Seattle, but like someone said, you can drive up to downtown Seattle pretty easily.

My recs:
Dahlia Lounge (http://tomdouglas.com/index.php?page=dahlia-lounge)
Serious Pie (http://tomdouglas.com/index.php/restaurants/serious-pie)
Elliot's Oyster House (http://www.elliottsoysterhouse.com/)
Purple Cafe and Wine Bar (http://www.thepurplecafe.com/)
Campagne (http://www.campagnerestaurant.com/camp_home.html)
Steelhead Diner (http://www.steelheaddiner.com/)

Have a good time!

jamers22

oooh! I love purple cafe!

i wouldn't recommend Anthony's... no offense Amanda! Fi and i went there on our anniversary one year, and it wasnt anything special. We may have caught them on a bad night... i know i've been to the one in des  moines and it was better. It is a cool spot though.

saltys on alki is great, too.

and I totally second "Richard's"

heissls

If you're looking to stick to the Renton/Tukwila area there are a few places that are good, not amazing but good.
Bahama Breeze by SouthCenter mall
Melrose Grill in Downtown Renton

We kill lots of hours at a wine shop in Renton called Vino's at the Landing...

amandasw

jamers - we were just at the one in Edmonds (it was a rehearsal dinner, so I got to taste a few of the entrees from friends) and everything was really tastey, so that's why I thought of it.   Everyone has different experiences at different restaurants, so it's hard to generalize sometimes and that's ok  

jennlin

if you are going to stick with renton (or south of seattle), you can try salty's on redondo beach, too. although i love salty's on alki (had my reception there).

if you planned on touring "seattle", renton isn't seattle at all. it's (almost) a whole nother "major" city... make sure you go north a bit to downtown seattle and check out pike place and eat appetizers at the small shops, esp piroshky piroshky. the fruit in the market is always extra sweet and juicy..perfect. my favorite "no-frills" doughnut also come from the "daily dozen" in the pike place. they are smaller sized doughnuts and are really yummy. then go to cutters bayhouse at night for good seafood right next to the market.

if you want something VERY casual, try paseo's by shilshoe bay..it's a cuban sandwich (truck) that is super yummy.

i would check out palisades for good seafood with a view...i've never had a problem with anthony's, it's always been good..for similar food, just a hair cheaper, try arnies, which is next door to anthony's in edmonds, or there's one in mukilteo.

and contrary to pp, i WOULD check out the space needle restaurant. yes, it's overpriced, but i think the experience is worth it--once. not again, but just once.

have fun! seattle has lots of good food!

KST_

I think PP have mentioned a lot of the primary hot spots for good "Seattle" meals. While I'm allergic to seafood now, I agree that when you come here, especially if you're from a noncoastal region, you should try our seafood now. It's hard to beat for freshness. Purple is my FAVORITE restaurant, but I would just think of it as uber-delicious food, not necessarily PNW (that' Pacific Northwest). Salty's, Palisades, Ivar's Salmon House (there's also an Ivar's on the waterfront), and Ray's Boathouse are all great choices. Elliott's Oyster House introduced me to my current favorite drink.

One thing to know is that people in the PNW as a general, don't really know much about 'dressing up.' I'm sure the socialites featured in the glossy Seattle Met magazine do, but I've been to the ballet and seen plenty of people wearing jeans!! Have your man throw on any non-jeans/non-cargo pants and a halfway decent shirt and he should be good to go for MOST places.

Paseo's is quite good, but they keep odd hours (for instance, not open on Sunday at lowest tide!) and well, while very good and hot, they are sandwiches.

I haven't eaten at the Metropolitan Grill, but if you want great steaks, I would recommend Jak's Steakhouse. We go there frequently with the in-laws. Food is really good (they think it's better than the Met) and better pricing and quantity.

dreamwinds

Paseo's is hit or miss.

During the summer, especially, they run out of sandwiches pretty quickly and also, they tend to be closed whenever the owner feels like it, which tends to be off and on throughout the summer.

They have a sit down location (I didn't know the other location was a truck) in Fremont/Wallingford on Fremont.

But it's definitely not fancy. It's pretty damn messy. I always have to tuck a napkin under my chin to make sure I don't accidentally get goopy stuff on my clothes. ^^;

It was listed in the 21-40 block of the 101 tastiest places to chowdown, aka 101 places to eat at before you die, on the Travel channel.

Fun and cheap stuff to do: Walk through Pike Place Market, so cheap, it's free, unless you buy things.

amandasw

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_washington-seattle_dining-seattle?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:104Discussion:8b94f357-95ce-4c8e-bfe5-17713b90ca74Post:92789fe2-8af6-420e-be4a-302377863e33">Re: Dining in Seattle</a>:
[QUOTE] One thing to know is that people in the PNW as a general, don't really know much about 'dressing up.' I'm sure the socialites featured in the glossy Seattle Met magazine do, but I've been to the ballet and seen plenty of people wearing jeans!! Have your man throw on any non-jeans/non-cargo pants and a halfway decent shirt and he should be good to go for MOST places. :)
Posted by KST_[/QUOTE]

although it makes me sad, this is VERY true.  There are definitely some places that have been mentioned where you really would want to be dressed nicely (ex Canlis or Campagne, I've never seen anyone there wearing jeans), but in many nice restaurants around here it's not unusual to be more casual.

Tygirljojo

Ditto Jennlin on Palisades and the Restaurant on the Space Needle.

ahuette

Diddo Palisades.  I also enjoy Chandler's Crab House on Lake Union, even more so than Ivar's - but Ivar's has the better view.

irshis20

My favorite restaurants in Seattle proper (where you should really go since you're visiting the area):

Waterfront Seafood Grill (expensive, but the best seafood in the city IMO)
Ray's
Metropolitan Grill
Jak's Grill (just as good as The Met but better prices!)
Campagne
Rover's
Icon Grill
Il Bistro

For burgers, "Richard's" is a Seattle institution, but Red Mill is even better.

I find Anthony's to be satisfactory, but never remarkable. There is better seafood in this city. Ditto for its sister restaurant Chinook's.

Seattle is filled with great restaurants. If you Yelp it, you're sure to come up with a ton of options.

fancynewbecca

Favorite Seattle Restaurants:

Wasabi Bistro (Belltown) for Sushi (Good Happy Hour Menu)
or
Bleu Bistro (Capitol Hill) for an awesome Cocktail List. This is our *date* restaurant. They have little, little private booths with curtains so it's kinda romantic. But it's not exactly a classy joint either. Kinda hard to explain. Good food.... slow service... fantastic cocktails.

becca846

WOW...haha, I don't know whether or not to feel overwhelmed, or do a happy dance from all the choices!

I think we'll have to just stick them all in a hat and draw - which would probably work best for J. anyway, since he is physically incapeable of making a decision haha.

Thank you all SOOO much for all the great suggestions. Just wish we were there for longer than a night so we could try/do more of them!