This New York-style steak house is often rated among the top 10 steak houses in the United States. Known simply as "The Met," this upscale eatery is a favorite with the downtown business crowd. With its high-backed, plush booths, brass railings and tiled floors, the comfortable dining room offers impeccable service. In addition to an extensive menu of pasta, seafood and steaks, the kitchen features tempting daily specials. For Scotch drinkers, the bar offers more than 22 varieties of single-malt Scotch. Be sure to try their signature Smoky Met martini.

Recalling upper-crust New York in the 1940s, El Gaucho is not your typical relaxed Seattle restaurant. The waiters are tuxedoed, a piano plays in the background and candles flicker, shedding light over lots of dark wood inside the restaurant. Perfectly prepared steaks and seafood dishes fill the menu. Order Chateaubriand for two, carved table side, or an Australian lobster tail. This establishment also includes a full bar.

For half a century, and three generations of the Canlis family, this gorgeous restaurant has presided on a hill over Lake Union. It beckons the well-off, those looking for a romantic evening, or anyone celebrating a special event. The restaurant has won awards too numerous to list, and a renovation has made it all the better. The cuisine is based on fresh ingredients, with salmon, scallops and Dungeness crab topping the menu. Vegetables are locally grown, as are the wide array of fruits used in each beautifully presented dish. The restaurant has a 12,000-bottle wine cellar.

As you enter this seafood restaurant, you walk onto a suspended bridge with iron railings. Starfish, crayfish and other marine life swim up to greet you. Lights dot the high ceiling for a starry quality. Blown glass hangs delicately from the ceiling to complement the warm, upscale Polynesian-style surroundings. Seafood specialties include Opah (a Hawaiian fish also known as Moonfish), served with a papaya, mango and pepper salsa, and apple-wood-grilled Hebi (Spearfish). More standard dishes include Ellensburg Lamb and New York Steak. The view of downtown Seattle is hard to beat.

Art of the Table is a restaurant and supper club hybrid that is dedicated to bringing patrons a unique and intimate dining experience. You, along with 21 other people, receive a four-course menu crafted out of fresh local ingredients. Occasionally the dinners have a theme, such as Italian wines and cheeses or Southern cuisine. Even if there is no unifying theme, the food is always meticulously prepared and delicious. An absolute must if you are in Seattle!

Located in the Cedarbrook Lodge on 36th Avenue, Copperleaf is a spacious restaurant overlooking the stunning landscape views. The restaurant patio has a few tables with an umbrella covering each of them, so you can choose to sit on the patio and feel close to nature while dining. Try some of their potato soup, which will be soothing on a cool evening, and more entrees and starters on offer. The ingredients used in preparing the dishes are sourced locally. Call ahead to make a reservation and check website for details.

For years this restaurant was actually located at a farm. In 1997, however, the restaurant burned to the ground and was rebuilt at Willows Lodge in Woodinville. It proved to be a good thing in a way, as more people began to take notice of this stellar dining establishment. It has since been ranked consistently among the top American restaurants. The dining concept, dinner by reservation only for people who cherish succulent gourmet food, has not changed. Focus on freshness remains, with much of the ingredients coming farm-fresh from their own gardens. The food is French influenced with Northwest ingredients. The 9-course themed menu changes weekly and wines are selected to match each course, with more than 4000 bottles to choose from.