This article appears in print as the cover story of the September 2018 issue. Read more from the Best of the Best Restaurants feature story here. Click here to subscribe.

What does it mean to be the best?

This year’s quest—to name the best of the best in some of the most popular dining categories in Seattle right now—has sent us into an existential tailspin. With so much (too much?) good food available, we set out to uncover the truly top tier among the city’s best dining options.

But is there something inherently superlative about a slice of New York–style pizza over a slice of deep dish? A raised doughnut over a cake one? A fancy pub burger over a Dick’s Deluxe? Isn’t taste in food—as in art and music—mostly subjective?

The answer isn’t so easy, which is why we’ve put in the long hours and racked up high calorie counts to put together a guide you can trust has been appropriately vetted. Still, people certainly have preferences: Back in May, we asked for yours in our annual readers’ poll (which received a record number of responses) and on social media, as we held a March Madness–style smackdown to discover your favorite pizza, doughnuts and burgers. But we also know that you come to these pages for our experts’ opinions.

Sometimes the classics continue to blow us away—here’s looking at you, Taylor Shellfish—but we found, particularly this year, that newcomers caused us to rethink our favorite places in multiple categories. Rest assured, though, that if a restaurant is so much as mentioned in the following pages, it’s a winner in our book.

Do yourself a favor: Try these places we love right now.

Pizza
Sushi
Tasting Menu
Burger
Tacos
Pasta
Steak House
Doughnuts
Ramen
Brunch
Ice Cream
Seafood
Bowls
Trend-O-Meter
One-Hit Wonders

Reader’s Choice Poll Results