THE MOMENT WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! I have been dying to put together a Seattle guide for a long freaking time. The issue is, I get overwhelmed when I look at city guides and in the end, resort to Yelp. So I decided to put together a different take on a city guide. Here are my top 5s of my hometown, Seattle.
TOP 5 FAST CASUAL EATS
Homegrown – Farm to table style soups, salads, and sandwiches. // Sprinkled all around the city, Bellevue, and Mercer Island
Café Yumm – A tastier Chipotle (in my opinion) with plant based options. // 7th & Pine
Bounty Kitchen – Local, organic, and lots of variety! // Queen Anne and Denny Triangle
Vinason Pho & Grill – Vietnamese food made locally and sustainably. Vegetarian/vegan and keto options available! // South Lake Union
Eltana – If you need a bagel spot in Seattle, this is it. // Capitol Hill and Seattle Center
TOP 5 PLANT BASED EATS
Heartbeet Organic Superfoods Cafe – Amazing salads, warm bowls, juices, and tasty raw vegan treats. // Queen Anne
Plum Bistro – Three words. MAC AND YEEZY. The tastiest vegan comfort food in the city. // Capitol Hill
Cafe Flora – Amazing brunch. Best cinnamon roll ever and if you can’t get enough, they have a location in the airport in between the A & B gates. // Madison Valley
Juicebox Cafe – Unique flavors and twists on simple eats. Try their savory oats! // Capitol Hill
Harvest Beat – Definitely a splurge but such an amazing experience of local and eco-friendly eats in the art of a 5 course meal. // Wallingford
TOP 5 BRUNCH EATS
Super Six – Hawaiian fusion with the best morning adult bevvies. // Columbia City
Cafe Opla – Vietnamese fusion, banh mi in a skillet. Unique and amazing. // On the Pier
Oddfellows Cafe – Simple menu, great ambience. // Capitol Hill
Mr. West Cafe & Bar – They have charcuterie boards. I REPEAT. They have charcuterie boards!! // Westlake
The Fat Hen // If you enjoy eggs and a simple menu, check this spot out. Fair warning, the space is small so there will most likely be a wait. But worth it! // Ballard
TOP 5 SWEET EATS
Frankie and Jo’s – The best ice cream in the city. All vegan and fun flavors. // Ballard and Capitol Hill.
Ellenos Yogurt – The most amazing Greek yogurt ever, tastes like melted cheesecake. Local. // Pike Place Market and Georgetown
The Flying Apron – A vegan and gluten free bakery! AMAZING. // West Seattle and Fremont
Mighty-O Donuts – The yummiest doughnuts that just HAPPEN to be vegan. // Capitol Hill, Greenlake, Ballard, and Denny Triangle
Hot Cakes – Homemade molten cakes. Unreal. // Ballard and Capitol Hill
TOP 5 COFFEESHOPS
Cafe An’Clair – A French inspired cafe with amazing pastries, naturally. // South Lake Union
Retreat – Wellness latte galore! They also have lots of amazing food options and turns into a bar later in the day. // Greenlake
Stone Way Cafe – Amazing coffee, great food, and live music in the evening! // Fremont
Storyville Coffee – Great local coffee and ambience for work space. // Downtown, Capitol Hill, and Pike Place
Atulea – For you non-coffee drinkers, my favorite matcha shop makes amazing matcha lattes and bubble tea! Super cute and makes me feel like I’m in California. // Capitol Hill
TOP 5 HAPPY HOUR
Toulouse Petit – The tastiest creole food made affordable with their incredible happy hour menu. Incredible first date-y ambience. // Queen Anne
Pablo y Pablo – Great happy hour menu with lots of food and drink options. Vegetarian/vegan options available! GET THE SPICY MARGS. // Wallingford
M Bar – Rooftop bar with a unique menu. Worth it for the view alone. // South Lake Union
Lunchbox Laboratory – Not the healthiest, but definitely one of the most delicious. I dream of their totchos. // South Lake Union and Greenlake
Japonessa – Seattle’s best sushi happy hour, hands down. The hours alone are amazing but the menu actually has a great selection and the drinks are amazing too. // Downtown
We found an Airbnb in the business district, which was super convenient for getting around. We walked a lot and took the public transport (get an Opal card) when needed.
Food:
The Harrison* (central) – decent happy hour
Playfield Cafe* (central) – located in the Rocks, great stop for an epic sandwich if you’re there for the market
Grill’d* (Surry Hills) – it’s a healthy fast food chain with amazing zucchini fries, paleo buns, vegetarian/vegan options. highly recommend enjoying with a glass of rosé!
Fishbowl* (Bondi) – poké chain. so fresh and their fish are sustainably sourced!
Berri Patch* (Bondi) – great smoothies and smoothie bowls!
Lil Darlin’* (Darlinghurst) – the best meal I had in Sydney! their salmon is AMAZING. fun drinks, fun vibes! you get $10 off your drink for posting on your IG about them
Gelato Messina* (Darlinghurst) – there was a constant line out the door for obvious reasons. it was soooo good! they have vegan options too
Verd* (Manly) – think plant based Sweetgreen, they have vegan bulletproof coffee too!
Manly Wine* (Manly) – such a cute spot for brunch!
Fish Market – highly recommended by multiple people
Mug Life – colorful burgers
Flower Child Cafe
Orchard Street Cafe – shop and cafe with adaptogens, wish I had gone!
The Grounds – whimsical vibes
Son of a Baker
V Lounge
Two Sis
Henry Lee’s
Morning Owl
Chimichuri
Little Turtle – Thai food
Treetop Cafe
The Mews Mosman
Bondi Health Market (Surry Hills)
Al Taglio (Surry Hills) – pizza owned by two young men, highly recommended by a friend
Green Dream (Bondi)
Icebergs Club (Bondi) – such a great spot for a view and a drink. there’s a dress code!
Trio (Bondi) – highly recommended to me, wish I had gone!
Paris (Bondi)
Preach (Bondi)
Bare Naked Bowls – açaí bowl chain
Market Street Cafe (Manly) – best coffee
Manly Skiff Club (Manly) – food with a great view of the water and boats
Four Points (Manly) – local brewery
Activities & Tips:
The Rocks Farmers Market on Fridays and Saturdays*
Ferry to Manly* – such a cute little beach town
Explore Darlinghurst and Surry Hills* – these were my favorite parts of the city
North head looking out Manly* – trails and caves
Hike Blue Mountains* – gorgeous park, plan to make it a day trip. pack lots of snacks and water!
Bus to Bondi Beach* – super busy and touristy but really fun!
Eco hopper ferry – like a free tour of Manly to the Quay
The Rocks Walking Tour – free
If you’re dying to hold koalas, know that you can’t in the city of Sydney. They have a law against it to protect the animals. Plan around this if that’s important to you!
If you’re not a huge city person, I wouldn’t recommend staying in central. It’s really busy! If I were to go back, I would stay in Manly (still lots to do, eat, and see) and stay close to the beaches, then ferry into the city.
BRISBANE
Where I stayed:
I stayed at an Airbnb south of the city, around Southbank. I loved the area! I just took public transport (get a go card) to get around, north of the city, as well as to and from Lone Pine. I loved walking to West End too! Such a fun area and about 2 miles away from where I stayed. Message me if you want details on where I stayed! I had the best host – super kind and welcoming.
Food:
Miss Bliss Whole Foods* (West End) – so good, went here twice! the bliss bowl without grains and peas, add salmon was my go to order! they also have amazing raw vegan treats, as do many of these places!
Paw Paw Cafe* (South) – Asian fusion healthy food. the curry was amazing. vegan/gluten free options available!
NoDo Donuts* (Newstead) – awesome brunch spot with the best gluten free donuts. AMAZING. their gluten free and vegan sourdough hot cake was really tasty too
Brew Wine Cafe* (central) – speakeasy vibes, vegan/vegetarian options, great spot for a drink
The Pantry* (Southbank) – tiny little health food store with fresh produce/deli/juice
Whole Health* (West End) – HIGHLY RECOMMEND! I made a stop here a few times to pick up some fun health food items. they have an amazing bulk section with loving earth chocolate bars you can buy for baking too!
The Cruelty Free Shop* (West End) – such a cute little vegan/cruelty free shop. mostly food, some clothing, books, etc.
Marcia’s* (West End) – sustainably friendly shop with some food in the back. they have really amazing ice cream sandwiches that are vegan, gluten free, and refined sugar free!
The Green Grocer* (West End) – little health food shop
Cardamom Pod* (Gold Coast) – HIGHLY RECOMMEND. plant based. the most beautiful smoothie bowls ever and they taste amazing
West End Markets on the weekends* – search for Davies Park on google maps
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary******* – HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! Funny story, I originally had just a 7 hour layover in Brisbane, just enough time to travel to Lone Pine to cuddle the koalas, right? Wrong. We got there and were told that they were no longer doing koala cuddles and photos and to come back in the morning. I decided to cancel my flight to Cairns and stay so I could hold the koalas. Worth it. These animals are really taken care of here and I felt really happy supporting an organization that’s so passionate about animals.
Train to Gold Coast* – go south if you want quieter beaches, but I wanted to see the madness since I was making a day trip out of it. I went to Surfer’s Paradise and it was beautiful. Be careful though! I got stung by a jellyfish here!
I regret not making time to make it to Byron Bay. Next time, I would definitely rent a car and drive there to see the beaches and amazing healthy foods!
MELBOURNE
Where I stayed:
I stayed in a beautiful apartment I found on Airbnb in the Docklands, where the marina is. 10/10 would recommend! It was so nice getting to walk over to the marina to read my book and watch the sunset. There’s also a free trolley that runs in that area into the city! It’s not a bad walk either! Uber pool is available for really cheap too.
Food:
Cocobei* (Docklands) – amazing cafe next door to my Airbnb. I literally pulled up a photo they had on their IG and said, “I’d like to order this!” it was something off their menu with modifications. super bright and calming atmosphere. they also offer barista and latte art classes!
Aunt Maggie’s* (Fitzroy) – like a little Whole Foods. the best part is all of their raw vegan treats and loco love chocolates at the checkout! AMAZING.
Matcha Mylkbar* (St Kilda) – highly recommend!!! plant based brunch spot. the most beautiful food and super tasty too!
Combi* (Elwood) – got a coffee here but their smoothies looked amazing
Leaf* (Elwood) – little health food store. amazing finds!
Manchester Press* (central) – amazing open face bagel toast
Laneway Greens* (central) – similar to Sweetgreen
Ronnie and the Fabulous Juice* (central) – located at the Queen Victoria market. I got the Charlie Brown smoothie without agave and it was delicious!
Little Green – vegan
Serotonin Dealer
Tall Timber
Weirdoughs – plant based baked goods
Barry – coffee and food
Lune Croissanterie – best croissants in the world
Green Cup
This Is Life
Little Sunflower
Elwood Bathers (Elwood)
The Turtle (Elwood)
Who is Bunker Spreckles (Elwood) – cool surf vibes cafe
Foxes Den (Elwood) – healthy take out
Plain Sailing (Elwood) – highly recommended by a friend
Penta Elsternwick
Top Paddock
Coin Laundry
Left Field
Mr. Patterson
Gin Palace (central) – a must if you enjoy gin
Heartbreaker (central) – cool spot for a drink
Madame Brussels (central) – rooftop bar
Toff in Town (central) – rooftop bar
Activities & Tips:
Queen Victoria Market* – such a fun market with lots to see! great place to get souvenirs
Sucker Love Tattoo* – Bobbie is amazing especially if you’re into fine line tattoos!
Hosier Lane* – famous spot for legal graffiti
Walk Fitzroy* – lots of quirky shops and restaurants
Explore Elwood* – tons of cute little shops and cafes
Free trolley in and around the city
City Gallery – free art museum
NGV Australia – free art museum, abstract art
Robert Gordon Ceramics – local to Melbourne and he has an outlet shop an hour away from the city
Botanical Gardens
Flinders Lane – lots of shops
Brunswick Street – shops
Walk around Crown Casino
Crown Fire Show
Drive the Great Ocean Road – if I could go back, I’d make time for this!
* = places I’ve been. no * & no note = instagrammable spot I found via word of mouth or on @bestfood IG accounts
Quick tips for solo travel:
bring a good book, or two! I finally found and made time to read and it felt amazing
download offline mode maps. T-Mobile is my service provider and they offer unlimited international roaming but it’s SLOW
bring a little cash. most places accept card but some market vendors only take cash
don’t be afraid to ask locals for help! your Airbnb hosts are great resources too. locals love sharing info about their favorite spots and little tips with getting around the city
be comfortable with making friends everywhere you go. solo travel can get lonely! I made friends with my servers, random people out and about at pubs, shops, and restaurants, the cabin crews, etc. your confidence will build too!
make a list of your priorities and make them happen! make note of their location, how long it would get there from where you’re staying, and when they close. don’t leave without any regrets!
bring some American goodies for cabin crew, Airbnb hosts, random people you meet! I packed a ton of chocolate, protein bars, thank you cards, and Seattle pins from home to share!
be cautious, mindful, and smart! be aware of your surroundings and say “no” when your gut tells you to in any situation
I used tinder as a way to meet locals and have someone to grab coffee with. didn’t have the best experience but I don’t regret doing it either
made friends by having a power bank on me. just an idea!
I know this is heaps of information but it was seriously one of the best places I have ever visited. The people are so kind, warm, and welcoming! I never really felt alone even whilst traveling solo. Have fun, be safe, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions!