SEAGuide

12 Great Restaurants That Are Open On Mondays

Where to eat on Monday night when lots of restaurants take the day off.
12 Great Restaurants That Are Open On Mondays image

photo credit: Brooke Fitts

Mondays are tough enough as it is—you don’t need to end yours face-to-face with a “closed” sign, scrambling for a backup plan as your date (or worse, your parents) ask why you didn’t check the operating hours in advance. It’s a devastating truth that many great restaurants are closed on Monday nights, but that doesn’t mean you need to settle for a bad meal.

THE SPOTS

photo credit: Brooke Fitts

Pizza

Capitol Hill

$$$$Perfect For:Walk-InsFirst/Early in the Game DatesDinner with the ParentsDrinking Good WineOutdoor/Patio Situation
Earn 3x points with your sapphire card

Monday is a really bad day if you're in the mood for good pizza. But Cornelly, a Capitol Hill Italian spot, is open seven days a week. The pies are thoroughly crunchy without being burnt, and have toppings like fennel sausage and globs of ricotta or smoked scamorza and summer corn. Meanwhile, fresh pasta tossed in pesto or a spruced-up bolognese with mint and hints of vinegar proves that this place succeeds in all matters related to flour. The effortlessly chill dining room and sidewalk patio are walk-in-only, but swing by before 6pm, and you’ll be surrounded by natural wine and lavender-buttered olive focaccia in no time.

photo credit: Nate Watters

This Guamanian spot on Beacon Hill acts as an archnemesis to the Monday blues. For starters, their double-stacked, kewpie-slathered smashburger alone has enough dopamine-boosting power to convince us it's FDA-approved. Comforting corn soup with chicken thigh and crunchy garlic is the liquid equivalent of texting your therapist an epiphany. And the chatty staff reminds you that not everyone in Seattle is passive-aggressive. Mondays don't stand a chance.

photo credit: Nate Watters

We can’t think of a better place to get taken care of by way of phở, vermicelli bowls, and fried snacks than this Greenwood strip mall Vietnamese spot. Phở hà nội overflows with broth, topped with a raw yolk that works just as well dissolved into the soup as it does strategically dolloped onto each bite of rice noodle and beef shank. Grilled chicken tastes like lemongrass-rubbed brilliance. The care goes beyond food, too—staff will stretch out a hand to receive your crumpled straw wrapper, and forbid you from packing your own leftovers.

photo credit: Nate Watters

RESERVE A TABLE

POWERED BY

OpenTable logo

Umi Sake House is an ideal spot to celebrate something on a Monday. This Belltown sushi spot feels like a bamboo garden crossed with a lounge, and it’s perfect for a date powered by salmon nigiri samplers and rolls filled with things like seared snow crab, spicy yellowtail, and jalapeño citrus truffle oil. Maybe the best part about Umi Sake House is that it’s easy to book a reservation for a big group, especially the night before. There’s even a good chance your party will get to be in the private tatami room, where you can sit on comfy cushions and eat your sushi far away from the noise of the rest of the restaurant.

Melty pork ribs, hot links, and smoked jalapeño mac and cheese all smashed on a metal tray sounds like a solid way to kick off the week, and you can eat those things at Wood Shop. This Central District BBQ spot is one of the best in town, and the fact that they operate on Mondays just sweetens the pot. Grab a beer and some crispy mac and cheese balls at the bar, or hang out on the patio with a full spread if it's nice out. (The backyard is covered in the winter, too.)

If you’re in the mood for Central American food but that’s as far as you’ve gotten, La Cabaña in Greenwood serves Honduran, Salvadoran, Costa Rican, Nicaraguan, and Guatemalan dishes. Their multi-cuisine menu prioritizes quality just as much as quantity, and makes for one of the best dinners in town. For starters, the pupusas are the city’s greatest, stuffed with sticky cheese and add-ins like chicharron or black bean cut with tangy curtido. Tender pork-filled tamales are winners, too. But it’s impossible to leave this tiny little dining room without the Honduran pollo frito, a battered quarter-chicken deep-fried and drizzled with a sweet tangy dressing that puts a burger’s “special” sauce to shame.

It goes without saying that you should order carnitas at Carnitas Michoacan, but we’ll say it anyway. The pork at this Mexican spot has the power to improve virtually any Monday. The result of a tangy marinade paired with a long braise is this happy marriage of tender, melty meat and crispy edge bits, honeymooning inside tacos or burritos wrapped with fluffy handmade tortillas. Go nuts with any of their tasty salsas (we prefer the hot red). And while you’ll definitely want the carnitas in some form or another, the carne asada is the unsung hero.

Set in a brightly decorated space with lime-colored walls, Jebena Cafe in Lake City is an excellent Ethiopian place where you can expect the food to be great and the service even better—plus, three people can eat dinner for around $20 total. The menu includes dishes like beef tibs and stewed lentils on spongy injera, but you should order the Jebena combo. It comes on a very large plate and has a little bit of everything, including a few types of meats, a couple of vegetable sides, and homemade ayib cheese. Don't miss the green lamb, either.

Sometimes, the beginning of the week hits you like a brick to the face and the only cure is creamy curry. E-Jae Pak Mor is a Thai spot in the ID that can provide this by way of bright orange khao soi with drumstick meat that falls apart faster than your morning to-do list. And if something soupy isn't in the cards, their khao mun gai with ginger sauce and chicken-y rice has enough built-in comfort to sail you through to Friday. Grab your friends for a last-minute group dinner to make a Monday hit you more like a bucket of cotton balls.

Bizzarro in Wallingford is the quintessential Monday night Italian restaurant. They don't take reservations, which makes it a low-pressure choice. Each pasta—be it pappardelle with mushroom cream or a toasty block of lasagna—comes with a salad and (very good) homemade focaccia, so it's generally a good deal to start the week. And the busy dining room full of odd paintings and bicycles dangling from the ceiling keeps things exciting.

Simply the prospect of Big Max Burger Co.’s bacon-beef patties and herb-salted shoestring fries is enough to power us through a long Monday—a scenario that should be followed by a cheeseburger. The burgers here, covered in aged cheddar, caramelized onion, chunky bread and butter pickles, and special sauce, are excellent, as is the Nashville-style fried chicken sandwich complete with a smoky chili glaze and lots of ranch. Supplement your meal with a milkshake, individual bottles of frozen rosé, caesar salads, fried brussels sprouts with kettle corn caramel, and puffy battered chicken nuggets with sweet and sour for dipping.

If steamer baskets full of pork-scented fog don't improve your Monday, we don't know what will. Dough Zone is a dumpling emporium that has several locations throughout the Seattle metro area, and truthfully it doesn't matter which one you choose. Just be sure to order a spread involving brothy xiao long bao, fluffy q-bao, dan dan noodles, and potstickers that have cornstarch skirts.

Chase Sapphire Card Ad

Suggested Reading

The Most Fun Dinner Spots In Seattle image

The Most Fun Dinner Spots In Seattle

A night out at one of these restaurants will never be boring.

Familyfriend image
9.0

Familyfriend is a restaurant on Beacon Hill that's perfect for everyone, with excellent Guamanian dishes and an outstanding burger.

Seattle’s New Restaurant Openings image

The new restaurant openings you should know about.

The Hit List: New Seattle Restaurants To Try Right Now image

We checked out these new restaurants and loved them.

Infatuation Logo

Company

2024 © The Infatuation Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FIND PLACES ON OUR APP

Get it on Google PlayDownload on the App Store