12 Best Restaurants in Fremont, Seattle

Walking into the light-filled dining room of Manolin, with its horseshoe-shape bar framing the open kitchen, transports you straight to the sea. Blue tiles, the wood-fired oven in the center, the cool marble bar, and the seafood-laden menu all bring diners to an ambiguous maritime destination where ceviches are inspired by coastal Mexico, plantain chips come from the Caribbean, smoked salmon has vaguely Scandinavian flavors, and the squid with black rice and ginger is as if from Asia, all mingling on one menu. Opened by disciples of Seattle’s seafood queen, Renee Erickson, it pays homage to the ocean. Plates are on the small side, so prepare to order more than you normally would.

Adventurous enough for the most committed gourmands but accessible enough to be a neighborhood favorite, Revel starts with Korean street food and shakes it up with a variety of influences, from French to Americana. Noodle dishes at this sleek industrial-chic spot with ample outdoor seating might feature smoked tea noodles with roast duck or seaweed noodles with Dungeness crab, while irresistibly spicy dumplings might be stuffed with bites of short ribs, shallots, and scallions, or perhaps chickpeas, roasted cauliflower, and mustard yogurt. Plates are small enough so that you can save room for one of the playful desserts riffing off Junior Mints or butterscotch pudding.

Married chef-owners Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi have wowed Seattle diners with their French-fusion spins on Asian cuisine. Joule's nouvelle take on a Korean steak house serves meat options like Wagyu bavette steak with truffled pine nuts and short rib with Kalbi and grilled kimchi. Nonmeat menu items include Chinese broccoli with walnut pesto and mackerel with green curry cilantro crust and black currant. The weekend brunch buffet goes slightly more mainstream with a fruit and pastry buffet, as well as entrées like oatmeal-stuffed porchetta.

Specializing in soba noodles, this tiny spot feels like it was dropped stateside from Japan, but the menu also embraces local ingredients and creative riffs on classics. Seasonal starters might include zucchini coins dusted with Japanese “happy powder”—the sweet and salty flavoring from rice crackers—and small plates like duck meatballs and tempura. The soba menu offers a few different styles, including noodles in hot broth or chilled. For true Japanese-American fusion try the Oreo tempura for dessert. 

Just stepping in to this cozy corner coffeehouse awakens the senses. Lighthouse Roasters roasts its beans on-site in a vintage cast-iron roaster, filling the space with a heady aroma. Appreciated for dark chocolate flavors, hints of sweet toffee, and just the right amount of bite, the full-bodied coffee tastes as good as it smells here. The neighborhood spot, which has a small counter lined with red swivel bar stools, opened in 1993, giving it three decades of Seattle coffee cred.

The centerpiece of this Cuban-influenced menu is the mouthwatering Famous Caribbean Roast sandwich: marinated pork topped with sautéed onions and served on a chewy baguette. It's doused with an amazing top-secret sauce that keeps folks coming back for more. The entrées are also delicious, from fresh fish in garlic tapenade to prawns in a spicy red sauce. There are a few tables, but Paseo gets so busy the line usually snakes way out the door, and most people opt for takeout.

PCC Community Markets, an upscale food co-op, has all the fixings you need for a picnic along the canal, including sandwiches and salads. You can also order fresh coffee from the deli.

A temple to uniquely prepared seafood, this is the restaurant that locals want to bring visitors to: an example of the casual way seafood weaves into all sorts of dishes when you live so close to such bounty. The mix of appetizers, oyster shooters, small plates, and full entrées makes the long menu an epic adventure filled with fresh local, domestic, and global fish—from local oysters to Hawaiian tuna, and back to black cod from Washington’s own Neah Bay. The dining room, built with ample wood and wall-sized murals of waterscapes, invokes the idea of a modern fishing lodge, but the high ceilings and sharp metals keep it more lively than cozy.

Just steps from Fremont's Stalin statue, Royal Grinders serves hearty hot subs on pillowy rolls. We're talking classic combos of meat, cheese, and veggies piled high and baked in the oven. The Crown and the Italian are the best.

James Beard Award--winning chef and restaurateur Renee Erickson focuses on the Pacific Northwest's bounty of farm-fresh produce, seafood, and local meats (she raises beef on her own Whidbey Island farm), aided here by the hard-working wood-fired oven at the front of the bright, whimsical space. The vegetable plates are unfailingly excellent, but everything that comes out of the kitchen seems blessed, whether it's a juicy roast chicken with capers and preserved lemons, a roasted whole trout, or a delicious slab of rabbit terrine. A plate of sardines on toast for the table is a must, even if you don't think you like sardines. Order family-style so that you can sample as many dishes as possible.

A casual burger shack from a fine-dining chef means flavor and execution that are always on point. The controlled chaos of this family-friendly joint can make it hard to get an outdoor table on sunny days, but the lines and wait are worth it for the perfectly cooked burgers that range from a classic beef patty to a house-made vegetarian option. The local meat is flavorful and stands alone, but the creative toppings and combo burgers, like lamb with griddled peppers and onions, Manchego cheese, and fried lemons, make this more than just another roadside shack. Giant milk shakes and crispy onion rings are a must for kids, while adults will want to check out the row of local craft brew on tap.

By bus or car, this is on the way from the Downtown tourist area to the zoo.