It’s hard not to love spring in Seattle, but for me it’s all the better because it means I get to work on—and deliver to you—this, our annual Voracious Dining Guide.

This year’s guide has, of course, our favorite restaurants (up from 103 to 119 this year!), though that still feels like just a drop in the bucket when the city continues to open more and more incredible food establishments. Our list, curated by myself and my trusted contributors, covers 15 categories, including New Pacific Northwest, Italian, Mexican, bars, bakeries, and more. Not every place we love can fit into these pages, so some of our longstanding favorites like Tilth, Mamnoon, and Joule, had to make way this year for newcomers. That’s the hardest part of putting this thing together.

Besides our favorite restaurants, we bring you some mouthwatering stories as well, fun reads that are also full of practical tips and recommendations. In particular I wanted to inject more joy into your spring, and nothing to me feels more playful and joyous (and delicious!) than desserts and sandwiches. So read on about the new wave of pastry chefs who are breaking out on their own to create inventive pop-ups and stand-alone sweetshops, and about chefs who are turning the humble sandwich into a showstopper of a dish. We also have your wine needs covered here, as our resident drink columnist and sommelier helps you make sense of increasingly challenging restaurant wine lists, so you can pick the perfect bottle (or glass pour) for your meal.

Thank you for reading. Cheers, and happy spring!

Nicole Sprinkle

Food & Drink Editor, Seattle Weekly

Nicole Sprinkle

Jose Trujillo

Gavin Borchert, Jay Friedman,

Zach Geballe, Megan Hill,

Diana Le, Julien Perry, Jason Price, Bianca Sewake, 
Nina Shapiro,

Jacob Uitti

COVER PHOTO BY KYU HAN