Downtown Bellevue

Downtown Bellevue is the pumping heart of Eastside’s commerce and entertainment. With over 5 million square feet of retail and entertainment, and 6 million square feet of office space, this neighborhood pulses with activity regardless of the day, night or week. Located in between the shores of 2 of the region’s most popular lakes—Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish—Bellevue is one of Washington’s most flourishing cities. Downtown specifically takes up the 400 acres hugging NE 8^th St off I-405, in between the I-90 and 520 interchanges. With fantastic restaurants, cultural events, and a myriad of shopping options, this area is impossible to resist.

If there’s one thing Bellevue residents love to do, it’s to dine out; and there’s no better place to do that than Downtown. The area is jam-packed with a wide variety of well-packaged tastes, delicacies and enticing atmospheres. After an afternoon of art, try Bellevue Arts Museum Café; or for 2009 Haute picks best Romantic dinner, be sure to check out zagat-rated, Bis on Main, for its unique blend of Italian, French and American dishes, and ravishing wine list of 270 select bottles. El Gaucho, the northwest’s steakhouse legacy, is enjoyed when seeking elegant, old-fashioned tableside service. 0/8 Seafood Grill & Twisted Cork Wine Bar was the 2009, Haute-pick for Best Wine List. Offering 85 wines by the glass, and live music Wednesday through Saturday nights, this award-winning restaurant promises a grand time. As well as these hot-spots, cultural dining options include: Maggiano’s Little Italy, Tangerine Thai, Flo Japanese Restaurant, Chutney’s and Mediterranean Kitchen; family dining favorites, such as Red Robin, California Pizza Kitchen and The Cheesecake Factory, are located right off the main drag and are busy every night of the week.

In addition to the area’s wonderful restaurants, within Downtown’s glamorous and accommodating, premiere shopping mall, Bellevue Square, there are a multitude of food vendors where you can grab a fabulous, yet quick bite. Bell-Square veterans always enjoy Orange Julius for smoothies and decorated hot dogs, and there is so much more to taste. A wide variety of department stores, such as Nordstrom’s, Macy’s, and JC Penny’s, are attached to the outskirts of the mall, and the two, sky-lit levels of widened, granite-floored walkways offer a plethora of home décor, jewelry, and most importantly, name-brand clothing shops that suit tastes of all ages, like Guess, Pacific Sunwear, and The Limited.

To the east of Bell-Square, new dining and shopping plazas have arisen such as Lincoln Square, which is connected to the main mall by a glass sky-bridge. The pristine atmosphere of Lincoln Square is immediately recognized as Chihuly, glass sculptures hang in the gallery windows. The complex offers three levels of select shopping, such as a scrapbooking store and a home furnishing studio; the second floor boasts an upscale bowling center; and the third, hails a state-of-the-art movie theatre, and the popular billiards and spirits lounge, The Parlor.

Blocks away from all the shopping is Downtown Park, which offers a widespread, manicured lawn, and a raised fountain that continually spills water over its long stone wall into a green pond. Willow trees, Maples and Evergreens sprout up around the water, birds gather, and wooden benches are set up throughout the park, offering relaxation and meditation. The park also offers free, outside wireless connection, so business professionals can work on laptops while enjoying the scenery, while comrades walk the levels of the high-rise apartments and business towers that stand up behind the trees in the background. Around Christmas-time this park is turned into a winter wonderland, offering an ice-skating rink and nearby extravagant festivities families from all over the region enjoy.

From July to September, Downtown offers urban escapes for working professionals in the form of musical power lunches. The Live at Lunch Summer Concert Series is sponsored by Southwest, Bank of America, and several of the areas favorite radio stations, and offers free live music at various commerce centers from noon to 1:30 every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Locations are wide-spread and include Bellevue City Hall, the Expedia building, as well as the more public Bellevue Galleria shopping center, and features a new band every day.