A decades-old Green Lake standby, Rosita’s serves reliable Tex-Mex fare in a cheery setting. Kids scarf down the free, freshly made tortillas and salsa while their parents contemplate the extensive selection of tequilas.

Green Lakers come here for gyros and other Greek classics served in a simple, pleasant dining room. The more sophisticated dinner entrees and specials are a satisfying testament to the owners’ Greek roots.

This younger sibling of the Ballard Shelter has the neighborhood’s most stylish dining room, a glass-walled, light-filled beauty looking out onto the park and the lake. The menu can be too clever for its own good, with creative takes on pub grub that occasionally fall short, but the happy-hour burger hits the spot.

Spud is a beautiful fast-food relic, with a bold neon sign mounted over a classic midcentury-mod building and fish fried crisp and light. (The chips, sadly, are limp and bland, but they achieve redemption with a dip in the house-made tartar sauce.)

Nell’s is a special-occasion spot that prides itself on understated, casual elegance. It’s been embracing the farm-to-table ethos for nearly two decades with seasonal, European-inspired menus that are inventive without a whiff of self-aware affectation.

When Green Lakers are craving good, straightforward breakfast food they head for The Dish, the bigger offshoot of the Ballard standby. You can get eggs draped over corned beef hash, tucked inside a burrito, or some 20 other ways.

The owner of Krittika’s next door took over the space occupied by Mona’s Bistro, left the dark, steam-punk-inspired décor mainly intact, and made the improbable transition to a sushi bar. The result is a nice change of pace from the typical sushi experience, with some flashy rolls at bargain prices and a lively bar scene.

Krittika’s delivers what most diners are looking for in a neighborhood Thai place: decent takes on the standard dishes, served with a little atmosphere at reasonable prices. If you can stand the heat, you’ve come to the right place — the five-star spicy will set your mouth aflame.

Green Lake’s most distinctive Asian restaurant comes by its name honestly: the owners' family name is Sherpa, and the chef has ascended Mt. Everest 10 times (without oxygen). He prepares food that will look familiar to aficionados of Indian cuisine — curry, vindaloo, tika masala — along with Tibetan dumplings, noodles, and stew.

Leny’s is commonly labeled a dive bar, but on most evenings nowadays the hardened drinkers are outnumbered by 20- and 30-somethings there for the first-rate burgers. One beer is often enough for them — especially if it’s a “Leny’s Large,” a 32-ounce mug usually filled with Rainier. Predictably, Leny's doesn't allow kids.

Ethan Stowell’s Mkt. may come as close as any restaurant in Seattle to being a literal hole in the wall. The tiny space has 28 seats, including a communal table that spills out onto the sidewalk. Nevertheless, the restaurant still finds room for a wood-fired grill in the open kitchen, which turns out locally sourced, Mediterranean-inspired dishes such as seared scallops with sofrito blanco and sweet pea ravioli in garlic brodo.

This tiny temple of tube steaks is a good place to discover whether you love or hate the Seattle dog. (Few diners have mixed feelings about cream cheese on a hot dog.) If you fall into the hater category, you can console yourself with dozens of other options, ranging from classic franks to kielbasa to field roast veggie dogs.

Beth's, located west of Aurora but still within spitting distance of the lake, is one of Seattle's most vaunted greasy spoons. It's (in)famous for its 12-egg omelets with unlimited hash browns, but if you look beyond that novelty you'll find a menu full of hearty breakfast classics done the right way, including good-quality bacon and sausage. Beth's never closes, making it the best place in the city to go when it's 3 a.m. and you want to feel like you're living in a Tom Waits song.