Dining Out in Seattle From high-end international chains to unassuming holes in the wall Old-school Seattleites often turn their nose up at Bellevue. It’s associated, in their imagination, with new tech money, cookie-cutter condo complexes, and a lack of walkable neighborhoods. The grungy, ‘90s charm that Seattle prides itself on is nowhere to be found. If this attitude was ever justified, it’s hopelessly outdated now. As Bellevue has rapidly grown , the largest and most famous city on the Eastside has established its own culinary identity. The large East and South Asian immigrant populations mean there is no shortage of those cuisines, and in recent years Bellevue has landed a lot of high-end international chains from all around the world. If you think of Bellevue as a sprawling complex of malls, you probably should visit (the light rail is connecting to Seattle any day now ). Also, there’s good eating in those malls. In July 2025, we overhauled this map, which hadn’t been updated in years, to focus more on Bellevue rather than the entire Eastside. Know of a spot that should be on our radar? Send us a tip by emailing seattle@eater.com . As usual, this list is not ranked; it’s organized geographically. Additional reporting by Harry Cheadle and Eater staff. For all the latest Seattle dining intel, subscribe to Eater Seattle’s newsletter. More maps in Eater Seattle Dining Out in Seattle From high-end international chains to unassuming holes in the wall Old-school Seattleites often turn their nose up at Bellevue. It’s associated, in their imagination, with new tech money, cookie-cutter condo complexes, and a lack of walkable neighborhoods. The grungy, ‘90s charm that Seattle prides itself on is nowhere to be found. If this attitude was ever justified, it’s hopelessly outdated now. As Bellevue has rapidly grown , the largest and most famous city on the Eastside has established its own culinary identity. The large East and South Asian immigrant populations mean there is no shortage of those cuisines, and in recent years Bellevue has landed a lot of high-end international chains from all around the world. If you think of Bellevue as a sprawling complex of malls, you probably should visit (the light rail is connecting to Seattle any day now ). Also, there’s good eating in those malls. In July 2025, we overhauled this map, which hadn’t been updated in years, to focus more on Bellevue rather than the entire Eastside. Know of a spot that should be on our radar? Send us a tip by emailing seattle@eater.com . As usual, this list is not ranked; it’s organized geographically. Additional reporting by Harry Cheadle and Eater staff. For all the latest Seattle dining intel, subscribe to Eater Seattle’s newsletter. Facing East offers a broad survey of Taiwanese and Hakka cuisine that has charmed the surrounding BelRed community since 2006. The five-spice fried chicken, gua bao (pork belly buns), and bitter melon with salted duck egg are excellent, as is the classic beef noodle soup. If you’re really in a hurry, Facing East offers a grab-and-go fridge. 1075 Bellevue Way NE B2, Bellevue, WA 98004, USA Takai By Kashiba This restaurant from Seattle sushi godfather Shiro Kashiba and his apprentice Jun Takai is one of the top omakase experiences in the whole metro area. Takai serves nigiri and other dishes at the counter with a quiet, unobtrusive intensity. As is usually the case at high-end sushi restaurants, the menu changes frequently, but on a spring 2025 visit nearly every piece of fish was dry-aged, offering a playful array of textures, from creamy sea bream to a meaty, earthy sardine with green onion and ginger. The dessert course was a delight too, with tamago stamped with the restaurant’s logo next to a scoop smoky green tea horjicha ice cream. In 2025, Takai was a James Beard Award semifinalist , and it’s easy to see why. –Harry Cheadle 180 Bellevue Way Northeast, Bellevue, WA 98004 La Mar Bellevue This upscale Peruvian chain draws on influences from Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and African cuisines. Most of La Mar Casa’s dishes include choclo corn (similar to hominy), potato in a variety of guises, and fish. The ceviche comes in many varieties, each distinct and flavored keenly. Nikkei was ahi tuna in “tiger’s milk” (lime juice, chilis, cilantro, garlic, ginger), a kind of Peruvian mother sauce. Limeno was achingly fresh halibut, shrimp, calamari, octopus, tiger’s milk and rocoto (a Peruvian pepper). Both were artfully strewn with vivid wisps of herbs and vegetables for texture and comeliness. The pisco sours at the bar are lime bombs, foamy tops dotted with Angostura Aromatic Bitters, a vital accent. We loved the passionfruit version. We gave a knee to the stellar Royal Sour version with premium pisco and gold leaf.

10508 Main St, Bellevue, WA, 98004, US Jiang Nan, like a batting machine, nonchalantly, repeatedly, rapidly, knocks out culinary triples and homers. The best-known item at this upscale chain is the Peking duck (also known as Beijing duck), a hard dish to master. Before roasting, it must be inflated to separate the skin from the meat. It must be lacquered and dried. Jiang Nan nails it: skin crisp, meat moist, handsomely presented with segments of shredded scallion, cuke batons, and hoisin. The Peking duck egg rolls are another hit: The oil-free skin, layered like filo, shattered to the tooth. The interior was not just ducky but Peking ducky, attached skin still conveying its flavor. There were minor shortcomings, however. The superb smoked pork neck, which came in a box dramatically billowing smoke, needed a marinade, a dipping sauce, or a flavored salt. Truffled soup dumplings, skins black from charcoal, are shipped from their flagship restaurant in New York which probably accounts for their lack of delicacy. Their lychee martini, however, is bliss. 11111 Northeast 8th Street, STE 120, Bellevue, Washington 98004, United States Pasifika Bar and Grill This restaurant inside Hotel 116 serves “all-island” food, based upon the cuisines of Micronesia, Polynesia, and Melanesia. Kalbi short ribs — in a soy, ginger, sugar marinade — are all that’s great in ribdom, unctuous, sweet, striped with char, and delicious with their accompanying kimchi. The pork belly bites in a mango habanero sauce with sesame seed and shredded jicama — tender meat, crunchy skin — would make an excellent choice for a last meal. As would the papaya salad, a little sweeter than most Thai variations on the dish and topped with large, head-on shrimp, charred for maximum flavor. The carrot cake, on the other hand, makes you want to live again: It comes in a puddle of caramelized coconut and condensed milk sauce. 625 116th Avenue Northeast, Bellevue, Washington 98004, United States Dan Gui Sichuan Cuisine This restaurant in a strip mall in Bellevue’s Bel-Red neighborhood serves some of the best Sichuan food in the Seattle area. The mapo tofu (made with fermented black beans and chili fava bean paste) has unparalleled depth. The cold dishes, like cucumber salad and wood-ear salad, are refreshing and satisfying. And the restaurant also serves excellent renditions of American Chinese dishes like sweet and sour chicken — something that some of the other Sichuan restaurants in the area don’t offer. 13112 NE 20th St, Bellevue, WA 98005, USA Taste of Xi’an Bellevue Nested in the back of the Asian Family Market Bellevue Food Court, Taste of Xi’an serves the primordial hand-pulled biang biang noodles evicted from the Garden of Eden because of the gluttony they beget. They are long, wide, tubby, sturdy, chewy, to-the-tooth, flavorsome in a sparky sauce of chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, scallions, and small, irregular chunks of pork. The hot oil chili wontons with sesame seeds were stars too, cooked separately for each order (not batch cooked and kept warm), wrappers firm. Meat lovers can feast on grilled skewers of small-chunked cumin lamb, fat crisped and carrying immense flavor and perfume. The meat was charred, slightly salty, and luscious. The cucumber salad came in a sweet-sour vinaigrette tossed with a scattering of peanuts and hot peppers, counterweight to the unctuous noodles, wontons, and lamb. 14509 Northeast 20th Street, Bellevue, Washington 98007, United States Daeho Kalbijjim & Beef Soup Bellevue When we say the Bellevue location of the San Francisco-based Korean chain is “hot” we mean it in every possible sense. For one thing, the star dish — the thing you’re probably ordering when you come here — is kalbijjim, a beef stew served in a sizzling stone pot and often topped with cheese that is melted at your table with a blowtorch (everyone get out your phones). For another, when they ask if you want it to be spicy they mean spicy by Korean standards . Finally, even though Daeho is in a fairly highway-ish area of Bellevue, the restaurant is regularly crowded — there are no reservations, so expect a wait. But also expect the succulent stew, loaded with spicy, savory, and umami flavors, to live up to the wait, and the hype. Bring some friends to help you eat the top-notch banchan (sides). — Harry Cheadle Order delivery from Grubhub 3703 150th Avenue Southeast, Bellevue, Washington 98006 More in Dining Out in Seattle Just an hour from Seattle, Tacoma’s got a whole city’s worth of fabulous dining options, from goth Cuban food to pimento cheese-stuffed pani puri Lao-style burgers with fermented pork belly, spicy jalapeño burgers, and deli-counter classic smash burgers abound Everything you need to know to get a head start on dining in the Emerald City — from Seattle dogs to Ballard breweries Including grilled sausages, French cuisine, fresh seafood, and more French toast in a nostalgic diner, springy waffles in salted coconut egg cream, dim sum dumplings, and more meals worth getting out of bed for This is the title for the native ad