Check out these places:

• Steelhead Diner: This eatery in Pike Place Market should be on every food enthusiast's radar. Don’t miss chef/owner Kevin Davis’s amazing Caviar Pie.
  
• Joule: They call it Korean/French fusion; I just call it good food. Don’t miss the cornbread with preserved garlic and smoked Gouda cheese.
  
• The Harvest Vine: An authentic tapas restaurant with tons of choices and a great wine list to boot.
  
• Branzino: A small place with big flavors, they even make their own cheese in-house. The pizza of the day and the gnocchi are always good picks.
  
• Crush: Melt in your mouth dishes and creative combinations like flan with salmon roe got this Seattle restaurant a 2009 James Beard nomination.
  
• Dahlia Lounge: When it comes to Seattle’s food scene, it’s all about Tom Douglas. Food and Wine named Dahlia Lounge the "Quintessential Seattle" restaurant in 1999...well over a decade later, that still rings true.
  
• Maneki Japanese Restaurant: Traditional Japanese cuisine. This is the real deal.
  
• Tilth Restaurant: An “organic, sustainable” restaurant that makes food that tastes as good as it is for the planet. Tree huggers & food lovers rejoice!
  
• The Walrus and the Carpenter: This is the place to go for oysters.
  
• Canlis Restaurant is a family owned restaurant that opened in 1950. The talent for creating outstanding food must be a family trait.
  

Ooooh, Dahlia Lounge is a really good one. Great decor, food, and drinks. Very popular place in Seattle. Very spacious with lots of booths.

Another one of my favorites is Tavolata, a trendy and hip Italian restaurant. You could do entrees there, but the small-medium dishes are meant to be shared family style so everyone gets a little taste of everything, or you could just do drinks there at the bar (can get food at the bar as well).

Those are both in Belltown.

In Capitol Hill, I really like La Bête. It's not as centrally located, so it wouldn't be as crowded or as loud, but they have stellar and creative dishes and a cool ambiance.

If you couldn't mind going out a bit to the Queen Anne district, How To Cook A Wolf is a really good one and actually opened by the same guy who opened Tavolata. Kind of the same concept, but the space is smaller. They serve New American food, but definitely Italian inspired.

The above four are a little more fancy and you'll want to make a reservation for those. If you're looking for some place more casual, though, I love Local 360. Oyster happy hour, plus other great food and drinks!

Pintxo for sure! It's on 2nd & Blanchard. Small, tapas bar. Great small plates, not too loud, great food.

I'll second Local 360 and Tavolata (the gnocchi is incredible). I also love Cactus in South Lake Union. Kind of nouveau Mexican, and the bar area is great to hang out for a bit. Purple Cafe and Wine Bar is great for what you're looking for if you go earlier in the evening (it tends to have a date night atmosphere as the evening wears on).

Japonessa for funky sushi rolls. Sit in the bar if you can. They have HH there like 23 of 24 hours in the day.

My friend Matt Dillon is an amazing Beard-winning chef at Sitka & Spruce, which is so so good. He's one of Seattle's best. Moroccan influenced Northwest cuisine. Chill vibe, foodies will delight in this.

The Corson Building is another great restaurant by Matt Dillon. Family style dining. One or two seatings nightly

Madison Park Conservatory is another amazing place to dine and is one of my top 3 in seattle. Featured by the NY Times, Chef's Cormac & Zoe are tops, service, food is world class. Foodies will flip over this.. Not to miss. Say hi to the chefs.

La Bête is a yummy French bistro on west slope of Capitol Hill Neighborhood . Best surprise is the pop-up Thai night that's going on there now every Monday....amazing.

Spring Hill Restaurant & Bar is in West Seattle, but worth the drive/cab. Chef Mark Fuller is genius - Food & Wine Magazin top 10 chefs in the country 2009 or 2010...

Staple and Fancy Mercantile is an italian inspired, nw roots food by great seattle chef Ethan Stowell. great neighborhoody spot, edge of hipster ballard, right next door to The Walrus and the Carpenter .

How To Cook A Wolf has amazing pasta. Another Ethan Stowell place. No reservations so show up early.

Cantinetta is another great neiborhood italian joint. Great eats/people/wine. Avocado salad is simple and mind blowingly good.

Book Bindery has tasty eats in an out of the way location on the canal. Big-ish parties ok.

Canlis Restaurant is Seattle's most classic mid-century restaurant. High end, great food, new vision from younger generation of Canlis family. Dinner guest ranges from 20-70.

Yeah, Seattle has good food!