5 Best Restaurants in The Puget Sound Islands, Washington

This is where sophisticated foodies swoon over delectable and highly authentic Thai dishes. The ambience is scene-y (atypical for Vashon): dark with fully paneled walls in mahogany and teak—wood that owner May Chaleoy had shipped from Thailand, where it previously lived in the interior of a 150-year-old home.

Many regulars skip right past the rest of the menu to get to the restaurant's selection of local Penn Cove mussels. They're served eight different ways, from a traditional white wine sauce to the signature coconut green curry. Located right on the waterfront, with windows framing views of Penn Cove and Mount Baker, Front Street also offers fare like burgers and pasta for non-shellfish lovers.

An 1881 estate home overlooking Eagle Harbor was renovated to create this casual pub and restaurant at Winslow's Harbor Marina, where a complimentary boat tie-up is available for pub patrons. Local seafood—including steamed mussels, clams, and oyster sliders—plus burgers, fish-and-chips, and poutine are typical fare, and there are 12 beers on tap. This is where the kayaking and pleasure-boating crowds come to dine in a relaxed, waterfront setting. When the sun shines, the harbor-front deck is the place to be.

Langley's most popular gathering spot occupies a second-story space on 1st Street, right above the Star Store Grocery. Northwest-inspired French cuisine is the headliner here; classic bistro dishes like steak frites, salade nicoise, and confit of duck leg are favorites.

This all-day restaurant's unusual name comes from its former life as a mom-and-pop hardware shop—it occupies the oldest commercial building on Vashon, and certainly looks like a relic from the outside. Inside, you'll find a bistro-meets-upscale-diner serving "Northwest Americana" cuisine, with classic dishes ranging from rustic French toast for breakfast to buttermilk-fried chicken and meatloaf for dinner.