Most of Seattle's marquee dining rooms close on Sunday and Monday. Canlis takes only Tuesday-to-Saturday bookings, The Pink Door shutters both days, and the city's tasting counters keep banker's weeks. That makes a strong Sunday reservation here a planning problem rather than a given. The good news: several of the best rooms stay open, and none of them are consolation prizes. You can eat Renee Erickson's Ballard oysters, hand-pulled Piedmontese pasta on Capitol Hill, or a farm-set menu in Georgetown on a Sunday night. These six are the ones we book.
Six Seattle rooms that actually open on Sunday, from Capitol Hill pasta to Ballard oysters. Book Spinasse; walk into the Walrus.
How Seattle Eats on a Sunday
Seattle eats early every day of the week, and Sunday is the earliest of all. Prime tables run 5:00 to 7:30, and most kitchens stop seating by 9:00, sooner than you would expect coming from New York or Los Angeles. Reservations are the difference between a good Sunday and a wasted one: the rooms that open tend to fill fast precisely because so many rivals are closed. Book two to three days ahead for the sit-down rooms, and arrive early for the walk-in ones.
The city has no Michelin guide. Michelin has never inspected Washington, so the local benchmark is the James Beard Awards. Renee Erickson, who runs The Walrus and the Carpenter, won Best Chef Northwest in 2016, and her Sea Creatures group anchors the city's Sunday seafood. Tipping follows the US norm of 18 to 22 percent, though a growing number of rooms fold a service charge into the bill, so read the check before adding to it. For the full picture of the city, start with our Seattle dining guide.
The Six Best Seattle Restaurants Open on Sunday
Ranked by what we would book first on a Sunday night, each confirmed against its current Sunday hours. Every entry links to its full verdict.
- Cascina SpinasseOpen Sunday 5–10pm. Seattle's best plate of pasta is here: tajarin, thirty egg yolks to the kilo, dressed in butter and sage. The Sunday room is calmer than the weekend rush, which makes it the night to come for the full handmade-pasta flight. Reserve two to three days out.
- The Walrus and the CarpenterOpen Sunday 4–9pm, no reservations. Renee Erickson's James Beard-winning oyster bar shucks the city's best daily raw selection, from Kumamoto to Hama Hama, at a zinc bar that seats about forty. Come early or expect a wait; the room fills the moment the doors open.
- The Corson BuildingOpen Friday to Sunday from 5:30pm. One set menu a night, priced around $75, built from whatever the farms delivered that morning and served in a lantern-lit 1910 compound. It is the most romantic Sunday table in the city, and the kitchen does not repeat itself week to week.
- Wild GingerOpen Sunday 4–9pm. The fragrant duck and the satay bar have anchored this 3rd Avenue room since the late 1980s, and it is one of the few large, polished dining rooms downtown that keeps full Sunday service. Good for a group that wants range without a tasting-menu commitment.
- Salty's on AlkiOpen Sunday for brunch 9am–1:30pm and dinner 4:30–9pm. The Sunday seafood brunch buffet, with Dungeness crab, an oyster bar and a carving station, is a West Seattle institution set against the downtown skyline across Elliott Bay. Book the brunch; it sells out most Sundays.
- Ba BarOpen Sunday 11am to midnight. Eric and Sophie Banh's 12th Avenue room runs phở, rotisserie and bánh cuốn from late morning until the early hours, the rare Seattle kitchen that takes a Sunday walk-in well after 9pm. The best late solo seat in the city.
Best for a Solo Sunday
Eating alone on a quiet Sunday is the point at the Walrus zinc bar in Ballard and Ba Bar's late counter on Capitol Hill. For more counters worth a single seat, see our guide to the best restaurants for solo dining.
Seattle Sunday Dining FAQ
Which Seattle restaurants are open on Sunday?
Six rooms we trust stay open on Sunday: Cascina Spinasse on Capitol Hill (5–10pm), The Walrus and the Carpenter in Ballard (4–9pm), The Corson Building in Georgetown (from 5:30pm), Wild Ginger downtown (4–9pm), Salty's on Alki in West Seattle (brunch and dinner) and Ba Bar (11am to midnight). Most of the city's tasting counters and Canlis are closed Sunday, so book one of these ahead.
Is Canlis open on Sunday?
No. Canlis serves Tuesday through Saturday only, with no Sunday or Monday service, so it cannot anchor a Sunday night out. For a comparable sense of occasion on a Sunday, The Corson Building in Georgetown sets one farm-driven menu a night in a lantern-lit compound and takes Friday-to-Sunday bookings. See the full Seattle picks above.
Where can I get Sunday brunch in Seattle?
Salty's on Alki runs the city's best-known Sunday seafood brunch buffet from 9am to 1:30pm, with Dungeness crab, an oyster bar and a carving station, looking across Elliott Bay to the skyline. It sells out most Sundays, so reserve a table. Ba Bar on Capitol Hill also serves Vietnamese plates from late morning if you want something lighter.
How far ahead should I book a Sunday dinner in Seattle?
Two to three days is enough for the sit-down rooms like Cascina Spinasse, Wild Ginger and The Corson Building, though Corson's small dining room and Salty's brunch can go sooner. The Walrus and the Carpenter and Ba Bar take walk-ins only, so arrive early, especially at the Walrus, which fills the moment it opens.
Does Seattle have Michelin-starred restaurants open on Sunday?
No Seattle restaurant carries a Michelin star, because Michelin has never published a Washington guide. The local benchmark is the James Beard Awards: Renee Erickson, whose Walrus and the Carpenter opens Sundays, won Best Chef Northwest in 2016. Judge a Seattle Sunday by Beard pedigree and a confirmed open kitchen, not by stars.
Where to Eat Near Seattle
Heading out of town on a Sunday? See our companion guides to Portland and Vancouver, browse the city's defining Pacific Northwest seafood, or plan a different night with the full Best Restaurants in Seattle guide.
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team. Hours change; we confirm Sunday and Monday service against each restaurant's published schedule before listing, but call ahead for holidays. This guide carries affiliate reservation links and earns no fee for inclusion.