SEAGuide
The Seattle Restaurant Week Menus We Actually Think Are Worth It
photo credit: Nate Watters
If the term “Seattle Restaurant Week” means nothing to you, we can help. For two weeks between April 14th and April 27th, restaurants all over the city offer prix fixe lunch and dinner deals from $20 to $65. What they offer is up to them. But whether or not it’s actually worth leaving the house for—well, that’s up to us. While some spots might just use SRW as an excuse to upcharge you for low-value afterthoughts, several menus are more promising. We’ll continue to update this guide as we find more specials we like.
THE DEALS
The Deal: $50 Three-Course Dinner (Tuesday-Friday)
We couldn’t be happier that Aburiya Bento House is participating—this Japanese spot in Belltown knows how to torch great seafood on a daily basis. They’ll serve their greatest hits, like ponzu-dressed tuna tataki and a nine-piece box of fresh and seared nigiri. It’s some of the best sushi in town, and the price is an added bonus.
The Deal: $50 Three-Course Dinner (Daily)
For SRW week, this light-filled Phinney Ridge place that screams “two million dollar starter home” includes predictable plates like crudo and pork chops. But given the general lack of nicer restaurants in Phinney Ridge, it’s worth a shot for date night. The campanelle with ricotta and in-season english peas also sounds like a good springtime meal.
The Deal: $35 Dinner (Daily)
This Ethiopian restaurant indeed lives up to its name. And for a dinner deal that’s $15 less expensive than most SRW menus, we can get behind that. Plus, you receive both a veggie combo and a meat combo that together could easily feed two or three people.
photo credit: Nate Watters
The Deal: $20 Dinner (Daily)
We love this Phinney Ridge spot for drowning out the day’s noise with Hainanese chicken rice. Since one plate of poultry will run you between $16 and $24 on a normal night, the value of Ginger & Scallion’s Restaurant Week menu will be determined by whether they decide to serve the pricier chicken. Let’s hope for the rice wine-seeped dark meat.
photo credit: Nate Watters
POWERED BY
The Deal: $65 Small Plates (Daily)
It's easy to rack up the bill on teeny tiny tapas at Maripili, but let it be known that you'll get 12 different Spanish small plates in this deal. For a meal that'll involve scallops, Dungeness crab, monkfish liver, sea urchin, iberico pork, suckling pig, and two desserts, you're essentially (legally) stealing from this restaurant.
photo credit: Nate Watters
The Deal: $65 Dinner (Daily)
$65 per person for Korean BBQ is not the screaming deal we all want it to be (welcome to 2024). But considering that Meet’s meal includes fancier cuts like wagyu zabuton and berkshire pork belly, that’s worth something. You’ll also receive seven starters and conclude the celebratory evening of grilled meat with ice cream.
The Deal: $65 Dinner For Two, $35 Dinner For One, $20 Brunch For One (Sunday-Thursday)
Mioposto’s antipasti-salad-pizza-tiramisu lineup includes a glass of wine, which is key. Give us a goblet of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc for all we care—that’s a solid bargain, especially since there’s an extra appetizer thrown into the mix. During brunch, one main (like the fantastic breakfast pie) and a Bloody Mary is a cool $20.
The Deal: $35 Dinner, $20 Lunch (Daily)
Any extended period of time at this Maple Leaf Latin American spot is a party—with or without discounts. Their dinner includes a crispy Colombian empanada, hearty entrees like a half chicken in white wine sauce or lechon asado, tres leches cake, and their namesake drink. After crunching the numbers, you save around $10.
The Deal: $35 Dinner (Daily)
We love this Central District Vietnamese spot for its crispy caramelized prawns, vermicelli noodles in silky curry broth, and pastrami fried rice with chili jam. If you choose the spicy crab- and pork-stuffed wontons alongside five-spice duck confit, you already save a cool dollar, and then there's Vietnamese coffee crème brûlée involved afterward.
The Deal: $35 Dinner (Daily)
One of our favorite Italian restaurants in town is keeping SRW relatively uncomplicated—two courses that will change every night, just like its regular menu. We love a drama-free bowl of carbs, and it’s a good opportunity if you’ve never had a meal inside this rickety historic home.
POWERED BY
The Deal: $50 Dinner (Sunday-Thursday)
This seafood-focused wallet-emptier in Bellevue understands SRW. At Seastar, you’re essentially saving upwards of $30 per person on a meal that tastes like a really good plated dinner at a wedding. Your focus should be on the silky clam chowder followed by parmesan-crusted petrale sole with mashed potatoes followed by flourless chocolate cake. To the happy couple (you).
The Deal: $50 Dinner (Daily)
At this usually pricey Capitol Hill bar, they're serving a $50 surf-and-turf bento box involving wagyu soboro, corn with uni butter, a lobster tail, and fried asparagus. It's not a bad deal for multiple luxe ingredients packed on the same plate.
