SEAGuide
Where To Eat & Drink On Beacon Hill
If you’re spending some time south of I-90, this Beacon Hill guide is for you.
Beacon Hill is a big hill that stretches all the way from Mt. Baker to Rainier Valley and everything west of MLK Jr. Way, south of I-90, and east of I-5. If that sounded like random words to you, just know that this neighborhood is pretty massive. Beacon Hill has a great mix of residential areas, parks, and most importantly—restaurants and bars. Here are our top spots, from a bodega that serves Mexican street corn to one of the best places in town to eat Neapolitan pizza.
THE SPOTS
Eating dinner at Musang is like being a guest at someone’s home—and we’re not just saying that because this Filipino restaurant is located inside a renovated craftsman. Throughout our many visits here, we’ve joined in on dining room-wide toasts and “Happy Birthday” singalongs, which would be enough to make Musang an exciting place to have a meal. But we’d also sit in a dark coat closet just to eat their outstanding food. From juicy pork and shrimp lumpia with a crackly shell to a flame-seared short rib kare kare basted in peanut butter bagoong, these are dishes that make us want to stop everything and sing about them as if life were a movie musical. It’s possible to have a memorable evening celebrating virtually anything at Musang, even if the occasion is, “I composted my coffee grinds today instead of dumping them down the drain.”
Bar Del Corso doesn’t take reservations, and you’ll need to get there early in order to secure a table quickly (the closer to 5pm, the better). But it’s worth your trouble for this insanely good Neapolitan pizza with perfect black crust bubbles and toppings like buffalo mozzarella, goat horn peppers, and fennel sausage. There are also lots of small plates like burrata and fried risotto balls, and salads that make us sad when there’s none left on the plate. And, you get to cut the pizza with a personal pair of shears, just in case that’s something you’ve always wanted to do. Always end things with an affogato starring their homemade gelato.
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By Tae used to be a sushi counter that served excellent hand rolls before they closed in early 2021. Now, they’ve reopened in a brand new Beacon Hill space, but you won’t find any raw fish here. Instead, version 2.0 serves a short menu involving some of Seattle’s best Korean comfort food in a teal-decorated space that could really work for any situation. Sit at the bar for lychee soju sodas while snacking on steamed spam sliders with scallion mayo, pile in a booth with three friends and slurp kimchi-kicked sujebi, or punch a rainy day in the face with cheesy bean burritos dunked in smoky hot sauce. Everything is simple, but it's all executed so well that By Tae feels especially worthy of a big night out.
We hope you know that Hidden Valley is not a real place. But if it were, Homer would be where the parents go for date night after feeding their children a bottle of ranch dressing and sending them off to bed. It’s a Mediterranean restaurant that makes vegetables taste amazing, from burnt cabbage with stracciatella cheese and peanuts to charred carrots with a sauce that makes BBQ kind of look bad. The space (complete with baked pita smells and ostrich-printed wallpaper) is homey and cool at the same time, making it ideal for a date. And if you’re a meat-eater, never fear—the roasted chicken with fruit sauce is incredible.
MilkThe team behind Homer opened a casual counter spot exclusively serving fried chicken and soft serve (alongside odds and ends like curly fries and thick mozzarella sticks), and it’s a combination that seriously works. The greatest thing about Milk Drunk’s double-fried chicken is the coating, complete with the kind of thunderous crunch that fills your ears with noise when you take a bite. And unlike many fried chicken spots in town, there’s a kick of curry flavor in the slightly-puffy breading, which ends up tasting like a beautiful cross between a beer-battered fish fry and a pakora. Order strips of it, which you can dunk in herb-flecked green aioli, or on a sandwich (our favorites are the Original filled with mustard seed slaw and avocado and the spicy-sweet Nashville-style). You also have the option to sub in a portobello if you feel like eating more plants.
It goes without saying that you should order carnitas at Carnitas Michoacan, but we’ll say it anyway. This pork is fantastic. The result of a tangy marinade paired with a long braise is this happy marriage of tender, melty meat and crispy edge bits, honeymooning together inside tacos or burritos wrapped with fluffy homemade tortillas. Go nuts with any of their tasty salsas (we prefer the hot red). And while you’ll definitely want the carnitas in some form or another, the carne asada is the unsung hero—well-salted and juicy, it's excellent steak, and shines in a city that has a few too many tasteless versions.
If you take a shuttered travel agency, slap up some bricks and art deco bird-patterned wallpaper, and fill it with bottles of champagne, you get The Coupe & Flute. This funky little bistro is officially the best spot in town for sparkling wine, whether you casually enjoy bubbles or your phone’s lock screen is currently the French countryside. Come here on a late afternoon to sip fizzy wine alongside snacks like battered prawns tossed in tamarind BBQ sauce, pomme frites with Sichuan chili mayo, and gnocchi with green pea pesto. It’s all served without any pretentiousness—the staff won’t assume you’re a viticulture novice, but they also won’t totally leave you on your own to navigate the world of carbonated grape juice. And with other drinks like spritzes, non-alcoholic aperitifs, and bottles of white, red, and rosé, you don’t have to be champagne-obsessed to appreciate a night out (or a weekend brunch) here.
The Flora Bakehouse is not just a great place to grab a cheddar-chive scone, pink-frosted fudgy vegan brownie, or double-baked almond croissants so flaky that you should consider avoiding if you have trypophobia. (But devour them if you don’t). This Beacon Hill spot also happens to have a fantastic u-shaped rooftop that’s perfect for an afternoon work session al fresco. And by work session, we hope you know that we mean leisurely iced cardamom rose latte on a picnic table in the sun while doodling in the Moleskine journal you purchased with your company card. (This place doesn't have WiFi.)
Perihelion is our favorite place for beer south of I-90, and as an added perk, their food is the perfect accompaniment to pints of apricot sour. We’re talking rigatoni mac and cheese with gorgonzola, salty shoestring fries, soft pretzels, and a cheeseburger topped with melty pork belly and chile aioli. The staff is very friendly, there’s an outdoor firepit, and it’s 325 feet away from the Beacon Hill light rail station. The only negative thing we can find is that they’re closed on Mondays.
For some people, happiness is a bath bomb and a glass of red. For us, it’s a pile of house tacos at Tacos Chukis, where marinated pork gets all mixed up with cheese, grilled pineapple, and avocado salsa. You can keep your tub full of glitter and rosehips. Just give us the Tacos Chukis.
The lesser known (but possibly better) type of Chicago-style pizza is called pan pizza. It’s still thick, but is layered like a traditional pie complete with crispy, caramelized edges. You can find it in Seattle at Breezy Town inside Clock Out Lounge. While everyone else in the house is doing Monday night karaoke, you can be eating these sourdough pies with toppings like pepperoni and Beecher’s cheese curds. There are rotating slice specials, too (though we recommend doing a full fresh pie), and a couple salads. Add a side of caramel and cheesy popcorn and a cold beer, and you’ll be set.
We wish we could walk into any convenience store and come out with a cob of Mexican street corn. La Tienda Mexicana El Oaxaque is a tiny bodega with hand-painted signs and a big rainbow umbrella that sells mostly groceries and dried grasshoppers, but they have a cart in the front where you can order elotes on a stick or in a cup. It’s $3, incredibly satisfying, and goes perfectly with a few slices of fresh mango topped with chile, which you can also get here.
Allow us to introduce you to some incredible tamales. Cafetal Quilombo is a counter service Mexican restaurant, and while you could tacos or a burrito, you’re here for the tamales - especially the green chicken one doused in homemade salsa. This place also doubles as a coffee shop, so a creamy iced horchata latte is a thing that you can (and absolutely should) order along with your tamales.
The takeout operation in here is really fast, but we prefer sitting down at Nikos at a table with a covering that looks like fine blue china. They make some excellent avgolemono (chicken and rice stew), and it’s even better with a squeeze of lemon. We like to order it alongside the lamb gyro sandwich stuffed with tzatziki and feta.
We found a potsticker filling so juicy and perfect that it doesn’t even need a dunk in soy sauce. You can find them at Dim Sum House, a small white-tablecloth Chinese restaurant with a ton of options from wontons to stir fry. Not everything’s a hit here, so make sure the aforementioned potstickers make an appearance at your table as well as the delicious siu mai.
