Today, the James Beard Foundation dropped its full list of James Beard Awards finalists. After a strong showing when the semifinalists were announced, Seattle ultimately has no finalists in the national categories of the 2026 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards, despite having eight semifinalists. In 2025, Seattle had two national finalists: Archipelago (Outstanding Hospitality) and Atoma (Best New Restaurant).
However, Seattle was recognized in the regional Best Chef Northwest & Pacific category this year. Seattle’s two 2026 finalists in the regional competition are Johnny Courtney of Atoma and Aaron Tekulve of Surrell. The category also includes one chef from Alaska and two from Portland. Seattle had no finalists in this category last year.
Atoma was named Seattle Met’s 2024 Restaurant of the Year. It offers upscale fine dining in a cozy house in Wallingford, with a strong focus on hospitality and seasonal, local ingredients. Johnny Courtney is a former Canlis chef. Atoma serves dinner Tuesdays through Thursdays from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and from 4:30 pm to 10:00 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. They currently still have a few openings for late evening dinners this April on OpenTable.
Surrell is located in Madison Park. It operated as a pop-up before opening a permanent location in 2020. The restaurant serves a tasting menu focused on seasonal Washington ingredients, along with a shorter menu and a wine bar featuring Washington wines. They are open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday and currently have availability on Tock all throughout April—you can choose between their five-course or full tasting menu.
Seattle has not brought home a James Beard Award since 2019, when Brady Williams won Best Chef Northwest. There were no awards in 2020 or 2021. Seattle had no winners in 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025.
The 2026 awards ceremony will take place on June 15 in Chicago.