20 Seattle-area restaurants and bars we’re most excited about in 2026

2026 may be the year of the pizzeria in Seattle.

From Roman al taglio squares to New Haven pies, just about every style in the encyclopedia of pizzas will be on menus around the city this year.

Several of the 20 restaurants and bars that we’re stoked to try in the new year will showcase pizzas. But there’s much more: Brazilian street food, French Japanese fusion and interesting new bars are also on the docket.

Find all that and more below, ordered by projected opening date.

Here’s to 2026, which will surely be a great year of noshing and imbibing.

Lowlander Brewing, Un Po Tipsy and

Mio Oh Mio

419 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle (Pioneer Square); lowlanderbrewing.com; unpotipsy.com; instagram.com/mioohmioseattle; Open now

These three long-awaited concepts (a brewery, a slice shop and a Euro bistro) from James Beard Award-winning chef Renee Erikson’s restaurant group opened before the new year. They’re all under the same roof in the new RailSpur development in Pioneer Square. Lowlander houses a 100-seat beer hall; Un Po Tipsy slings New York-style pizzas; and Mio Oh Mio was described by Sea Creatures management as “Lioness meets the Walrus and the Carpenter, with a little bit of Boat Street Cafe.”

ShibShib

510 Maynard Alley S., Seattle (Chinatown International District); shibshibseattle.com; Scheduled to open by February

From the owner of Bar Suliman in Melrose Market on Capitol Hill comes ShibShib, a new cocktail den in the middle of Chinatown. ShibShib ownership vows this 24-seat bar won’t be your typical cocktail joint. The mixed drinks will incorporate Middle Eastern flavors such as pickled and seasonal fruits and veggies, from peas to persimmon, along with Arabic spices like ras el hanout. The small plate lineup will mirror the theme, featuring noshes like a twice-baked potato with lamb and yogurt.

Roma Roma

1610 12th Ave., Seattle (Capitol Hill); romaroma.pizza; Scheduled to open by February

For an alternative to the usual late-night pepperoni slices, Roma Roma cuts up Roman-style al taglio square pizzas. Think of a lighter, fluffy, focaccialike crust covered with eight to 10 topping combos, from potato slices to fusions like green curry chicken or seasonal toppings like asparagus with goat cheese. Expect almost 100 rotating toppings from chef Forrest Brunton, who is returning to Seattle after a stint in Charleston, South Carolina. This counter-service shop, targeting an early February opening, plans to open daily from 11 a.m.-11 p.m., but management eventually hopes to stay open later for the barhopping crowd and industry workers.

Baiana

1518 Pike Place, Seattle (Pike Place Market); Scheduled to open by end of February

Not many Food Network contestants can brag that they’re a two-time winner – but Emme Ribeiro Collins filleted her competition on the cooking shows “Chopped” and “Beat Bobby Flay.” Collins’ moqueca seafood stew earned the chef 15 minutes of fame when she dethroned celebrity chef Flay on his namesake show. That winning dish will be featured at Baiana, an eight-seat counter slated to open inside Pike Place Market in the coming months. The fast-casual menu of street food and rice bowls is Collins’ love letter to the Northeast region of Brazil. She’s an evangelist for Brazilian food with more nuance than those ubiquitous churrascarias steakhouses; Baiana will feature street food like acarajé black-eyed pea fritters and coxinha chicken croquettes.

Gordo Steak

323 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle (Pioneer Square); instagram.com/gordosteak; Scheduled to open by the end of February

From the team behind Asadero Ballard, one of the most successful Mexican restaurants in Seattle, comes this encore performance: a Mexican steakhouse in Pioneer Square. David Orozco’s carne asada house will showcase various cuts of steaks and marinades from different regions of Mexico, with the meats roasting out of a domed oven. The 58-seat restaurant will include a tequila bar.

Bush Garden

417 Eighth Ave. S., Seattle (Chinatown International District); bushgardenseattle.com; Scheduled to open by March

This is a big deal for those yearning for the Emerald City of yesteryear: Bush Garden will return to the Chinatown International District after a two-year hiatus. The restaurant is known more for its legendary late-night karaoke scene. Bush Garden 2.0 will reside on the ground floor of Uncle Bob’s Place, an affordable housing development, a few blocks from its last haunt. No official opening date has been set.

Tacos Cometa

1620 Broadway, Seattle (Capitol Hill); instagram.com/tacoscometa; Scheduled to open by mid-March

Perhaps the most anticipated opening of the year among the Capitol Hill barhopping set, this late-night Mexican pop-up attracted a big following on weekends in 2025. That trial run was a boon of publicity for brothers Rey and Osiel Gastelum, who have worked at Michelin-rated restaurants in California and Europe. Their forthcoming brick-and-mortar taqueria will feature Sinaloa-style carne asada, with charcoal-grilled beef dressed up as tacos, quesadillas or vampiros. Expect lines a block long when doors open.

The Harvest

14800 N.E. 144th St., Woodinville; harvestwoodinville.com; Multiple tasting rooms and restaurants are expected to open by end of spring

This is the largest local wine-and-restaurant commercial project on our radar this year. The Harvest is a 19-acre commercial-and-residential development south of downtown Woodinville, with 900 parking spaces built to support two dozen bars and bistros that are expected to open here by summer. Headlining the roster: a Champagne lounge called Bong Bong Bar, a whiskey tasting room from J.P. Trodden Distilling, and a tasting room from Dossier Wine Collective, one of the best Washington wineries to debut in recent years. Developers have signed a handful of bakeries, cafes and restaurants, too, including Brass Steak & Seafood, and other restaurants are expected to sign leases soon. The Harvest will be popular with those who like to dine on Sundays and Mondays, as all the bars and restaurants in this complex are required to open daily.

Urban Family Brewing Co.

1022 Alaskan Way, Seattle (downtown); urbanfamilybrewing.com; Scheduled to open by late May

One of the largest openings in Seattle planned for 2026, this brewery will span 8,500 square feet along the city’s newly facelifted waterfront. The prime real estate is its beer garden with views of Elliott Bay, which can corral 400 patrons and likely will draw long lines of tourists and locals alike. Known more for its sours and farmhouse ales, this Ballard-based brewery will add lighter, easy-drinking blonde ales and pilsners for the al fresco crowd. Bar noshes will include pan pizzas, nachos, sandwiches and salads – with owner Andy Gundel saying he’s flying his kitchen team to New York City to research pizzas.

Bar Dojo

Inside Seattle Art Museum at 1300 First Ave., Seattle (downtown); bardojo.com; Scheduled to open by the end of May

One of the most popular burgers in the North End comes to downtown Seattle: the Umami Dojo Burger, a Kobe beef patty topped with smoked Gouda, caramelized shoyu onions and a black garlic aioli, all served on a Macrina bun with sides of nori-scented shoestring fries. Restaurateur Shubert Ho, who owns six restaurants between Edmonds and the Seattle area, will swap out his Seattle Art Museum seafood spot the Market for this “Chino-Latino” fusion bistro. Bar Dojo, a big hit in Edmonds with its ahi poke wonton tacos and birria ramen, hopes to draw more foot traffic to downtown Seattle.

Baba’s Kabab Shop

595 106th Ave. N.E., Bellevue; 425-677-4592; babaskababshop.com; Scheduled to open by late spring

The restaurant won’t be hard to track down. Just follow the smoky scent of sizzling skewers to this 80-seat Pakistani halal spot from owner Shan Janjua, who also runs the Issaquah restaurant Naan-N-Curry. Baba’s will feature different cuts of beef, lamb and chicken grilled over charcoal. You’ll also see some familiar biryani rice dishes from Naan N Curry.

Death & Co.

419 Occidental Ave., Seattle (Pioneer Square); deathandcompany.com; Scheduled to open by early June

One of the biggest names during the craft cocktail renaissance, this East Village speakeasy-style den intends to unveil its long-awaited Pioneer Square expansion in time for the FIFA World Cup. The Seattle bar will run an original drink list of 24 to 30 cocktails, though fans of Death & Co. can order all of the bar’s greatest hits, including the Naked and Famous,a mezcal tipple that riffs on The Last Word, a classic made famous by legendary barman Murray Stenson. The 70-seat bar will be housed in the same complex as Erickson’s slice shop, brewery and restaurant.

ILMU

18223 Bothell Way N.E., Bothell; t55patisserie.getbento.com/ilmu; Scheduled to open by summer

Fairoz Rashed, an underrated chef to watch, runs T55 Patisserie in Bothell, but his background is more in fine dining, with stints at Michelin-starred restaurants in Singapore and France. ILMU resonates more with that background – Japanese French fusion and Singaporean street hawker food with French sensibility. His patisserie will still open on weekday mornings, but on weekends starting sometime this year, the space will focus on tasting menus as ILMU. When weather permits, the chef and his wife, Katie Fairoz, will add sidewalk-cafe-style seating with an a la carte menu of French classics like steak frites. For an early peek, the chef runs 21-plus weekend brunch pop-ups. Seattleites may remember these rising stars from their cult hit SUSU Dessert Bar in the CID.

Bobby’s Burgers

by Bobby Flay

2402 Auburn Way S., Auburn; bobbysburgers.com; Scheduled to open by early summer

One of the biggest stars on he Food Network, celebrity chef Flay will expand his brand to the Northwest with his namesake burger-and-shake chain, which is plotting an outpost inside the Muckleshoot Casino Resort. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill cheeseburger, though. Flay’s riffs include a grilled patty stacked with potato chips (the Crunchburger) and a Tex-Mex bar homage in the form of a nacho burger.

Stevie’s Famous

on Phinney Ridge

6000 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle; steviesfamous.com; Scheduled to open by summer

This critically acclaimed slice shop will expand to trendy Phinney Ridge with its biggest expansion to date, a 3,300-square-foot pizza parlor with a patio and parking lot near Woodland Park Zoo. The popular pizzeria will sell lots of its famous Normie Macdonalds, an homage to the burrata pies at the famed L’Industrie Pizzeria in Brooklyn. But Stevie’s also serves what might be the best sausage slice in the city, with housemade fennel sausage, caramelized onions and Mama Lil’s peppers.

Sushi Tei

525 Bellevue Square, Bellevue; sushitei.com/about-us; Scheduled to open by September

The city of Bellevue boasts an impressive track record in luring big-name restaurants to its commercial district, from the Korean hot spot Daeho Kalbijjim to the Peruvian fine-dining restaurant La Mar. Next comes the Singaporean chain Sushi Tei, which will make its North American debut in Bellevue Square with a 200-seat dining room and a menu of sashimi, wagyu steaks and Hokkaido pork.

New slice shop

from My Friend Derek’s

Opening location and date TBD

Derek Reiff’s Detroit-style pizza shop in Tangletown was one of the biggest Seattle restaurant openings of 2025. Reiff, the mastermind behind the best Detroit-style pizza in Seattle, is going to try his hand at New York-style slices this year. Reiff is currently looking for real estate in an enclave that can support a slice shop with heavy foot traffic. Stay tuned.

Abecedary

5717 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle (Hillman City); instagram.com/hawthorn_house; Opening date TBD

Seth Eisner has a sense of humor. Abecedary is not a name placeholder – it will be the name of his New Haven-style pizzeria and brewery, set to open sometime later this year. This retired Microsoft number-cruncher used to cook at the acclaimed Harvest Vine and Dahlia Lounge in Seattle. A graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, Eisner also holds a brewing certificate from UC Davis; in South Seattle, he plans to make Baltic porters and Czech lagers out of a Hillman City building souped-up with brewing equipment, a deck oven and a courtyard. (Psst: Eisner might pop up for trial runs this year at A.K. Pizza, the new, popular, New Haven-style pie shop near the Othello light rail station.)