Readers’ Choice: 2012 Best Restaurants

SEARCH RESTAURANTS in Seattle by neighborhood, cuisine type or price. Our restaurant directory connects you with—not every single restaurant in Seattle—but those that our experts confidently recommend.

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Best new restaurant that opened in 2011
RN74

Best neighborhood restaurant
Little Water Cantina

Best Eastside restaurant
Cafe Juanita

Best splurge restaurant
Canlis

Best cheap-eats place
Dick’s Drive-In

Best bakery
Columbia City Bakery

Best brunch
Portage Bay Cafe

Best hotel breakfast/brunch
Copperleaf Restaurant and Bar

Best independent coffee shop
Espresso Vivace

Best place to cure a hangover
Skillet Diner

Best view
Canlis

Best place for people watching
Bauhaus Books & Coffee

Best place for outdoor dining
Little Water Cantina

Best restaurant for a date
Crush

Best restaurant for kids
Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria

Best late-night dining
Canon: Whiskey and Bitters Emporium

Best waitstaff/service
Canlis

Best sandwich
Cuban Roast at Paseo Caribbean Restaurant

Best salad
The Canlis salad at Canlis

Best takeout
Din Tai Fung Dumpling House

Best burgers
Li’l Woody’s

Best barbecue *Tie*
Jones Original Barbeque
Pecos Pit BBQ

Best pizza
Serious Pie

Best raw bar/oyster bar
The Walrus and the Carpenter

Best seafood
Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar

Best steak
El Gaucho

Best fries
Café Presse

Best Chinese food
Shanghai Garden

Best Thai food
Jai Thai

Best Indian food
Annapurna

Best Vietnamese food
Ba Bar

Best pho
Pho Bac

Best Japanese food
Nishino

Best sushi
Shiro’s

Best French food
Cafe Campagne

Best Italian food *Tie*
Cantinetta
Spinasse

Best Mexican food
La Carta de Oaxaca

Best Latin food
La Isla

Best food truck
Marination Mobile

Best pie shop
High 5 Pie

Best ice cream shop
Molly Moon’s

Best dessert
Mistral Kitchen

Best cupcake shop
Trophy Cupcakes

Best cocktail bar
Canon: Whiskey and Bitters Emporium

Best happy hour
Il Bistro

Best wine bar
Purple

Best place for wine tasting
The Local Vine (Closed)

 Best local winery
Chateau Ste. Michelle
Woodinville, 14111 NE 145th St.; 425.415.3300; ste-michelle.com

Grocery store with best selection of Washington wines
Metropolitan Market
Multiple locations, including Queen Anne, 1908 Queen Anne Ave. N; 206.284.2530; metropolitanmarket.com

Restaurant with best selection of Washington wine
Canlis

Best wine shop for Washington wines
Pete’s Wine Shop
Two locations, including Eastlake, 58 E Lynn St.; 206.322.2660; peteswineshop.com

Best neighborhood pub
Elliott Bay Brewery Pub

Best local brewery
Fremont Brewing

Best dive bar
The Whisky Bar

Best sports bar
Buckley’s

Best local distillery
Woodinville Whiskey Co.
Woodinville, 16110 Woodinville-Redmond Road, NE, Ste. 3; 425.486.1199; woodinvillewhiskeyco.com