Seattle Restaurants and Activities
Eat and Drink
Seattle is a city known for its fresh seafood, authentic cuisine, and highly developed microbrewery scene. Below, we list some recommended restaurants in the University District, nearby University Village, and in Seattle’s downtown. These include everything from pizza parlors to waterfront dining featuring salmon and crab from Puget Sound and even Alaska.
Conference attendees will find food and drink options in three locations on and around campus:
- At the University Village Mall
- On University Way (commonly known as “the Ave”)
- Downtown Seattle
University Village – A bit upscale
- Ba Bar (Vietnamese street food and cocktails)
- Eureka (American bar and grill)
- Piatti (upscale Italian cuisine)
- Veggie Grill (vegetarian fast casual restaurant)
- Elemental Pizza (seated restaurant with delicious wood fired pizza and a full bar)
- Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream
- Joey’s Kitchen (American bar and grill)
- Evergreens (casual or to go, entrée size salads)
- Din Tai Fung (upscale, seated Taiwanese cuisine)
- Mama Melina (upscale Italian cuisine located very close to U Village but not quite
University Way (“the Ave”) – Popular with students
- Big Time Brewery (Casual brewery and pizzeria, popular with students. )
- Shultzy’s Bar and Grill (Casual restaurant with a German theme and proper German beer.)
- BB’s Teriyaki Grill (a “Chipotle-style” approach to teriyaki)
- Sizzle & Crunch (a “Chipotle-style” approach to banh mi sandwiches and a Vietnamese grill)
- Chipotle (Fast-casual Mexican food.) Map.
- MOD Pizza (Pizza by the pie.)
- Café Solstice (Cool cafe with coffee, tea, beer, and food options.)
- Café on the Ave (Cafe with breakfast, lunch, and dinner options.)
- Café Allegro (Seattle’s oldest espresso bar. So authentic it’s in an alley.)
- Thai Tom (Cozy and casual with limited, diner-style seating. Seattle-famous Thai cuisine that will impress. Wait likely. Also a chance of fire on the stove.)
- Portage Bay Cafe – Roosevelt (Breakfast and brunch. Popular. Wait possible.)
Downtown – Upscale – Check restaurant hours as some restaurants might close early.
- The Pink Door (in Pike Place Market)
- Metropolitan Grill
- Wild Ginger
- Elliott’s Oyster House
- IL Bistro
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Cortina (Italian) – Seattle chef Ethan Stowell, fusion Italian
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Matt’s in the Market (in Pike Place Market)
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Assagio – Italian
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Cinque Terre – range of food with Italian theme
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Barolo – low key but somewhat fancier Italian
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Willmott’s Ghost – in the Amazon spheres, low key Italian, salads
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Victor’s Tavern – basic burgers, salads, etc. by Seattle chef Ethan Stowell
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2120 – popular fancy steakhouse
- Pike Place Market – Seattle’s famous public market with various eateries and vendors
Things To Do
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Discovery Center (visitors’ center)
- Burke Museum (Natural History and Culture, esp. Pacific NW Culture. On the UW campus.)
- National Nordic Museum
- Museum of Flight (Seattle’s huge and impressive air and space museum)
- Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI – Basically the museum of Seattle’s history)
- Seattle Art Museum
- Seattle Asian Art Museum
- Wing Luke Museum
- Klondike Gold Rush Museum (National Park Service )
- Bill Speidel’s Seattle Underground Tour
- Pike Place Market (historic farmers, seafood and crafts market with local restaurants and flying fish)
- Ferry to Bainbridge Island (35 minute trip across Puget Sound to the charming town of Winslow)
- Agua Verde Paddle Club (Rent a kayak or paddleboard and explore Lake Union. Located on the water in the U District with a good Mexican restaurant upstairs.)
- Water Taxi from Downtown to West Seattle Promenade (short boat ride to West Seattle’s waterfront promenade and magnificent views)
- Gas Works Park (great lake views in a former industrial site about a 30 minute walk from the HUB along the Burke Gilman Trail)
- Olympic Sculpture Park (Impressive and imposing sculptures along Seattle’s waterfront park with opportunities for long walks along the water. Affiliated with the Seattle Art Museum – S.A.M.)
- Lenin Statue and Fremont Sunday Market
- Ballard Farmers Market (Sundays)
- REI Flagship Store (Outdoor gear sales and rentals [skis, snowshoes, etc.]. Featuring an indoor climbing wall)
- Starbucks Seattle Roastery (Not the first Starbucks in Seattle, but an immersive Starbucks experience on in the dynamic Capitol Hill neighborhood)
- KEXP (Seattle’s pioneering non-commercial radio station was the first radio station to play Nirvana’s “Smell’s Like Teen Spirit”. KEXP’s headquarters features a large cafe and record store, where you can watch the radio DJs broadcast live on air.)
- MOPOP (Museum of Popular Culture with an exhibit devoted to Nirvana and the Seattle 1990s music scene. A short walk from KEXP.)
- Space Needle and Seattle Center
- Seattle Sounders FC (Seattle’s Major League Soccer team – MLS)
- Seattle Reign FC (Seattle’s National Women’s Soccer League team – NWSL)
- Seattle Kraken (Seattle’s National Hockey League team – NHL)
- Seattle Mariners (Seattle’s Major League Baseball team – MLB)
- Seattle Seahawks (Seattle’s National Football League team – NFL)
- Seattle Storm (Seattle’s Women’s National Basketball Association team – WNBA)