Tom Douglas's Guide to Where to Eat in Seattle, WA

Tom Douglas's Guide to Where to Eat in Seattle, WA:


Our buddy Tom Douglas is perhaps Seattle's best-known chef-restaurateur. He has two pizzerias, a bakery, a Greek spot, a tavern, a seabar, a biscuit-erie (yes, it's now a word), and other eateries all over town. The man knows how to feed people—and he also knows how to feed himself! Tom shared his favorites for pizza, doughnuts, dive bars, and more around Seattle (and some of his picks happen to be some of his restaurants).


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Best Ice Cream: For gelato, Procopio in the Pike Place Market. For creamy, Old School Custard.

Best Chocolate: For "bean to bar" chocolate, Theo's in Fremont. For truffles, Fran's Chocolates.

Best Bread Bakery: For rustic bread, Columbia City Bakery. For the perfect French baguette, Le Panier in the Pike Place Market.



Clam and Pancetta from Serious Pie. [Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Best Pizza: For pizza from a wood burning oven, Serious Pie [see Slice review here]. For delivery, Pagliacci Pizza.

Best Dive Bar: For a dive bar with a view, the Athenian, in the Pike Place Market since 1909. Don't need a view? Try the Nitelite in Belltown.



Beecher's Cheese. [Photograph: Erin Zimmer]

Best Cheese: My favorite hard cheese is Beecher's Truckle, while my soft pick is a Mount Townsend Seastack.

Best Cocktail Bar: For classy, the elegant Canlis. For trashy, Hattie's Hat in Ballard.

Best Sandwich: For American, order a BLT at Dot's Delicatessen in Fremont. For international, a pork banh mi at Pho Cyclo.



Top Pot Doughnuts truck. [Photograph: Jay Friedman]

Best Doughnut: For a nouveau doughnut, try the cinnamon-sugar-dusted ethereal puffs of brioche we call Dahlia doughnuts. For a classic doughnut, go to Top Pot (multiple locations and a truck).

Favorite Vendor at Pike Place Market: For cured meat, Bavarian Meats. For fresh meat, Don and Joe's Meats.



The original Starbucks location. [Photograph: Erin Zimmer]

Best Coffee Shop: I love coffee with a pastry at Besalu in Ballard. For a solo cup, the Starbucks in the Pike Place Market.

Best Breakfast: Lola serves my favorite upscale breakfast. When I'm in the mood for classic American breakfast I head to Vera's in Ballard.



Dick's Drive-in. [Photograph: Robyn Lee]

Best Take Out: Lowbrow pick is Dick's Drive-In. For highbrow, it's the Rub with Love Shack (next to Seatown).

Best Happy Hour: For trashy, Brave Horse Tavern in South Lake Union. For classy, the Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard.