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Oh Seattle – how I love thee! Scenic views of the city. Trees lining the neighboring hills. Coffee shops on every corner. An abundance of amazing places to eat. What more could you ask for from a Pacific Northwest city? Oh yeah, a food market!
Whether you are a first-time visitor to the city, or someone who likes to return time and again, Pike Place Market never disappoints.
Pike Place Market is a market where you can do some actual grocery shopping for fresh seafood, veggies galore, flowers for your dining table, and handmade local goods like honey and chocolate, etc. But let’s face it, you came here because you want to eat in the moment!
I haven’t had the pleasure of dining at every spot Pike Place has to offer, but I do have these few faves that I highly recommend you put on your list.
Beecher’s Handmade Cheese
1600 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101
http://www.beechershandmadecheese.com/
Beecher’s is the spot for cheese lovers! Whether you love a good mac or grilled cheese sandwich, you’ll want to put Beecher’s at the top of your Pike Place visit list.
Mac and Cheese
If you consider yourself a mac and cheese connoisseur, get yourself to Beecher’s – stat! Beecher’s mac and cheese is so creamy and the cheese sauce has a nice sharp flavor. It is so delicious!
I highly recommend the World’s Best if you just really want the flavor of the cheeses to come through. The mac and cheese includes a blend of cheeses, including their Flagship and Just Jack, along with spices and penne pasta.
If you’re tasting other things in the market, the 8 oz. is definitely filling enough, unless you’re sharing.
Grilled Sandwiches
If mac and cheese isn’t your thing, they also serve a variety of hot, grilled sandwiches, which are made to order. We tried the Chicken with Lil Mama’s Peppers and melty Flagship and Just Jack cheeses. High praises for this sammie!
Cheese Curds
Last but not least, we had to get some cheese curds, which were perfectly delicious fresh on their own. However, the real magic happened later that evening when we melted some curds on pieces of garlic toast. Highly recommend this late night snack!
Note: There’s normally a line for Beecher’s as it is a very popular spot to hit up. We were fortunate to get in line when it wasn’t snaking around the corner so the wait was not too bad. They move pretty quickly in there so the line does go fast, especially if you just want a cup of mac and cheese.
Pike Place Chowder
1530 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101
https://www.pikeplacechowder.com/post-alley-menu
The Chowder
If you’re visiting Seattle, you can’t pass up a good seafood chowder! But how do you choose which kind to get? Luckily you don’t have to limit yourself. Pike Place Chowder has a chowder sampler where you can get four 5-oz. samples of the different types of the chowder they serve. I highly recommend this so you can taste a variety of offerings!
We ordered from the online order pickup window (more on that below), and in doing so were limited to the following flavors:
- New England Clam Chowder (clams, bacon, cream, and herbs/spices)
- Smoked Salmon Chowder (nova smoked salmon, with flavors of capers and cream cheese)
- Market Chowder (daily chef’s choice of a variety of seafood)
- Seafood Bisque (cod, salmon, and shrimp with basil in a creamy tomato-based broth)
All of the above are incredibly delicious and creamy, but my favorite vote goes to the Smoked Salmon (and my husband’s to the Market Chowder). The side of bread that comes for dipping in the chowder is also amazing! Soft sourdough bread = the perfect partner to chowder.
Grab & Go Window
Here’s a little pro tip: the main storefront in Post Alley is probably going to be crowed with a very long line. Luckily, by happy accident, we found their to-go window inside the little shopping center down the hall, where you can place your order online and pick it up in less than five minutes!
If all you want is chowder, this is a nice little spot where you don’t have to wait in line. If you want fancier things like a lobster roll, or if you want to choose a different combination of chowders for your sampler, you’ll have to brave the long lines. It’s such a small sacrifice for good food though!
Piroshky Piroshky
1908 Pike Pl, Seattle, WA 98101
https://www.piroshkybakery.com
Holy. Baked. Goods. Piroshky Piroshky is definitely one spot you’ll not regret getting in line for! As with many other spots in Pike Place Market, lines for this shop can get quite lengthy. We found good success towards the end of the day (roughly around 4:00 p.m.).
While you’re waiting in line, they’ll pass menus around so you can plan your attack ahead of time – making it easy to spend less than a few minutes in the shop.
Piroshky Goods
The smells of cinnamon wafting through the air are enough to draw you to this delicious Russian bakery! We got the cinnamon and cardamom braid (lured in by the delicious smells) and the rhubarb piroshky. The cinnamon braid was very tasty, accented with raisins (I normally hate raisins but didn’t really notice them in here) and orange peel, finished with a honey lemon glaze and a dash of chocolate.
My favorite pastry was the rhubarb piroshky (which you can see in the making below). It was so fresh and the tangy rhubarb flavor balanced out the Bavarian cream and sugary dough. This has got to be the number one thing I will return to Piroshky for, time and again!
They do also serve savory piroshkies like potato and cheese, beef and cheese, and smoked salmon pate. And if you get addicted to piroshkies on your visit, you can order them online and have them shipped to you if you live out of state! (Totally doing this….)
Old Stove Brewing
1901 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98101
https://www.oldstove.com/
Finally, if you need a little something liquid to wash down all those carbs, Old Stove Brewing is a great pick! When we picked up our chowder at the to-go window at the market, we could see part of their brewery behind closed glass doors and were curious to seek out the tap room where we could have a seat and sip some cold drinks.
The beers here are excellent and the views of the waterfront can’t be beat! Seating is open, so snag one wherever you can. On a nice sunny day, get as close as you can to the outdoor space to soak in some of that rare PNW sunshine.
Recommended Beers
- Blackberry Sour (4.4% ABV): A tart and sweet kettle sour with blackberry puree (and a very pretty pink color)
- Umbrella Not Included – Juicy DIPA (9.5%): A top notch Double IPA with a very citrus-forward profile, including passionfruit (the most stand-out flavor), orange, and guava
- Ring of Fire Pepper Beer (6.4% ABV): This one is for unique flavor beer lovers – intense flavors of hatch chiles and jalapenos
- Dinger Juice (8.9% ABV): A nice, hazy Double IPA, also with a very fruit-forward flavor profile, with orange, apricot, and tangerine
Bottoms up!
Pike Place Wish List
Because our stomachs can only fit so much, I’ve made a list for other stops on our next visit:
- The Crumpet Shop (for some savory crumpets)
- El Borracho (because, tacos!)
- Elleno’s (Greek yogurt)
Tell me what your faves are if you’ve been to Pike Place before! And if you’re looking for more activities to do when in Seattle, check out this post.
Ohhh Moani, I love this post!! I agree 100% with everything you’ve included above, and I had NO idea about the takeaway ordering online! What an amazing secret tip! I am SO doing this next time because that line is always ridiculous during any season and time of day! Rachel’s Ginger Beer is also a must, and Ellenos Greek Yogurt is indeed amazing, but they also sell it all over PNW grocery stores now too, so you can get it at Whole Foods, PCC, etc. Now that we’re living back in Seattle, I can’t wait to go back and try as much as I can! I’ll have to get going on my blog again, but now I’ll be a Washington expert in addition to Hawaii! So excited to try all the things!
Hi Lisa!!! Hope you are settling back into Seattle nicely. Next time we’re up and you guys are all settled of course, I’ll let you know. We were there literally the same weekend you moved back. Lol. I wanted to try Rachel’s Ginger Beer too, but the line was so long that day! I can’t wait to see all the food exploring you do in Seattle. There’s so much good stuff!