Monsoon, which has locations in Capitol Hill and Bellevue, is arguably the best Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle for a special occasion. It sources meat from local ranches and serves Chinese-influenced Vietnamese dishes not commonly found in the area. Excellent appetizers include super-crispy imperial rolls, salad rolls made with raw ahi tuna and avocado, or a perfectly balanced green papaya salad. The wokked lamb — made with beans co-owner and chef Sophie Banh ferments in the kitchen — is fragrant with cumin and packed with umami, and the grilled pork belly is a perennial favorite. Check out sister restaurant Ba Bar closer to the center of Capitol Hill for a more casual experience and a satisfying oxtail pho.

A shining star in Seattle’s constellation of impressive bagel spots, Rubinstein distinguishes itself with creative flavors that avoid veering into novelty territory. A chocolate and cherry number offers a refined counter to the classic cinnamon raisin, and cacio e pepe is a welcome upgrade from basic asiago. In addition to a spread of spreads, the bagel shop also offers an array of breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and the bacon, egg, and cheese is stellar. The Hill location is compact, with a few tables out on the sidewalk that are hot commodities come summer. But just a short walk from Cal Anderson and Volunteer Park, it lends itself beautifully to a grab-and-go-picnic situation. 

Uttam Mukherjee and Aakanksha Sinha’s Indian street food business, which started as a farmer’s market stall and now has two locations, in Capitol Hill and Ballard, serves kathi rolls made with roti wrapped around piles of paneer, potato, spicy chicken, and juicy lamb kebabs, whose rich flavors pair perfectly with a tangy mango lassi. Though it might seem like the obvious choice, the chicken kathi roll stands out for its complex, balanced flavors. The business also serves a variety of chaat, out of which the aloo tikki chaat with tangy-sweet sauces made with yogurt, cilantro, and tamarind, is a must-try. Spice Waala also has soft-serve ice cream with Indian-inspired flavors.

Hiding inside Capitol Hill’s Hillcrest Market, this Mexico City-style taqueria is a true gem, with a full-fledged restaurant on First Hill now. Among the highlights are the campechano, featuring chorizo, steak, and potato, as well as a satisfying vegan taco with mushrooms, refried beans, and guajillo chili.

Informed by the street food and hummus bars of Israel, this casual, family-friendly spot on a quiet stretch of 15th offers seven different types of the chickpea-based dip around which to center your selection of sides and sauces that pack a walloping flavor punch. The pita is hotel pillow–level fluffy, and the falafel is some of the best in the city.

Is Dino’s the best pizza in a city blessed with an abundance of lovingly-leavened artisanal pies? Probably not — even its incredible website only claims to be the second-best in town. Is it the best pizza in the neighborhood? You could argue about that for hours if you liked. But is it the best place to grab a slice on the Hill at 1 a.m.? Resounding yes. (Note that this is a 21-plus pizza place.)

A reservation at this snug omakase restaurant across the street from Cal Anderson Park can be elusive, thanks to its compact size. And a recently acquired spot on the New York Times’ 2023 Restaurant List isn’t likely to make it any easier to score one of the seats at the chef’s counter. But it’s well worth the wait for these exquisite Edomae offerings, which include an otoro that famously brought Seattle Times food critic Bethany Jean Clement to tears. 

More than 10 years in and this romantic trattoria on Capitol Hill continues to entrance diners with food from Italy’s Piedmont region. The nest of delicate tajarin pasta with butter and sage sauce is a Seattle comfort food mainstay, but every pasta dish from chef Stuart Lane is memorable. Those who want to extend their meals should head over to sibling apertivo bar Artusi for a nightcap.

Laotian dishes shine at this Capitol Hill restaurant from three chefs, Sydney Clark, Khampaeng Panyathong, and Jenessa Sneva. Items such as thom khem and chicken laap utilize produce from local farms and a whole-animal approach to butchery, and the Lao pork sausage, fragrant with lemongrass and lime leaf, is not to be missed. Meanwhile, the smash burger made with pork jowl bacon and jaew tomato sauce may be the best patty in the city. (That burger is also available and the new outpost Ox Burger.)

Colorful, vibrant dishes fill the menu at chef Tamara Murphy’s farm-to-table restaurant, from the pan roasted morel mushrooms with grilled asparagus and duck egg to the roast pig with manila clams. There’s paella on Mondays, an excellent brunch on the weekends, and a partnership with the Food Is Love Project to feed those in need. Those who are able to nab a seat on the lush rooftop are in for some great scenery, too.

While the Seattle area is starting to get its fair share of Korean barbecue joints, Capitol Hill’s Meet Korean Barbecue is the destination for those looking to enjoy high-end meats in the KBBQ style. The restaurant offers all kinds of American and Japanese wagyu and Kurobata pork cuts, as well as dry-aged USDA Prime steaks and sides like Korean beef tartare with pine nuts and Asian pear.

La Dive is the only place in Seattle (or probably in any city) where you can down a champagne bong (chambong) full of French brut or sip on a glass of local pet-nat while snacking on potato and onion dumplings with red chili walnut butter, then moving on to glass after glass of espresso martini slushy. Just like the neighborhood around it, it’s eclectic, hedonistic, and refined all at the same time.

The food menu at Capitol Hill’s house of rum easily clears the high bar set by the drink list, which includes over 700 sugar cane spirits and an assemblage of deft cocktails that evoke the tropics. The nautical ambience hits an elusive sweet spot between moody sophistication and self-aware kitsch, and a selection of sandwiches rounds out a menu dominated by small, shareable plates. A wait is to be expected, if you don’t reserve a table ahead of time, but seats at the long, undulating bar are first-come-first-serve (and exceptionally comfy). 

Renee Erickson’s Frenchified steakhouse is a prime destination for meat lovers, with a dedication to whole animal butchery and local sourcing. The airy, Parisian bistro vibe is also a welcome departure from the stodgy steakhouses of the past, and neighboring Boat Bar (formerly called Bar Mesuline) is not a bad spot to grab a pre- or post-dinner drink. In 2021, Bateau got a shoutout in the New York Times for its sustainable sourcing from Carman Ranch in Oregon and for dry-aging unusual cuts of meat to make them palatable, reducing waste in the process.

This Galician tapas bar in Capitol Hill offers gorgeous, gussied-up takes on classic Spanish dishes. The owner, Grayson Corrales, was the pastry chef at JuneBaby before spending a couple of years training at a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Spain. The menu includes Spanish cured meats and cheeses, Spanish pork steak cooked with Galician cider sauce, braised oxtail with broken spaghetti, and of course, patatas bravas and croquettes. The wine comes from Spain and Washington, the cocktails are intricate, and Estrella Galicia beer flows from the tap.