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A bustling rooftop seating area with wooden tables covered by umbrellas. Lights are strung above the tables, and there’s a glimpse of the sky beyond.
Enjoy Vietnamese dishes on a rooftop nestled above the neighborhood at Monsoon’s Capitol Hill location.
Geoffrey Smith

Seattle Restaurants With Reservation-Worthy Rooftops

What’s better than eating great food at a great height?

by Eater Staff Updated
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Enjoy Vietnamese dishes on a rooftop nestled above the neighborhood at Monsoon’s Capitol Hill location.
| Geoffrey Smith
by Eater Staff Updated

Seattle isn’t really a rooftop town. Sure, we have plenty of great views — you can’t walk down the street without a great view hitting you in the face — but the long windy wet season means that you often can’t reliably dine outdoors. Also, you may have to watch out for gulls.

So the rooftop restaurants around Seattle are often seasonal, covered, or very creative — Maximilien in Pike Place Market does a thing called Le Igloo where you can romantically dine on its roof deck inside a biodome-looking structure. On those days when the weather makes rooftop dining attractive, remember that every single person in the entire metro area is thinking the same thing so try to book a table in advance, or at the very least don’t act all pissy when the few rooftop restaurants in town can’t accommodate your walk-in party of four. (Or go to Mercado Luna on Capitol Hill, where the roof patio is walk-up only.)

As usual, this list is not ranked; it’s organized geographically from west to east. Know of a restaurant that should be on our radar? Send us a tip by emailing [email protected].

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Rooftop Brewing Company

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As the name suggests, this Queen Anne brewery is on a rooftop. Like most breweries in Seattle this is a welcoming space for dogs, kids, and board games, and while there’s not much food at the brewery itself there’s a regular rotation of food trucks.

1220 W Nickerson St, Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 457-8598
(206) 457-8598

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The Pink Door

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The Pink Door is one of Pike Place Market’s gems, and the rooftop at this Italian restaurant provides a view of the Great Wheel and Puget Sound. The menu offers plenty of well-crafted pasta selections, including linguini with baby clams and pancetta in a white wine sauce and the famous spinach lasagna. Making a reservation is the best bet to secure a seat on the rooftop, which closes during inclement weather.

1919 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 443-3241
(206) 443-3241

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Maximilien Restaurant

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Come for the French fare, and stay to enjoy spectacular views at Maximilien’s rooftop seating area. Enjoy attentive service, escargot, seafood platters, steak frites, and other specialties. During winter months, Maximilien brings out its “Le Igloo” experience — clear, dome-shaped pods that shelter small parties on the rooftop. It looks pretty weird to be honest, but it’s a great idea.

81A Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 682-7270
(206) 682-7270
Tables and chairs are arranged on a rooftop seating area overlooking the Great Wheel. Green umbrellas offer some shade over each table.
French restaurant Maximilien offers spectacular views of the downtown waterfront on its rooftop seating area.
Jim Osgood

Also featured in:

MBar

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This industrial-chic space in South Lake Union is the highest-elevation outpost of the Mama restaurant group (which also owns Mamnoon). That means you’re going to get a slate of Middle Eastern cuisine with seasonal ingredients — recent highlights include the mushroom rakakat (a cheesy roll of filo) served with a bracing chicory salad. The cocktail menu is wide-ranging with some actually good NA options, but what you’re really here for is the panoramic view of the Space Needle and downtown Seattle. Reservations are definitely recommended.

400 Fairview Ave N 14th Floor, Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 457-8287
(206) 457-8287
A plate of salad and filo pastry on table overlooking a view of the Space Needle.
Mushroom rakakat at MBar and a drink.
Harry Cheadle

Also featured in:

Terra Plata

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At this Capitol Hill restaurant from respected chef Tamara Murphy, dishes like paella (on Mondays only) and roast pig shine alongside a robust list of cocktails. The roof is covered, heated, and best of all home to Murphy’s edible garden.

1501 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 325-1501
(206) 325-1501

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Mercado Luna

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Mercado Luna is a Capitol Hill destination that houses a few different Oaxacan dining experiences, including Patio Cielo, a patio in the sky. It’s open only during spring and summer, dogs are welcome (though not kids), and there are no reservations — a combination that makes it an exceedingly chill place to watch a summer Friday slide by.

422 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122

The Mountaineering Club

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This hotel rooftop bar is a bit of an anomaly in the University District, a part of town where most restaurants feel slightly underground somehow — do you know what we’re talking about? But the Mountaineering Club has a gorgeous view of the northern part of the city plus Portage Bay and beyond. The food and drink menu hews surprisingly closely to a kind of camping theme, and it incorporates a lot of ingredients — i.e. the Outer Island Shandy has apple wine from San Juan Island and amaro from local producer SennzaFinne.

4507 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 634-2000
(206) 634-2000
A covered rooftop deck.
The rooftop at the Mountaineering Club.
Harry Cheadle

Also featured in:

Monsoon Seattle

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Monsoon has a rooftop? Yes, the venerable Vietnamese mini-chain’s Capitol Hill location has a rooftop, which is not all that high up but is still a gorgeous place to catch a breeze on a warm night. Also, if you are both romantic and a long-term planner, you can get a whole Dungeness crab dinner here — you just have to order a day in advance.

615 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 325-2111
(206) 325-2111

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Rooftop Brewing Company

1220 W Nickerson St, Seattle, WA 98119

As the name suggests, this Queen Anne brewery is on a rooftop. Like most breweries in Seattle this is a welcoming space for dogs, kids, and board games, and while there’s not much food at the brewery itself there’s a regular rotation of food trucks.

1220 W Nickerson St, Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 457-8598
(206) 457-8598

The Pink Door

1919 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101

The Pink Door is one of Pike Place Market’s gems, and the rooftop at this Italian restaurant provides a view of the Great Wheel and Puget Sound. The menu offers plenty of well-crafted pasta selections, including linguini with baby clams and pancetta in a white wine sauce and the famous spinach lasagna. Making a reservation is the best bet to secure a seat on the rooftop, which closes during inclement weather.

1919 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 443-3241
(206) 443-3241

Maximilien Restaurant

81A Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101

Come for the French fare, and stay to enjoy spectacular views at Maximilien’s rooftop seating area. Enjoy attentive service, escargot, seafood platters, steak frites, and other specialties. During winter months, Maximilien brings out its “Le Igloo” experience — clear, dome-shaped pods that shelter small parties on the rooftop. It looks pretty weird to be honest, but it’s a great idea.

81A Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 682-7270
(206) 682-7270
Tables and chairs are arranged on a rooftop seating area overlooking the Great Wheel. Green umbrellas offer some shade over each table.
French restaurant Maximilien offers spectacular views of the downtown waterfront on its rooftop seating area.
Jim Osgood

MBar

400 Fairview Ave N 14th Floor, Seattle, WA 98109

This industrial-chic space in South Lake Union is the highest-elevation outpost of the Mama restaurant group (which also owns Mamnoon). That means you’re going to get a slate of Middle Eastern cuisine with seasonal ingredients — recent highlights include the mushroom rakakat (a cheesy roll of filo) served with a bracing chicory salad. The cocktail menu is wide-ranging with some actually good NA options, but what you’re really here for is the panoramic view of the Space Needle and downtown Seattle. Reservations are definitely recommended.

400 Fairview Ave N 14th Floor, Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 457-8287
(206) 457-8287
A plate of salad and filo pastry on table overlooking a view of the Space Needle.
Mushroom rakakat at MBar and a drink.
Harry Cheadle

Terra Plata

1501 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

At this Capitol Hill restaurant from respected chef Tamara Murphy, dishes like paella (on Mondays only) and roast pig shine alongside a robust list of cocktails. The roof is covered, heated, and best of all home to Murphy’s edible garden.

1501 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 325-1501
(206) 325-1501

Mercado Luna

422 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122

Mercado Luna is a Capitol Hill destination that houses a few different Oaxacan dining experiences, including Patio Cielo, a patio in the sky. It’s open only during spring and summer, dogs are welcome (though not kids), and there are no reservations — a combination that makes it an exceedingly chill place to watch a summer Friday slide by.

422 E Pine St, Seattle, WA 98122

The Mountaineering Club

4507 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105

This hotel rooftop bar is a bit of an anomaly in the University District, a part of town where most restaurants feel slightly underground somehow — do you know what we’re talking about? But the Mountaineering Club has a gorgeous view of the northern part of the city plus Portage Bay and beyond. The food and drink menu hews surprisingly closely to a kind of camping theme, and it incorporates a lot of ingredients — i.e. the Outer Island Shandy has apple wine from San Juan Island and amaro from local producer SennzaFinne.

4507 Brooklyn Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 634-2000
(206) 634-2000
A covered rooftop deck.
The rooftop at the Mountaineering Club.
Harry Cheadle

Monsoon Seattle

615 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112

Monsoon has a rooftop? Yes, the venerable Vietnamese mini-chain’s Capitol Hill location has a rooftop, which is not all that high up but is still a gorgeous place to catch a breeze on a warm night. Also, if you are both romantic and a long-term planner, you can get a whole Dungeness crab dinner here — you just have to order a day in advance.

615 19th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112
(206) 325-2111
(206) 325-2111

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