Seattle's best dining rooms keep banker's hours at the start of the week. Canlis, Aqua by El Gaucho and Willmott's Ghost all go dark on Monday, so the city's marquee tables are closed exactly when a Monday-night diner goes looking. The rooms that stay open are the Italian institutions, the Ballard oyster bar and the all-day kitchens, and several of them are among the best in the city. Six confirmed Monday tables follow, led by Il Terrazzo Carmine and the Walrus and the Carpenter, with hours and dollar prices.
Canlis and the marquee rooms go dark Monday; Il Terrazzo Carmine and the Walrus hold dinner. Book the Walrus for Monday oysters.
Monday is the quietest night in Seattle dining, and the city's headline rooms treat it that way. Canlis serves Tuesday to Saturday, Aqua by El Gaucho and Willmott's Ghost both close Monday, and much of the tasting-menu tier follows suit. A diner with a Monday reservation in mind finds the obvious names unavailable.
What stays open is a smaller, sturdier set: the old-guard Italian dining rooms that have run for decades, Renée Erickson's Ballard oyster bar, and the all-day kitchens that never really close. The order below leads with the rooms that keep a full Monday dinner, with hours checked against each restaurant's published schedule. For the rest of the week, start with the Seattle dining guide.
Monday hours: Monday, 11:30–15:00 and 17:00–22:00
Carmine Smeraldo's Pioneer Square room has run white-tablecloth Italian since 1984, and it is one of the few serious Seattle dining rooms that keeps a full Monday service, lunch and dinner. Osso buco and the veal saltimbocca run about $55 to $95 a head. The courtyard tables are the ones to request on a quiet Monday, and the service is as polished as anything in the city.
Monday hours: Monday, 16:00–21:00
Renée Erickson won a James Beard Award for this Ballard oyster bar, and it stays open Monday from four when much of the city's top tier goes dark. A dozen Pacific oysters, the steak tartare and a glass of Muscadet run about $45 to $80 a head. It does not take Monday reservations for small parties, so arrive at four for a seat at the marble bar.
Monday hours: Monday, 16:00–22:00
Ethan Stowell's Queen Anne room runs a short, pasta-led Italian menu and opens Monday from four. The hand-rolled pastas and the crudo land around $50 to $90 a head. The bar and the small dining room make it an easy Monday walk-in when the marquee rooms are closed, and a strong neighbourhood date.
Monday hours: Monday, 17:00–22:00 (Sun–Thu)
Spinasse cooks Northern Italian on Capitol Hill, and its hand-cut tajarin in butter and sage is one of the dishes Seattle is known for. The menu runs about $60 to $100 a head. It opens Monday evenings, when the room is calmest, which makes a Monday the best night to land the tajarin without a wait.
Monday hours: Daily, from 15:00
Barolo runs a glossy Belltown dining room seven days a week, opening at three, so Monday dinner is a standing booking. The house pastas and the bistecca run about $50 to $90 a head. It is the most reliable Monday table in the neighbourhood, with a long bar that takes walk-ins for a single diner.
Monday hours: Monday, 11:00–24:00
Eric and Sophie Banh, the siblings behind Monsoon, run Ba Bar as an all-day Vietnamese kitchen open Monday to midnight. The pho, the rotisserie chicken and the late-night menu run about $25 to $50 a head. It is the Monday answer for a good, unfussy meal that runs late, well after the fine-dining rooms have closed.
With the marquee rooms closed, the Monday move in Seattle is to favour the open Italian institutions and the Ballard oyster bar. Book Il Terrazzo Carmine and Spinasse a few days ahead on their own platforms; the Walrus and the Carpenter does not take Monday reservations for small parties, so arrive at four for the bar. For a first date, How to Cook a Wolf or Spinasse run intimate, conversation-easy rooms; for a solo Monday, the marble bar at the Walrus is the seat and a strong solo-dining choice; to impress a client, Il Terrazzo Carmine's old-school service is the pick.
Seattle's marquee rooms, including Canlis, Aqua by El Gaucho and Willmott's Ghost, close on Monday, but a handful of strong kitchens stay open. Il Terrazzo Carmine serves lunch and dinner, the Walrus and the Carpenter opens at four, and How to Cook a Wolf, Spinasse, Barolo Ristorante and Ba Bar all run Monday service. These are the city's best Monday-night options.
No. Canlis, Seattle's most decorated dining room, is closed Monday and Sunday, serving Tuesday through Saturday from 5pm. For a comparable Monday dinner, Il Terrazzo Carmine in Pioneer Square keeps a full Monday service, and Spinasse on Capitol Hill opens Monday evenings. Plan a Canlis visit for midweek instead, and book several weeks ahead for a window table.
The Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard is the city's oyster bar and stays open Monday from 4pm, with a rotating list of Pacific Northwest varieties. Renée Erickson's room does not take Monday reservations for small parties, so arrive close to opening for a seat at the marble bar. It is the strongest Monday booking for seafood in Seattle.
Yes. Seattle follows the US convention of 18 to 20 percent on the pre-tax bill for full-service dining. Some restaurants add a service charge to support staff wages, which is disclosed on the menu or the bill, so check before adding a second tip. The convention is the same on a Monday as any other night.
Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule as of June 2026; confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.