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SEATTLE - Seattle's tasty summer tradition since 1982 is making its way back to Seattle Center from July 24–26, featuring notable food vendors, entertainment and hosting hundreds of thousands of attendees.
Keep reading for everything you need to know before trying the Bite of Seattle.
What is the Bite of Seattle?
Founded by local restaurant owner Alan Silverman in 1982, the Bite of Seattle began at Green Lake Park as a way to encourage the public to go out to eat during the recession. The original festival was held with 25 restaurants and an expected 25,000 guests, according to the Bite of Seattle website.
After calling the Seattle Center its home in 1986, it quickly grew. Today, it draws around 350,000 attendees and was voted ‘Best Food Festival’ in the United States in both 2016 and 2017.
According to the Bite of Seattle website, a percentage of every sale goes directly back to Seattle Center.
The festival takes pride in its platform for emerging chefs and independent businesses to get valuable feedback on their recipes and services.
A scene from last year's Bite of Seattle, shot by FOX 13 Seattle.
How much does Bite of Seattle cost?
Entry is completely free! However, each vendor has unique prices depending on the foods they are selling.
What is the best way to get there?
Public Transportation:
The Bite of Seattle website encourages attendees to take public transportation to avoid car congestion in the area, according to their website. Options include the Seattle Center Monorail, the Sound Transit Link light rail and the King County metro.
Parking options:
If attendees prefer driving, two garages will be open at Seattle Center: 5th Ave N. Garage and Mercer St. Garage, although oversized vehicles are not permitted at Seattle Center.
Rideshare:
There are rideshare drop-off locations on the way to the event.
- Republican St and Warren Ave N.
- Harrison Street turnaround.
- Mercer St/Marion Oliver McCaw Hall drop-off zone.
- Denny Way/Pacific Science Center drop-off zone.
The Seattle Center has a hotline for transportation inquiries, at (206) 233-3989.
A scene from last year's Bite of Seattle, shot by FOX 13 Seattle.
What kind of food will be there?
After looking at the website, nearly everything you can think of—and more—will be at the Bite of Seattle.
From smoothies, to dumplings, to Cajun seafood boils, it seems like there is something for everyone. The website features over 120 vendors. Some of the most unique foods include muscle pancakes, Birria ramen, grilled bone marrow, oxtail mac and cheese, rainbow grilled cheese sandwiches, pork belly lollipops and many, many more.
There are numerous dessert vendors as well, serving different types of lemonades, Vietnamese coffees and teas, different variations of ice cream—shaved fruits and freeze-dried ice cream is not off the table—along with artistic cotton candy animals, churros.
Click here for more information and visuals.
Entertainment options at Bite of Seattle 2026
Aside from a long list of musical performers, there is an opportunity to watch live cooking demos called the Bite Cooks, which includes local and esteemed chefs.
On Friday, July 24, 14 different musical groups and DJs of different genres will perform at different stage locations in Seattle Center—from the fountain, the mural, and the fisher.
On Saturday, there will be 20 different artists and DJs from around the area, and on Sunday there will be an additional 20.
Here are details for each set.
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The Source: Information in this story came from Bite of Seattle's website.