Seattle is a city known for many things – its rainy weather, coffee culture, tech industry giants, and beautiful natural landscapes. But there is one culinary specialty that Seattle is especially renowned for – its delicious, thick, creamy soups.
Clam chowder
One of the most iconic Seattle soups is clam chowder. With its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and abundance of fresh seafood, Seattle has adopted New England style clam chowder as one of its signature dishes. Unlike the tomato-based clam chowder more commonly found in New York and New England, Seattle clam chowder is a creamy, potato based soup loaded with clams, onions, celery, garlic, and bacon. The chowder is so thick and creamy that it coats your spoon.
Where can you find the best clam chowder in Seattle? Here are some top spots:
- Pike Place Chowder – This award-winning chowder shop at Pike Place Market has been serving clam chowder and other chowder varieties for over 15 years. Customers rave about the chunky, fresh clams and creamy base.
- Ivar’s Acres of Clams – A Seattle seafood institution since 1938, Ivar’s makes classic clam chowder with loads of local clams and potatoes. They have multiple locations around Seattle.
- Elliott’s Oyster House – This upscale seafood restaurant overlooking Elliott Bay is known for its rotating daily selection of oyster varieties as well as its addictive clam chowder.
- The Crab Pot – Located on Seattle’s waterfront with beautiful views, The Crab Pot on Alki Beach serves clam chowder loaded with clams, bacon, potatoes, and cream in a bread bowl.
- 13 Coins – Open 24 hours a day, this Seattle late-night institution serves creamy, dreamy clam chowder anytime you crave it.
Smoked salmon chowder
Another quintessential Seattle soup featuring local seafood is smoked salmon chowder. Washington State is famous for its smoked salmon, and pairing it with creamy soup just makes sense. Seattle chefs transform the Pacific Northwest’s incredible wild salmon into rich, savory smoked salmon, then use it to make a velvety base seasoned with onions, potatoes, heavy cream or milk, garlic, white wine, and herbs. It’s pure comfort in a bowl.
Some top spots for smoked salmon chowder include:
- Wildfin American Grill – Located in Edmonds, just north of Seattle, Wildfin is acclaimed for its salmon dishes including the incredible smoked salmon corn chowder.
- Agua Verde Cafe – This colorful cafe on Lake Union uses salmon smoked in-house to make their chunky salmon and potato chowder.
- The Crumpet Shop – This cozy Pike Place Market spot serves legendary smoked salmon chowder inside fresh crumpets.
- The Pink Door – Behind a bright fuchsia door in Pike Place Market, The Pink Door downtown offers rich house-smoked salmon chowder with leeks and Yukon potatoes.
Seafood bisque
Another French-inspired seafood soup popular in Seattle is seafood bisque. Made from a tomato base enriched with seafood stock, wine, and heavy cream, the bisque is packed with shrimp, crab, mussels, scallops, salmon, or a combination of seafood. The velvety soup is intensely flavored yet refined. It’s often served with oyster crackers or croutons and garnished with parsley.
Top spots for indulging in seafood bisque include:
- Metropolitan Grill – This downtown steakhouse institution serves classic seafood bisque made with lobster stock and loaded with shrimp, crab, and scallops.
- Shucker’s Oyster Bar – This lively oyster bar makes seafood bisque with mussels, shrimp, salmon, heavy cream, and white wine.
- Six Seven – At the Edgewater Hotel on the waterfront, Six Seven is known for elegant seafood dishes like Dungeness crab bisque.
- Palisade – With dazzling views of Elliott Bay, Palisade crafts a velvety bisque with scallops, prawns, cod, salmon, and halibut.
Cioppino
Cioppino is a flavorful seafood stew that likely originated in San Francisco but is also beloved in Seattle for showcasing the city’s bounty of fresh seafood. A tomato-based broth is loaded with a variety of fish and shellfish like crab, clams, mussels, scallops, halibut, and shrimp. The stew is flavored with wine and spiced with garlic, onions, and herbs. Served with crusty bread, cioppino makes a hearty, comforting meal.
Where to savor cioppino in Seattle:
- The Walrus and the Carpenter – This popular Ballard oyster bar serves weekend cioppino specials with Dungeness crab, manila clams, and lingcod that draw long lines out the door.
- The Fisherman’s Restaurant – Operating on Salmon Bay since 1931, this seafood restaurant offers cioppino teeming with fresh fish and shellfish.
- The RockCreek – This upscale seafood eatery in Fremont crafts cioppino with mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops and rockfish in a saffron-tomato broth.
Bouillabaisse
Like cioppino, bouillabaisse is a French-inspired seafood stew that allows Seattle chefs to highlight the region’s bounty of fresh fish and shellfish. Originating from Marseille, this hearty Provençal stew contains at least four types of seafood simmered in a flavorful broth of wine, tomatoes, garlic, saffron, fennel, and herbs. Seattle versions may contain salmon, halibut, mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, crab and more.
Where to find stellar bouillabaisse in Seattle:
- The Pink Door – This lively Pike Place Market restaurant serves bouillabaisse teeming with at least five types of fresh local seafood in a signature garlic-saffron broth.
- Lark – At this acclaimed Seattle restaurant, the rotating bouillabaisse stars seasonal seafood like black cod, salmon, and spot prawns in a tomato-fennel broth.
- Toulouse Petit – Bringing New Orleans flair to Seattle, Toulouse Petit’s hearty seafood stew contains oysters, prawns, cod and smoked salmon in a rich saffron tomato broth.
Geoduck chowder
The geoduck (pronounced “gooey duck”), a giant saltwater clam native to the Pacific Northwest, may be unfamiliar to people outside the region, but it’s a popular delicacy in Seattle. Geoduck chowder highlights this unique ingredient, showcasing slices of tender geoduck simmered in a creamy, potato-based chowder spiced with bacon, white wine, and herbs. The briny geoduck and creamy base make a distinctively Northwest soup.
Hot spots for indulging in geoduck chowder include:
- Ivar’s Acres of Clams – The longtime Seattle seafood favorite serves classic geoduck chowder, paired perfectly with Ivar’s famous sourdough bread.
- The Brooklyn Seafood Steak & Oyster House – Located on Seattle’s waterfront, this seafood restaurant serves geoduck chowder loaded with chunks of fresh geoduck.
- The Fisherman’s Restaurant – Specializing in Puget Sound seafood, this restaurant on Salmon Bay makes rich geoduck chowder with cream, potatoes, and geoduck sourced from nearby Tacoma.
Dungeness crab bisque
Dungeness crab is another Pacific Northwest delicacy, and Seattle chefs love highlighting it in creamy, decadent Dungeness crab bisque. After cooking and picking fresh, local Dungeness crab, the sweet, flaky crab meat is added to a base of simmered onion, celery, garlic, cream, and wine. Sometimes sherry or brandy is splashed in at the end to enrich the flavors. The velvety soup is heaven for crab lovers.
Where to get your Dungeness crab bisque fix:
- Metropolitan Grill – The downtown steakhouse legend serves an elegant version made with Dungeness crab stock, sherry, and loads of crab meat.
- Elliott’s Oyster House – Perched overlooking Elliott Bay, Elliott’s makes a standout Dungeness crab bisque with a splash of cognac.
- Palisade – The Dungeness crab bisque shines here thanks to fresh Puget Sound crab and a splash of nutty brandy.
- Cutters Crabhouse – With locations in multiple Seattle neighborhoods, Cutters Crabhouse nails Dungeness crab bisque with plenty of crab in the mix.
Wild mushroom soup
Beyond seafood soups and chowders, Seattle chefs excel at crafting creamy mushroom soups that showcase the bounty of wild mushrooms found in the Pacific Northwest’s forests. Varieties like morel, chanterelle, porcini, hedgehog, oyster and lobster mushrooms thrive in the damp conditions of Washington and Oregon. Their earthy, woodsy flavors shine through in wild mushroom soup.
The soup starts with a base of sautéed mushrooms, shallots and garlic, then simmers in broth and cream. Top Seattle chefs obsess over sourcing the finest foraged wild mushrooms and practice expert techniques to concentrate the intense mushroom essence into each spoonful.
Where to savor wild mushroom soup:
- Lark – Chef John Sundstrom’s revered Seattle restaurant serves velvety wild mushroom soup teeming with ultra-fresh mushrooms.
- Tumbleweeds – This Capitol Hill hotspot makes a hearty wild mushroom soup with foraged chanterelles and hedgehogs.
- Art of the Table – Chef Daisley Gordon’s seasonal soups shine, like her creamy wild mushroom soup topped with chives.
- Sitka & Spruce – Chef Matt Dillon elegantly combines wild mushrooms and radicchio in his signature soup.
Broccoli cheese soup
After so many rich, heavy seafood soups, Seattle has embraced the classic comfort of broccoli cheese soup. Especially popular at casual cafes and pubs, broccoli cheese soup combines a creamy cheese broccoli base with toasted bread crumbs, bacon bits, and oyster crackers on top for salty crunch. The soup tastes like a nostalgic hug.
The best spots for broccoli cheese soup:
- Beecher’s Handmade Cheese – The flagship cafe of this Seattle artisan cheese company serves legendary broccoli cheese soup made with their Flagship and Just Jack cheeses.
- Pomegranate Bistro – This Issaquah cafe’s roasted broccoli cheese soup is made creamy with mascarpone and cheddar cheese.
- The Cheesemonger’s Table – Made with aged cheddar, fontina and parmesan, the “Adult Mac & Cheese” soup shines at this charming cheese shop and cafe.
- The Masonry – Loaded with broccoli and four cheeses, Masonry’s super creamy soup is a local favorite.
Creamy tomato basil
When summer tomatoes are at their peak, Seattle chefs celebrate with creamy tomato basil soup loaded with sweet tomato flavor. Ripe tomatoes are blended with cream or half-and-half, then enhanced with onion, garlic, olive oil, basil and seasoning. Garnished with a swirl of cream and fresh basil leaves, creamy tomato basil soup captures the essence of summer.
Where to get amazing creamy tomato basil soup:
- Barrio – This small chain of Mexican eateries makes an addictive roasted tomato and basil soup topped with corn salsa.
- Cupcake Royale – The bakery-cafe’s popular tomato basil soup is like eating a giant creamy bowl of Caprese salad.
- Tom Douglas’ Dahlia Lounge & Palace Kitchen – Famed Seattle chef Tom Douglas serves velvety house-made tomato basil soup at his restaurants.
- Pestle Rock Isarn Thai Cuisine – Savory Thai flavors amp up the tomato basil soup here,served with fresh basil and chili oil.
Corn and crab chowder
Highlighting quintessential Seattle ingredients, corn and crab chowder combines the summer’s best corn with tender crab meat. The soup starts with a base of chopped potatoes, onion, celery, garlic and corn cooked in broth and milk. After blending, the soup is enriched with cream and lump crab meat right before serving. The sweet corn and savory crab complement each other beautifully.
The top spots for corn and crab chowder:
- Elliott’s Oyster House – Featuring sweet corn and Dungeness crab, Elliott’s seasonal version of this classic soup shines.
- Ivar’s Acres of Clams – Ivar’s makes corn and crab chowder bursting with ultra-fresh, local seafood flavors.
- Duke’s Chowder House – Located near Green Lake, this casual spot nails corn and crab chowder every summer.
Roasted winter squash soup
When cool weather hits Seattle, restaurants showcase seasonal winter squash in velvety roasted soups. Varieties like kabocha, acorn, and butternut squash get oven-roasted to intensify their sweetness before getting blended into soup. Onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg complement the squash flavors. The soup gets finished with a swirl of cream and garnish of pumpkin seeds or pepitas.
Where to savor winter squash soup:
- Art of the Table – The Queen Anne cafe’s kabocha and carrot soup with coconut milk is a seasonal highlight.
- Book Larder – This cafe owned by cookbook authors serves a stellar roasted acorn squash soup with browned butter croutons.
- Cafe Flora – One of Seattle’s top veggie restaurants, Cafe Flora’s silky butternut squash soup shines.
- Tilth – Chef Maria Hines’ acclaimed Wallingford restaurant serves a velvety soup starring roasted winter squash from local farms.
Conclusion
From seafood chowders and bisques to seasonal vegetable soups, Seattle’s chefs have mastered the art of crafting creamy, soul-warming soups that capture the essence of the Pacific Northwest. Seafood lovers delight in chowders, bisques and cioppino brimming with fresh local clams, mussels, salmon and Dungeness crab. Foraged wild mushrooms and winter squash lend their woodsy, earthy flavors to silky roasted soups. And classic favorites like clam chowder, tomato basil, and broccoli cheese remain beloved Seattle staples. With so many amazing soup options, Seattle truly is a soup lover’s paradise.