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Where to Eat Near the Space Needle in Seattle

Seattle is one of the West Coast’s most treasured and picturesque cities, offering locals and tourists alike a wealth of cultural and natural attractions.

chef decorating steak at restaurant near space needle seattle

Not only is Seattle the headquarters of major tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon, but it also spawned the coffee house culture that’s now a key aspect of social life for all ages.

Perhaps the most iconic attraction and structure that distinguishes Seattle’s stunning and highly recognizable skyline is the Space Needle.

Built in 1962 as part of the World’s Fair, the Space Needle still towers above Seattle and offers visitors a panoramic observation deck and rotating restaurant to enjoy a birds-eye view of the city and surrounding Puget Sound.

If you want a place to dine after watching the sunset from a 600-foot vantage point, there are tons of wonderful restaurants near the Space Needle to end the night in style.


Tilikum Place Cafe

407 Cedar St, Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206-282-4830
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Just two blocks southeast of the Needle in Belltown, Tilikum Place Café is a lovely and quaint New American eatery and bar run by Seattleite and head Chef Ba who strives to elevate breakfast to the level of elegance and renown usually reserved for dinner meals.

That said, the dinner menu is equally refined, offering inventive dishes inspired by global flavors.

Tilikum Place’s decadent yet affordable New American menu of gourmet breakfast dishes has won acclaim from The New York Times, the Food Network, Eater, and Lonely Planet, to name a few.

I recommend going there for a decadent brunch. My favorite brunch dish is the breakfast meatloaf stack over grilled bread and topped with tomato chutney, escarole, fried egg, and onion rings.


Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge

601 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-432-9069
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While both its name and rustic-chic Old-world tavern-like interior suggest a traditional French bistro, Toulouse Petit Kitchen and Lounge is a Cajun and French fusion kitchen.

Its unique dining space in Lower Queen Anne has textured stone walls, blown glass light fixtures, and candle-lit tables, offering a romantic and luxurious atmosphere to enjoy a happy hour cocktail and decadent Cajun meal.

The happy hour at Toulouse Petit Kitchen is legendary, occurring daily from 3-6 pm and then from 10 pm-12 am.

Not only are there creative craft cocktails but there are also three-course pre-fixe menus to pair them with.

I had a cup of the seafood gumbo with my Whisky Abricot cocktail of bourbon, apricot du Rousillon, lemon, and soda.


Citizen Cafe

706 Taylor Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-284-1015
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Citizen Café is a beloved Queen Anne beer garden and coffee house with a wonderful, two-story indoor dining space and a massive outdoor patio surrounded by plants and flowers.

You can grab breakfast and coffee, a boozy weekend brunch, or a lively happy hour at Citizen Café. Citizen Café is family-friendly during breakfast and lunch, and adults-only after 4 pm for the happy hour and dinner crowd.

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The menu at Citizen Café is a colorful and diverse fusion of flavors and culinary traditions. They combine Asian and Mexican food to create a unique offering of tacos, burritos, and appetizers.

They also make a delicious bowl of ramen. I loved their Korexican tacos with bulgogi beef, spicy cucumbers, grilled onions, and Mexican cheese with salsa verde, black beans, and sriracha mayo.


Wa’z Seattle

411 Cedar St, Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206-441-7119
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Run by Japanese Chef Hiro, Wa’Z Seattle is a unique and authentic experience of Kaiseki culinary tradition in which diners will sample a Chef’s tasting, multi-course menu that displays various cooking techniques using seasonal ingredients.

Wa’Z is an intimate, traditional Japanese eatery in Belltown that has won Bon Appetit’s Top 50 restaurants in America Award.

You won’t encounter a more unique dining experience in town, each artfully prepared dish prettier and more delicious than the next. The dishes run the gamut from Japanese hot pots to sushi, to whole fish.

My favorite course was the Eho Maki, featuring braised wagyu, bluefin tuna, freshwater eel, ikura, tamago, shitake mushroom, and cucumber.


GoldinBlack

621 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-687-7756
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Located inside a low-key, almost hidden storefront in Uptown, GoldinBlack is a casual sandwich shop and Pan Asian fusion eatery, serving heaping portions of authentic dishes off an extensive menu of both traditional and contemporary creations.

GoldinBlack has the best vegan and vegetarian options in town, and their pricing is affordable for the massive portion sizes.

Whether you want an authentic Korean Jjigae kimchi stew or a creative combination of Korean and Mexican food, GoldinBlack’s menu has dozens of amazing dishes with complex flavors.

I loved their Bulgogi Avocado rolls, rice rolls with spicy pork, avocado, cilantro, carrot, cucumber, red cabbage, and sesame seeds with spicy mascarpone, wine chili sauce, and spicy aioli.


Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar

124 Republican St, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-501-4442
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Owned by the multi-generational Taylor family of shellfish farmers whose business originated in 1890 off the banks of Seattle’s own Puget Sound, Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar uses the freshest shellfish from the Taylor family’s century-old product line.

Located in Queen Anne, directly across the street from the Space Needle, Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar is one of various seafood restaurants and shops that continue the growing Taylor family legacy.

The bustling, modern bar and eatery offer craft cocktails and a vast menu of the freshest shellfish from oysters to clams to crab.

Whatever your shellfish pleasure, everything is shucked and prepared to order. For the purest, most perfect lunch or dinner, I recommend the assorted dozen oysters.


Queen Anne Beerhall

203 W Thomas St, Seattle, WA 98119
Phone: 206-420-4326
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Located in Uptown a block from Myrtle Edwards Park on Elliot Bay, Queen Anne Beerhall is a classic Bavarian-style beer hall and gastropub inside a trendy, modern, industrial-chic warehouse space.

It’s the perfect spot to grab a local or imported pint while you watch a sports game with friends. It’s family-friendly and has a dog-friendly patio, with an adults-only after-hours schedule that starts at 10 pm.

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Their weekday happy hours have cheap liter-sized mugs of beer and discounts on their signature soft-baked pretzel with beer cheese or decadent Smashburger.

I recommend going with a crowd for lunch or dinner to sample a wide variety of incredible bar fare, from Mexican street corn to fried chicken and waffles.


The Masonry

20 Roy St, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-453-4375
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The Masonry is an artisanal beer and pizza pub in Queen Anne with a rotating tap menu of 14 craft beers to pair with a gourmet menu of wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas, salads and spreads.

The modern, industrial-chic dining space has massive, vibrant murals covering the cement walls with an open kitchen where you can watch your pizzas being made and fired while you sip a cold beer.

Pizza chefs have mastered the art of Neapolitan pizza making, achieving perfectly bubbly and charred crusts.

My favorite specialty pie is the Three B’s with bechamel, bacon, balsamic red onion, gruyere, kale, black pepper, and parmesan.


Black Bottle Gastrotavern

2600 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206-441-1500
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Black Bottle Gastrotavern is an upscale cocktail bar and gastropub in a chic Belltown dining space with exposed brick walls, grand French doors and windows, and rich wood floors, tables, and bar stools.

The romantic atmosphere is a great destination for date nights and dinner parties alike. Black Bottle has a varied selection of wine and draft beers, but their cocktails are real showstoppers.

The refined New American menu features shareable plates of meat, seafood, vegetables, and flatbreads. I loved the spicy coconut lemon-ginger ceviche, served with taro chips. Save room for the utterly delicious lemon curd and ricotta cake with lavender crust.


Mantra Thai Restaurant & Bar

2720 4th Ave #116, Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206-659-0466
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Located next door to Tilikum Palace Café in Belltown, Mantra Thai Restaurant and Bar is a stylish and friendly Thai restaurant and cocktail lounge serving authentic regional Thai food.

The lovely and large dining space has elaborately tiled floors and walls with various seating arrangements from booths to counter seating to a gorgeous private lounge area.

Mantra has all your favorite Thai dishes like curries, pad Thai, spring rolls, fried rice, and more. I recommend their pineapple fried rice with fried egg, onions, cashew nuts, raisin, pineapple, and cucumber with your choice of protein.


Collections Café

305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-753-4935
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Collections Café is as much a tourist attraction as a culinary destination as it’s inside the stunning Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit and famed glass artist Chihuly himself designed and built the dining space.

You’ll be dining inside a literal work of art adorned with artifacts and pieces from various collections Chihuly curated and created, hence the name, Collections Café.

The café serves high-end New American dishes, sandwiches, coffee, and artisanal sodas. Kids will love their vanilla ice-cream root beer floats.

They make delicious codfish and chips with hand-dipped, herbed, and beer-battered cod with granny smith apple slaw, herbed remoulade, and French fries.


MOD Pizza

Armory, 305 Harrison St Ste 221, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-428-6315
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Founded in 2008 by Ally and Scott Stevenson, MOD Pizza is a pizza restaurant with a cause, striving to provide equal opportunities to workers that may experience discrimination in the workforce.

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Their all-inclusive philosophy also applies to pleasing their client base, offering a fully customizable menu of over 40 toppings and 5 sauces for their delicious thin-crust pizzas.

They have various locations around Seattle, including one inside Seattle Center directly below the Needle. While you can create your own pizza, they have amazing specialty combos.

My favorite was the Caspian with mozzarella, gorgonzola, barbecue chicken, barbecue sauce, and sliced red onions.


Premier Meat Pies

305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-466-1760
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Another Seattle Center restaurant, Premier Meat Pies is a casual, family-friendly global eatery specializing in meat pies from around the globe including novel American takes.

Meat pies are a popular European delicacy mainly found in the UK, but also popular in Australia.

Premier Meat Pie has a counter-service ordering format with a wine and beer bar to pair with a savory, buttery personal pie.

Whether you want an Irish stewed mean pie or a more English curry lamb meat pie, Premier Meat Pies offers countless varieties.

My favorite is the Tillamook Mac and Cheese Pie with elbow pasta, melted four-cheese sauce, and a breadcrumb topping.


Shaker + Spear

2000 2nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206-826-1700
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Shaker + Spear is a stylish and edgy New American coastal cuisine bistro led by award-winning executive chef Jay Donahue.

Located between Belltown and West Edge, the elegant, 65-seated dining space is a stunning and artistic architectural feat with equally creative dishes to match, using locally sourced ingredients and the Pacific coast’s bounty.

Chef Donahue draws from global cuisines to prepare fish and shellfish with diverse cooking techniques and flavor profiles.

I recommend the charred octopus with nduja, rapini, and citrus relish to start. I loved the scallops with beluga lentils, eggplant, carrot puree, and pecan golden raisin gremolata.


Betty

1507 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-352-3773
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Located in Upper Queen Anne, Betty is a sophisticated New American bistro and cocktail bar in a modern space adorned with colorful paintings from Bay Area artist Judah Thomas.

Owned by restaurateurs and chefs, Jesse Thomas, Angie Nelson, and Rob Nelson, Betty has a hip, low-key ambiance to enjoy a high-end multicourse meal.

The menu is a small yet perfectly curated selection of shareables, salads, and entrees with some incredible desserts. I enjoyed the butternut squash ravioli with kale pecan pesto, sundried tomatoes, and Manchego.

Save room for the peanut butter chocolate cake with chocolate buttermilk cake, peanut butter mouse, chocolate cream cheese frosting, and salted caramel.


CÔBA – Viet Kitchen & Ales

530 1st Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: 206-283-6614
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COBA is an upscale yet inviting Vietnamese restaurant and beer pub in Uptown, specializing in Saigon-style street food. COBA sources all ingredients from local ranchers, fishermen, and farmers while also offering a wide selection of craft beers from local microbreweries.

The vast menu at COBA features well-known and obscure Vietnamese dishes with authentic precision.

One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes is green papaya salad, and COBA makes a delicious version with prawns, shredded papaya, basil, fried shallots, peanuts, and fish sauce. They offer countless varieties of Banh Mi, Buns, Pho, and entrees. I loved their seafood Pho.


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Written by Brian Nagele

Brian attended West Virginia University, then started his career in the IT industry before following his passion for marketing and hospitality. He has over 20 years experience in the restaurant and bar industry.

As a former restaurant owner, he knows about running a food business and loves to eat and enjoy cocktails on a regular basis. He constantly travels to new cities tasting and reviewing the most popular spots.

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