Oceanaire Seafood Room

06/16/2008 Posted by foodlvr84

I was extremely disappointed on my dinner at Oceanaire this past weekend. Yes, the atmosphere is nice and the service is impeccable. All of the staff was very friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. However, the food was bleh at best. I was very excited to go to Oceanaire since it's Copper River Salmon season. We ordered 2 different preparations of the copper river salmon, and both of them were flavorless, greasy, dry, and overcooked. We had ordered one with foie gras butter. There was no foie gras taste in the dish at all and just tasted like it was drenched in oil. The other dish we ordered was copper river salmon with the porcini mushrooms they serve with the halibut. The mushroom sauce had a lot of mushrooms but the mushrooms were tasteless. The worse part of the meal was that the fish was way overcooked in both orders, leaving it very dry...disappointing

06/06/2008 Posted by pmartz

This place is amazing. I don't generally eat at the higher priced, upscale restaurants and only go to them for special occasions. That having been said, most that I've been to I would label mediocre and not worth the price. Often, the portion size is miniscule at the more expensive restaurants. Recently, my girlfriend and I went for our 2 year anniversary to the Oceanaire in Seattle, WA. I was incredibly impressed. All the people we dealt with from the coat-checkers to the bus boys were friendly and helpful. Our waitress was amazing. We even got dessert for free simply because it was our anniversary. Yes, the food here is expensive and you should expect to drop some cash, but unlike other fancy restaurants, the serving sizes at the Oceanaire are HUGE. When ordering side dishes, be sure to keep in mind that one side dish is enough food for two people to share. The fish was fresh and delicious. Some of the best fish I've had, and I've lived in Seattle all my life! I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants an evening out for a special occasion.

05/25/2008 Posted by sweetkoshka

If you're a dot-com millionaire or someone on an oil industry expense account, you might enjoy eating here... all others should come for the oysters (which are excellent and reasonably priced) and that's it. The meals are overpriced and not worth it. Yes, the seafood is good, but you can find the same quality and better for a lot cheaper at a slew of other Seattle establishments. If you really WANT to pay $50 for king salmon - which by the way, doesn't include anything else, so it's really $60+ if you order side dishes with it - then this is your place. I will concede that the squid appetizer was truly excellent, but everything else did not justify the price. And $13 a glass for Boutari wine? You've got to be kidding. Service was excellent with one notably offensive exception. A waiter appeared at our table with four cups of coffee we hadn't ordered, and when we told him this he treated us with such contempt - even looking at his order sheet and saying "This IS the right table", as if we wouldn't remembered ordering four coffees, and at the start of a meal at that - that I told him to take his coffee and his attitude elsewhere. Not what you expect in a place where these prices are charged. One final very cheap note: the amuse-bouche they placed on the table at the beginning featured canned olives. If you're charging $30 or more for entrees, surely you can be classy enough to send out the real thing. Anyway, I can see people coming here for oysters; but for all else, save your wallet and go elsewhere.

Pros: Good oysters

Cons: Everything else overpriced

04/23/2008 Posted by BillTraci

Our experience started the moment we walked in the door, a very friendly young lady promptly escorted us to our seats, asking our preference of a booth or a table. Once seated a wine menu was placed on the table with a plate of relish's and water. Our server, Tim introduced himself and was very knowledge about their wine list and the specials of the day. He was very friendly and attentive without being annoying. He was quick with information we needed to make our entree decisions. Our table was cleared promptly between courses and the Flaming Baked Alaskia was the perfect end to a perfect meal, sinfully delicious.

04/06/2008 Posted by bmase

We had a marvelous dinner at the Oceanaire on a Saturday night a few weeks ago. We sat in a cozy booth and were amazed at the varitiey of entrees available. We started out with the best oysters ever...light and delicate...and then moved on to the tuna...cooked to perfection and melted in our mouths...wow...The shrimp scampi was divine and my fish was incredible...The creamed corn was the best side dish i have ever gotten anywhere...But....Save room for dessert...We had the sombrero of love which included: huge slices of...key lime pie, cheesecake, chocolate mousse and creme brulee...all of our favorites served in an enormous bowl dripping with flames...an incredible presentation and not to be missed! The service was wonderful and the manager even stopped by to say hello, how charming. We loved our dinner here and will be back!

Pros: Great service, great food

Cons: none

03/18/2008 Posted by junwhang

I was a little hesitant to have dinner here, having read the last few negative reviews. I'm sure people will have negative experiences no matter how good the restaurant. Happily for me, though, I had a great dinner there last night. Even though I showed up by myself, I was made to feel very welcome and treated extremely courteously. Oysters were amazing. Grilled Oregon sole was very good. Thumbs up!

03/10/2008 Posted by carrie922

The service was very good, but the dinners were mediocre, and somewhat overpriced. We were somewhat dissapointed.

12/21/2007 Posted by annkelly411

I love Oceanaire the chain - the DC one is among my favorites. I also love going out - I live and work downtown (not Belltown, not Queen Anne, not Pioneer Square - downtown), so I know what's going on in this neighborhood. I have been to our Seattle Oceanaire location - 2.5 blocks from my home - several times. I recently resolved to make it a more regular hangout and invited my girlfriends to join me this Friday night. Well, apparently heaven help you if you're not a well-established regular, no matter how much money you're willing to spend - or could spend over the course of a relationship with the restaurant! A "favored" group of 5 had taken over the entire bar area and when I asked for them to clarify where they wanted to sit (since there were far fewer people than available seats - seemed plenty of space to go around), I was met with scorn from the group but most surprisingly, the bartender, who then proceeded to talk down to me directly and to his fellow bartenders. I was confused, since all I wanted to do was find a very available seat for myself and my girlfriends to spend money!! Needless to say, I didn't bother to stay, and my girlfriends and I took our business elsewhere. Such a shame - I live in the heart of downtown, have lots of fun going out friends. But I'm not going to kiss someone's butt - especially when they're already charging a lot of money for the privilege - just to be treated like a fellow human being. In the words of the passive aggressive bartender, "Merry Christmas" (trust me, it's all in how you say it). I will be talking this locale down at every opportunity, and vow NEVER to return. Cheers, Ann

Pros: Chain - go to the ones anywhere but Seattle

Cons: Attitude, price compared to value

11/11/2007 Posted by ooomermaidooo

Making a reservation to ensure prompt seating when you arrive at the Oceanaire is pointless since you still have to wait 30 minutes to be seated. The wait staff seemed off the evening we were there. Our waitress had no knowledge of their wine list and rarely came to our table. The restaurant manager stopped by our table and patched up the spottie service which restored our faith in the restaurant. The food and wine was great but they need to work on having a stronger front end and wait staff to compliment the price of your meal.

Pros: Food and wine was great.

Cons: Service was lacking.

08/16/2007 Posted by beamer214

I went in for lunch again, as I am prone to do every Tuesday.....and as usual when you first step into Oceanaire you are greeted by an amazing and quite handsome host, who immediately seats us in our favorite area of the restaurant -- the cozy booths on the wall. Service was exceptional, prompt and attentive. I had the crab club, which is loaded with mounds of crab, instead of the usual filler you get at other seafood places. My other favorite item on the menu are the fish tacos....loaded with fresh cilantro, guacamole and a delicious sour cream sauce. I can't get enough of the black beans and purple cabbage included with this dish. The fish with macerated cherries- (no matter what special fish of the day) is always a favorite at our table, and the Caesar - big enough for 4 is a great starter. You would be shock at the size of the wine pours by the glass, although at first you may think $12.95 may be a bit on the expensive side, once you get your glass this clearly becomes a moot point.....I think I had half a bottle in one glass! I will continue to frequent this restaurant, and recommend it to all my friends and out of town visitors....always classy...always perfect!!

Pros: Great food..Great Service

Cons: Can't think of any!