The hubby and I joke about how often we come to Pike Place Market. And since I decided that I love the mint ice cream at nearby Bottega Italia, I think we’ve been coming a LOT more than usual (We visited at least 8 times in the past couple weeks and each visit except our last one turned up NO mint ice cream, so now Strawberry Basil is my backup flavor there and it is pretty delicious too.) So, of course we know about the gum wall and where to find yummy pastries.
But we did not know about the Pike Place Market Urban Garden.
And that’s why you need to follow your heart when you see a little sign from the universe and check it out.
This garden is perfect. It gives back to the community.
It has a gorgeous view of the Great Wheel and the water.
And the boys loved the inviting chalkboard walls and pig.
The winged pig chair was also quite cute.
And now I need to go to Maximilen’s ASAP. Its outdoor patio seating looks amazing and I can’t believe we’ve never been here. (Actually I can because we finally went to iconic Matt‘s a few weeks ago after living in Seattle for over 10 years and it was mind-blowing too. I have to remember to not overlook all these fabulous older places with all the new restaurants opening up in Seattle because so many of them are such gems.)
I love that we have all these little hidden nooks in our city and I’m so glad we followed our hearts and the sign and peeked in on this one. This is definitely going to be another stop when we visit the market for more ice cream (and pastries, and coffee and cheese and fruit…..)
(PS. this was part of a bike adventure to the aquarium from Centennial Park. It is easy to park in front of the aquarium and walk up the stairs to get to the market to make it an even more Seattle-ish adventure.)
(PPS. Bonus points if you do this one in the rain.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
I had no idea this was here! We will certainly be on the hunt next time we head downtown!
I didn’t know either. And I totally need to try the restaurant. Love our city:)
I grew up in Seattle, ate lunch at Pike Place Market every day while working through college, and continue to return there on every visit to Seattle (I’m in San Diego now)–but I had no idea there was a rooftop garden. Thanks for sharing your discovery!
I’m always astounded at how big the market is and how many new things I find each time I visit. Did you hear the market is expanding this year too? http://pikeplacemarket.org/marketfront Do you have a favorite place for lunch? I’d love to hear!