Monsoon, which has locations in Capitol Hill and Bellevue, is arguably the best Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle for a special occasion, sourcing meat from local ranches and serving 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.

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 recently started serving soft-serve ice cream with Indian-inspired flavors like rose-cardamom and pistachio-cardamom at both of its locations.

This intimate sushi counter tucked away inside Capitol Hill’s Broadway Alley has an array of offerings besides seafood for its artful multicourse tasting menu, but master chef Hideaki Taneda’s Edomae-style sushi preparations are the main event. Each seasonal dish is lovingly crafted and presented like mini gifts, a one-of-a-kind experience in a city with plenty of competition.

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.

After building a strong following for its naturally leavened sourdough creations, this former pop-up has set down more permanent roots with a cozy restaurant and corner market on 12th Avenue. While the menu changes often, it’s hard to go wrong with the simple cheese pie, served hot out of the oven with aged mozzarella and just the right amount of grease. Don’t sleep on the retail, which include rare items from local purveyors, plus a great selection of beer and wine.

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 nice nightcap.

This airy, boisterous Greek restaurant offers a variety of wonderful seafood dishes, including whole grilled Mediterranean sea bass and octopus, plus killer tzatziki (and a wonderfully flaky baklava for dessert). Many of the plates can be shared family-style, with generous portions, and drinkers who don’t mind a little kick should order up some ouzo to round out the experience.

Expertly-made Laotian dishes shine at this Capitol Hill counter service restaurant from three chefs, Sydney Clark, Khampaeng Panyathong, and Jenessa Sneva, with strong Seattle dining pedigrees. 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.

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, 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.

Melrose Avenue’s Middle Eastern restaurant (with a fast-casual offshoot called Mamnoon Street) features dishes influenced by owner Wassef Haroun’s Lebanese upbringing. The pitas are among the city’s best, the baba ganoush is sublime, and the cocktails hit the spot.

Chef Eric Johnson, who’s worked at Michelin-starred restaurants with some of the world’s best chefs, cooks casual but elegant dishes at his Capitol Hill restaurant specializing in Southeast Asian cuisine. Since opening in 2015, he’s won over Seattle diners with dishes like chili cumin pork ribs, fried master stock chicken, and crispy duck fresh rolls. In addition to reopening for dine-in, Stateside is also bottling some sauces for retail (the Sriracha made with Alvarez Farms chilis should be a staple in any pantry), and the well-conceived cocktails, featuring Southeast Asian ingredients like galangal and lime leaf, typically pack a punch.

Capitol Hill’s vegan restaurant from celebrated chef Makini Howell is as versatile as it is magnificent. Some of the biggest hits include “chicken” fried seitan, a mac and cheese spin called Mac and Yease (made with plant milk), and sweet potato gnocchi.

This cozy Italian restaurant located inside a former auto body serves rustic Emilia-Romagna-influenced dishes from chef Sabrina Tinsley. The gnocco fritto (fried bread puffs) are the perfect start to a meal, best followed with the tagliatelle in a white truffle butter sauce. The tiramisu, a family recipe, is one of the best in the city, with a simultaneously rich and light velvety texture.