5 Restaurants Where You Can Enjoy a Sunset View

All around Seattle, it’s starting to feel like spring. 

Cherry blossoms are blooming and line streets with fantastic shades of pink. Pike Place Market is full of yellow daffodils and rainbows of tulips. Even the bite of the cold, wet, winter weather is starting to sting a little less. And on Sunday, March 13, when Daylight Saving Time brings our evenings an extra hour of sunlight, spring will really feel like it’s almost here.

What will you do with your longer day?

Take full advantage of the coming of spring and invite a friend to join you for dinner and a drink at one of these spots with breathtaking views in spades. 

1. Six Seven at the Edgewater Hotel 

Photo by Hilary H. 

There are few better places in Seattle at which to dine and enjoy Elliott Bay and Olympic Mountain range views than Six Seven Restaurant and Lounge in the Edgewater Hotel on Pier 67. Menus at Six Seven rotate seasonally and feature Pacific Northwest ingredients. With floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor patio (for those warmer days), Edgewater’s restaurant is a perfect place to wind down after work. Stop in on a Friday or Saturday night for live music in the lounge and sip on a house cocktail like the pineapple-infused martini. The restaurant’s happy hour runs Sunday through Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m., and offers discounted dishes, such as parmesean truffle fries and spicy tuna tacos with avocado and Sriracha aïoli.

2. Aqua by El Gaucho 
Bright and airy, Aqua by El Gaucho, which was named the Washington State Wine Commission’s 2015 Restaurant of the Year, is a seafood restaurant at the end of Pier 70 with floor-to-ceiling windows that on clear days, afford views of the sun setting behind the Olympic Mountains. In the spring and summer, opt for the outside patio where you can admire the beauty of Elliott Bay and Magnolia Bluff. From the inside bar, don’t miss glimpses of the Space Needle. In addition to fantastic views and ambiance, there’s live piano music nightly, and–of course–fresh seafood dishes such as seafood stew made with fish, clams, prawns and scallops or Dungeness crab-stuffed Petrale sole.

3. Ray’s Boathouse

Photo by Audrey via Flickr

With views of Shilshole Bay, dockside seafood restaurant and cafe Ray’s Boathouse, is a Seattle staple. Located literally at the water’s edge in Ballard, expect to see sweeping vistas of the Olympic Mountains and the Puget Sound. The downstairs dining room offers upscale dining, but if you’re looking for a more casual dining experience, the upstairs Ray’s Boathouse Cafe serves up a more wallet-friendly menu, still with those same breathtaking views. If you’re stopping by for happy hour, served in the bar Monday through Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m., don’t miss the steamed Manila clams with garlic, herbs, tomato and white wine or the rock shrimp and chips, served with cocktail sauce and citrus aioli. 

4. Westward

Photo by Stacie Clerget via flickr

When the days start to get a little longer and warmer, there’s definitely more than one reason to make Westward your go-to spot. Located on the north shore of Lake Union, the restaurant faces south for showstopping scenes of the Space Needle and Seattle skyline. Outside, there’s a large deck, fire pit and beach area where diners can sip cocktails and slurp on fresh oysters. If it starts to get a bit chilly, your server will bring you a wool blanket under which to snuggle. And get this: Westward guests can arrive via boat, kayak or paddleboard and tie up to the 150-foot dock leading to the restaurant. Stop in on a Saturday or Sunday between 3 and 5 p.m. for half-off oysters. Cheers to that. If you’re staying for dessert, go with the chocolate olive oil cake served with olive oil ice cream, brandied cherries and finished with flaky Admiralty sea salt that’s been hand-harvested on Whidbey Island. It’s seriously something special.

5. Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails
Located on the fifth floor of the Motif Hotel along Fifth Avenue downtown, Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails boasts a 4,000-square-foot outdoor patio (one of the largest in the city) that you won’t want to miss during the longer days and warmer weather. The modern kitchen and bar is shaking up cocktails and serving dishes to enjoy along with fantastic city views. The patio features a pingpong table, a shuffleboard table, outdoor fireplaces and tons of seating on cozy couches arranged under strings of romantic white lights. Happy hour runs from 4 to 10 p.m. daily, and features discounted plates like blue cheese bacon fries, rosemary-and-smoke salted nuts and fried octopus calamari. This lofty spot is a swell place to post up and enjoy your evening.