We love Fremont for calling itself the Center of the Universe, its fun statues, and its access to the water—but there's a lot more to love than that! According to our recent reader survey Like List , the following restaurants, bars, and other spots are the best in the neighborhood. Try them out and see for yourself!
Want to participate in our next neighborhood survey? Tell us about your favorite places in Columbia City and Beacon Hill Like List !
Special thanks to our partners on this survey, Fremont Abbey Arts Center Like List ! One lucky survey participant has won tickets to The Apricots with Larsen Gardens Past Event Like List on Friday, October 29.
FAVORITE BAKERY / COFFEE SHOP
Lighthouse Coffee Roasters Like List
More about it: The Fremont-area corner cafe that houses Lighthouse Roasters is cozy and functional—giant bags of beans are stacked in the back near the vintage cast-iron roaster where the beans are hand-roasted daily in view of cafe patrons, who drop in for drip coffee and lattes made with Lighthouse's creamy milk-chocolaty blend. It's the sort of coffee that serves as the perfect introduction to Seattle brews for the uninitiated (i.e., your parents who are visiting from Florida). The only downside: There's no wi-fi, which discourages lingering for anything other than coffee enjoyment. LEILANI POLK
FAVORITE LUNCH SPOT
Local Tide Like List
More about it: This seafood restaurant, which got its start as a Pike Place pop-up, serves dishes like seafood cake bánh mì, rockfish rice bowls, Dungeness crab rolls (made with freshly cooked live crabs), and other small bites, sandwiches, and salads. Musang Like List chef Melissa Miranda told us Like List earlier this year that she and her staff love this place.
FAVORITE DINNER SPOT
The Whale Wins Like List
More about it: At James Beard Award-winning Renee Erickson’s the Whale Wins, almost everything is wood-fired, and there's a strong focus on seasonal, locally sourced vegetables. As one reader notes, go here for "classics done really well."
FAVORITE BAR
Red Star Taco Bar Like List
More about it: Across the street from the Lenin statue in Fremont, Red Star is clearly a capitalist enterprise. But it's a more humane manifestation of the market than many of late: A prole can get full here for less than $12 on really good tacos while erasing class consciousness with really good $10 frozen margaritas.
FAVORITE RETAIL STORE
Sfingiday Like List
More about it: Head here for gifts and knickknacks, say our readers: You'll find everything from cute buttons (check out their selection of "I'm vaccinated" options) to adult coloring books to curated sets of products from local makers. Oh, and, as far as we can tell, the name of the shop means nothing—but it's cute!
FAVORITE ARTS SPACE
Fremont Abbey Arts Center Like List *
More about it: The Abbey plays host to a number of cool, often all-ages things, from comedy to concerts, all in an airy, light-filled, and gorgeously furnished auditorium. The Abbey also hosts shows at their sister venues, Ballard Homestead Like List and St. Mark's Cathedral Like List .
*Coincidentally, Fremont Abbey is also our sponsor for this week's ticket giveaway—but they also received the most votes!
FAVORITE OUTDOOR SPOT
Fremont Peak Park Like List
More about it: "This is one of Seattle's best parks! I'd argue it's the best," Chase Burns wrote in The Stranger last summer. "There are two main parts to Fremont Peak Park, a 'woodland' area and a 'meadow' area. And when you first enter, you encounter a moon terrace. It feels appropriately witchy for Fremont. Once you pass the entrance, you wander into the meadow. This part is a square grassy area that's hemmed in by cement blocks that suggest where the house used to exist. It gives a sense that you're walking through a home. You can feel ghosts, especially if you're tipsy. Beyond the meadow, you enter the woodland area, which is brief but offers a quick and proper tree bathing. And then, the lawn. It's just spectacular. One of the brightest views in Seattle. You can see Ballard, the shipyards, the Olympic Mountains, even the water tower of Magnolia. It's very quiet. You can hear birds. There are scattered flowers. My visits to Fremont Peak Park are never very long, but even a few-minute trip is enough to remind me why I love living in Seattle."
FAVORITE LANDMARK OR ATTRACTION
Fremont Troll Like List
More about it: That frightful bridge-lurking, Volkswagen-clutching cement-sculpted FIEND is actually really impressive, a relic of Fremont's genuinely independent-minded past. Fun fact: It's one of the only actual Seattle landmarks in the Seattle-set, Tacoma-filmed 10 Things I Hate About You. Plus, as one reader notes, it's a good place for people-watching.
