Seattle Travel Guide

Where to Stay

So I actually can’t speak to the hotels in the area since we stayed in an Airbnb this time. But omg it might as well have been a 5 start hotel for all the amenities haha. Brian, our host was superrrr friendly and even stocked the place up! — Bagels, cereal, bars, drinks (yes, even La Croix 🙌🏼). Along with shampoos, conditioners and all the regular bathroom amenities you’d expect to see at a hotel. It was very clean, newly remodeled and had views of the water, downtown and Space Needle. Can’t recommend this place enough for a trip to Seattle! ✔️🏠

Where to Eat

NUE

Starting off with what may have been my favorite meal of the trip, Nue! We totally stumbled on this place (validated by some amazing yelp reviews) and decided, why not give it a go?! (An outstanding decision, I might add). We literally took a tour around the world while sitting at brunch. The menu is super eclectic, will all sorts of flavors and cuisines, yet still delivered a brunch that is hearty and classic enough it didn’t disappoint.

ORDER THE: Filipino Tosilog, South African Sunny Bunny, Chengdu Chicken & Waffles (PRO TIP: if you’re in a group, get the Tower of Chengdu Wings with a side of waffles 😋). For a sweet treat? 👉🏼 Side Cornbread, with coconut and pineapple – don’t skip it!  

Psst – The cocktail list is rad too! Full bar open, all unique drinks + bottomless mimosas for $20 if you’re feelin’ frisky.

 

SPINASSE

Upscale Italian with fresh pasta  – so like…duh. Spinasse is everything we needed for our fancy/hungover night out haha. We ordered all the pasta’s on the menu (don’t worry there’s only 4 haha) but each was phenom. They have killer negroni’s too 👌🏼

(There’s this other Italian place, The Pink Door, which I’ve heard is UH-mazinggg too we just didn’t have enough time 😩I’d def look into it though if you’re traveling to Seattle)!

STATESIDE

Yum yum Sunday brunch! Stateside brings a tropical, Asian, Hawaiian flare to typical brunch dishes and I ain’t complaining! Psst, don’t skip out on the Lychee mimosa… it comes with boba. 😱

LOWELL’S

What does every tourist do the first day they get to Seattle? Hit up Pikes Place Market haha. But where to eat when you get there?!?!?! We snagged a window table upstairs at Lowell’s and it couldn’t have been a better start to the trip. Cozy atmosphere with great views of the ocean. The fresh crab cakes, blackened fish tacos and local beer weren’t bad either. 😉❤️

Where to Drink

ZIG ZAG CAFE

Unfortunately when we were in the area (Pikes Place) of  Zig Zag Cafe, it was too early aka not open yet. So I personally didn’t get to go… but it came highly recommended by several people (including the elite CNTraveler). I mean, a speakeasy cocktail bar?! There’s nothing I love more in the world. Go for me, pleaseeee!

FOG ROOM

Looking for a rooftop moment? Hit The Fog Room in the Charter Hotel (views pictured above). There’s also The Nest at the Thompson Hotel, however when I went, the outdoor portion of the roof wasn’t open so it was V crowded (and tbh, the vibe of the clientele was not quite my taste haha 😬). While The Nest has a wider 180° view overlooking the ocean, the vibe at The Fog Room is more chill, and a menu with the glassware pictured by each cocktail. 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 So, pick your poison!

ODDFELLOWS CAFE + BAR

Oddfellows Cafe + Bar is the perfect place for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up. Right in the heart of trendy Capitol Hill, stop in for a much needed cortado or cocktail between destinations. Hell, it’s quite the destination itself! So good we went both days during our stay haha.

What to Do

TOTOKAELO

Legit died and went to heaven in here. Totokaelo is the store of my DREAMS (so much so that I did it’s own separate feature on my instagram). It’s very pricey though, so I mostly just looked, and snapped 500 photos for inspiration haha. But if you’re a fashion lover like myself, it’s a MUST. Tell your friends goodbye and get lost in there for hours. 🙃🛍

PRO TIP: It’s right next to Oddfellows Cafe (mentioned above) so if you need some liquid courage to spend, there ya have it! 😛

CAPITOL HILL

This area has some serious gravitational pull because we kept coming back here, both on purpose and on accident, every day in Seattle. It’s got everything! Boutique stores, cafes, cocktail lounges, dive bars, and super gay-friendly… AKA the ultimate hipster paradise haha. We mostly stayed in the very southern portion, walking around between 14th Ave. and Broadway, ya can’t go wrong!

PIKES PLACE MARKET

The first stop on every tourist’s list, and for good reason! (Unless you hate the smell of fish, of course 😜). The hustle and bustle, the ocean air, live piano players on, what seemed like, ever corner…I felt immersed in the Seattle vibe immediately when we went here. But there’s more than just fish! Get a giant donut, or hit up the dim sum counter, fancy some farmers market fruits and veggies? They have it all!

And, don’t forget to take a picture (or 7) with the infamous sign. 😁

All in all, Seattle exceeded my expectations. Maybe because we lucked out with 3 straight days of sun, atypical for Seattle, but I’m a new fan. Honestly, tt wasn’t super high on my priority lists of places to travel, but man was I wrong. The culinary scene REALLY impressed me, and as a SF foodie, that’s hard to do. There’s a lot to be discovered there and I’d go back in a heartbeat to hit the spots I missed out on.

Please comment below with any questions you have about my escapes around Seattle, or if you go to any of these spots, I’d love to know what you think!

Thanks for reading! XX, Kendall 😘