Good Restaurants in Capitol Hill/First Hill area (Seattle)

Century Ballroom

This beautiful mid-20th Century Ballroom boasts one of the largest dance floors in Seattle. With 2,000 square feet, there's plenty of room for everyone. Take lessons in salsa, lindy hop and East Coast swing, starting with the basics. Once you've got your moves, you're ready to attend the ballroom's full range of dance events, held year-round. The ballroom allows no smoking, and is restricted to those over 21. An on site cafe offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. Refuel your rhythmic body at the cafe on the premises.

Rosebud Restaurant and Bar

Rosebud Restaurant and Bar is hard to miss due to its black and white striped awning. The interior is casual and simple, and the walls feature an ever changing display of works by local artists. The menu runs the gamut of flavors and includes Asian, French, Italian and Mediterranean influences. You can't go wrong with favorites such as lavender lamb bolognaise with papperdel and pasta with a light pesto cream sauce and canollini beans. The brunch menu is also quite impressive, featuring eggs florentine and morning pasta. For dessert, make sure you savor the very tempting 'layered mousse with white and dark chocolate'.

Vito's Madison Grill

From the red walls, ceiling and booths to the white tablecloths, this restaurant offers old-school Italian decor, if you ignore the dance floor and disco ball in the corner. During the lunch and dinner hours, it is a great place for inexpensive dining and drinking on First Hill. You can also choose fancier fare, from rich pasta dishes to a surf-n-turf combo. Late nights bring out the disco divas, and this place fills up early. Some nights it offers live music, some nights a DJ. Either way, the place will be jumping until closing time.

Neumos

As you walk into the dark space, lighted by hangin naked red bulbs, you will realize that the atmosphere is nice without being snooty. Wind your way out to the spacious main performance room, and it is easy to see why countless Seattleites have fallen in love with this venue. Reinvented in honor of the 90s staple Moe's Mo' Rockin' Café, which hosted now famous bands like Radiohead and The Flaming Lips, this venue is hot with up-and-coming artists. See bands like Camera Obscura, Band of Horses and Animal Collective, or attend any one of their popular hip-hop nights that often turn into a dance competition. Smaller than the local venue— The Show Box, but larger than the Crocodile Café, this fills an important gap in Seattle's music scene.

Piecora's Pizzeria

Piecora's Pizzeria is a beloved little Capitol Hill pizza joint that has a madcap energy from opening to close nearly every day of the week. This is due in part to its New York roots, and in part to the young staff and clientele. The menu includes pasta dishes and sandwiches, but most come for the New York-style pizza, flat, cheesy and good. Get it by the slice, the half pie or the whole pie. There are a wide variety of toppings to choose from, so be bold and experiment.

Chutneys Grille on the Hill

The three Chutneys restaurants in Seattle are all interlinked, but each does Northern Indian cuisine a little bit differently. Chutneys Grille on the Hill has tablecloths, glass divider walls and ornate wooden carvings. The menu includes Tandoori specialties, vegetable purees, grilled meats and seafoods. Naan bread is warm, soft and chewy. Pappadum is crisp and not too dry, and perfectly accompanied by a tray of minty, sweet and spicy dipping sauces. The dessert menu offers rice puddings and pistachio cakes along with mango ice cream and lychees.

Saigon Pearl

Dozens of locals flock to this Vietnamese spot called Saigon Pearl near the First Hill hospitals for lunch, dinner and takeout. Friendly servers know the regulars and serve everything in what feels like two seconds flat. Ingore the linoleum look and try a steaming bowl of Pho (rice noodles, vegetables and beef in broth), the national dish of Vietnam. Or get a platter of cold shrimp, mint and thin rice noodles rolled up in translucent rice paper and ready for dipping in spicy fish sauce. The leftovers can keep you going for days.

Charlie's on Broadway

Located on colorful Broadway Avenue, this dark restaurant fits nicely into its eclectic surroundings. In this unique, old-fashioned environment; somewhat of a greasy-spoon—you half expect to find Humphrey Bogart at a back table. Dim light is absorbed into the plush red walls and a favorite sport is reciting as much dialogue from "The Thin Man" as you can remember. The standard American fare is served in generous portions and includes steak, prime rib, seafood, pasta and burgers. Hearty American-style breakfasts are also served on Saturdays and Sundays.

Galerias

This Broadway eatery is perfect for the tastes of North westerners. All dishes are spiced with zip, but none are overwhelming. The gilded mirrors and assortment of traditional carvings create a more genuinely south-of-the-border flavor than one usually finds in the chilly north. Traditional ingredients including chili, chocolate and cactus leaves are incorporated in many of the dishes. The tenderloin medallions, which are presented atop a grilled cactus leaf, are prepared with a hibiscus-petal sauce.

Thompson's Point of View

If you have a hankering for Southern cooking, you owe it to yourself to try this out-of-the-way eatery. Nothing to shout about here, but the not at all flashy space should be thought of as thoughtfully withholding a distraction from the wonderful food. The portions, like meatloaf or catfish, are large and come with a choice of generous and delicious side dishes like Black-eyed Peas, Potato Salad, Sweetened Yams, Southern-style Greens, and Macaroni and Cheese.

Ballet Restaurant

Catering to Capitol Hill's drop-in market, this eatery has built up an enormous and loyal clientèle. Though it is hardly ever full, there seems to be a take-out order every ten minutes. With virtually every dish coming in around $5, it can't be beat. The decor is nothing to shout about. The long room is outdated like the '70s. Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese dishes are listed on the numbered menu and include many noodle dishes and specialties like Mu Shu Pork and General Tso's Chicken. On hot days give the Pho and strong Vietnamese coffee a shot. Wine is available, but for under $2 a glass, it is a risk you may not want to take.

Glo's

While eggs, potatoes and breakfast meats are all tasty and well-seasoned, pancakes of all kinds earn the top marks in this tiny triangular diner called the Glo's . Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes are out of this world. They're fluffy inside, crisp at the edges and drizzled with warm lemon curd and powdered sugar. Weekday service is generally speedy, but on sunny weekends, just pull up an outside chair, grab a cup of coffee, relax and await your reward. No off-street parking is available.