SEAGuide
The Restaurants & Bars Featured On "Love Is Blind," Ranked
Which Seattle restaurants and bars featured on "Love Is Blind" are worth it? Which aren’t? Will we ever find out what’s in those golden wine glasses? Your questions, answered.
The last time a reality TV show was based in Seattle, it was 2017. Beyonce had just announced she was having twins, and members of The Real World cast were spotted at Aston Manor. Now, Rumi and Sir are almost seven years old, Aston Manor closed and the space is now a gym, and Seattle has been overdue for a pop culture moment.
So when Netflix announced Seattle would host season four of Love Is Blind, the PNW collectively gasped. And, while many of you were buzzing about your hairstylist's friend's sister who works with Irina, or how your physical therapist saw Paul on Hinge, we were thinking about the important stuff: where will the cast go out to eat and drink?
For strictly research purposes and definitely not because we are fans, we have been watching, rewinding, and sleuthing to put together a ranked list of all the spots the Love Is Blind cast hit in Seattle, from best to not-as-best.
THE SPOTS
When it comes to all of the restaurants and bars featured on the show, La Cocina Oaxaqueña hands-down serves the tastiest food, from griddled fish tacos and pork drenched in velvety mole to salsa as unlimited as Paul and Zack’s collective vocabulary. It’s never too crowded there, which makes this taqueria a solid spot for a heart-to-heart over margaritas.
Technically, there was no vérité shot inside Flight, but we’re excellent detectives, and noticed Paul gifted Micah a branded bag from this Capitol Hill wine bar as they strolled around Chophouse Row. Hopefully, said bag is full of dark chocolate bark strips loaded with olive oil and black pepper-toasted rice cereal and a miniature bottle of Piper Heidsieck. But it’s hard to go wrong with any of Flight’s gooey homemade bon bons.
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We loved that this Columbia City espresso bar got some shine. The terazzo-covered space set the scene for one of the most refreshing moments all season—when Micah’s family welcomed Paul with open arms, even though Micah’s dad suggested that Paul could be a serial killer. More than anything, we’re just happy to see cast members drink from regular coffee cups instead of those mysterious metallic goblets.
Love Is Blind must have made it their mission to hit every Capitol Hill Mexican spot, and Fogón is one of the best options for a big group dinner powered by fajitas and fluffy, homemade tortillas. Here, we witnessed the wholesome sisterhood between Tiffany and her loving friends over one too many batches of ultimate margaritas—Fogón serves theirs with the cocktail shaker full of leftovers, which contributed to a touching meeting between Tiff’s girls and Brett where the happy tears flowed like tequila.
Between the urban underground vibes, tin ceiling tiles, and luxe cocktails, Underbelly is an ideal venue for a big night out in Pioneer Square—so it’s fitting that the men have their bachelor party here. This basement bar serves drinks involving thai tea simple syrup, cola reductions, and coconut oil-washed bourbon. It also has natural wine and bites like garlic butter grilled cheese or tartes flambée with salmon and capers. Kwame calling Seattle "overpriced" and “not that great” was the most dramatic moment that went down, which honestly is the most Seattle-specific kind of drama that we can think of anyway.
Elsom Cellars is known for being a woman-owned winery that makes a fantastic grenache, but now, more importantly, it is known as the place where Josh gets way too drunk and Kwame says “compromise” for the 100th time. Elsom’s specialty is reds, but the albariño could win over a loyal pinot noir drinker. Rumor has it the cast brought their own Champagne to the winery—which is a little bit of a faux pas, and yet, it may bring us closer to finding out what exactly is in the iconic golden stemware.
This spacious self-pour wine bar was a great choice for Zack to meet Bliss’ mom and sisters. Although no food or wine was ordered in the scene, we hope for the sake of true love that they checked out the many taps of orange wine and split a carbonara flatbread. All in all, it’s heartwarming to see Bliss’ mom make Zack feel accepted here, and we may have even seen him blink once or twice.
Light Sleeper is an attractive natural wine bar where Paul and Micah talk about their future and the surplus of clothing that Micah owns. Admittedly, the scene is kind of a snooze fest, with the most exciting part being when the server accidentally drops a piece of silverware. Nevertheless, we applaud Paul and Micah for ordering some fancy snacks like cornichons and anchovies slicked with lemon oil—otherwise, the menu here is just OK. Ultimately, major props to Light Sleeper’s lovely indoor-outdoor window seat for looking nice on camera.
Micah’s longtime friend Shelby celebrates her birthday at The Alibi Room’s Greenwood location. It’s fun to see this place full of people wearing smart casual outfits when it’s typically suitable for eating mid-tier wood-fired pepperoni pizza in pajama pants. It’s also fun to finally see beverages poured in clear glassware for once. Paul puts up with a lot in this scene, and the only thing spicier than the rude comments from Micah’s tipsy pals is The Alibi Room’s mac and cheese.
Imagine spending weeks isolated in a pod, expressing your innermost thoughts to a wall, and just as you fall in love with said wall, you get dumped. Now imagine you hear rumors that the wall (person) is still interested. You agree to meet up, and they take you to a place where there are more taxidermy creatures than people. That’s Smith for you. Bliss could have seen Zack’s reunion choice as a red flag from a mile away, but nothing sweeps someone off their feet like preserved deer heads and creepy paintings, right? At least they have a great burger.
For such a high-stakes moment like Jackie sneaking around with Josh when she should be at a dress fitting for her wedding to someone else, the producers could have scouted a moody speakeasy, or Golden Gardens during a cotton candy-colored sunset. And yet, here we are at a goofy coffee shop in corporate South Lake Union. We’re not sure what’s more scandalous—the two of them smooching behind Marshall’s back, or the fact that they sat down without even ordering a latte.
This German beer hall is one of the last places we’d choose for dinner with the parents, right after power hour at Thomas Street Warehouse. And yet, Paul introduces his mother to Micah here, among the bratwurst, sticky tables, and hoards of college students. We know that this is supposed to be a special occasion, but we can’t stop thinking about the logistics of how Paul’s mom got a sun hat bigger than a Rhein Haus pretzel through airport security. Truly, what production assistant thought this place was a good idea?
Nothing says “bachelorette party” quite like Jell-O shots and feather boas at Unicorn. While the men of the show merely pretend to have a good time before marrying someone they’ve only known for 25 days, the women actually do. They dance on stage, drink overly sugary cocktails from the long-forgotten pod chalices, and hopefully enjoy Unicorn Balls—a.k.a. fried pork meatballs with ginger, jalapeño, and sweet chili aioli.
At one of our least favorite Mexican spots in town, two of the most toxic cast members meet for Happy Hour. And as Micah and Irina face off by the glow of a firepit, tensions are so high you could hear a stale tortilla chip snap. Micah makes it clear that Irina needs to back away from her man Paul, to which Irina replies with literally nothing of substance.
