Aimee Rizzo
Senior Staff Writer, Seattle
Aimee holds a degree in screenwriting, a WSET certification, and the opinion that whatever marinara can do, vodka sauce can do better.
SEAGuide
Seattle’s Best New Restaurants Of 2024
All the spots we can’t stop talking about.
photo credit: Nate Watters
This year marked an era of restoration for dining in Seattle. Menus are for the most part tangible and 3D again. While “two to three small plates per person” might feel as familiar as “stop freakin’, call Beacon,” entrees have returned with a filling vengeance. And pop-ups-turned-permanent proved that a stellar bagel, empanada, or taquito can be as impactful as an omakase. 2024’s best new restaurants reinvigorated us—and it’s not just the goat peanut stew talking. Get out there and experience the tandoori momos, chicken parmigiana, and pork adobo that have made Seattle the best place to eat for the past 12 months.
What Our Ratings Mean
Learn more
NONE
1-5
6s
7s
8s
9s
No rating: This is a restaurant we want to re-visit before rating, or it’s a coffee shop, bar, or dessert shop. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal.
THE SPOTS
$$$$
Come to this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it spot for the endless lineup of chicken momos, and stay for everything else.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
When the momos set up camp in our brains.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR A COUCH GOBLIN DATE NIGHT
Tandoori momos, house curry with chicken, butter curry with lamb, aloo gobi, and garlic-basil naan to sponge it all up.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
19 variations on a good thing, curries that are more brothy than saucy, and relative peace and quiet.
$$$$
The smashburger gets a lot of attention for good reason, but let’s just agree that all dishes coming out of the kitchen are worth coming back for, again and again.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
When we signed the check then consulted our calendars to plan a trip back.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR A CASUAL DATE NIGHT
Start with the corn soup (one cup each so no fights break out), the kewpie burger (again, one each), and a couple of things to share like the seafood tostada, gollai hagun sope, and a bag of buñelos for dessert.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
Cocktails that scientifically pair well with every dish, truffle oil-soaked (in a good way) shoestring fries, and Monday night dinners that feel like Friday night dinners.
$$$$
The tacos, taquitos, and nachos are all deep-fried until golden brown and exude excellence.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
When we really couldn’t pick a favorite between the cauliflower and the carnitas.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR FOUR VEGETARIANS LOOKING TO GET WILD
Start with a tray of nachos Jackson Pollocked with queso, guacamole, and beans that outperform the meats before getting into potato-stuffed taquitos and the vegan soup du jour. A round of frosty gin frosé is also in order.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
Tortilla chips, vegetables that taste good, and throwback ‘90s hits such as Sugar Ray’s “Someday.”
$$$$
After garnering a cult following for their pop-ups, this spot finally made its grand entrance in Belltown, and we can’t get enough of it.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
When we were having such a good time on the back patio that only the grunts of a nearby garbage truck snapped us back to the reality that we were in Belltown on a plain ol’ Tuesday.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR FIVE FRIENDS WHO LIKE TO YAP & SNACK
Share everything. The empanadas, mofongo, and a tres hermanas salad (for the lettuceless salad lovers of the group). And then make sure entrees like the bistec encebollado or lechon, plus a couple of small sides, hit your table.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
Indoor plants, drizzling chimichurri on everything, and restaurants that feel like one big party.
$$$$
Embrace the goofy Old Italy theme at this black-tablecloth restaurant that takes pasta-making and crooner classics seriously.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
If it wasn’t the welcome Lambrusco, it was the Frank Sinatra serenade by in-house musician Tony La Stella. Fly us to the moon any time, Tone.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR A BIG BIRTHDAY DINNER
Meatballs (topped with burrata just because), tortellini fredo, short rib ravioli, chicken rigatoni, and lest we forget the halibut special, served with a Monte Vesuvio-sized mound of risotto. Crack into some cannoli to finish, and you won’t even notice the lack of salad.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
The Rat Pack, al dente as law, red sauce done right, and interacting with a charming Italian family.
RESERVE A TABLE
POWERED BY
$$$$
This Belltown kappo counter features a few glorious hours of raw fish and small plates.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT:
Somewhere between the throes of the skipjack tuna sashimi course and our second refill of hojicha.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR A SPECIAL OCCASION
The only decision you really have is how much rice you’d prefer with the nigiri. Other than that, they do the hard work of choosing eight action-packed courses for you.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
Lots of nigiri with a few wildcard dishes thrown in, Shiro’s, and impeccable service that involves the entire staff seeing you off like a first-born leaving home for college.
$$$$
This former farmers market stall is now a neighborhood bagel shop that means business.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
The initial sinking of the teeth reveals all—one brittle crunch followed by bouncy chew told us that there’s good sh*t happening in here.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR GOING HALFSIES WITH A FELLOW GLUTEN ENTHUSIAST
One cheddar jalapeño bagel with hot honey schmear, one everything bagel with scallion schmear, and a vanilla bean-freckled black and white cookie.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
Bagels that are bagels instead of four stacked slices of bread wearing a trench coat.
$$$$
Kilig is a breezy and mellow spot for lunch in the CID, but the food is anything but casual.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
When we took that first shatteringly crisp bite of the sinigang wings as Lauryn Hill played in the background.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR THREE COWORKERS WHOSE MANAGER IS ON VACATION
Start with an order of sinigang wings (get the hot honey on the side). Then order pork adobo, bouncy pancit canton, and a cauldron of beef shank bulalo to split up. If you’re on the clock, stick to the N/A drinks like an ube soda or calamansi tea.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
Leisurely lunches, Musang, and a well-done R&B playlist.
RESERVE A TABLE
POWERED BY
$$$$
“Good things come in small packages” takes on new meaning when it comes to these empanadas.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
After sitting with the lingering scent on the way home and discovering that these molten pockets’ incredible smell matches the taste.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR A LAST-MINUTE FOOTBALL-VIEWING PARTY
It’s too easy. Enough chorizo, creamed spinach, and beef empanadas to silence a group of buffalo wing-crazed sports fans. Some chocolate-coated alfajores are essential, too.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
Vinegar-forward chimichurri, instant gratification, and dairy.
$$$$
Sure, you’re likely in First Hill for a checkup, but we’d go out of our way for the fried plantains at this restaurant.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
When dunking our beef hand pie into the green cilantro aioli made us a little more emotional than we’d like to admit.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR A RAINY DAY SOLO MEAL:
Said emotionally charged hand pie, a bowl of glistening goat peanut soup, and a mandatory order of fufu.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
People-watching from a corner booth, soup season, and flawlessly caramelized plantains.
$$$$
This wine bar is so much more than a candlelit galley serving assembled snacks. But also, it fills that niche extremely well.
THE MOMENT WE KNEW WE LOVED IT
When anise-y cooking liquid from manila clams seeped into ciabatta like watercolor on canvas, and then we got to eat the art.
A PERFECT ORDER FOR APERITIVO HOUR
A briney bianco spritz, smoked black cod mousse with ikura, burrata and salumi in droves, and cavatelli tossed in jammy sungolds. Your finale is a wedge of crackly dark chocolate cake followed by an N/A espresso martini so electrifying you won’t miss the booze.
GO IF YOU LIKE…
Anything Renee Erickson does, Campari, Pugliese ceramics, and grazing on apps for dinner.
RESERVE A TABLE
POWERED BY
Suggested Reading
We checked out these new restaurants and loved them.