Bellevue Restaurants and Info

[e050377]

I'm in the final stages of planning and have extended our trip 6 days from our original plan thanks to an awesome itinerary recommended by GardyLoo and Mapleleaves!

 

We are staying in Bellevue for 2 nights before our cruise. We will have already been down to Mt. St Helens and Mt. rainier and come back to Seattle via the coast. We are not planning to go into downtown Seattle, as we will do this upon our cruise return. We will arrive at dinnertime on the first night and then visit Boeing the following day. Any restaurant recommendations? Also any other sites that may be worth visiting after our Boeing Tour?

[Gardyloo]

Bellevue has become one of those Über-Suburbs that feel like big cities on their own, so as well as the usual national chains (Olive Gardens etc.) there are quite a few good local restaurants as well. http://www.seattleweekly.com/restaurants/region/bellevue-480799/ If you're staying in Bellevue presumably with a car, then you also have easy access to other eastside towns such as Kirkland (the lakefront/downtown of which has it all over Bellevue in terms of attractiveness - well worth a visit) not to mention Redmond, Mercer Island and Issaquah. It's the heart of the high-tech part of the region, so plenty of high-end places as well as ethnic and down-market ones.

 

Our personal fave in downtown Bellevue is the Mediterranean Kitchen, right on Bellevue Way. Terrific Middle Eastern food - the Farmer's Dish is garlic heaven (or hell depending on who's talking) but plenty of other great things on the menu. There's also a big Asian and South Asian community in the area, so plenty of great Chinese and Indian places as well.

 

As for tourisity things, well, you're pretty close to Snoqualmie Falls (around 25 min. from Bellevue) which can be combined with a drive up/down the Snoqualmie Valley north of the falls (SR 203) which is quite lovely and rural feeling despite being so close to the big city - you can go past the original Carnation dairy, near the town of the same name. A bit farther afield (north and east) is the town of Snohomish, the main street of which is wall-to-wall antique galleries and shops, also a great summer day trip.

[e050377]

Thanks for the answers yet again! We are staying at the Embassy Suites and will have a car. The drive sounds just perfect.

 

I have to say when you suggested the Mediterranean Kitchen as your fave, my first reaction was the kids will never go for it. I'm happy to report that they thought the menu sounded yummy!!

[tranquilize]

Sounds like you are going to have such a great time! I work here in Downtown Bellevue and Gardyloo is spot on..you will find a little bit of everything here, and it really has become a big city in a small city's clothes. I second the recommendation for Mediterranean Kitchen, it is amazing..if you enjoy Thai food, there is also a wonderful Thai restaurant by the name of Chantanee that I really enjoy.

 

Snoqualmie Falls is a great idea, and really, you are so close to Lake Washington, maybe hitting downtown Kirkland and walking along the waterfront or grabbing a bite to eat would work. It has also changed a lot over the years, but there are some great places to eat (Hectors is one that I recommend) and you can take in some beautiful views of Downtown Seattle from across the water.

 

I am assuming you are going to visit Boeing in Renton, but if it so happens that you are heading north to visit the Everett plant, you could go a little further north to Skagit Valley (Mount Vernon, La Conner), which is very pretty..farm area, older towns, beautiful views, much more rural.

 

Hope you have a wonderful time!