This new Greenwood cocktail spot (where the old Teacher’s Lounge used to be) isn’t afraid of a gimmick. It’s menu at launch included the Pisco & Paparazzi, a drink that comes garnished with a Polaroid of yourself drinking it — yes, the bartender comes out with a camera. Another concoction, the Kimcheech and Chong (an ingenious combination of mezcal, lime, orange, orgeat, peach bitters, and kimchi brine) comes with an orange peel rolled up and singed so as to resemble a joint, get it? But bartenders and owners Matthew Gomez and Matt Hassler are serious cocktail crafters and are doing seriously delicious work here. The Korean-inflected food menu from chef Amy Beaumier (the third owner) makes you want to make a meal out of bar snacks, included marinated mayak eggs served with roe, a kimchi pimento cheese dip, and pork and shrimp sandwiches on the bar’s own milk bread.

One of the most-hyped food trucks of the spring landed in the Maple Leaf parking lot of Project 9 Brewing in early May. Originated in Oregon but with its heart somewhere between Chicago and Texas, Sammich specializes in meaty, messy sandwiches like the Italian Beef, which is loaded with peppers and best enjoyed with au jus poured all over everything. Sammich sandwiches pair nicely with beer, but also with an afternoon nap.

It’s baaaaaaack. The good news is that the twice-closed diner by the side of Aurora reopened in February; the bad news is the former 24-hour spot is now only open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. But Beth’s devotees will take what they can get, and this local legend is still serving its infamous 12-egg omelets alongside smaller portions of comfort food. It’s not spacious or fancy or pretentious or “elevated,” and thank god for that.

Capitol Hill classic Coastal Kitchen reopened in December after a car crashed through its entrance. The 29-year-old fish house and oyster bar boasts a new sign and black exterior, dark booths offsetting bright white walls and white-tiled floors, bar tops of dark wood and light marble, and a vibrant mural by artist Becca Fuhrman. In the kitchen, the chefs are doubling down on Northwest and Pacific Coast seafood like oysters, halibut ceviche, wild Alaskan salmon with black trumpet mushrooms and salmon roe, and shellfish risotto. Small-batch natural wines, local draft beer, and cocktails dominate the drink menu, including a spiced persimmon hot toddy and the Tahoma, which shakes up gin with yuzu liqueur and egg whites.

Is this in a mall? Is $50 sort of a lot to pay for a cake? Okay, we hear you. But have you bitten into the rich, dense center of a birthday cake truffle? Or let the cereal milk soft serve topped with corn flakes transport you back into your carefree, unselfconscious youth? If you’re going to be in Bellevue Square anyway, why not eat something sweet and memorable?

For what looks like a bog standard Belltown club-slash-bar, Lai Rai is doing wildly ambitious things with its menu. It opened in October but didn’t bring on chef Christopher Ritter (of Stateside and a few other notable restaurants) until December, and the things he and his team are doing here are not to be missed. There’s a Philly cheesesteak banh mi with “fancy Cheese Whiz,” a shrimp toast that melts in your mouth, triple-fried chicken with a sweet kick from fish sauce caramel — and also the best, most tender, fall-off-the-bone-est pork ribs in Seattle?? Or at least, if there are better ribs here please let us know at seattle@eater.com!

Level 1 of Westlake Center downtown has a new food hall called Asean Streat, decorated brightly with colorful tablecloths, chairs, milk crates hanging from the ceiling, and large video screens. The name refers to the street eats that the food hall serves from food carts representing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which comprises 10 countries, so you can order from a centralized kiosk to combine the likes of Thai and Laotian dishes such as larb from Zaab Eli with Vietnamese from Phancy Pho.

After showing proof of concept with a hugely popular pop-up, cookbook author Sara Upshaw has opened her highly anticipated gluten-free Korean restaurant, Ohsun Banchan Deli & Cafe. Expect about half vegan options among noodles, soups, stewed meats, and 10 or so seasonally rotating banchan, the kinds of fermented side dishes (like various styles of kimchi) that typically accompany rice at Korean meals. The counter-service spot in Pioneer Square also serves soju, wine, cider, and gluten-free beer in the evenings.

Acclaimed chef Dan Mallahan and his wife and business partner Jackie Mallahan opened their much-hyped Alki Beach spot in January, serving extremely local seafood sourced with the help of members of the Quinault and Makah tribes. This is a destination for anyone interested in what “Northwest cuisine” can mean, with menu items like pull-apart rolls served with shittake butter and rockfish accompanied by brussel sprout leaves, salsify, and celery root mousse.

The West Seattle Bridge has been open now for a little while, but the trip across the water didn’t feel the same while the Luna Park Cafe was closed for some R&R. As of March, that hiatus has thankfully ended, and the diner is once again a beacon of kitschy retro fun. The menu is that timeless diner stuff, the only innovation here being that they’ll serve your breakfast items in a “pile” (on hashbrowns and topped with eggs) or a “hobo” (mixed up with hashbrowns and eggs). They got a whole vegan menu here, and Rainier tall boys (that famous local vegan speciality) are like $5. What else do you want?

Georgetown’s Pig Iron BBQ has been in a chrysalis since it closed during the pandemic, and now it has emerged butterfly-like as a pork burger joint. Substituting pork for beef makes a huge difference — the patties here are sweet, fatty, and seared to give a kiss of caramelization. The fixings aren’t bad either, like the pickled jalapenos on the Texas Heat sandwich that balance out the pork’s sweetness. The fried tomatoes are a side we could eat all day, though honestly if you fried anything in batter and dipped it in Pig Iron’s roast jalapeno scallion buttermilk sauce we’d want to put a ring on it. The only downside is the short hours, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.