Tuesday, 24 June 2008

• Elliott's Oyster House

  1201 Alaskan Way, Pier 56
  Seattle, Wa 98101
  206-623-4340
  http://www.elliottsoysterhouse.com

  When you're in the East coast you go for lobster, when you're down in Texas you go for steak, and when you're on the West coast you go for crabs!

  I was in Seattle for the weekend and, as usual, it was a gloomy rainy day but I wasn't going to let that affect my appetite.  One of Seattle's most famous seafood restaurants is Elliott's Oyster House by Pier 56:

  

  A wooden interior with a cozy bar gives a warm feeling to all their guests:

  

  It gets very busy at peak dinner time so be sure to make a reservation.  We waited 30 minutes for a table.

  White Clam Chowder:

  

  Creamy but not a lot of clams.  It was similar to what I got from Legal Seafood in Boston.  A cup is $4.

  Complimentary Bread:

  

  A little on the chewy side but great for dipping in the clam chowder.  I was disappointed that it wasn't sourdough.

  Dungeness Crab Cake:

  

  Inside is a lot of fish and not a lot of crab:

  

  The crab cakes were alright.  They were no where as good as the crab cakes I had at III Forks.  Considering the quality of the crab cakes and the amount of fish, the cakes are pricy at $16.

  Elliott's Tradition - Spicy Dungeness Crab:

  

  It's marinated in spices and grilled.  Somehow the spices end up tasting much like sweet and sour sauce with an added spicy kick. I was very impressed that each part of the crab was carefully pre-cracked so you didn't even need to use the crab cracker.  Sizes of the crabs range from 2 to 3 pounds.  Mine was about 2.5.  The crab meat was fresh but was generally soft so it wasn't an aggressive crab.  Although it was finger licking good and the crab meat was fresh, $45 is a bit on the high side.

  The included side dish of mashed potatoes and greens:

  

  I was so full from bread, crab, and crab cakes, I barely had any of the sides.  They were cold when they got to my table.

  Elliott's is a really nice restaurant.  I was so hungry while waiting for a table that I ordered quite a lot of food when we got seated.  The crab cakes were decent, the clam chowder was as expected (thankfully no sand included), and the crab was very large.  Service was really friendly and cracked a couple jokes on the expense of me but it was all good natured.  Elliott's is pricy but I would still recommend it as a place to try when you're in Seattle.

  Eric Tummy Points: 3.5 out of 5

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