Seattle Area Help

I have used old posts to put together a solid first trip to Seattle, Woodinville, Orcas, and Walla Walla. That said, I have some holes to fill.

The Mrs. I land at 8:40 Thursday night @ SEA. Our friends don’t join us until the next day @ 3:30 (then heading to Woodinville). Which neighborhood/hotel/restaurants/bars/sights would you recommend for this 1 night and 1/2 day exploring Seattle? We will head to get a rental car @ SEA when our friends land, so we will be wheeling luggage.

On our friends’ way home and our way to Walla Walla we are again stopping in Seattle on a Tuesday evening. Recommendations for a neighborhood (airbnb) with great food and close proximity to the airport?

Finally, on our way home, we are stopping in Seattle again on a Saturday afternoon/night. We won’t have a car to deal with. Suggestions where to stay/eat/etc.?

Many thanks!

I’ll take a shot at it. I don’t live in Seattle so I can’t give you the latest and greatest like I’m sure others can on this board but I go there a bunch. IMHO, first trip to Seattle it’s totally ok to hit the tourist spots. A great first night would be to book a room at the Edgwater (cool hotel) which will allow you to walk the waterfront and Pike Place Market (I advise a trip to the PPM in the morning to lunch and leave before it gets too crowded). Some very good restaurants within walking distance too. Ballard and Fremont are cool neighborhoods also. Avoid the Pioneer Square area, it’s filthy, smells like urine, and is super sketchy. Capitol Hill was the happening place a few years ago but seemed to be going downhill in recent times. I stayed in downtown last year and it was gross, had to watch out for human excrement on the sidewalk. There’s not much worthwhile close to the airport so if you want great things to see and eat, you’ll have to take Uber or drive.

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What a ringing endorsement for our city, Steve. The one area on which I’ll agree with you, sadly, is Pioneer Square. Not sure why you’d go there in the first place, but avoid nonetheless.

I really like the Edgewater and Pike Place recommendation. Try and get a water-facing room, as anything looking over the parking lot will also have periodic train noise to deal with, as the underground tracks that tunnel under downtown are above-ground near there. They don’t blast horns, but are a good rumble nonetheless.

It might be worth checking out an Air BnB near-ish Ballard. Ballard Ave. is a fund walk with tons of shops and restaurants. Ballard also is the heart of the local brewing scene, with stops aplenty. Most of this can be done on foot. Ubers/Lyfts are abundant, so venturing out would be easy if needed. A house somewhere near Sunset Hill would allow you to enjoy an easy walk to a beautiful view from a small park but also walk / easy quick ride to Ballard Ave. I found a place on Air Bnb called, “Backyard Casita” that is somewhere near 32nd Ave NW and NW 63rd Street…if you can find that one, it look prime.

One other thought could be to find a place to stay near Juanita / Kirkland. This is much closer to Woodinville (not CLOSE, per se, but closer than Seattle) and make reservations at Cafe Juanita. It’s still one of the very best restaurants in the area.

Without wading too deep into the opposing views of Seattle noted above (I’ve lived there a couple of different times and tend to side with Steve), I’ll offer a couple of specific recommendations. When I visit now my favorite place to stay is Inn at the Market - a beautiful hotel with rooms much larger than average and located right in the Pike Place Market area. In comparison with the Edgewater, Inn at the Market is at the top of the Hill so you can avoid the hike up the hill if visiting the market or anywhere in the downtown core. Note that most everything in Seattle closes early so if arriving at 8:40 your options for dinner will be very limited by the time you get away from the airport. Just down the street from Inn at the Market is another favorite spot - Il Bistro. Il Bistro is the furthest thing from new and trendy but they have a late night menu (tasty and very inexpensive) and excellent cocktails (the cocktails being the main reason to go). Sit at the bar if you can. Note that my experience is all pre-Covid. I haven’t been anywhere since last March so hours/service might have changed.

Thank you all, this is exactly the type of guidance I was looking for. I figured Capitol Hill was out based on watching tv last year, but appreciate the on-the-ground take. More importantly, the Four Seasons CHOP/CHAZ is booked, so I will look at the 2 hotels referenced here. I think Bourdain mentioned the Edgewater on his layover show, but need to look again. Inn at the Market sounds great and the restaurant/bar probably perfect for our needs.

I wouldn’t rule out Capitol Hill because of the nonsense that happened there last year - it would be like ruling out Washington DC, LA, or Portland (though Portland seems like it might still actually be a good idea). You’ll find far more sketchiness downtown than on Capitol Hill. I took Steve’s comment to simply mean that it no longer seems to be the center of activity like it might have seemed a few years ago (restaurant openings and the like). Other than restaurants, there isn’t much other reason to be in the Capitol Hill area. As others have noted, I think Ballard would be a more enjoyable stay.

Anyone been to Altura lately? I went there 7-8 years ago and the meal still stands out in my mind.

It’s been a few years since the last time I ate there, but Le Pichet was excellent. It’s a traditional French bistro located a block or two north of Pike Place Market. Hopefully one of the locals will chime in and say it’s still worth a visit !

I visit Seattle often as I have a good friend who lives there, and we invariably visit Cafe Besalu and Crumble & Flake for pastries, and Ooink for ramen. On recent trips we have liked The Whale Wins, The Corson Building, and The Dolar Shop (though that’s far away in Bellevue). And then there’s the Herbfarm in Woodinville, though I think the quality of their food has fallen off a bit

I went 5 years ago and it was excellent [cheers.gif]

Dolar is great. Hai di lao opened in Bellevue and Seattle. And is equally great (Altho slightly different format).

To be honest most days, I rather drive Seattle to bellevue than Seattle to another point in Seattle.

Agreed haha I love driving on the 90

Also speaking of Bellevue the botanical garden is excellent

One other possibility if you like greenery is to visit the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge island. You can drive onto the ferry just south of Pike Place. Advance tickets needed for the Bloedel Reserve though!

When staying in Woodinville, we stay at the Willows Lodge and if we can get reservations for dinner, we will go to the Herbfarm.

Both are walking distance from one another, literally across the parking lot… The Herbfarm serves a 9 course meal with wine pairing. Quite an experience. The Hotel/lodge is just cool. Very nice place with a slight rustic feel to it.

The hotel restaurant is also quite good - called the Barking Frog.

The lodge is within walking distance to numerous winery tasting rooms as well.

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Echo (strongly) the recommendation for staying at the Inn at the Market. The Market itself is a lot less crowded on a weekday than a Saturday (just picked up some wine today at Pike and Western–a great shop worth a visit) and some people like the energy of larger crowds, but for a leisurely stroll (especially if sampling/browsing), weekdays are best. If Le Pichet is unavailable, lunch at Cafe Campagne (in the Market) is a good choice, as would be Matt’s (in the Market). Matt’s is closed on Tuesdays though, so only for your Saturday. SAM (Seattle Art Museum) is an easy walk from the Market (if staying at the Inn) --also for your Saturday (closed on Tuesdays).

Another possibility is walking on to the Bainbridge Island ferry to go to dinner at Marche (nice ride and then an easy walk from the ferry landing). Greg Atkinson (owner/chef) was at Canlis for many years back in the day

Ballard has a ton of options (Walrus & Carpenter has always delivered)

If venturing to the Eastside - Cafe Juanita in Kirkland is a can’t miss! Had another epic meal there recently

+1 on walrus and carpenter, though it’s been a while.


Good to hear that Café Juanita is still top notch, would be sad to hear it had gone downhill.