By Cheryl Teal
Crab and fish star on the menus at Seattle's seafood restaurants.
It's no surprise that
Seattle, on the shores of Puget Sound, should be famous for its great seafood restaurants. Nor should it be any surprise that some of the restaurants have national, even international reputations for serving seafood. Puget Sound provides an abundance of seafood, including salmon, oysters and clams. What Puget Sound doesn't provide, the restaurants get from Alaska and Oregon.
Ivar's Acres of Clams
Ivar's Acres of Clams is the oldest seafood restaurant in Seattle. It was founded in 1938 by Ivar Haglund, who wanted a place for visitors to his waterfront aquarium to eat. The first Ivar's served only fish 'n chips. Since that time, Ivar's has branched out to other full-service restaurants in the Seattle area, as well as more than two dozen fast food bars in Washington and Oregon. Over the years, the menu has also expanded with seafood offerings now including salmon, calamari, oysters, clams and cod. The restaurant is located on the waterfront, providing diners with views of ferries crossing Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains in the background.
Ivar's Acres of Clams
Pier 54
1001 Alaskan Way
Seattle, WA 98104
206-624-6852
ivars.net
Ray's Boathouse
You can't miss Ray's Boathouse when visiting the Hiram Chittenden Locks at Ballard, a Seattle neighborhood. It's the restaurant that has "Ray's" in a vertical 50-foot sign. It's started out in 1939 as a dockside café, which makes it almost as old as Ivar's. The restaurant burned to the pier in 1987, but reopened in 1988. Ray's has taken its seafood dishes to Beijing as well as to Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration in 1993. Ray's is open for dinners only seven days a week. Entrees include king salmon, sea scallops and king crab, all from Alaska; a specialty is the restaurant's own Northwest Style Bouillabaisse. It also serves chicken, steak and lamb for non-seafood eaters. The extensive wine list has more than 700 choices and features Northwest wines.
Ray's Boathouse
Ray's Boathouse, Cafe & Catering
6049 Seaview Ave. N.W.
Seattle, WA 98107-2690
206-789-3770
rays.com
Salty's on Alki
Salty's Seafood Grills got its start in Portland in 1978, moving to the Seattle area three years later. Salty's on Alki opened in 1985 on Alki beach in West Seattle. Restaurant Institutions named it as one of the top 100 restaurants in the United States. The dinner menu includes Puget Sound clams and oysters, calamari with a chipotle dipping sauce, Dungeness and Alaska king crab, wild king salmon, wild Coho salmon and Maine lobster. The restaurant also serves steaks. Salty's provides free limo service from several downtown Seattle hotels.
Salty's on Alki
1936 Harbor Ave. S.W.
Seattle, WA 98126
206-937-1600
saltys.com
Resources
About the Author:
Cheryl Teal is an award-winning photojournalist who began writing professionally in 1968. She is a former small-business owner who specializes in writing about business, motorcycles and travel. She has her own line of travel guides called "Cheryl's Guides," which are mostly about travel in China. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.
Photo Credits:
seafood image by agno_agnus from
Fotolia.com
