Food & Drink
The Best Steak House in Seattle
In a city with so much great food, we wanted to know: What really takes the prize? Our critics tasted some of the very best steaks to find out
By Naomi Tomky August 22, 2018
This article originally appeared in the September 2018 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print as the cover story of the September 2018 issue. Read more from the Best of the Best Restaurants feature story here. Click here to subscribe.
Best of the Best: Bateau
Where the traditional American steak house zigs dark and heavy, Renee Erickson’s French-inspired version zags to all things light and bright, from the white walls to the tiny, airy poof of an amuse-bouche gougère that comes to the table before the meal.
Steaks (starting from $23) come in a variety of sizes, cuts and types (listed on the chalkboards), and in limited quantity, encouraging a conversation with the knowledgeable servers to select the perfect piece of beef for you; consider them sommeliers for your entrée. Steaks come solo, adorned only by your choice of butter, leaving diners free to roam the remainder of the menu for Erickson’s culinary expertise in the form of French onion croquettes or the famed bread pudding from her late, great Boat Street Café.
Capitol Hill, 1040 E Union St.; 206.900.8689; restaurantbateau.com
OTHER FAVORITES
Kokkaku
Wallingford, 2208 N 45th St.; 206.588.1568; kokkakuseattle.com
Asadero
Ballard, 5405 Leary Ave. NW; 206.659. 4499; asaderoprime.com
Girin
Pioneer Square, 501 Stadium Place S; 206.257.4259; girinseattle.com
TIP: Those golden vessels that look a bit like tea kettles being brought to tables around you at Girin actually hold makgeolli, a lightly fermented rice drink made in-house—one of only a few places in the country that do so.
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