Shaker + Spear in Seattle's Belltown is the Kimpton Palladian seafood room: a kitchen working off the Pike Place fishmongers and Hood Canal shellfish growers down the bay.
Signature dishes: Whole rockfish, Dungeness crab, Oysters Rockefeller
Must order: The whole roasted rockfish with brown butter and capers, deboned tableside.
Tip: The two top by the kitchen pass is the best seat for solos; happy hour runs 16:00 to 18:00 with $2 oysters.
Address: 2000 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Le Pichet in Seattle near Pike Place is the unhurried French bistro since 2000: tile floor, zinc bar, slate boards, a kitchen that does poulet roti and tartines as well as anywhere.
Signature: Poulet roti, Tartine de jambon, Cassoulet
Order: Poulet roti for two, ordered on arrival; it needs 60 minutes from the oven.
Tip: The bar is first-come first-served from 16:00; ask for the corner two-top in the window.
Maneki in Seattle's International District is the oldest Japanese restaurant on the West Coast: opened in 1904, surviving wartime internment, tatami rooms still running.
Signature: Nigiri set, Geoduck sashimi, Sukiyaki
Order: The geoduck sashimi if it is on the board, otherwise the chef's nigiri set with a tatami room.
Tip: Reserve a tatami room four to six weeks ahead; the bar runs walk-in but the room shapes the meal.
Ivar's Acres of Clams in Seattle on Pier 54 is Ivar Haglund's 1946 waterfront fish house: a wood-walled dining room over Elliott Bay with the city's institutional pan-fried oysters.
Signature: Pan-fried oysters, Clam chowder, Alderwood-smoked salmon
Order: Pan-fried Olympia oysters with the alderwood-smoked salmon plate at a window table.
Tip: The Pier 54 fish bar to the side is the cheap counter: same clams, lower price, ferry views.
The Boat in Seattle's Little Saigon is the original Pho Bac since 1982: the city's first pho restaurant, still a red boat-shaped building at 13th and Jackson, run by the Phams.
Signature: Pho tai, Com ga mam toi, Banh cuon
Order: The original Pho Bac tai with rare flank, or the com ga mam toi the kids put on the menu.
Tip: Cash and card, walk-in only; arrive at 11:30 or after 14:00 to skip the line through the parking lot.
Phnom Penh Noodle House in Seattle's International District is the Sam family's 1987 Cambodian kitchen: hu tieu, bai sach chrouk and cha houy teuk, back open after the pandemic.
Signature: Hu tieu Phnom Penh, Bai sach chrouk, Cha houy teuk
Order: The hu tieu noodle soup with pork and prawn, and the bai sach chrouk grilled pork rice plate.
Tip: Closed Monday and Tuesday; the lunch crowd lines up at 11:00 and the kitchen sells out of bai sach chrouk by 14:00.
Toulouse Petit in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne is the city's largest Cajun-Creole kitchen: 200 covers, beignets and chicory coffee at breakfast, full French Quarter at dinner.
Signature: Bouillabaisse, Jambalaya, Beignets
Order: The bouillabaisse with the Mardi Gras jambalaya for the table, or just beignets at the bar.
Tip: The 09:00 to 11:00 breakfast service is the secret deal: beignets and eggs cardinal, fewer than 12 covers full.
