Eat your heart out in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District

Get your stretchy pants out to explore one of city’s most delicious neighborhoods

New to chopsticks? That’s ok. The good thing about the Chinatown-International District is that it’s completely unpretentious. We’ll share our secret holes-in-the-wall where you can get yummy food on a budget, with a side of culture (hello, cheap date!). Support the mom-and-pop businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic and show your solidarity with the Stop Asian Hate movement. But please don’t call this neighborhood Chinatown — locals know it as “the ID.”

Chinese people have been in Seattle since the 1860s, when Seattle was a swampy frontier logging town. There’s a booth dedicated to Bruce Lee, the ID’s most famous alumni, at his favorite Chinese restaurant, Tai Tung. These days, you’ll hear a mix of Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Japanese in the streets. The ID is the heart of Seattle’s Asian community — and an under-the-radar foodie heaven within a few city blocks.