Maguro, frittatas and Oly-- Oh My!

December 17, 2007 1:17 PM

Seattle recommendations, please? Sushi? Sunday breakfast / brunch? Dive bar?

So we're going to be in Seattle the weekend before Christmas. One place I know I want to eat is Quinn's; I'd love to get a recommendation for great sushi the other night we're in town.

I've heard good things about Nishino and Umi Sake House, but I'm open to any suggestions.

We're staying at the Edgewater, but will have a car and a sense of adventure, so we're willing to travel in the greater metro area for the sake of great food.

I'd also love recommendations for the following:

1. Excellent Sunday breakfast and / or brunch.

2. A pleasant neighborhood-y or dive-y bar not far from the hotel (something in Belltown, maybe?). We like to eat kinda fancy but prefer to drink kinda homey, if that makes any sense...

And, yes, I have explored the other Seattle questions here, but restaurants open and close all the time (for example, Quinn's, where we're eating one of the nights we're in town, wasn't even open the last time a similar question was asked) and up-to-date information would be much appreciated.

posted by dersins to travel & transportation (18 answers total)

As an addendum, I have been advised that I should say that le pigeon is my "fave restaurant ever, and we want something in seattle that is yummy and not for snooty fuckfaces."

Which is true.
posted by dersins at 1:20 PM on December 17, 2007

Brown Bag Cafe.
posted by cashman at 1:22 PM on December 17, 2007

I Love Sushi, on Lake Union, is pretty damn good sushi. Shun, near the University Village mall, is also excellent.

Sunday breakfast you should go to The Dish, in Fremont. It's cash only, but one of the best breakfast joints around. Prepare for a line, but there's free coffee and chairs out front, if you have to wait.

Re: dive bar in Belltown -- it's not a dive, per se, but Two Bells Tavern is great. Has good drinks, good beer and excellent food. I particularly recommend the sausage sandwich. Yum!
posted by Pantengliopoli at 1:25 PM on December 17, 2007

I Love Sushi is good, Nishino is also worth doing. And it's Uni season to boot!

As far as breakfast is concerned, you could trek out to Alki for the $40 buffet at Salty's, if you have a car. Get there before ten as it will get crowded....scratch that. Get to any place before 10am, as every place worth going to will be crowded.

If you're looking for a breakfast closer to Belltown, Cafe Campagne at Pike Place Market does a decent brunch, and their Oeufs en Muerette are heaven sent. Everything else on the menus is...good, border line very good.

As far as dives are concerned, you'll mostly get trendy places in Belltown. Two Bells is the exception, which people either love or hate.
posted by AccidentalHedonist at 1:50 PM on December 17, 2007

The Rendezvous is my favorite bar in Belltown.
posted by lemuria at 1:55 PM on December 17, 2007

Seconding Salty's brunch - my GOD it is incredible.

My dives are the Comet (Cap. Hill), the NiteLite (downtown/Beltown), the Canterbury (Cap Hill)
posted by tristeza at 2:04 PM on December 17, 2007

We were just there in August and went to Wasabi Bistro in Belltown for sushi. Everything we had was wonderful, although it is not particularly traditional.
posted by cabingirl at 2:10 PM on December 17, 2007

i love sushi is good. i am also very fond of shiro's, near the corner of second and bell, so not too far from the edgewater.
posted by rmd1023 at 2:15 PM on December 17, 2007

Senior Moose in Ballard has an awesome Mexican breakfast/brunch. It's good at any time, of course, but considering most Mexican places don't do breakfast, I heartily recommond their morning fare.
posted by Nelsormensch at 2:23 PM on December 17, 2007

For Sunday Brunch, I highly recommend Portage Bay Cafe, in the U-District. I live in Belltown and loathe getting in a car to drive across town, but the brunch at Portage Bay is absolutely worth the trip. Check it out!

For the bars you are talking about, maybe check out Lava Lounge or Rendezvous on 2nd, or Cyclops on 1st (all in Belltown).
posted by stilly at 2:38 PM on December 17, 2007

dive bar and breakfast, in one - The 5 Point.
If you are willing to drive for your sushi, Toyoda sushi in lake city is supposed to exemplary.
The 5 point is 24x7, as an added bonus, and starts serving liquor at 6am...so think carefully when you decide to sit on the bar-side or the 'non-bar' side early in the morn. You may not be drinking yet, but someone there is.
posted by nomisxid at 2:40 PM on December 17, 2007

I once was taken to the Palisade for Sunday brunch, and loved it. (I wasn't paying, and as a nursing mother I ate most of the restaurant. Including the fish swimming in the little river. If I went now, I might be disturbed by both the price and the amount of food being eaten by my fellow diners.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:58 PM on December 17, 2007

For sushi, Kisaku is the best I've had in Seattle.
For dive bars, try Twilight Exit or Cafe Racer.
And for brunch, I'll second Portage Bay.
posted by jclovebrew at 2:59 PM on December 17, 2007

++BrownBag. Show up hungry.

I've found Salty's to be overrated, but then I've not been for several years. May have improved since then.

Don't forget to stop by Pike Place Market and grab a bag of mini doughnuts. Or two. Or three.
posted by trinity8-director at 4:56 PM on December 17, 2007

Check your email for recommendations and the offer of a dining companion or three.
posted by matildaben at 5:24 PM on December 17, 2007

Note that the crocodile cafe just closed unexpectedly, so if you got recommendations for it, you may, saddly, ignore them. =(
posted by nomisxid at 9:49 AM on December 18, 2007

N'thing Salty's (there are two Seattle locations). Mae's is also good.
posted by deborah at 11:44 AM on December 18, 2007

So, did you end up going to Seattle?
posted by matildaben at 12:14 PM on January 9, 2008