Your birthday should feature one of the most memorable meals you have all year, in my professional opinion as host of “Seattle Eats.” But there are so many things to consider to find the right place for you.
Consider the size of your group, budgets, tastes, allergies, and how you want to celebrate.
I love to go to my favorite places in Seattle, like Szechuan Fish in the Chinatown International-District or L’Oursin in the Central District, order a big fish or steak frites family style with lots of sides. Or I go to a spa all day and eat big bowls of kimchi-jjigae (kimchi stew) on site. Or I might opt to go to a winery way out of town around the Gorge for lunch.
KUOW Photo/Brandi Fullwood
Friends share a full vat of spicy, tingling, numbing sichuan fish with sides.
Seattle has tons of worthy options to choose from, and narrowing down the list can be a task. To make things easier for myself this year, I asked Seattle critics and food writers to weigh in and recommend their picks for the finest birthday experiences.
Ruby de Luna, KUOW reporter
The Corson Building, Georgetown: “It is such an intimate setting. It’s rustic but charming and cozy. And, of course, the food is delicious. Even better if you could get a table on the patio.”
Monsoon, North Capitol Hill: “I would get the Dungeness Crab special. It’s cooked in a wok with garlic, peppercorn, shallot, and Chinese five spice. It is such a treat. And I think it’s tastier [and festive] if you eat it with your hands.”
Tan Vinh, Seattle Times food critic
Iconiq, Mount Baker: “I know you [Brandi] love L’Oursin and Bar Bayonne, both French-inspired. Well, this is French-Japanese-inspired. You want table number five or eight with a view of the skyline and sunset. Trust me on this. To start, I would get the miso succotash with burrata. For entree, the menu rotates constantly, but you can’t go wrong with a seafood dish and maybe a meat dish, like a duck leg, to share. And to finish, some soy sauce ice cream. I know it sounds weird, but [it’s] like a salted caramel flavor profile.”
KUOW Photo/Brandi Fullwood
Steak (minus frites) at L’Oursin in Seattle’s Central District.
Naomi Tomky, deputy editor of Seattle Met
No.9 Alley Hotpot, Bitter Lake: “I am recommending No. 9 Alley Hotpot for your birthday or really any great hotpot restaurant that isn’t so popular that they won’t let you reserve for a group. [No. 9 Alley just happens to be the one near me. So, here’s what you do: Gather your friends, order a ton of stuff, a few different broths, and just let everyone dig in. It’s a great way to get people together and not need to worry too much about logistics and, like, who ordered what. And it’s interactive, so everyone keeps chatting even if they don’t know each other. It’s delicious. It’s fun. What market you want?”
Jackie Varriano, Seattle Times food writer
Halfseas, Ballard: “If it was my birthday and it was a Tuesday, I would take myself to Halfseas wine bar with a bunch of my girlfriends, because on Tuesdays, they have a tarot card reader that comes, and it’s cavi-hour, which is half off caviar tins and $10 glasses of wine from 3 to 5 [p.m.]. So, I would go early. I would get a little dip, a little caviar, a wine. I would get my tarot cards read to set me up straight for the next year.”
Artusi and Ramie, Capitol Hill: “If it wasn’t a Tuesday, I would go out with my girlfriends to Artusi Bar, where we would share meatballs and an antipasto misto, and we would get bowls of pasta and risotto and just have the best time in that cozy bar. And then, once we thought we were so full we couldn’t eat anything else, I would bring us to Ramie right next door for dessert, because I think that Rami has some of the best desserts in the city. They’re always doing something so interesting with flavor combinations and textures, and there’s always a surprising element there and something that, even though you might not know you want it, you cannot stop eating it. And I just think that would be the perfect way [to celebrate]: a little coziness, a little deliciousness, your best friends.”
Harry Cheadle, food writer at Seattle Magazine
Rainier Restaurant, Rainier Valley: “[Rainier Restaurant] is a Vietnamese restaurant in the south end, and it is famous — like, it is like nationally famous. I think Anthony Bourdain ate there for its giant fried catfish, which has really flaky skin. And I believe you can make little, like, rolls out of the fish. And it is a great place for, like, big celebrations because they have that catfish.”
Me, Brandi Fullwood, host of KUOW’s “Seattle Eats”
Needle and Thread, Capitol Hill: One of my favorite picks, one that I think you would love, too, is Needle and Thread in Capitol Hill.
It’s a speakeasy that makes bespoke cocktails, the kind that you will splurge on. It’s reservation-only and password-protected. You pick up a phone, you say the password, and the vaulted door just swings open. Once you climb up the stairs, you can sit in a cozy little corner or at the bar, but the really fun part is how you order.
KUOW Photo/Brandi Fullwood
Bespoke cocktails at Needle & Thread, a speakeasy in Seattle, make for a perfect cheers.
You can go, like, a streamlined route — name a spirit, give a descriptive word like juicy or citrusy or spicy, and the bartender will make you something absolutely wonderful. Or you can play it up and make a request, like a creamsicle for adults or that deep breath when you finally reach the summit on a hike. I heard one time that someone came in on their 21st birthday and asked for a cocktail that represented the moment you finally beat your dad in a board game. That person ended up with leftover teen angst. So, it was bitter, it was sweet, it was very beer forward. It sounded like a better moment than a better cocktail, in my opinion.
The idea is you could go with a friend, a small group, or book out the whole place. I did that one year and got to collab on the cocktails, and I got to make up my own password.
Which restaurants in the the Seattle area have made your birthdays special? Send your spots to seattleeats@kuow.org.
Dining and Cooking