Restaurants in Renton

Geraldine's Counter’s tried-and-true dinner dishes capture comfort flavors imparted by ingredients from local vendors. Introduce your tastes to Geraldine's via bites of zucchini rounds with ranch ($6) or never-shy chili cheese fries ($7). As appetites grow, chomp into the fish 'n' chips ($11), comprised of fresh, panko-breaded morsels and fries alongside coleslaw and house-made tartar sauce, making a savory splash in any dinner repertoire. Alternately, a more carbolicious imbibing can be had in broccoli-studded strands of fettuccine alfredo ($10). Weekday specials such as buttermilk-fried chicken served with mashed potatoes and vegetables ($15) satisfy any appetite worked up over long days at the Slinky factory.

Before diving into Verve’s extensive wine list, grape groupies can rev up their tasting engines with a menu of gourmet small plates and entrees. Slap some sense into your hysterical palate with starters such as butterscotch pear and goat cheese salad ($9) or a smaller plate like the blasted brussel sprouts ($9) or the cornbread-coated veal sweetbreads ($9). Diners who’ve worked up a heartier appetite after a long day arm-wrestling rhinos will achieve sophisticated satiation with entrees such as beef bourguignon with bacon and mushrooms ($12) and lobster risotto with fennel ($15).

A tortilla makes a handy mouse pad, an acceptable patch for stiff denim jeans, and, if you draw a face on it, an ideal companion on fishing trips. But there are many other uses for it, as today's Groupon proves: for $20, you get $40 worth of creative cocktails and contemporary Mexican cuisine at Barrio’s elegant Capitol Hill and Bellevue eateries.

Open until 2 a.m. seven days a week, Peso's day only truly begins with dinner, so kick off a night of raucous revelry with an order of green-chile-mole nachos ($10) loaded with black beans, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole or a chop chop salad with chicken, bacon, basil, tomatoes, cucumber, and cotija cheese ($7.50). Peso's vast menu covers everyone's favorite entrees, but it also surprises jaded tongues with new flavor combos such as the Yucatan-style spicy rockfish tacos ($10.50), stuffed with pico de gallo, cabbage, and avocado in crema and red taco sauce. Chorizo flautas ($7.50) likewise provide an elegant update on authentic flavors by packing themselves with chevre, scallions, crema, and green-chile coulis, and the spicy lamb taquitos ($8) do the same with jalapeño-mint coulis. Peso's well-edited wine list of varietals priced $30 and under pairs each plate with a leggy tango partner—keeping conversations well lubricated for a long night of flirtatious Star Trek nitpicks and sensual subpoenas.

Dragonfish's extensive dinner menu transports Near Northwest diners to the Far East without the tiresome clicking of ruby-red heels. Preheat your appetite with Lime Rickey shrimp with cashews in a house-made lemongrass-vodka sauce ($8); dreamy tofu pillows with dipping sauces of spicy peanut, sweet-hot mustard, and caramel ginger ($8); or the caramel-ginger chicken, fried chicken sauced in a caramel-ginger concoction with peppers, scallions, and peanuts ($8). Stomachs sashay to the melodies of Dragonfish's sushi; the Dante's Inferno roll takes eating epic poets through nine levels of delicious hell, marked by tempura shrimp, red onion, kaiware, habanero tobiko, eel sauce, and Thai chili sauce ($12). House specialties include the grilled miso beef rib eye, accompanied in its digestive duties by tempura yams and onions ($19), and the Thai green curry, available with chicken ($13) or prawns ($16). Noodle dishes and vegetable plates are also available.

At Ventana, executive chef Joseph Conrad transforms local, seasonal ingredients into a novel selection of North American small plates, designed to share with friends and domesticated relatives. The ahi-tuna slider is topped with a charred tomatillo remoulade, arugula, and avocado ($8), and the Alaskan king salmon backstrokes through a sea of cauliflower, pickled ramp bulbs, and fried chilis ($14). Crispy truffle fries ($6) cozy up to the tender Ventana burger, which brims with chile rellenos, bacon, and escarole and is served with decadent Humboldt Fog goat-cheese dressing ($13). Desserts such as the red-velvet cake massage taste buds with fresh berries, chantilly cream, and raspberry sauce ($7). An international wine selection is sure to slap a smile on faces' lips, and handcrafted cocktails include game-changing creations such as the herbal gimlet with acai liquer and fresh basil.