Named after the Norse goddess of love (who rides a chariot pulled by two cats!), this bistro inside Ballard’s National Nordic Museum is getting nationwide press for its modern take on Nordic cuisine. The streamlined, light-flooded dining room is veldig skandinavisk, and dishes like the juniper-smoked salmon smørrebrød (open-faced sandwich) and aquavit cocktails go the extra mile to drive the point home.

All Ivar’ses are good Ivar’ses, but the crown jewel among them is the Salmon House on Lake Union, hands down. All of the seafood will astound, especially the chowder and salmon, naturally — but the special holiday brunch buffets are true spectacles to behold, with six different chef stations and dozens of options, including crab legs, clams, mussels, prime rib, and a full-on chocolate fountain. Read more on Ivar’s history here.

Seattle’s answer to NYC’s Peter Luger, El Gaucho and its mink-upholstered booths has a rep as a ritzy, unaffordable-to-the-common-man chophouse. Although the current Belltown location isn’t the original one from the ’50s, it’s tricked out with enough showstopping Rat Pack style to fool anyone who didn’t know that: a live pianist, a flaming bananas Foster cart, candles, martinis, and flamboyant, dazzling cuts of meat. Service is next-level, as well.

Pike Place Chowder really does have the best chowder in town, and it comes in clam, salmon, scallop, and crab and oyster varieties, all served in the iconic sourdough bread bowl. Despite the fact this is a Pacific Northwest original, the two most heralded menu items are, in fact, New England classics — the Maine lobster roll being the other one.

On First and Pike Place, a bit outside of the main tourist fray, the Crumpet Shop has been slinging up English-inspired sweet and savory crumpets for more than 40 years, and it does what it does very well. Everything’s organic, right down to the loose-leaf teas, and one of those piled-up crumpets can serve as a cheap, smallish lunch. Favorite crumpets include the maple butter, the pesto and ricotta, and the egg and wild smoked salmon with cream cheese.

In contrast to the gross old gum wall outside of the Alibi Room’s Post Alley location, this cozy upscale pizzeria/cocktail lounge is always clean and snazzy. Locals and tourists alike rave over the rustic brick-oven pies, which range from traditional styles like margherita or sausage and basil to fancy ones like Truffle Tre Funghi (three mushrooms with truffle oil drizzled on top) and grapes and bleu cheese (finished with arugula and a balsamic reduction).

The names Ezell and Oprah are forever inextricably linked — as the story goes, Oprah has Ezell’s Famous Chicken imported whenever she has a craving — but Ezell’s doesn’t need to name-drop her anymore. There’s always a line at the original takeaway-only shop in the Central District for good reason: The fried chicken is exactly balanced among crispy, juicy, and greasy, and it’s all hand-floured and seasoned seconds before it hits the fryer.

Eating seafood on the waterfront always feels a little hokey, but for out-of-towners who want to do the thing in the place, this spot on Alaskan Way is the right kind of hokey. Fisherman’s is basically a fancier version of its cousin, the Crab Pot, down the street — they do a great touristy crab boil with prettier, higher-quality shellfish, and they don’t dump it all over the table. Which is fun too, don’t get us wrong.