Restaurant in Seattle, United States
Pike Place Pacific Northwest done properly.
Matt's in the Market sits above Pike Place Market and earned a spot on Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in North America list in both 2023 and 2024. Chef Matt Fortner runs a market-driven Pacific Northwest menu that changes with what's available below. Booking is easy relative to Seattle's harder tables, and midweek lunch is the quietest, most considered way to experience it.
You'll pay mid-range prices for a Pacific Northwest kitchen that earned a spot on Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in North America list in both 2023 and 2024 (ranked #379). That's a meaningful credential for a room above Pike Place Market, and it sets a clear expectation: this is not a tourist lunch stop or a casual fish counter. Matt's is a serious, ingredient-led restaurant where the daily menu reflects what's available steps away in the market below. If that format appeals to you, book it. If you want a prix-fixe tasting arc with matched wines and a full production kitchen behind it, look elsewhere in Seattle.
The room is small, the ceilings are low, and at dinner the energy runs warm and close. Don't come for a quiet conversation on a Friday night — the ambient noise level sits firmly in the lively category once the dining room fills. Lunch, particularly midweek, runs calmer and gives you a better shot at a considered meal with actual audible conversation. If atmosphere matters to your booking decision, lunch Tuesday through Thursday is the sweet spot.
The location is the context here. Sitting directly above Pike Place Market means the kitchen has access to some of the most direct farm-to-table sourcing in Seattle, and chef Matt Fortner has built a menu around that proximity. The Pacific Northwest cuisine format at Matt's is market-driven rather than tasting-menu-structured — you're choosing from a focused seasonal menu rather than following a set progression. That distinction matters: this is not a narrative arc experience in the vein of Lazy Bear in San Francisco or Smyth in Chicago. It's a tighter, more immediate expression of what's in season right now, which suits the explorer diner who wants to eat the place rather than eat a concept.
For comparison at the leading end of that format, The French Laundry in Napa and Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg offer the fully choreographed tasting experience. Matt's is a different proposition: lower stakes, more accessible, and more directly tied to a specific place and season. That's a genuine strength, not a consolation.
Sunday is the only day without dinner service, and the restaurant closes at 2:30 pm on Sundays. If you're planning around a weekend in Seattle, Saturday lunch is the most practical entry point , you get the market buzz without the Friday-night noise ceiling. For a fuller picture of what else is worth your time in the city, see our full Seattle restaurants guide, alongside our Seattle hotels guide and our Seattle bars guide.
Within the Pacific Northwest cuisine category, Matt's shares company with Sweedeedee in Portland and OK Omens in Portland , both worth knowing if you're moving through the region. In Seattle specifically, Archipelago offers another angle on ingredient-driven Pacific Northwest cooking if you want a direct comparison on the same trip.
The 4.5 rating across 1,189 Google reviews is a reliable signal of consistent delivery. At that volume, a 4.5 is harder to maintain than at 200 reviews , it means the kitchen isn't having bad nights regularly. For a restaurant of this profile and OAD standing, that consistency is the thing you're buying.
See the full comparison section below.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt’s in the Market | Pacific Northwest | Easy | |
| Canlis | New American | Unknown | |
| Joule | New Asian | Unknown | |
| Kamonegi | Soba | Unknown | |
| Maneki | Japanese | Unknown | |
| Walrus & Carpenter | New American - Seafood | Unknown |
Comparing your options in Seattle for this tier.
Dietary accommodations can vary. Flag restrictions in advance via the venue's official channels.
Book at least a week out for lunch and two weeks out for Friday or Saturday dinner. The room is small, which means dinner fills fast and walk-in chances are slim on weekends. Sunday is the only day without dinner service, so if your schedule is flexible, a weekday lunch gives you the best shot at a last-minute table.
It works well for solo diners, particularly at lunch. The counter seating and compact room make it less awkward than a sprawling dining room, and the weekday lunch window runs 11:30 am to 2:30 pm, giving you time to settle in. An OAD-ranked kitchen at a solo table is a reasonable trade-off if you want serious Pacific Northwest cooking without committing to a group booking.
The kitchen under chef Matt Fortner runs a Pacific Northwest focus, which in Seattle means the menu tracks what's moving through Pike Place Market below. Prioritise whatever is listed as a daily special or market catch — that's where the kitchen's proximity to the market actually pays off. Avoid anchoring to a specific dish before you arrive; the menu shifts with supply.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
