Macrina Bakery

Is that fog in your head, or just the weather? Either way, wake up from a craft-beer bender at one of the city’s best brunch spots.   

By Erica Jorgensen

Golden Beetle
Helmed by Maria Hines, a James Beard Award winner worshipped as one of Seattle’s most innovative chefs, Golden Beetle is also one of the first restaurants in the country to be certified as 100 percent organic. Hines’ sublimely bold Eastern Mediterranean cuisine stars the bold spices of Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and Lebanon; you’ll likely hear a visitor request the recipe for the fried potatoes flavored with harissa, a Tunisian chili sauce. Once initiated, you’ll start jonesing for the breakfast pizza, wood-fired and topped with baba ghanoush. Ask for a sidewalk table for people watching—especially on Sundays, when locals flock to the Ballard Farmers Market just blocks away.

Macrina Bakery
This Seattle institution has three locations: atop Queen Anne Hill, Belltown’s north end and SoDo, across from the sports stadiums. Do not leave before at least one person at your table orders the Fried Egg Sandwich—a standby always found on chef Leslie Mackie’s often-changing, always artful menu. It’s a stunner, with eggs over medium, Muenster,
just-spicy-enough marinara and caramelized red onion on thick potato bread. Also swoon-worthy: the buttermilk waffles, enormous cinnamon rolls, cocoa-spiked Budapest Coffee Cake and strong, deftly pulled espresso shots. Do yourself a favor and grab a hefty brownie or heavenly lemon tart or two to take with you.

Oddfellows Café & Bar
You’ll spot many a tatted, plaid-clad Seattle hipster—you’re definitely in Capitol Hill—but all who work here are warmly welcoming. Come for the boisterous, friendly vibe (community seating is a thing here) and quirky décor in one of Seattle’s oldest buildings; even the antique ceiling fans are captivating. Order the Fried Chicken in a Biscuit with arugula, alongside a Club Car: bourbon, vermouth, Fernet Branca and Coke. Close runners-up? The Fennel Sausage & Sweet Potato Hash and the Eggs Benedict with locally sourced ham. Don’t miss the eye-opening Stumptown coffee or the pillowy beignets served with sublimely sweet strawberry jam.

LATE-NIGHT BITE: Throngs come to Ba Bar to chase away rainy-night chill with Vietnamese vermicelli bowls, Bò Nuóng Xã (delectable beef skewers), and beer-steamed Manila clams. We especially love the amazing Crispy Imperial Rolls with Willamette Valley-sourced pork, prawns, woodear mushrooms and fresh mint.