I’m one of the few that is not smitten by Vancouver. BUT, I loved Lynn Canyon park (in North Vancouver). Free suspension bridge hike (as opposed to the more expensive and touristy Capilano bridge). Heavenly on a misty day.
Great info, somemom - thanks!
Anyone have some suggestions for Seattle restaurants that have good food and are local rather than chains? Recommendations for both casual dining and special occasion would be helpful.
Plenty! 
- All Tom Douglas’ restaurants.
https://www.tomdouglas.com/restaurants
- SeaStar - a chef-owned restaurant (only 2 of them plus a steakhouse, so it is a "chain" but not outside of the greater Seattle area - this is our favorite).
- Ivars Salmon House (by UW on the lake with great views).
- Palisades - great view of downtown from there. We have seen people propose there. :)
- Salty's on Alki - great view of the downtown. Recommend for brunch.
We like Pink Door near Pike Place Market, Matts in the Market is great too. Lots of great casual restaurants in the old part of Ballard. Fun to walk around there. No chains that I can think of there.
Thank you, @BunsenBurner and @Veryapparent!
We had a disappointing experience at Ivar’s so wouldn’t recommend it. For breakfast, loved Portage Bay Cafe (we went to the one in South Lake Union). Assagio in Belltown is another favorite for dinner. We also recommend Ray’s Boathouse.
Salare or Junebaby in Ravenna
Flintcreek Cattle Company in Greenwood and its seafood sister, Rockcreek, closer to Fremont
Il Corvo for lunch if you’re in the Pioneer Square area
Le Pichet on 1st by the Pike Place market
Brouwers in Fremont (Belgian and other beers, plus whisky and cider and great food)
Not a fan of Portage Bay Cafe due to poor table / FOH management, but food is good, if pricey, for breakfast. I like The North Star Diner in Greenwood (bit of a dive) or the Dish Cafe by Greenlake.
For breakfast, Hook and Plow at the Marriott Waterfront is pretty good.
A good place for casual dining is Purple Cafe (again, there are 3 of them altogether, so that makes them a chain of that is what you are trying to avoid any places with more than 1 location).
My absolute favorite local gem is Copperleaf in SeaTac.
There are places on Capitol Hill that have good food, but I have to look up their names as we used to run in and garb lunch quickly.
Anapurna for Tibetan food in Capital Hill.
We loved Seattle. It’s a beautiful city. I loved the lovely homes that had so much character. We were there primarily to research neighborhoods for D1’s impending move. I was very struck by how you could have a really beat up home that obviously had not been maintained right next to a gorgeous period home that had obviously been cared for or restored, right next to a brand new, completely modern 3 story with clean lines and an industrial flavor. Very quirky neighborhoods and quite charming!
We didn’t do any breakfast places because our hotel room came with complimentary breakfast. We tried to get into the Pink Door, but could not get a reservation for any night we were there. Tried to get into Canlis, but DH forgot his sports coat. We went to a few restaurants D1 had researched, but we weren’t very impressed by any of them (none of them mentioned in this thread). I think that the Sea Star nearer to us was closed (I’m not 100% sure I have the right place). We ended up eating a very nice dinner at the Edgewater hotel and got a lovely sunset/water view. Our main focus, however, was driving neighborhoods to research living accommodations for her post dissertation internship. So dining wasn’t the main focus and the results showed.
Once D gets settled in Seattle and we come for a visit, I will make sure to try out some of these recommended restaurants.
@BunsenBurner, I sent you a PM.
Thanks to all.