Crab Week is the Perfect Time to Visit Bellevue, Washington

If you’re headed to Bellevue, you’re in for a treat. If it isn’t in your plans, maybe it should be. The city hosts great food events throughout the year celebrating the ingredients and flavors of the Pacific Northwest, and Aug. 14–23, it is celebrating Crab Week.

Okay, that is more than a week, but we aren’t complaining. During Crab Week, you’ll find special crab dishes at restaurants all over town, giving you the perfect excuse to cart the family all over Bellevue to try different restaurants. Crabs are abundant in the Pacific Northwest, especially Dungeness crab, and they have long been part of the culinary scene of the region. And during Crab Week, you’ll have the chance to see how many different cultures manage to turn them into creative and delicious dishes. In other words, you get to expose kids to different foods and flavors while exploring the city together.

You can head to Supreme Dumplings for some pork and crab dumplings, or you can make your way to Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar for sushi rolls made with real Dungeness crab — because imitation crab during Crab Week would just be wrong. Seastar also has plenty of other crab-themed dishes like Dungeness crab bisque or crab cakes.

If you want to try some great Mexican food with a crab touch, check out El Gaucho, which will be featuring crab cakes during Crab Week. Peruvian food isn’t as prevalent as it should be, and thankfully Bellevue has La Mar to represent. The restaurant will offer a dish called causa de congrejo, which is Dungeness crab with delicious accompaniments like an aji aioli, whipped potatoes and beets, ikura (salmon roe), cherry tomatoes, and palta (Peruvian for avocado).

You’ll also be able to find plenty of kid-friendly foods (with a crab twist) like the Dungeness crab pizza at Moto Pizza and Dungeness and Swiss melt at Burgermaster.

If you download the VueFinder app, you can register all your Crab Week tastings to enter a contest for Crab Week-themed prizes. The app is also a great way to find out what there is to see and do in Bellevue and neighboring Seattle area. And if you want an easy way to get around (although Bellevue is super walkable), download the RideCircuit app to use the free, on-demand, all-electric shuttle service known as the Bellevue Bellhop to easily get around the downtown area.