Ivar's Acres Of Clams

08/07/2007 Posted by trcress

This is hands down the best seafood restaurant in Seattle! Dined here with my wife and in-laws. Spectacular view on Pier 54. Beautifully styled restaurant and no need for a reservation (we did go on a Thursday). My wife had the fish and chips- the best she ever had in her life (and they were fried in 0 trans fat canola oil!) My in-laws had halibut and salmon, respectively. They raved about taste, quality and presentation. I had the trio of salmon, halibut and prawns and it was simply the best seafood meal I have ever had. Everything was perfect! We all tried the clam chowder- AMAZING! Now I know why they have been in business of something like 60 years. It will be the first meal we have on our next trip back to Seattle!! Do yourself a favor and go to Ivar's! You will not be disappointed with this restaurant!

Pros: View on pier 54. Taste and presentation of food were superb!

Cons: None.

03/04/2007 Posted by hubriis

Ivar's is the grand ole standby for phenomenally fresh seafood in a great atmosphere with a phenomenal view! It is elegant but you will not find any uppity waitstaff here; my faher has been coming to Ivar's since the fifties and still loves it!

11/19/2006 Posted by mfateev

We’ve recently discovered Sunday brunch buffet at Ivar’s. The restaurant offers great food for a reasonable price: tasty and fresh seafood, delicious deserts, and good selection of other dishes. We took three different sets of friends over there since then and all of them just loved it. We’ve never been to a lunch or dinner at this location so can not compare, but as far as Sunday brunch – this is our favorite place in Seattle.

Pros: Location, view, Sunday brunch

Cons: Bad parking

08/10/2006 Posted by scicarus

I brought some friends from out of town since this place was supposedly a very old famous seafood place in the city. The waitress was not very friendly in the first place. Then, she simply brough a clam bake dish without the dungeness crab and said they were out of the crab so they threw in five shrimps instead. She said that without even apologizing for that. So, we sent it back and ordered king crab legs. I have never tasted such bad king crab. They were pure salt. Bad parking, bad service and bad food. Ivar's scored all time low on all three fronts. It was an embarrasing moment for me to bring the out-of-town friends to such a terrible place.

Pros: Not much. Maybe the location?

Cons: Bad food, bad service, bad parking. Hooray.

07/28/2006 Posted by allegedfreak

I recently visited Seattle, and went to lunch at Ivar's. Yes, I thought it was a little cheesy, I had the fish and "chips." I was disapointed, that the chips were fries, although the fish was great. I liked the fact that since we were traveling with my infant granddaughter, they had stoller parking. The service was pretty bad, I felt that the server had too many tables to take care of to give good service. His uniform was filthy. I would not reccomend this place for a romantic dinner, as it is very noisy due to too many tables so close together, and the fact that ther were more noisy children than there were adults. The view was nice, and the restaurant itself was clean.

Pros: View, Child friendly

Cons: Ambience, parking service

07/19/2006 Posted by wsugina

This place has turned around in the last year or so. Ivar's (Acres of Clams) has always been a Seattle staple. You couldn't say you lived here without going to Ivar's. Well some in the past have thought it left something to be desired... I would beg to differ. I am a new found lover of this amazing restaruant on the pier! Their menu is always full of fresh seasonal ingredients and unique new flavors not to mention the old traditional favorites. The staff is very courteous and friendly and you can't beat the location or the atmosphere! They have this new Sunday brunch thing, be prepared to wait because it is so popular! (Which raises the question; if this place is even half as bad as some of the others had said, why do so many people keep going back?) Even if you've been there before you have to go back... trust me it will be totally new!

Pros: Great for large groups or romantic dates.

Cons: sometimes the wait

02/16/2006 Posted by sfodiner

Several of us were in Seattle on business, and had dinner at Ivar's. The reservation was wrong. Nobody seemed to care. The appetizers were mixed. The oysters, calamari and clams were quite fresh and tasty. Salmon cakes and crab cakes were below average. I had sauteed tiger prawns with leeks. Prawns were tough, tasteless, and it was accompanied by a brown glop of potatoes (?). The corn and dungeness chowder was below average and one of my dining companions had the clam chowder which was not very good. The wine list was quite good, but food was marginal and pricey.

07/11/2005 Posted by rlarsen

As a lover of good seafood and as a born and raised seattle-ite, I am embarrassed that this restaurant would ever be reccomended to anyone looking for the amazing abundance of good seafood this town has to offer. I went with my family for mother's day and was disgusted by the poor quality of seafood- especially for the price. I will never go back there and I would never recomend this restaurant to even my worst enemy.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

11/04/2003 Posted by dochawk

Ivar's has without a doubt the best clam chowder on Earth! I make it a point to travel to Seattle at least once a year and I fly United or Alaska Airlines because at their terminal is a sports bar that serves Ivar's chowder. Once in the Emerald City, I always make at least one trip to Acres of Clams so that I can enjoy wonderful food in a nice setting with a spectacular view. In between visits, I frequently find myself desiring a big bowl of Ivar's clam chowder.

Pros: the chowder, view, setting

Cons: seattle park sucks

07/09/2003 Posted by tickle

After reading the following reviews I felt compelled beyond belief to comment on a true Seattle Icon. I grew up in Vancouver B.C. and have eaten at Ivar's every chance I could. I now live in CT and travel to Seattle often on business. FIRST THING I DO, AFTER RENTING MY CAR, IS TO GO DIRECTLY TO IVAR'S. I've had chowder from all over the world; Ivar's is bar none the best. The scenery is great, the rest of the menu is wonderful, and they have plenty of mirco brew beers to choose from! Go to Ivar's, but do expect a short wait, as the locals eat there, and that speaks directly to how good the food is!