15 Seattle-area restaurants with great patios

Patio season can be short-lived in the Seattle area. Go spend it somewhere that welcomes families with nice views, delicious food, refreshing drinks and a generous serving of vitamin D.

Agua Verde Café

Agua Verde Cafe/Facebook

The burritos at Agua Verde are big; so are the restaurant’s awesome views of Portage Bay. Kids’ fare is simple: bean and cheese burritos or their famous “mangodilla,” a mango and your-choice-of-meat-filled quesadilla.

Tip: Agua Verde gets crowded during the summer. Grab a basket of chips and go wait for your table at the adjacent waterfront park.

Kids will love a paddle around Lake Union (older kids, anyway). Rent single and double kayaks and paddleboards from Agua Verde Paddle Club, just below the restaurant, March through October.

Anthony’s Beach Café

Leslie H./Yelp

Anthony’s main restaurant might be a bit sophisticated for a casual family meal, but head downstairs to the Beach Café and you’ll find a lovely spot for lunch. The menu is basic, but that won’t matter when you’re sitting on a sun-soaked patio, sipping peach lemonade, chowing down on comfort food – clam chowder, fish tacos, and deep-fried calamari – and enjoying delicious marina views.  

Kids will love the sandbox just below the patio, and the whole family can watch sailboats and yachts skim by while you dine.

Beach Cafe

Beach Cafe/Facebook

Not to be confused with Anthony’s Beach Café, this Kirkland restaurant is a good spot for breakfast, brunch and lunch. You’ll get sweeping views of Lake Washington with your order of classic American fare.

Kids will love strolling the docks and exploring the waterfront at Carillon Point.

Big Chickie

Big Chickie/Facebook

Bring a hearty appetite to this big chicken shack in Hillman city. Big Chickie specializes in a Peruvian take on whole-roasted chicken called pollo a la brasa, which is cooked over charcoal and seriously yummy. Parents, you’ll love that the side options are more varied than typical kid-menu fries or carrot sticks; try the fresh corn salad and cheesy potatoes. The patio overlooking busy Rainier Avenue isn’t spectacular, but the space is covered and big enough to park your stroller.

Kids will love the fried plantains, cornbread and four kinds of dipping sauces.

Elemental Pizza

Elemental Pizza/Facebook

U-Village is a popular hangout for Seattle families: There’s shopping, a playground, fun water fountains and free concerts on select summer evenings. When you need to refuel, take a break on the patio at Elemental Pizza. Their pizzas are made from fresh ingredients, and you can watch them bake in the open wood-fired ovens.

Tip: Go on a Tuesday and stop by a U-Village Playday. They’re held at a different store every week at 10 a.m. and include story time, arts and crafts and other fun activities. Check the playday schedule.

Kids will love rolling, shaping and tossing their own ball of dough while they wait for their food.

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Humble Pie

Humble Pie/Facebook

Humble Pie is an unassuming pizza joint right off of Rainier Avenue. There’s decent outdoor picnic-table seating beneath the shady solar panel roof. Try the prosciutto, egg, and arugula pizza. If you want to hold the meat, no problem: Half of their pizzas are vegetarian-friendly. Pair your pizza with one of two flavors of local favorite Rachel’s Ginger Beer – original and blood orange.

Kids will love playing corn hole and watching the chickens scratch and peck in the nearby coops.

525 Rainier Avenue S
Seattle, WA 98144
206-329-5133

Ivar’s Salmon House and Fish Bar

Ivar's Salmon House/Facebook

There are many Ivar’s restaurants around Seattle, but this one in the Northlake/Wallingford neighborhood has a patio with views of Lake Union, the Seattle skyline, and the Space Needle. Whether you’re in the mood for a quick, take-and-go lunch or sit-down dining, you have options: Order deliciously deep-fried seafood at the Fish Bar window, then take your pick of picnic tables around the corner on the patio barge. Half of the patio is reserved for guests of the Salmon House – a full-service restaurant with the same fried goodness, plus healthier options such as Portobello Caesar salad and grilled salmon.

Tip: Bring out-of-town guests here. The sweeping views and seafood menu will check off two items on every Seattle tourist's bucket list.

Kids will love watching the seaplanes take off and the water taxis drop off passengers at the restaurant dock.

Little Chinook’s

Chinook's/Facebook

Located a Fisherman's Terminal, this place is a classic waterfront fish bar. Get your fish to go, grab a spot on the plaza and dig in.

Tip: There’s free parking next to the restaurant.

Kids will love checking out the colorful fishing boats in the marina.

Little Water Cantina

Little Water Cantina/Facebook

This family-run Mexican restaurant in Eastlake has been featured on the Food Network and the Travel Channel for its picture-perfect, mouthwatering food. It’s also known for its top-notch tequila bar and making the ‘Don Juan of margaritas.’ They serve local and organic food when feasible, use environmentally friendly cleaning products, compost their food waste and use green technologies to minimize water and energy use.

Tip: Kids like to roam around the patio, and that’s okay! It's gated off with only one means of egress, so you won’t have to worry too much if the children are socializing while you’re sipping a margarita.

Kids will love the made-fresh guacamole and chips; quesadillas; and the rice and beans with avocado skillet.

Marination Ma Kai

Marination Ma Kai/Facebook

Hawaiian food by the beach? Yes, please! You might be familiar with Marination’s big, blue food truck, which became popular for its melt-in-your-mouth Hawaiian-Korean cuisine. Marination Ma Kai is their brick-and-mortar restaurant in West Seattle. Sit on the patio for a great view of the Seattle skyline, and try their popular tacos or fish and chips with miso-infused tartar.

Tip: Take the water taxi from downtown for a little adventure.

Kids will love the mac and spam and a Hawaiian shaved ice for dessert.

Miri’s

Evan B. via Yelp

Miri’s is a little gem at the south end of the Golden Gardens Bathhouse with fresh ingredients and healthy options. After a day of play in the sand, exploring tide pools, and throwing Frisbees in the grass, Miri’s hits the spot.

Tip: Heading to a picnic or potluck at Golden Gardens? Stop at Miri’s for yummy takeout options: acai bowls, big salads and kebab sandwiches. They also cater beach birthday parties.

Kids will love the little Dutch pancakes called poffertjes, berry slushies, and Full Tilt ice cream bars.

Red Mill Burgers

Red Mill Burgers/Facebook

Red Mill has long been on various culinary reviewers’ lists of “best burgers in Seattle.” GQ and the Oprah Show declared their Double Bacon Deluxe with Cheese one of the “20 hamburgers you must eat before you die.” One Yelp reviewer said, “My kid just wolfed a blue cheese bacon burger wrapped in lettuce, no buns man... and she doesn't even like any green leafy things. Needn't say more.”

Tip: Red Mill used to be a cash-only joint, but they now accept credit cards. They also have three locations, all with outdoor seating: Phinney Ridge, Interbay and Ballard.

Grown-ups will love that there’s a “no cell phones” policy. Tweens and teens will have to put their screens down, heads up, and maybe, just maybe, engage in conversation.

Smarty Pants Garage

Smarty Pants Garage/Facebook

This motorcycle-themed American fare pub with “dang good sandwiches” is tucked in the alleyway behind Grand Central Bakery. There’s only one item on the kids’ menu – a slider with a side—but it comes in different forms: chicken, pork, veggie or grilled cheese. The regular menu has lots of options, and portions are plenty big to share with your littles. Their spacious patio welcomes dogs, too.

Tip: There’s no changing table in the bathroom (boo!). Speak up about that if you visit; maybe you'll inspire change.

Kids will love the motorcycles on display and more garage-themed décor.

Uneeda Burger

Uneeda Burger/Facebook

As the name suggests, you need this burger in your belly. The beefy, locally sourced burgers come in all sorts of worldly variations: Try the Monsieur, the Philly Smash or the Medi-terra lamb burger.  They also have hearty veggie burgers, sandwiches and salads. Take a seat on the all-weather patio and tuck in.

Kids will love: Hand-dipped shakes made with Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream.

Woodshop BBQ

Joshua Huston

Nothing says summer like barbeque. When you’re in the mood for something a little more sophisticated than hot dogs, the Woodshop has you covered. Try the wood-smoked, Texas-style brisket with creamy mac and cheese on the side. Their spacious picnic-table patio has plenty of room for the whole family – even the family dog.

Kids will love the fried mac-and-cheese balls and five different barbeque sauces to try.

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