Seattle’s equivalent of Paris cafe culture perches on Post Alley. Chef Daisley Gordon does right by classic dishes—quiche, pan-roasted chicken, oeufs en meurette—and instills in his kitchen the sort of perfectionism that renders even the simplest asparagus salad or brunchtime brioche french toast memorable. The patio embraces another hallmark of Parisian cafe culture: watching all the people go by.

A dining room hidden on the second floor might as well be the market’s culinary epicenter—collegial by day, elegant by night, and fiercely beloved by locals. Owner Dan Bugge’s market tenure dates back to his days as a fishmonger/thrower downstairs, but chef Matt Fortner stewards the Northwest menu (and restores a Matt to the premises for the first time since the days of founder Matt Janke).

Matt’s in the Market’s sibling tavern across the hall is all about dark wood and playful meat flexes. Roasted bone marrow (served traditionally or as a luge) and fried pig ears share menu space with brisket, fried pork shank, and a spectacular fried chicken sandwich. Great for dinner, or just a barrel-aged drink and a plate of whole chicken wings.

Seattle sushi legend Shiro Kashiba is the reason people queue up for a spot at the 14-seat sushi bar and perhaps the most pristine sushi experience Seattle has to offer. If you’re more into reservations than long waits, the dining room offers the same omakase menu as the counter, plus classic Shiro dishes a la carte.

Don’t misunderstand—the name refers to chef Tom Douglas’s line of meat rubs, which flavor everything from salmon entrees to fish tacos. Douglas’s spot adjacent to the market has settled into a fish shack identity that fits the area well: fish and chips, crab dishes, even a fancy shellfish tower, all served with prime market views. His next-door spot, Etta's, recently became a barbecue restaurant.

A signless entrance in Post Alley leads to a cavernous theatrical dining room, not to mention a patio absolutely worth braving the tourist hordes on summer afternoons: a light-strung, lattice-shaded hideaway where you can drink negronis against an Elliott Bay backdrop. The menu is straightforward Italian, the lasagna its star.

Man, Pike Place Market has a lot of great French spots. One of them, a Seattle institution, lies just outside the market proper, but still within the Pike Place Market Historical District. This pathologically good Parisian bistro weaves Northwest seasons into a classic menu that sparks with finesse. The roast chicken is a signature, but the charcuterie board is among the city's best.

Just beyond the fish-throwing madness, a casual French bistro clings to the back of the market, offering stunning water views and appropriately Gallic cocktails. Given the location, Pigalle could totally phone it in, but both food and service have stood the test of time. Mussels and escargot are longtime favorites. The patio is tiny, but its scant tables give you the feeling of being suspended in the heart of the market.

This unassuming contemporary Moroccan restaurant flies largely under the radar, despite memorable food and a distinct space on the market’s second floor (it’s the one with the glass greenhouse–esque structure). Dishes like koufta, tagine, and savory chicken pie are accompanied by an unexpectedly solid lineup of wines.

This cheesemaker and cafe counter is a Pike Place Market poster child: Passersby can watch cheesemaking in real time, or get in line to order decadent grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. The signature mac and cheese is equally decadent, and—better yet—easy to eat while walking around.

Leila Rosas and her family cook the sort of homestyle Filipino food that draws locals, visiting food TV shows, and hungry market employees. The menu varies—pancit noodles, braised chicken or pork adobos sinigang of salmon collar, often dinuguan in the summer. O-Mart began in 1971, and won a James Beard America’s Classics Award in 2020. Another reason to love this place: Its layers of hand-scrawled, feisty signage (“We don’t have a ‘menu’ ’cus I cook what I want”).

Turin native Michela Tartaglia runs a hidden-away pasta counter directly above the market atrium; it serves four daily bowls that always include meat, seafood, and “from the garden” renditions. What this means: a different menu each time you visit, and memorable partnerships between seasonal ingredients and pasta shapes, like tortiglioni with speck and ricotta, or gemelli with caramelized pears, gorgonzola, and walnuts.

An otherwise unassuming deli has a mind-boggling breadth of panini, salads, and breakfast items. One trip down the long glass case could net you arancini, tamales, a two-tomato and brie sandwich, soba noodles, and a nanaimo bar for dessert. Some menu items outshine others (it’s helpful that you can see all the wares in the case before you make a choice) but the option to order a $5 half-sandwich makes this one of the best lunch deals in the market.

An unexpected bastion of Brittania is all about crumpets, griddled rounds of bread that look like english muffins but taste closer to a pancake. This breakfast and lunch cafe has been around since 1976; it serves its wares in sandwich form—filled with scrambled egg, or pesto, tomato, and ricotta—but a simple butter and honey combo plays up the crumpet’s subtly porous texture.

The 76-year-old grocer has a magical ability to provide us with the provisions we seek (cheese, locally made hot sauce, so much olive oil, exactly the right bottle of wine) but also a sturdy slice of Sicilian-style pizza or hot panini for lunch. Head upstairs to find a few tables.

The Pike Place Market biscuit shop couples its airy, square-shaped creations with a few ingredients from its neighbors: Beecher’s Flagship cheese, Bavarian Meats bacon, and mustard crafted with Pike Brewing stout ale. Their gluten-free biscuit is legit.

The stools, if you can get one at all, are cracked and worn. The last diner likely didn’t bother to clean his crumbs off the tiny metal counter. View this well-loved joint as a greasy spoon that serves pristine seafood—deeply golden fish-and-chips, fresh fish tacos, even a whole steamed crab with melted butter that comes precracked—and you’ll find its true charms.

The walkup antojitos counter (with a handful of counter seats) imports sacks of heirloom Mexican corn, then nixtamalizes it to make tortillas (and sopes, huaraches, tostadas, and gorditas) from scratch. Maíz’s masa game keeps getting better, including the guisado-style tacos filled with your choice of braised meats. Great coffee, too.

This low-key spot on First Avenue, all pale woods and soothing pastels, specializes in pide—leavened flatbreads filled with spiced meats and veggies, so they resemble a torpedo-shaped Turkish pizza. Or grab a beyti kebab, gyro meat cooked in dough then doused in tomato sauce and yogurt. Either way, the food has been a welcome addition to Seattle’s halal offerings.

The lines can be staggering, even by Pike Place Market standards. But the Post Alley counter is more than a tourist phenom. That chowder is superb—creamy and stuffed with more clams than potatoes. If you really can’t handle the line, you can get that same chowder sans wait at the Pacific Place outpost six blocks away.

It’s easy to get distracted in this aspirational grocery store. The white-tiled space fills its shelves with produce and pantry items, but the real focus is grab-and-go dishes and a plethora of meal kits. Pre-made salads and a can of something fizzy (and a chocolate chip cookie) make for an easy lunch.

The “Very French Bakery” puts out commendable croissants, pain au chocolat, savory puff pastry tarts, and jewel-box macarons—often to long lines that move with merciful speed. But the baguette sandwiches are the stealth superstars.

The counter along Pike Place brings dim sum to the streets. The staff dispenses shu mai and barbecue pork skewers and bean paste–filled dumplings. But they’ve drawn devotees mostly with one item: the bbq pork hombow—a scoop of minced pork in a rosy sweet sauce and encased in pillowy bun. It’s a confection that blurs any distinction between dinner and dessert.

Chef Meeraf Mamo's somewhat-new counter on the prime Pike Place strip has a glass case full of flavors from all around Africa and the Afro-Caribbean. Savories like Jamaican meat pies, Moroccan-inspired lamb rolls, and sambusas filled with lentils or beef are as memorable as they are portable. Sweets might include banana pudding and South African melktert.

Two doorways down from the Original Starbucks lies a line often longer and worthier. Piroshky Piroshky’s Russian pastries—a cinnamon cardamom braid with just enough acid and heady aromatics to balance the sweetness, or a savory Uli’s sausage and sauerkraut—are grandmotherly food elevated with gilded crusts and harmonious fillings. You’ll wait, but that only guarantees a fresh piroshky.