Dining

Seattle is a good city for restaurants. There are notable restaurants in all price ranges and for most major cuisines. Seafood is a very good bet. A number of restaurants have sprung up that serve what could be called "Northwest Cuisine," specializing in fresh local ingredients. European restaurants are well represented, with Italian being particularly strong. There are a large number of Thai restaurants that are consistently good, and a smattering of Vietnamese restaurants. There are a number of good Japanese restaurants. In addition to being a good place to eat, Seattle is also a good place to drink: there are several microbreweries that make very good beers, and Northwest wines are gaining increasing recognition. And places for good coffee and espresso? It's impossible to avoid them.

This information is courtesy the University of Washington Department of Computer Science with some recent modifications by the ICASSP '98 Organizing Committee. More extensive restaurant information can be found at Sidewalk.com or Seattle Yahoo .

The restaurants below are open seven days a week unless otherwise noted, but call to be safe. (All have the 206 area code). All are located within walking distance of the Washington State Convention Center, but for some areas, such as the International District, plan for a significantly longer walk. Restaurants are classified as inexpensive, inexpensive-moderate, moderate, moderate-expensive, and expensive.

None of these restaurants will disappoint. We should note that these selections and the accompanying comments are the personal opinions of various members of the University of Washington Departments of Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical Engineering.

Central Downtown

Dahlia Lounge, 1904 Fourth Avenue (between Stewart and Virginia), 682-4142 Moderate-expensive. Tom Douglas has been a pioneer in Northwest cuisine, and the food and decor here is eclectic.

Fullers, Seattle Sheraton Hotel, 1400 Sixth Avenue (between Pike and Union), 447-5544 Expensive. Elegant with a stunning display of Northwest glass artwork. Atmosphere and service are quite formal, at least by Seattle standards.

McCormick's Fish House and Bar, 722 4th Avenue (between Marion and Columbia), 682-3900 Moderate. A popular midtown fish house heavily populated with city hall types and tourists.

Metropolitan Grill, 820 Second Avenue (at Marion), 624-3287 Moderate-Expensive. A well-regarded steakhouse.

Nikko, Westin Hotel, 1900 Fifth Avenue (at Westlake), 322-4905 Moderate-Expensive. Historically the best sushi in Seattle. Robata too.

ObaChine, 1518 Sixth Avenue (between Pike and Pine), 749-9653. Moderate-Expensive. Wolfgang Puck expands North from Los Angeles. Pacific Asia and Indian food goes upscale. Colorful and well-executed.

Théoz, 1523 Sixth Avenue (between Pike and Pine), 749-9660. Moderate-Expensive. Innovative combinations of spices and flavorings with the freshest of Northwest ingredients.

The Painted Table, Alexis Hotel, 92 Madison Street (at First), 624-3646 Moderate-expensive. Interesting, well-prepared American/Northwest food in a very pretty setting. A good choice for a "typical Seattle" top restaurant.

The Palace Kitchen, 2030 Fifth Avenue (corner of Lenora), 448-2001. Moderate. Fun, but usually quite the wait. Applewood-grilled meats and fish. Great desserts. Run by the same Tom Douglas of the Dahlia Lounge.

Pike Place Market Area

Campagne, 86 Pine Street (between Stewart and Pine on Post Alley), 728-2800 Expensive. Superb French country restaurant. Within the top two or three best restaurants in Seattle.

Cafe Campagne, 1600 Post Alley (at Pine), 728-2233 A less formal, less expensive version of Campagne (above). Garlic mashed potatoes to die for.

Chez Shea, Corner Pike Place Market Building, Suite 34 (across from the clock, 2nd floor), 467-9990 Expensive. Tiny restaurant serving Northwest cuisine upstairs in the Market Building itself. Optimal choices of Northwest ingredients for their prix-fixe dinner. Closed Sunday and Monday.

The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley (between Stewart and Virginia), 443-3241. Moderate. Cheap wine and decent interesting pasta dishes. Fun, casual atmosphere, particularly when the outdoor deck is usable.

Place Pigalle, Pike Place Market, 81 Pike Street (down the walkway behind the pig), 624-1756. Moderate. Inside the market, great views, good fresh seafood.

El Puerco Llorón, 1501 Western Avenue (Pike Place Market Hillclimb), 624-0541. Inexpensive. Authentic Mexican food. Really sort of a cafeteria and take-out joint; worth a stop if you're there and hungry. Closes fairly early for dinner.

Etta's Seafood, 2020 Western Avenue (near north end of the Market), 443-6000. A less expensive, less formal, but still eclectic version of the Dahlia Lounge again conceived and managed by Tom Douglas.

Lamperia, 2400 1st Avenue (corner of Battery), 443-3301 Expensive. Exquisitely prepared food, Continental/Northwest. Some find it too formal, others rave. Some think the best in Seattle.

Wild Ginger, 1400 Western (at Western and Union), 623-4450. Moderate-Expensive. Innovative westernized Asian. Pleasant, stylish decor. Wildly crowded, but still a favorite.

Pioneer Square

Heading south along First Avenue leads past Pioneer Square at Yesler to a number of renovated turn-of-the-century office buildings with many art galleries and bars/cafes.

Al Boccalino, 1 Yesler Way (at Alaskan Way), 622-7688. Moderate-expensive. Reservations sometimes difficult. Definitely the best Italian food in town, with an un-stuffy atmosphere. Noisy. Closed Sundays.

Il Terrazzo Carmine, 411 First Avenue South (near King), 467-7797. Expensive. Classic Italian cuisine. Very good food in formal atmosphere. Closed Sunday.

Trattoria Mitchelli, 84 Yesler Way, 623-3883. Moderate. Open nearly all the time. It's only OK Italian food, but at 3 am who cares? The bar has decent pizza and calzone.

Viet My, 129 Prefontaine Place South, 382-9923. Inexpensive. Hole in the wall place with good Vietnamese food.

International District

An area east of the Kingdome surrounding Uwajimaya, the superb Asian supermarket.

Green Village, 72 South King, 624-3634. Moderate. Peking/Szechuan. Also, one of the few places in Seattle serving real Taiwanese food. Closed Sunday-Tuesday.

Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant, 651 South Weller, 382-9671. Moderate-Expensive. Not great decor, but really good food.

House of Hong, 409 8th Ave South, 622-7997. Inexpensive. Good Cantonese, but dim sum is the really strong suit here.

Little Bit of Saigon, 1036-A South Jackson St, 325-3663. Inexpensive. Good Vietnamese (predominantly Northern).

Ocean City Restaurant, 609 South Weller, 623-2333. Good for dim sum.

Thanh Vi, 1046 South Jackson, 329-0208. Inexpensive. Vietnamese (Southern).