Skip to content

The Best Takeout Food in Seattle

Looking for a healthy not-so-sad desk lunch or a last-minute indulgence? Bring the restaurant experience home with our favorite dishes to go.

By Chelsea Lin and Jess Thomson November 7, 2017

Great_take_out

This article originally appeared in the November 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.

We live in the golden age of restaurant takeout. The options are seemingly endless. Sure, there’s pizza—not just New York–style pies, but deep-dish, thick-cut squares and Neapolitan—and the requisite Thai, Indian and sticky American Chinese, best eaten with chopsticks straight from the box it’s delivered in. But now, thanks to a veritable army of clean-eating young professionals, there are also salads, poke, pho, grain bowls and other healthy options. You want to eat hovering over your work laptop or at home in your stretchy pants? You got it.

But just because you can order something to go, doesn’t mean you should. 

We’ve all seen great dishes turn to nothing but soggy buns and congealed pools of grease given too much time. Our guide to the area’s greatest spots for both takeout and delivery—including the best options for healthy fast-casual lunches, fancy picnic provisions and more—highlights the standout dishes you want to order that also travel well. Now, sit back and relax. We’ll take care of the dishes.

Healthy Desk Lunches Don’t Have to be Boring With These Nutritious Takeout Hits

These Are Our Go-To To-Go Restaurants in Seattle

Seattle’s Box Lunch Queen Has Made Work Day Meals Less Bland for 20-Plus Years

These Souped-Up Deli Counters Sling the Best Premade Dishes by the Pound

The Best Rotisserie Chicken To-Go in Seattle

These Grab-and-Go Dishes Are Surprisingly Satisfying

Spendier Takeout Worth Setting the Table For

 

Follow Us

Seattle’s Pizza Just Keeps Getting Better

Seattle’s Pizza Just Keeps Getting Better

New openings across the city make a strong case that Seattle can finally stop apologizing for its pies.  

Complaining about Seattle’s pizza scene is a well-worn civic ritual, on par with decrying the sad state of the city’s sports teams. But wake up: It’s 2026, the Seahawks are world champs, the Sonics are coming back, and Seattle is awash in great pizza. Granted, this town of transplants has no “style” to claim as…

Grounds for Success: Instant Coffee Brand Seoulli is Bringing Korean Café Culture to the Pacific Northwest

Grounds for Success: Instant Coffee Brand Seoulli is Bringing Korean Café Culture to the Pacific Northwest

Liz Kang and her best friends aren’t strangers to the entrepreneurial journey. With roots in fashion, merchandising, tech, and business ownership, the local group of Korean American women grew up together dreaming about future success. Their newest venture is Seoulli, a Korean instant coffee brand that’s introducing the Pacific Northwest—and the world—to Korean café culture,…

Restaurant Roundup: Rooftop Bites and Pineapple Juice Coffee

Restaurant Roundup: Rooftop Bites and Pineapple Juice Coffee

Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City.

If you thought getting a table for before- or after-noon pancakes and mimosas was difficult before, hold on to your orange juice—the great brunch crunch is coming. We kid, but Mother’s Day is just over a week out, and sometimes to make Mom feel special, putting in the time to wait in line is the…

Photo Essay: The Reefnetters of Legoe Bay

Photo Essay: The Reefnetters of Legoe Bay

A photographer’s look at the small Lummi Island fleet taking part in a long-standing fishing tradition.

While driving across the country from Detroit to San Francisco in October 2024, I stopped on Lummi Island, about 10 miles west of Bellingham, to visit my friend Peter. I had met Peter while traveling with Bread & Puppet Theater, photographing its national tour.  He thought I might be interested in documenting the fishing there,…