Sampling Iconic Seattle Food in the Best Spots
After our first trip to Seattle almost 5 years ago, we decided to head back for the ultimate Seattle food tour! Seattle is renowned for the variety of high quality Asian cuisines, succulent pastries, and of course fresh roasted coffee. Meals can range from extremely expensive, to super affordable. We sought out the city’s most iconic dishes and the best restaurants to try them in. Here’s the signature Seattle food and the best places to find them.
Beecher’s Mac & Cheese
This world famous Cheese shop handmakes everything with authentic ingredients. The smoked salmon mac & cheese was super creamy and possibly the best mac & cheese I’ve ever had. Beecher’s offers small cup portions as well as blocks of cheese for sale right in Pike’s Place Market.
Starbuck’s Coffee
Seattle has a top tier coffee scene and is the birthplace of Starbucks. The original store still stands in the heart of Pike’s Place Market. If you’d rather not waste your time waiting in a line down the block, check out the impressive Starbucks Reserve Roastery where you can witness the process behind the creation.
Piroshky
One of the most iconic Seattle foods is a beef and potato Piroshky. It consists of a mashed potato texture wrapped in a fried dough pastry with a variety of flavors. They also offer vegan options! Piroshky Piroshky has locations all around downtown.
Smoked Salmon
Another famous Seattle food is the smoked salmon. This packaged delicacy can be found in stores across the state and even the airport. It’s a bit expensive but definitely worth a try.
Pho
Seattle has an abundance of genuine Asian cuisine with Pho standing at the top. This Vietnamese noodle soup has a light but flavorful broth. We tried the beef, brisket, and meatball at Pho 88 and it was pho-nomenal (I’m sorry I had to).
Oysters
If you’re looking for the freshest oysters in the state, look no further than Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar. Their large oyster farm provides some of the best shellfish in the Pacific Northwest. They have a wide selection of clams, oysters, and mussels, so definitely go with the sampler.
Tikka Tonkatsu Don
This flavorful fusion of Japanese and Indian cuisine is one of the reasons the Seattle food scene is so great. Tikka masala curry over a fried pork tenderloin on a bed of rice is an innovative blend of flavors. Find it at Itsumono, a dive Izakaya style bar.
Ube Cheese Cake
An ingenious remix on the ordinary cheese, the purple Ube Cheese Cake is a delectable dessert you can find at the Hood Famous Bakeshop. After Brooklyn’s Juniors, it might be one of the best cheese cakes I’ve ever had. The ube daiquiri and the warm slice of buko pie were also extremely delicious.
Beef Curry Hum Bow
Hum Bow is a steamed bun that can be filled with a huge variety of meats. Mee Sum Pastry is a no-frills food stand in Pike’s Place Market that offers super tasty Bee Curry Hum Bow among other flavors. One bun costs only $5 so we included it on our $20 Seattle Budget Travel Vlog too.
Donburi
Another authentic Japanese dish is the Chicken Teriyaki Donburi which you can find at Donburi Station. Actually teriyaki was reinvented in a new style by a Japanese wrestler Toshi Kasahara in Seattle. So if you try teriyaki anywhere in the city, let it be here!
Kalua Pork Tacos
The Kalua Pork Tacos is another combination of cuisines between Hawaiian and Korean cultures. Marination Ma Kai is on the edge of west Seattle’s Alki Beach, and boasts stunning skyline views of the city. The Musubi also makes for a great snack!
Banh Mi
Banh Mi is a staple Vietnamese sandwich on a long baguette filled with savory ingredients. Stop by Hello Em for wide selection of Banh Mi plus really great coffee options.
Omakase
Omakase is an elegant sushi dining experience which leaves your gastronomic fate in the hands of the chef’s culinary skill. This set menu of about 12 pieces of sushi is artistically served one piece at a time at the sushi bar while you intimately watch its preparation. It can be quite expensive, but the high quality specialty nigiri is worth a try at least once in your life. Try a relatively cheap one ($75) at the cozy Tsukushinbo Izakaya. It might not be Japan, but it certainly is the best sushi I’ve eaten in the United States.
After indulging in all of the iconic Seattle food in the city, I can affirm Seattle’s status as a foodie paradise. For authentic Asian cuisine, fresh seafood, and an innovative fusion of culinary flavors, Seattle might be among the top 5 food destinations we’ve visited. I hope you get to visit Seattle soon and try some of our favorite restaurants! If you’re in the city for a weekend, check out this vlog for our top 10 best things to do. Thanks for reading, and keep leveling up!
And here’s our Epic Seattle food tour vlog!
