Unrated: This is a restaurant we want to re-visit before rating, or it’s a coffee shop, bar, or dessert shop. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal.

It’s hot. You’re sitting in your apartment with a frozen bag of corn on your face, cursing yourself for not having invested in an AC unit for those five unbearably hot days of the year. The solution: Marination Ma Kai. You’ll be upgrading to breezy Alki Beach, plus you get to eat some exemplary Hawaiian food like miso ginger chicken tacos, spam sliders, and spicy kimchi fried rice. Grab some lychee margaritas and take a good, long glimpse at the skyline before heading back to your fiery dungeon.

Spending time at a renovated boathouse is pretty fitting for a waterfront experience. That's exactly what you can do at Saint Bread, a bakery and cafe that truthfully doesn't have much of a view, but there's still some water you can look at. Mission accomplished, right? Whether you're here for breakfast enjoying a BEC on sugar-dusted melonpan or come for an early lunch to try their incredible smashburger topped with gooey yellow american cheese and hoisin-spiked special sauce, it's a perfect spot for the earlier hours of the day.

Speaking of Saint Bread, the previously nondescript gravel patch next to it is now a summer destination, thanks to a truck called Hinoki. Operating from 4-8pm, it’s particularly great for a lazy early dinner or evening cocktail hang. Sweet vermouth spritzes flow from the Heave Ho window and Japanese snacks fly out of the truck on newspaper-lined trays as people trickle in. And while it’s hard to get a distinct view of the marina, sometimes simply being adjacent to water is good enough. Equipped with a fryer, wood-fired oven, and a Traeger, Hinoki means business. Among the lineup of small plates and bowls, they make exemplary chicken karaage, roasted maitakes that taste richer than filet mignon, and a bowl of bacon candy that you can just go ahead and bury us in.

When summer hits us like a ton of (relatively painless) bricks, the waterfront balcony at Ray’s is the first place we'd like to be. It's one of those pricey seafood-laden tourist traps that we can't help but love. Stick to fish and chips, crab cakes, and drinks, plus the free bread basket that comes on the side, and it'll be a success. You’re really here to put on your sunglasses, drink some ice-cold sauvignon blanc, and take in the view of Shilshole Bay that we can only describe as "sweeping."

This Alki fish and chips shop closes over most of the winter, but usually flicks their neon "open" sign back on right as our toes just barely start to collectively unthaw. And much like a drunk outburst from Andy Cohen on New Year's Eve, we all look forward to it. While you’re here, squeeze a lemon wedge over flaky battered cod and meaty Greek-spiced fried oysters for a sunny casual lunch on their beachfront patio.

If you dried out a new Sharpie marking your calendar with all of the dates when you have out-of-town guests visiting, you probably plan to spend a decent amount of time parading them around Pike Place. When everyone’s had their fill of inspecting used-up wads of gum and sniffing out raw halibut, head to Old Stove Brewing. It’s a massive waterfront space with mash tuns on display, plenty of communal picnic tables, and a menu that has more than just fried snacks—like wood-fired flatbread pizzas, braised pork belly with kimchi, and soft pretzel bites dunked in Beecher’s dip.

Brileys isn’t exactly on the water, but this BBQ spot still counts, because if you stand up by their patio's railing, you can kind of technically see Lake Washington. An outdoor picnic table here is a great place to spread out with slaw-topped brisket sandwiches, wedges of cornbread, the city's best sausage links, and seasonal vegetables like honey garlic butter zucchini or lemon-squeezed broccoli that consistently steal the show.

The Caribbean sandwiches at Un Bien are phenomenal. You know this. We know this. The seagulls that hover around the restaurant scouting out fallen bites know it, too. But what you need to do while the sun’s hot is order a marinated roast pork baguette and bring it down the street to the beach at Golden Gardens. Summer is synonymous with eating this sandwich, getting the zesty aioli, grilled onions, braised meat bits, and Macrina breadcrumbs all over your clothing, and laughing like a fool without a care in the world.

If you'd like to feel like you're on an island, you could hop a ferry to the San Juans. Or just head to Bongos with your dog and some imagination. It's a colorful renovated gas station on Green Lake complete with a deck patio that's primed for a party. Walk, jog, or walk-jog a lap around the lake, and then have at the delicious Caribbean menu by way of excellent spicy red shrimp with Cuban rice and beans or a tangy roasted pork sandwich. Make sure the fried cheese-stuffed yucca bites hit the table.

Bongos sure comes in handy if you're on the west side of Green Lake—as for the east side, parking is a lot harder, but we recommend sucking it up and circling the block six times if it means a dusk dinner at Spud. This fish and chips shop serves excellent breaded cod and prawns—and they'll even deep-fry an entire head of cauliflower if you're not in a seafood mood. Follow it up with great fries, tartar sauce, and a bottle of natural wine, and post up at an outdoor table if you want a glimpse of the water.

If you’re going to Madison Park Beach, The Independent Pizzeria is a convenient stop nearby. They serve some of the best charred Neapolitan-style pies in the city, which is ideal when you want to grab some pizzas and eat them in the park while sitting criss cross applesauce. Order a round of cider tallboys, a margherita, and the buttery lemon-squeezed clam pie before seamlessly transitioning to some prime duck-watching.

This spot is not a far walk to the waterfront, ferry terminal, and piers—and makes for a portable snack if you want to trek over to a nice park. Meats sliced to-order make all the difference at this very serious Italian deli with Sardinian roots. And as an importer of tangy-spicy ‘nduja, you’ll find Bottega Gabriele's homemade spreadable salami stuffed between springy focaccia rectangles. Take your sandwich to a bench by the water and reflect on the fact that this used to be a viaduct.

A lunch or dinner at White Swan Public House is very easy to plan. This is a seafood spot on Lake Union where you can spread out on a picnic table under string lights and be grateful that it’s not February. The best part is how versatile this place is—you could keep things casual with fish and chips or a double smashburger alongside local beer, or celebrate something (anything) with oysters on the half shell and a bottle of Chandon.

There’s nothing that eases the embarrassment of wiping out on your stand-up paddleboard like eating baja fish tacos on the deck at Agua Verde. This taqueria on the University District side of Portage Bay doubles as a paddle club, so it’s a great option for a post-kayaking lunch. There's usually a long line here for a reason—that reason being the excellent frozen cocktails (even though the sleeper hit is the prickly pear margarita on the rocks), vibrant salsas, a great roasted yam taco with avocado cream, and tortillas made from corn ground in-house.

But if you’d rather have a sandwich while spending time at Salmon Bay, we’re huge fans of The Corleone from Fishermen’s Deli. This beautiful thing is kind of like what would happen if an Italian sub watched the hit 1999 Mary Kate and Ashley film Passport To Paris—there’s ham, salami, capicola, chopped cherry peppers, smoked gouda, and dijonaise on a baguette. That and a big bag of potato chips on the dock would be a flawless lunch.

If you’re rolling with a few children who just spent four hours playing tag and throwing pebbles around, you need the closest place where you can toss tater tots in their general direction, guzzle down beer, and eat a decent burger chased with onion rings. The patio at Magnuson Cafe is huge and looks out onto the water, which is something the kids won’t care about between bites of grilled cheese, but it might be important to your adult friends.

This little snack shack inside Golden Gardens serves a bunch of salads, grain bowls, and tasty sandwiches built for warm weather. Like a classic Italian cold cut-loaded sub, or our favorite—their turkey and havarti hoagie. The super soft and spongy roll makes things effortlessly portable, and where this thing lacks in bread texture, it makes up for in necessary crunch provided by salt and vinegar potato chips smashed on top. It's a great sandwich for lunch after laying like a slug on the beach, or during an afternoon boat ride.

With a name like "Harry's Beach House," we're glad that it's on a beach—otherwise that'd just be misleading. This sister spot to Harry's Fine Foods is right on Alki, and has a menu that's pretty customizable to any type of mood. Maybe you got up early and roll through just in time for a pile of french toast. Maybe you're in head-to-toe Alo after an afternoon workout and feel like knocking back oysters (or an entire cheeseburger) with some champagne. Or you might just want cocktails and a side of fries coated in grated pecorino and frizzled herbs. You can do all of that at Harry's, all while getting a good look at Elliott Bay.