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You don't make friends with salad — unless it's the Canlis Salad.
You don't make friends with salad — unless it's the Canlis Salad.
Courtesy of Brian Canlis

Iconic Dishes That Define Seattle Dining, Mapped

Classics to share with visitors

by Ronald Holden Updated
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You don't make friends with salad — unless it's the Canlis Salad.
| Courtesy of Brian Canlis
by Ronald Holden Updated

Diners in Seattle, whether they're moss-backed natives or transplants who just happen to live here now, probably do what everyone else does on an average night: Go for pizza or teriyaki or burgers, right? But when visitors come to Seattle, whether it's an old college roommate or Aunt Minnie from Minneapolis, they tend to clamor for the entire "Seattle experience." Fair enough.

So here's a primer to the area's iconic dishes that should satisfy first-timers and veterans of the local scene — and they don't even require a trip up the Space Needle. There's plenty of seafood, like oysters at Taylor Shellfish Farms bars; there's classy Canlis' compelling table-side salad; there's the ultimate pho at Ba Bar; and there's even the cheeky inclusion of a ubiquitous cinnamon bun for the sweet-toothed.

Note: Map points are listed geographically and no ranking is implied. What iconic dish(es) do you insist on sharing with Emerald City visitors? Show some love in the comments, send an email, or start a forum thread.

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Salty's on Alki

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If it's a weekend and the sky is clear (and someone else is picking up the check) you should consider a traditional brunch buffet at Salty's; it's the best waterfront view in town.

1936 Harbor Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98126
(206) 937-1600
(206) 937-1600
Salty's/FB

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Metropolitan Grill

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If you want to show your visitors the baddest steak in town, order the long-bone, bone-in ribeye at Metropolitan Grill — especially if your visitors are from Texas.

820 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 624-3287
(206) 624-3287
Metropolitan Grill/FB

Also featured in:

Elliott's Oyster House

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Don't miss the freshly-steamed Dungeness crab here. The restaurant's splashy service (cloth napkins, crab crackers) is without peer. (Naturally, Elliott's is a great spot for oysters, too.)

1201 Alaskan Way Pier 56, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 623-4340
(206) 623-4340
Elliott's Oyster House/FB

Also featured in:

Place Pigalle

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If it's mussels you're after, Place Pigalle has an excellent recipe, with Zoe's smoked bacon, celery, shallots, and balsamic vinaigrette. (Nearby Maximilien is another great option for mussels.)

81 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 624-1756
(206) 624-1756
Place Pigalle/FB

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Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie

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If all you want (hah!) is perfect salmon, you'll have great luck throughout the city, especially with local restaurateur Tom Douglas' restaurants, including Seatown and Etta's. (Local chain Anthony's Homeport is another safe bet.) The wide availability of wild-caught fish from the Copper River and Yukon runs has made high-quality salmon a familiar ingredient for dozens of local chefs. Along that line: avoid the temptation to ask for medium rare. "It really does taste better when it's cooked all the way through," says fish guru Jon Rowley.

2010 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 436-0309
(206) 436-0309
Seatown/FB

Also featured in:

Le Pichet

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If you want to be transported directly to Paris, order a glass of Beaujolais here and nibble on the gâteau de foie de vollaile, a smooth-as-silk chicken liver pâté, served with a baguette, Amora mustard, and cornichons.

1933 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 256-1499
(206) 256-1499
Suzi Pratt/Eater

Also featured in:

Ba Bar

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Pho is the ultimate Vietnamese street food, sold from braziers on every street corner. In Seattle, the Health Department insists the broth be prepared indoors, more's the pity, but thankfully the bureaucrats haven't yet stuck their instant-read thermometers into the raw tenderloin. That said, perhaps the best pho in town is the oxtail version at Ba Bar, which cuts its own noodles and uses local ingredients. A couple of bucks more expensive than your average bowl, but you know the mantra: You get what you pay for.

550 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 328-2030
(206) 328-2030
Ba Bar/Official

Also featured in:

Cascina Spinasse

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Spinasse's success was predicated on the great taste of homemade pasta, and its tajarin with butter and sage sauce has become a classic.

1531 14th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 251-7673
(206) 251-7673
Cascina Spinasse

Also featured in:

Taylor Shellfish Farms

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The nation's top supplier of premium shellfish has three oyster bars of its own to satisfy Seattle's demand for fresh bivalves. The stores (takeout or dine-in, full bar) are in Melrose Market, Lower Queen Anne, and Pioneer Square. Taylor's shuckers are so good, you'd be forgiven if you suspected them of "washing" the oysters — they don't. Treat yourself to a dozen (especially the plump Virginicas, or the tiny Olympias) and a glass of one of the winning West Coast oyster wines like Cedergreen Sauvignon Blanc, and then go have dinner.

1521 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 501-4321
(206) 501-4321
Taylor Shellfish/FB

Also featured in:

Mondello Ristorante Italiano

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At this much-lauded neighborhood spot, Mamma Enza assembles several hotel pans of lasagna bolognese every week, luckily for you.

2435 33rd Ave W #3, Seattle, WA 98199
(206) 352-8700
(206) 352-8700
Mondello/FB

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Canlis

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The word "iconic" is intimately linked to the Canlis Salad, prepared table-side by a maître d'hotel. Chilled romaine, olive oil, lemon juice, chopped bacon, a coddled egg, cherry tomatoes, croutons, and slivered green onions showered with romano cheese, mint, and oregano.

2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 283-3313
(206) 283-3313
Courtesy of Brian Canlis

Also featured in:

Cinnabon

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If you're the one who's out of town, and you want a genuine taste of home, you could do worse than follow your nose through the nearest mall to the inevitable Cinnabon. Not quite as ubiquitous as Starbucks' coffee, but very much a Seattle export, created by Edmonds baker Jerilyn Brusseau for Restaurants Unlimited three decades ago.

936 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 548-1032
(206) 548-1032
Cinnabon/FB

Original Pancake House

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For another breakfast treat, make your way to the Original Pancake House for the classic Dutch Baby pancake, hot and quivering from the oven. Tilikum Place Cafe, near the Space Needle, does another perfect example of this baked classic.

8037 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117
(206) 781-3344
(206) 781-3344
Original Pancake House/Official

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Salty's on Alki

1936 Harbor Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98126

If it's a weekend and the sky is clear (and someone else is picking up the check) you should consider a traditional brunch buffet at Salty's; it's the best waterfront view in town.

1936 Harbor Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98126
(206) 937-1600
(206) 937-1600
Salty's/FB

Metropolitan Grill

820 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104

If you want to show your visitors the baddest steak in town, order the long-bone, bone-in ribeye at Metropolitan Grill — especially if your visitors are from Texas.

820 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 624-3287
(206) 624-3287
Metropolitan Grill/FB

Elliott's Oyster House

1201 Alaskan Way Pier 56, Seattle, WA 98101

Don't miss the freshly-steamed Dungeness crab here. The restaurant's splashy service (cloth napkins, crab crackers) is without peer. (Naturally, Elliott's is a great spot for oysters, too.)

1201 Alaskan Way Pier 56, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 623-4340
(206) 623-4340
Elliott's Oyster House/FB

Place Pigalle

81 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101

If it's mussels you're after, Place Pigalle has an excellent recipe, with Zoe's smoked bacon, celery, shallots, and balsamic vinaigrette. (Nearby Maximilien is another great option for mussels.)

81 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 624-1756
(206) 624-1756
Place Pigalle/FB

Seatown Seabar & Rotisserie

2010 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98121

If all you want (hah!) is perfect salmon, you'll have great luck throughout the city, especially with local restaurateur Tom Douglas' restaurants, including Seatown and Etta's. (Local chain Anthony's Homeport is another safe bet.) The wide availability of wild-caught fish from the Copper River and Yukon runs has made high-quality salmon a familiar ingredient for dozens of local chefs. Along that line: avoid the temptation to ask for medium rare. "It really does taste better when it's cooked all the way through," says fish guru Jon Rowley.

2010 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 436-0309
(206) 436-0309
Seatown/FB

Le Pichet

1933 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101

If you want to be transported directly to Paris, order a glass of Beaujolais here and nibble on the gâteau de foie de vollaile, a smooth-as-silk chicken liver pâté, served with a baguette, Amora mustard, and cornichons.

1933 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 256-1499
(206) 256-1499
Suzi Pratt/Eater

Ba Bar

550 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

Pho is the ultimate Vietnamese street food, sold from braziers on every street corner. In Seattle, the Health Department insists the broth be prepared indoors, more's the pity, but thankfully the bureaucrats haven't yet stuck their instant-read thermometers into the raw tenderloin. That said, perhaps the best pho in town is the oxtail version at Ba Bar, which cuts its own noodles and uses local ingredients. A couple of bucks more expensive than your average bowl, but you know the mantra: You get what you pay for.

550 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 328-2030
(206) 328-2030
Ba Bar/Official

Cascina Spinasse

1531 14th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122

Spinasse's success was predicated on the great taste of homemade pasta, and its tajarin with butter and sage sauce has become a classic.

1531 14th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 251-7673
(206) 251-7673
Cascina Spinasse

Taylor Shellfish Farms

1521 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

The nation's top supplier of premium shellfish has three oyster bars of its own to satisfy Seattle's demand for fresh bivalves. The stores (takeout or dine-in, full bar) are in Melrose Market, Lower Queen Anne, and Pioneer Square. Taylor's shuckers are so good, you'd be forgiven if you suspected them of "washing" the oysters — they don't. Treat yourself to a dozen (especially the plump Virginicas, or the tiny Olympias) and a glass of one of the winning West Coast oyster wines like Cedergreen Sauvignon Blanc, and then go have dinner.

1521 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 501-4321
(206) 501-4321
Taylor Shellfish/FB

Mondello Ristorante Italiano

2435 33rd Ave W #3, Seattle, WA 98199

At this much-lauded neighborhood spot, Mamma Enza assembles several hotel pans of lasagna bolognese every week, luckily for you.

2435 33rd Ave W #3, Seattle, WA 98199
(206) 352-8700
(206) 352-8700
Mondello/FB

Canlis

2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

The word "iconic" is intimately linked to the Canlis Salad, prepared table-side by a maître d'hotel. Chilled romaine, olive oil, lemon juice, chopped bacon, a coddled egg, cherry tomatoes, croutons, and slivered green onions showered with romano cheese, mint, and oregano.

2576 Aurora Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 283-3313
(206) 283-3313
Courtesy of Brian Canlis

Cinnabon

936 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103

If you're the one who's out of town, and you want a genuine taste of home, you could do worse than follow your nose through the nearest mall to the inevitable Cinnabon. Not quite as ubiquitous as Starbucks' coffee, but very much a Seattle export, created by Edmonds baker Jerilyn Brusseau for Restaurants Unlimited three decades ago.

936 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 548-1032
(206) 548-1032
Cinnabon/FB

Original Pancake House

8037 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117

For another breakfast treat, make your way to the Original Pancake House for the classic Dutch Baby pancake, hot and quivering from the oven. Tilikum Place Cafe, near the Space Needle, does another perfect example of this baked classic.

8037 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117
(206) 781-3344
(206) 781-3344
Original Pancake House/Official

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