A great wine can make your meal; a great view can make it spectacular. Time to visit (or re-visit!) Pacific Northwest restaurants known for perfecting pairings of outstanding regional cuisine and breathtaking windows on the places that inspire it. Some require a drive (or a great weekend getaway?); all are well worth the trip.
Summit House in Enumclaw
When your table is surrounded by the region’s best-known peaks (Baker, Adams, Rainier, Mt. St. Helens), you will never not have a jaw-dropping backdrop to a menu of hearty, fish-focused lodge food. Preview the view on the gondola up to Washington’s highest-elevation restaurant.
Hama Hama Oyster Saloon in Lilliwaup
Here’s where you’re actually in the view. From your A-frame covered (and heated!) outdoor picnic table on the Hood Canal tidal flats, feast on fresh-caught local oysters, crab cakes, hearty clam dishes and (if you’re lucky) a bowl of Dan Fisk’s Yodelin Broth Company soup.
The Pickled Fish in Long Beach
At the only peninsula restaurant with ocean views, delicious entrees including umami candied salmon, lavender crusted albacore, duck, and wagyu cheeseburgers are 80 percent locally sourced – and complemented with craft cocktails.
Closer to home, don’t let Sky City at the Needle’s tourist-centric Seattle location discourage you from enjoying unbelievable 500-foot, 360° rotating view of the Emerald City and surrounding mountains with your ahi tuna, Alaskan halibut or Bering Sea king crab. And Ray’s Boat House is a perennial favorite for brilliant Puget Sound sunsets and chefs who know that simple preparations are the secret to making fresh seafood shine.
