Restaurant Guide Seattle Rider
Places to go for lunch after the tour
Besalu .4
5909 24th Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Pastries, quiche and coffee.
Scooter's Burgers .5
5802 24th Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Closest burger from the Tour. Hamburgers and Fries.
Matador .7
5410 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Mexican inspired food and drink. Usually able to find a table when everywhere else is booked.
Hot Cakes .7
5427 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Across from Salt and Straw. Have your cake and ice cream together.
5420 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, 98107
Across from Hot Cakes. Have your cake and ice cream together.
Kiss Café .9
2817 NW Market St, Seattle 98107
Lunch place with many vegetarian options. Ask for a socially distance Kiss at the end of the meal.
Sabine .9
5307 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Often a line. Sabine has outdoor seating and vegan/vegetarian options. Doesn’t take reservations.
National Nordic Heritage Museum .9
2655 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107
The museum is dedicated to the history of the Nordic immigrants to the U.S.
Inside is Freya Café open for coffee, sweet pastries and fika. The museum itself is worth seeing, and the exhibits are always remarkable. Admission to the museum is not required to grab coffee there. Open Wednesday through Sunday.
5315 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Cold, Hot and Custom built sandwiches. The regular size sandwich is big enough share.
Sloop .9
2830 NW Market St, Seattle 98107
Sells the most draft Rainier Beer in the state. Lots of taps and lots of to bar grub. You can Sloopersize your beer to 33.8oz. Opened in 1953. It has two great murals on each side worth checking out.
Asedro 1.0
5405 Leary Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Mexican steakhouse. Order entrée and share the sides. Prices are reasonable for Seattle.
Monkey Bridge 1.0
1723 NW Market St, Seattle 98107
Vietnamese restaurant with pho, banh mi sandwiches and other dishes. Has vegetarian options.
Cycle Dogs 1.0
5410 17th Ave NW, Seattle 98107
100% Vegan. Serves vegan hot dogs and hamburgers. You can get a Seattle Dog,that’s a hot dog (field roast) with cream cheese.
Lockspot Café 1.1
3005 NW Locks Pl, Seattle 98107
A classic fish & Chips and chowder house that’s nearly 100 years old. At the entrance to the locks.
Mean Sandwich 1.3
1510 NW Leary Way, Seattle 98107
Some say Mean Sandwich makes a Mean Sandwich. From the outside looks like a place to avoid. It won’t, however, disappoint a serious sandwich eater. Large sandwiches and beer.
Ray’s Cafe 1.4
6049 Seaview Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Started in 1939 as a bait house and boat rental. Today it’s seasonal seafood, and a great view of the Sound and the Olympics. It’s also the place to view sea lions. And when the tide changes you can see “surfers” riding the waves.
Mike’s Chili 1.4
1447 NW Ballard Way, Seattle 98107
Around the corner from Trader Joe’s, also looks like a holdout. Featured on Diners,
Drive-Ins and Dives. Best bowl of Chili in Seattle.
Home to 15+ craft breweries within a one-mile radius. Between NW 54th Street and NW 46th Street and 8th Ave NW and 17th Ave NW. Some serve food, many food trucks near. They are: Bad Jimmy’s, Hale’s Ales, Lagunitas, Lucky Envelope, *Maritime Pacific, Urban Family, Obec, Peddler, Fair Isle, Reuben’s, Stoup, Wheelie Pop, Great Notion, Bale Breaker, Tail Bend, Cloudburst, Bale Breaker…
*oldest
Dick’s Drive-In 1.9
9208 Holman Rd NW, Seattle 98117
Also in Wallingford, on Broadway, and Queen Anne. Started in 1954, that’s one
year before McDonald’s. Dick’s is Seattle’s classic fast food hamburger joint. Pays better than comparable fast food restaurants and provides tuition and health care for workers.
Uneeda Burger 2.9
4302 Fremont Ave N, Seattle 98103
The building was originally Uneeda Boat and Auto Rebuild, the restaurant owners kept the name. Same owners as the Walrus and the Carpenter. Almost always voted best burger in Seattle.
Pacific Inn Pub 3.7
3501 Stone Way North Seattle 98103
21 + Anthony Bourdain's first meal in Seattle was fish n' chips, lightly fried, at the Pacific Inn Pub. He called it a dive bar in funky Fremont. It’s near the Brooks Shoes World headquarters.
Agua Verde Café 4.9
1303 NE Boat St, Seattle 98105
Classic place on Portage Bay near the University of Washington. Baja style Mexican place open for lunch and dinner. In the summer Marina Cantina is open for outdoor seating. A fun quick place on the water.
Jack’s Fish Spot 5.9
1514 Pike Pl, Seattle 98101
Counter place in Pike Place market. Family owned and operated since 1982. Serves fresh seafood at reasonable prices. Has live clams and crabs in tanks all around the counter. Vincent, who travels to Seattle every year and has taken the tour 3 times, says this is his favorite place to eat.
Places to go for Dinner
Copine .1
6460 24th Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Contemporary with French Technique. Set menu. Limited days.
6415 32nd Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Traditional Italian. Away from everything else. Friendly neighborhood setting. Always a table, it’s big.
Sailfish .7
2221 NW Market St, Seattle 98107
Opened in the fall of 2022. A Northwest Seafood place with a global influence.
2409 NW Market St, Seattle 98107
Unique burgers with local, organic ingredients. There are veggie options.
Skal .7
5429 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107
In Viking it means Cheers. Skal is a Viking inspired beer hall that highlights the origins of Ballard as a Norwegian fishing village. The menu is based on what you might find in a Viking butcher shop, such as pork sausage, braised leg of lamp, and pickled herring.
Moshi Moshi .8 Shiku Sushi .9
5324 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107 5310 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Two sushi places on Ballard Avenue. Besides sushi Moshi Moshi has a lot of other offerings considered Japanese comfort food. Shiku Sushi also has a varied menu with an extensive bar.
San Fermo .8
5341 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
A friendly Italian restaurant in what looks like the last single family home on Ballard Avenue. Has vegetarian options.
El Borracho .8
5465 Leary Ave NW, Seattle 98107
The vegan Mexican restaurant in Ballard. Opens at 4.
5239 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Opened for dinner. Barbeque people love BitterRoot and you have to be a Barbeque
person to enjoy it.
5233 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Nice bar with specialty cocktails. Ask for the In Percy’s We Trust and the bartender will bring you what he or she thinks you’d like. Has food but I’d meet here after dinner.
5135 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
The Splintered Wand is a wizard pub, wand shop, and spell builder. The cocktails and entertaining waiters get good reviews.
4743 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
This is Ballard’s Oyster place. When it first opened it had a three-month wait list. The name is from a poem by Lewis Carroll who also wrote Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland.
Ray’s Boathouse 1.4
6049 Seaview Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Started in 1939 as a bait house and boat
rental. Today it’s seasonal seafood, and a
great view.
Chinooks 2.3
1900 W Nickerson St #103, 98119
Located in Fishermen’s Terminal. Features wild caught salmon.
Palisades 4.2
2601 W Marina Pl, Seattle 98199
Located at Smith Cove. It is a place to celebrate something, especially a financial windfall. Beautiful setting with a view of downtown Seattle and the Sound.
Ivar’s Salmon House 4.4 Ivar’s Acres of Clams 6.2
401 NE Northlake Way, Seattle 98105 1001 Alaskan Way Ste. 102, 98104
Acres of Clams on the downtown waterfront opened in 1938 and Salmon House on Lake Union in 1954. These are fine dining places on the casual side. Don’t be confused by the many Ivar’s Fish and Chips fast food places. The Salmon House is inspired by the cedar long houses of the Northwest Natives. Ivar was a local legend and sponsored the 4th of July fireworks both on the waterfront and at Lake Union.
Tai Tung 7.0
655 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104
Seattle’s oldest Chinese restaurant opened in 1935. Bruce Lee, the Iron Chef, and Anthony Bourdain have eaten here. Take your picture below the restored Tai Tung Chop Suey sign or inside with the Bruce Lee cutout.
MUSIC VENUES
5213 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
All types of musicians perform here. Some shows are seated, most are not. The Tractor has hosted many big name bands in the past.
21+
5433 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Multiple bands almost every night. The front bar is called Betty’s Room and has a photo booth. 21+
5140 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
Lots of country, bluegrass, folk, open mic… 21+
5100 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
More likely to find a burger and a beer here but does have bands on certain nights. 21+
1707 NW Market St, Seattle 98107
Live Jazz, local musicians almost every night. Does serve Mediterranean food. The owner’s grandfather fronted Happy Jack Egan and his Oo-La Girls. All ages
513 N 36th St, Seattle 98103
In the Fremont neighborhood, bands nearly every night. Does feature many emerging acts. Most take the stage at 8:00 or 9:00 pm. 21+
645 NW 45th St, Seattle 98107
Substation has a couple of stages. Also features emerging acts, for some shows tickets are less than a movie. 21+
Places to get a cup of Coffee
4001 21st Ave W, Seattle 98199
Near the Fishermen’s Terminal. Has it’s own roaster I stop here on wet rides to warm up. Coffee lovers will return here the next day.
7001 24th Ave NW 98117
Just up the street from Seattle Rider Tours starting location. If you find yourself in an urgent need for coffee, Mabel is a close friendly stop.
5308 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle 98107
This is a small independent coffee shop on Ballard Avenue. Also sells wine.
400 N 43rd St, Seattle 98103
In Fremont about a mile from the Troll Lighthouse roasts all its own coffee in the one and only location.
1912 Pike Pl, Seattle 98101
Located in the Pike Place Market downtown. It has the original logo and there’s always a long line outside. There are over 20,000 Starbuck locations in the world and this is the oldest.