I recently posted stories on my instagram during a morning adventure at Pike Place Market with a friend and had a lot of messages about where we went so I thought I’d write them up here. I know a lot of tourists wonder if we Seattleites really go to Pike Place Market. Many of us do. I live about 10 minutes away or maybe 30 minutes by bike ride so my family goes here often to shop and eat. I drive through this area sometimes 4 times a day because one of my sons goes to school on other side of the city at the Museum of Flight. So I have my favorite parking spots (I’m sorry I will not divulge) and my favorite spots (these I will share) and it feels like every time I go, I learn or find something completely new. And I can’t speak for how all Seattle locals shop in Pike Place Market but this is how I do it:
I usually shop Pike Place Market with a purpose
Because Pike Place Market is a spot that is special to both tourists and locals, I don’t usually go without having a specific objective. Like I need scone mix from Kitchen and Market. Or we are going for brunch at Cafe Campagne or another one of our favorite spots. From these places we can definitely amble along planlessly to where the day takes us but having a purpose keeps our visits enjoyable because we don’t just get caught flowing with the crowds. And crowds used to be a bit more predictable, but I’ve found more and more that even the days I used to count on not being busy at Pike Place Market can sometimes feel like times when everyone in Seattle decides its the place we all want to be. So on this trip my friend and I were shopping for ingredients for a basket for our soccer auction-our team wanted a Seattle theme so we figured this would be the perfect place to find all the things we needed. We also had about two hours to get our tasks accomplished as well as grab a quick bite to eat.
Kitchen and Market is usually my last stop
We started at Kitchen and Market because I wanted to show my friend this store but also because this is where I shop for my family and I buy a lot of things here for gifts too. Kitchen and Market has a really cool partnership with Ethan Stowell (a local chef who has a lot of wonderful restaurants around our city) for pastas and wines so we bought a bottle of wine to stick in the basket because it would be unique and very Seattle too. I am currently in love with the beet salad here so I picked this up too. I tend to stop here last because I like to buy their frozen and refrigerated things for dinner and that way they stay the coolest after all my stops at Pike Place.
We only had about two hours to shop and eat lunch or we might also have stopped next door at the new frozen yogurt place. You can try so many samples and it’s just such a lovely shop! If you are looking for gelato in the market I like to go to Bottega Italiana which is closer to the famous Pike Place Market sign and if there is mint mojito I have a rule that we have to get it no matter if it’s way too early in the morning or if we’re already stuffed from eating other things.
Papardelles Pasta
We stopped at Papardelles Pasta because it has some of the best olive oil I’ve tried. My aunt swears by the lemon olive oil here and once I bought it from the wrong place and it definitely wasn’t as lemon-y. We picked up their most popular flavor-the one with parmesan and garlic. They are also pretty famous for their chocolate pastas that they always offer as you walk by. And I just noticed on their website that they have a cool pasta of the month club that even has a gluten-free version too!
Bite Society
Every Pike Place Market trip will be different and on this most recent trip, Bite Society was the true highlight. We happened to be there on a day Lendy one of the owners was there even though she said she hadn’t planned on being there that day. And hearing her tell the story of how Bite Society came to be reminded me of why Pike Place Market is just so dear. It has a comfortable feeling like being around a table at your grandmas house, where there are snacks in the middle and you chat and snack and everyone at the table can talk about their hopes and dreams. Hearing Lendy talk about Bite Society and how it came out of 2020 gave me so much hope for how we can all rebuild and try new things after such a devastating time. I bought some of the limited edition Espresso cookies, and some granola too and their packaging is just as good as the treats inside. I really want to try the potato chips next time and their chocolate lover gift set that is currently sold out online looks like the dreamiest valentine’s gift too.
Cobb’s Popcorn (this one is all the way down the stairs from the market on Western Avenue but it’s totally worth the walk)
One day a long time ago when Cobb’s Popcorn first opened they were extremely popular and a total trophy to get and I showed up when I thought they were supposed to be open and they were not open and then someone else showed up too and we waited for a few minutes and could hear popcorn being made so I messaged Cobb’s on instagram while we stood in line. “We’re not open today but we’ll bring you out some popcorn” Cobb’s instagram said but now there were three of us in line. And all of us were given popcorn. So I’ll love a place like this forever. We stopped by on our way to Freya Bakery and there was a buy two bags get one free special and free samples. I love the cheese popcorn here it’s so good. (You can also get Cobb’s Popcorn and Bite Society at Kitchen and Market if you want to shop all in one market spot too.)
Uli’s Sausage
“Why is Uli’s encroaching on the mini donut territory” someone asked me in my stories when I posted the German Dough Ball samples we tried at Uli’s Famous Sausage new counter area. Because yes, if you are at the market and want mini donuts, you know you go to Daily Dozen. But these “dough balls” were different and they were pretty delicious too. And there is lemonade and also hot dogs now at Uli’s and Uli’s has been in the market forever and the lineup at Daily Dozen can be so long we often go home disappointed. So I’m all for more tiny shareable treat options in the market and I love Uli’s new look.
Pike Brewing Company
I am not really a beer person but I love the Pike Brewing Company’s Pike Pub. (I also love Dru Bro up in Snoqualmie Pass) And I love it mostly because it is the coolest beer museum and its ambience is really cool. I’ve also had great food and drinks here (They have a wedge salad and I rarely make this at home so it’s one of my pub favorites). It’s a great spot to rest tired feet in Pike Place Market after shopping and wandering. (They used to have a kids’ meal here too but I’m not sure if they still do now.)
And Freya Bakery (Also down the stairs near Cobb’s Popcorn. If you go all the way down more stairs you can get to Seattle’s waterfront and also get an incredible workout when you climb back up)
Freya bakery is one you’d call a hidden gem if you went to the market because it’s literally hidden out of the market. It’s part of the same company that owns Cafe Hagen so there are beautiful Scandinavian pastries and really good coffee too. This one has a little bit of seating as well as some outdoor seats ( we bike here and eat breakfast sometimes) and in the summer or on a sunny day this coffee shop can get quite busy. This is when you can take your coffee and pastry and walk a few blocks to the tables by the Old Stove Brewing Company and there are lots of places to sit there now too.
And this is only a teeny sample of what you can see at Pike Place Market
This is just one example of how locals shop Pike Place Market on a do-it-yourself- tour we do often as a family. It kind of meanders from one side of the market to the other and maybe back through the flowers and food stalls in a pretty straight line but it misses all the underground shops and many craft stalls that you probably want to see if you are visiting Seattle for a weekend from somewhere else. You can get an idea of these places on the Pike Place Market website. I recently toured some of the craft stalls for the first time during the holidays. Even living here in Seattle we find new things EVERY time we go to Pike Place Market and I think it would take over a day to visit every single part of it (and maybe one day we’ll try.)
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)
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