Marmite, Homer, Communion, and More: Seattle Dining’s Best in 2021

Hands down, the go-to for comfort food in 2021 has been chef Kristi Brown and her son Damon Bomar’s award-winning restaurant. Located in the heart of the Central District, on the historic site of Liberty Bank, the first Black-owned bank in the Pacific Northwest, Brown and Bomar feature “Seattle soul” dishes from a deep-fried eggplant salad with creamy corn vinaigrette to a roasted pork neck bone stew. Reservations book lightning-fast. But the restaurant usually has a few tables available for walk-ins when it opens at 4 p.m. Or swing by for brunch every Sunday (first come, first served) or late-night happy hour. The thicker-than-thighs cornbread French toast is worth waking early.

For more than three decades, Bruce and Sara Naftaly, fixtures on the Seattle dining scene, have brought French comfort food to the masses. There’s no better sustenance on a gray day than Naftaly’s rich broths, sauces, and seasonal soups, like two-pumpkin soup or barley soup with root vegetables. Weekend mornings mean scrambled eggs with poached salmon and sorrel sauce or pancakes with Cognac and brown butter-sauteed apples. The Blanc Sour, made with house-blended cinnamon whiskey, tart cherry, lemon, and merlot, is the winter cocktail we need.

Homer’s light-speckled dining room is a breezy backdrop for chef Logan Cox’s bright Mediterranean flavors. Start off with a dip (or two). The lamb ragu on tahini is a favorite, served with pillowy puffs of pita bread. Next, move onto Oregon albacore tuna with dried olives, fennel seed, and celeriac-whey broth. Finally, sip a Zeus Juice, a citrusy mix of lime leaf vodka, lemon, lime, and orange cordial. Soft serve ice cream in seasonal flavors, like crème fraiche or satsuma chamomile, kindle childhood nostalgia. Pints are available to go, as well.

The yellow building that houses Finistère is as cheery and warm as the food it serves. Run by restaurant power duo Scott Ross and Deborah Taylor, Ross is the quintessential host. At the same time, Taylor brings her culinary prowess from Eleven Madison Park, Canlis, and Per Se to the kitchen. Think refined fare like risotto with spot prawns, octopus, and mussels, seared halibut with miso beurre blanc, and agnolotti di zucca with brown butter and sage – a masterful take on the beloved Italian classic.

At Copine, husband-and-wife team Shaun McCrain and Jill Kinney – formerly of Book Bindery in Seattle and Per Se in New York – artfully prepare French-inspired dishes. Start the evening with a simple cheese plate of Point Reyes Cheese with King’s Garden apple, candied walnuts, and Treviso. Then move on to a delicate yet complex pan-roasted Alaskan halibut with baby carrots, artichoke, saffron-tomato emulsion, and niçoise olive crumbles. The three-course menu is well worth the $110 tag. Oh, and if chestnut agnolotti is available as an optional mid-course, do not pass by this luscious, buttery dish.

Neighborhood locals swear by the wood-fired vegetables and heritage breed animals coming from the brick oven at this much-loved Sunset Hill eatery. Fire makes food taste better, especially beets poached in the oven, charred in the fire, then placed on an eggplant and sesame jam. A confit duck leg with roasted turnips and puffed wild rice is pure comfort. The wine list is brief and straightforward. An old fashioned improved with brown butter and maple syrup makes for a lovely nightcap.

Every meal at Brimmer & Heeltap feels like you’re a special guest at owner Jen Doak’s dinner table. Doak managed The Tasting Room in Post Alley for years. As a result, wines by the glass and bottle are inspired and accessible. (There’s also a monthly wine club.) So whet your palette with duck rillettes, best smeared on sourdough with spicy mustard. Coming from the clean and cold waters of the Pacific Northwest, a poached halibut pairs well with sea plants and the tongue-prickling taste of yuzu kosho. In the morning, the garden café shifts to cozy Red Arrow Coffee for coffee and pastries.

While summer weather lasts, slip away to the sweet garden oasis tucked behind this beloved Spanish restaurant. It’s best to come with a group to truly savor the vast inventory of tapas. Start with lengua de vaca (braised beef tongue) with piparra peppers, aioli, and arbequina olive oil, before moving on to grilled sardines with carrot-piment d’espelette purée and seared prawns and saffron bomba rice. The Spanish wine list is vast and spans from Basque to Galicia. Try for a highly coveted spot at the chef’s counter. Seats are first come, first served, so plan accordingly.

Cooking with fire takes center stage on the 2,000-pound smoker that sits out back at Lady Jaye. Right now, the dish that’s making meat lovers’ tongues wag is the smoked pork cheek burnt ends. Also, a smoked bologna sandwich is a tasty, stepped-up version of the lunchbox staple. For non-meat eaters, try the cornmeal-crusted fried prawns. Make a reservation and hole up on the covered patio by one of the firepits with one of mixologist Sara Rosale’s (formerly of Radiator Whiskey fame) famous cocktails. A smoked old fashioned is an on-point pairing with the menagerie of meat.

During Seattle’s long, gray days, there’s no better place to find warmth and solace than Eve Fremont’s dining room. Sun-drenched by day, perfectly mood-lit at night, it’s a cozy, welcoming spot. This neighborhood staple serves up wholesome dishes, like a nourishing chicken bone broth with mushrooms, black garlic, and cilantro, and its beloved Eve Hot Bowl – a go-to for many – with ancient grains, greens, legumes, and veggies.