overpass nodes vs pois

For each POI type, your Overpass query is searching for nodes, ways, and relations.

• A POI mapped as node will return one node.
• A POI mapped as a four-sided way like a rectangle will return four nodes, one for each corner.
• A POI mapped as a more complex polygon, or as a relation, may return many nodes.

So the node total that Overpass returns is the number of nodes used to draw all of these things on the map. If even one result is a way or relation, then the total number of nodes will be greater than the total number of POIs.

If you search for only POIs mapped as nodes, the node total will be the same as the POI total. See this search (which is just your search with the ways and relations commented out): https://overpass-turbo.eu/s/18HA

See the OSM wiki for more detailed information about the data elements: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Elements

OK. Lots of variables here. First off, don't assume OSM (or other databases) are 100% accurate. Wizard isn't really that detailed. It takes a few, wild guesses For instance your "chocolate" & "coffee" returns vending machine & farm returns beehive! It also searches for both pizza & pasta using cuisine=italian. I /think/ you need to contain the or operators within brackets. It easier to learn to write your own routines IMO. Use the OSM wiki to find the more accurate tags to search for. https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Main_Page

This is the condensed routine: https://overpass-turbo.eu/s/18HF

{{geocodeArea:Seattle}}->.Seattle;
(
    nwr[amenity~"^(marketplace|bar|biergarten|cafe|fast_food|food_court|pub|restaurant)$"](area.Seattle);
    nwr[shop~"^(alcohol|bakery|butcher|dairy|deli|greengrocer|pastry|supermarket)$"](area.Seattle);
  nwr[amenity=vending_machine][vending~"^(ice_cream|coffee)$"](area.Seattle);
    nwr[man_made=beehive](area.Seattle);

  nwr[amenity=recycling][recycling_type=container]["recycling:green_waste"=yes](area.Seattle);
  nwr[amenity=restaurant][cuisine=italian](area.Seattle);

  nwr[craft~"^(brewery|caterer]|winery|distillery)$"](area.Seattle);
);
out center;

Use nwr instead of node,way,relation

Use | as a replacement for 'or'

Use RegEx ~"^ and )$" to ensure only those individual words are searched for.

Use out center to return all data as POIs