Ivar's Acres of Clams

02/23/09

Brunch was far from great

by pdxJaxon at Citysearch

My wife and I drove up to Seattle from Portland for a romantic weekend. We went to Ivar's Acres of Clams for Sunday Brunch based on it's reputation.

I was very excited about this as I'm a huge seafood guy. I have to say, however, that the brunch as average at best.

The clams and mussels were a bit cold.

The Eggs Benedict and breakfast sausages were very cold. In fact the hollandaise sauce on the eggs benedict had thickened....

The oysters were good and the crab legs were good.

The $3 bloody mary was literally tomato juice and Vodka.

I'd like to visit Ivars again and dine when it's not Brunch time so I can try their regular menu. The Brunch I'll not be back for....

• Pros: Their Regular Menu has potential...I'll be back to try it next time
• Cons: The Brunch as not Great

10/20/08

Overrated

by crit101 at Citysearch

I've lived in Seattle for the past 5 years and have never been to the Ivar's "sit-down" restaurant (Acres of Clams). I've been to the stands outside and had their fish and chips which I always thought was good food so I decided to take some out of town guest to eat inside the actual restaurant. Bad mistake- the waitress was horrible. First the waitress kept talking to us like were on a game show and after she saw the confused looks on our faces finally brought it down a couple of decibels. Then we found the menu to be very limited and all 4 of us ended up ordering off of their anniversary special menu. Thank god for that menu or we would have all had a $16.95 plate of fish and chips (note- we could have gotten it outside at the stand for $5.99). The food itself was on par with what you would find at Red Lobster, the atmosphere left a lot to be desired and our waitress ended up throwing away my sisters post cards that she purchased before dinner in the restaurant's gift shop. All-in-all, my advise is to skip the actual restaurant and just eat outside at the stand for $5.99.

• Pros: On Elliot Bay (kind of a view)
• Cons: bad service, mediocre food, overrated

08/01/08

Food was good, service was bizarre

by rebogamy at Citysearch

Food was well prepared, but uninspired.

Our server acted as if he could not have cared less about us.

When we indicated that we didn't want the expensive special he lost interest entirely.

Took forever to bring our drinks.

Forgot my wife's appetizer entirely. He wanted to cancel it, and seemed disappointed that we still wanted it.

He was totally lacking in friendliness, perhaps he should consider a different line of work like foreclosures.

08/07/07

Best Fish and Chips, Best Clam Chowder, Best Salmon in Seattle

by trcress at Citysearch

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.

03/29/07

Editorial Review

by Contributor at Citysearch

Since 1938, this waterfront seafood restaurant has been serving fresh fish and world-famous clam chowder to hungry locals and tourists.

03/04/07

After Fifty Years, it's Still A Great Place!

by hubriis at Citysearch

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!

11/19/06

Best Sunday brunch buffet

by mfateev at Citysearch

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

08/10/06

Embarrasing experience

by scicarus at Citysearch

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.

07/28/06

Great Fish and fries?

by allegedfreak at Citysearch

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

07/19/06

A Seattle Must Do!

by wsugina at Citysearch

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