Salt & Straw in Downtown Bellevue.
Portland’s ice cream company finally landed in Bellevue in April 2026, in the old Starbucks pickup space across Bellevue Way from Downtown Park — Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, Pear and Blue Cheese, a new flavor series every month, and a line to match.
Salt & Straw is the ice cream shop at the Downtown Park corner — a scoop counter in the ground floor of Avalon Meydenbauer at 10415 NE 4th Street, the former Starbucks pickup store on the Safeway block, with Downtown Park across Bellevue Way, Bellevue Square kitty-corner, and Lincoln Square directly across NE 4th. The Portland company that turned Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, Honey Lavender, and Pear and Blue Cheese into a West Coast pilgrimage opened here on April 24, 2026, its first Bellevue shop and its eighth in Washington, and warm evenings bring a line down the NE 4th sidewalk.
DBN has wanted this shop for a long time. In March 2017, when Salt & Straw announced its first Seattle store on Capitol Hill, we counted downtown’s options — a Ben & Jerry’s in the Square, gelato, frozen yogurt — and asked someone to open a real ice cream shop here. The first answer came in October 2023, a 1,300-square-foot space at Avenue Bellevue slated for early 2024; that deal collapsed in January 2025 alongside other retail exits from the two-tower project, with the company saying it was still looking. In January 2026 it found the Starbucks pickup space at Avalon Meydenbauer, and on April 24, 2026 the doors opened with gift cards for the first hundred in line, the May flavor series a week ahead of the rest of the country, an Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi dessert collaboration for the opening weeks, and a Bellden Cafe affogato pop-up.
It is a chain, a polished one, and the flavors that sound like stunts are the point rather than the gimmick; the classics live up to the reputation, and the monthly series is why the regulars keep coming back. For the coffee counters and bakeries that round out a downtown sweet-tooth loop, see our guide to downtown Bellevue coffee shops.
What to Get at Salt & Straw
A dozen classics plus the month’s series in the case; these five are how to work through it.
Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons
Fleur de sel ice cream ribboned with extra-dark salted caramel — the flavor that built the brand, and the first scoop for anyone who has never been.
Honey Lavender
Pounds of lavender petals steeped in local honey — floral and herbaceous rather than soapy, and the classic to order when the caramel feels too safe.
Chocolate Gooey Brownie
Fudgy brownie batter folded through an intensely rich chocolate ice cream — the kids’ order and the chocolate order in one scoop.
Pear and Blue Cheese
Candied Oregon Bartlett pears with cave-aged Rogue Creamery blue cheese — sounds like a stunt, eats like a cheese plate. Put it in a flight if a whole cone feels like a commitment.
Monthly Menu Series
A themed set of new flavors arrives every month and then disappears, sometimes forever — the reason regulars come back monthly. The Bellevue shop scooped its first series a week before the rest of the country.
Salt & Straw Through the Years on DBN
DBN has reported on downtown Bellevue since 2005. This is Salt & Straw’s story as we covered it, as it happened.
Bellevue is Missing a Great Ice Cream Shop
When Salt & Straw announced its first Seattle shop on Capitol Hill, DBN counted downtown’s scoop options and asked someone, anyone, to open a real ice cream shop here.
Ice Cream Shop, Salt & Straw, to Open in Bellevue
The first plan: a 1,300-square-foot shop inside Avenue Bellevue on NE 8th, slated for early 2024.
Salt & Straw Ice Cream Shop Cancels Plans for Avenue Bellevue Location
The Avenue deal fell through, one of several retail exits from the two-tower project, but the company said it was still looking in Bellevue.
Salt & Straw to Open Ice Cream Scoop Shop in Downtown Bellevue This Spring
The new address: 10415 NE 4th, the former Starbucks pickup store at the base of Avalon Meydenbauer, across the street from Downtown Park.
Salt & Straw Ice Cream Opens in Bellevue April 24 with Giveaways and Events
The eighth Washington shop opened with gift cards for the first 100 in line, the May series a week early, an Ascend Prime dessert collaboration, and a Bellden Cafe affogato pop-up.
Browse all Salt & Straw coverage in the DBN archive.
Getting There & When to Go
Bellevue Way and NE 4th is the easiest corner downtown to reach on foot, and the parking is across the street.
Getting There & Parking
- Drive: Park in the Safeway lot on the shop’s own block, the surface lot at NE 4th Street and Bellevue Way that the building’s storefronts share. If you are already at Lincoln Square South, it is an easy walk across NE 4th; from Downtown Park, cross Bellevue Way at NE 4th.
- Light rail: 2 Line to Bellevue Downtown Station, then a 12-to-15-minute walk west along NE 6th and south on Bellevue Way to NE 4th — see our light rail guide
- On foot: The storefront faces NE 4th Street a few doors east of Bellevue Way, under the Avalon Meydenbauer apartments. From Bellevue Square, cross at the Bellevue Way and NE 4th corner; from Downtown Park, cross Bellevue Way at NE 4th; from Old Bellevue’s Main Street it is a short walk north up Bellevue Way.
Best Times to Go
Warm evenings and weekend afternoons are the line, fed by Downtown Park and Bellevue Square; weekday afternoons are the calm window. The first days of a new monthly series bring the regulars out. Ordering ahead for pickup through the official site or app skips the queue if you already know the flavor.
Make It an Afternoon
You are at the Downtown Park corner: pair the cone with a lap of Downtown Park across Bellevue Way, dinner at Wild Ginger across NE 4th at Lincoln Square South, or Ascend Prime 31 floors up in the tower across NE 4th, the shop’s opening-month dessert collaborator.
Good to Know
As of September 2026: walk-up counter plus pickup and local delivery ordered through the official site and app; pints, flights, and an ice cream cake are on the menu alongside scoops. Salt & Straw keeps at least a fifth of the menu dairy-free year-round and processes tree nuts and peanuts in its kitchens. No full-service catering, but bulk orders go through the site. The shop sits in the retail base of Avalon Meydenbauer, the apartment block over the downtown Safeway.
Salt & Straw FAQ
Where is Salt & Straw in Bellevue?
At 10415 NE 4th St, in the ground-floor retail of the Avalon Meydenbauer apartment building, the block over the downtown Safeway on Bellevue Way between NE 2nd and NE 4th. It took the former Starbucks pickup space. Downtown Park is across Bellevue Way, Bellevue Square is kitty-corner, and Lincoln Square South is directly across NE 4th.
Where do you park for Salt & Straw Bellevue?
In the Safeway lot on the shop’s own block at NE 4th Street and Bellevue Way, the surface lot shared by the building’s storefronts. From Lincoln Square South it is an easy walk across NE 4th, and from Downtown Park you cross Bellevue Way at NE 4th.
What should you order at Salt & Straw?
Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons is the signature and the safe first scoop; Honey Lavender is the classic to try second; Chocolate Gooey Brownie is the chocolate order; Pear and Blue Cheese is the dare. Regulars come for the monthly series, a themed set of new flavors that changes every month, and a flight is the way to taste around the case without committing to one.
How long is the line at Salt & Straw Bellevue?
Expect one on warm evenings and weekend afternoons, when Downtown Park and Bellevue Square empty out toward the counter, and in the first days after a new monthly series drops. Weekday afternoons are the calm window. Ordering ahead for pickup through the official site or app skips the queue if you already know the flavor.
Does Salt & Straw Bellevue have vegan or dairy-free ice cream?
Yes. Salt & Straw says it keeps at least a fifth of its menu dairy-free year-round. As of September 2026 the classics list includes Freckled Mint Chocolate Chip, Hazelnut Cookies and Cream, and a Strawberry and Coconut Water Sherbet, all built on coconut, and the current monthly series includes a vegan flavor. Note that the kitchen processes tree nuts and peanuts.