Beecher's Handmade Cheese
At the corner of Pike Place and Pine Street, Beecher's lets you watch its cheesemakers at work while you eat. Order the mac and cheese, a grilled cheese or a soup at the cafe, then browse the cheese counter for Beecher's own cheeses and other American artisan picks, many from the Northwest. Tip: the cafe usually opens in the morning and stays open into the evening every day, with holiday changes.
Pike Place Chowder
Line up for a cup at Pike Place Chowder, which calls itself Seattle's iconic chowder destination, makes small batches daily with sustainable seafood and Market produce, and counts a long run of first-place wins at chowder competitions. Tip: if the Market line is long, the brand also runs a second spot on the fourth floor of Pacific Place, about a 10-minute walk away.
Daily Dozen Doughnut Company
Follow the smell to the Economy Building, just down the hall from DeLaurenti Food and Wine, where Daily Dozen fries its famous mini doughnuts as you watch. Grab a bag with a coffee and keep walking. Our Seattle doughnut guide has more.
Mee Sum Pastry
On Pike Place next to Mr. D's Greek Delicacies, Mee Sum Pastry has served Chinese dim sum and hom bow to Market crowds for about 40 years. The barbecue pork hom bow is the signature, with chicken, curried beef and vegetarian versions too.
The Crumpet Shop
Slow down with tea at The Crumpet Shop, founded in 1976 and still baking fresh crumpets daily alongside loose-leaf tea. It makes an easy breakfast before the Market gets busy.
Three Girls Bakery and Le Panier
Two long-running bakeries round out a morning graze. Founded in 1912, Three Girls Bakery is one of the Market's oldest businesses and was the first business licensed to women in Seattle; it sells croissants, pastries and fresh bread, and runs a lunch counter for soups and sandwiches. French bakery Le Panier opened on Pike Place in 1983 and bakes croissants, baguettes, macarons and pastries daily.
Sit-Down Meals with a View
Lowell's Restaurant and Bar
Enter from the Main Arcade and you may not realize Lowell's has three floors of seating, each looking over Puget Sound, the ferries and the Olympic Mountains. The space has been Lowell's since 1957, and it serves fresh seafood daily. Tip: on the first and third floors you order at the counter first, then find a view seat and your food follows.
The Athenian Seafood Restaurant and Bar
Open since 1909 in the Main Arcade next to Pure Food Fish, the Athenian promises a view of Puget Sound from every table, and film fans will know it from Sleepless in Seattle. Tip: the bar runs a happy hour on several weekday and Saturday afternoons; check the listing for current days.
Matt's in the Market
Climb to the top floor of the Corner Market, next to Storyville Coffee and Radiator Whiskey, for Matt's in the Market. The kitchen builds its menu every day around what the Market's farmers, fishmongers and butchers have on hand, filled out with Northwest ingredients. Tip: book ahead if you want dinner there.
Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar
For a casual seafood fix, Emmett Watson's opened in 1979 as the city's first oyster bar and still serves fresh oysters, fish and chips and local beer in the Soames Dunn building near the original Starbucks.
Dinner Destinations
Le Pichet
On First Avenue near Virginia Street, Le Pichet is a 32-seat French bistro and bar that opened in 2000 to recreate the neighborhood restaurants its owners loved in France. Tip: the slow-roasted chicken for two is the house signature, so plan for it when you book.
IL Bistro
Head down Post Alley toward the Market Theatre sign for IL Bistro, serving regional Italian food in an intimate dining room since 1975. It is a classic pick for a romantic night.
The Pink Door
Look for a pink door with no sign on Post Alley between Stewart and Virginia streets. The Pink Door pairs Italian-American cooking with cabaret, trapeze, live music and tarot, and its view deck overlooks Elliott Bay.
Place Pigalle and Maximilien
Two French rooms tucked behind the stalls trade on their windows. Place Pigalle serves locally sourced French food in an old-world parlor overlooking Puget Sound, with a summer patio, while Maximilien, near Don and Joe's Meats and MarketSpice, has served French-inspired dinners under huge bay windows since 1977.
Sushi Kashiba
Right next to the Market, Sushi Kashiba is the counter of Shiro Kashiba, a three-time James Beard nominee often called the grandfather of Seattle sushi. Tip: counter seatings start at set times in the evening; a few seats per seating are reservable online, and the rest go to walk-ins, with same-day sign-ups in person.
