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    Ivar's Fish Bar

    3.5 (127 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

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    IVAR'S FISH BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Ivar's Fish Bar

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    Reviews With Photos

    Cajun Cod n' Chips
    Jeff C.

    As a native Seattleite (and someone who was a breader at Acres of Clams in the '70s :D I will always have a soft spot for Ivar's. I get the fish-n-chips cravings fairly often so Ivar's is one of the go-to spots. We went on a rare sunny day and brought our little 15lb pooch along for the trip but didn't realize that the outdoor seating over the water was a no-dog zone. No worries - tables in front worked just fine. Only tried one thing different this time - the Cajun seasoned cod. Kind of fun for a change of pace but won't completely replace the original. You know what you're going to get at Ivar's and it'll be good. If you go on a nice sunny day - even better. We're lucky in Seattle to have a good number of options for food and Ivar's will always be in the rotation for us. My better half likes the tomato based red chowder which is also a nice change of pace.

    Cod BLAT..don't recommend.
    Ric V.

    The service was fantastic. I don't remember the waiters name but the receipt says AM B. We had a group of senior citizens and he was able to be patient and friendly. Good view of the water and watched the boats and a view of the Space Needle. I had the Cod BLAT and it was ok. There was not a lot of flavor. The fries were good.

    Lily P.

    Salmon chowder is so good!!! Thanks to the worker for recommending it. Also got 3 pc cod fish and chips. Tbh fish was just okay, it had a bite to it instead of just being really soft? Maybe not the best cod or from being frozen

    3 Piece Fish 'N Chips
    Sabrina B.

    Visited this place during trip to Seattle. Ordered Fish and Chips. The fish had a fishy taste, dry and overcooked. The fries were ok. Unfriendly staff.

    The comparison

    Come here for one thing: Picturesque views . The food here is.... There is excellent food, good food, mediocre, bad and then there is Ivar's. Here the food (or at least some of it) is pure scam. I tried their Smoked Salmon Chowder for $7 or more a small cup. The chowder itself was average in taste, but there were three major problems with it: 1) No smoke flavor in sight 2) No salmon pieces in sight (not even one) 3) The soup depicted in their menu looked nothing like the soup served. On the menu, it was full of large pieces of fish. In my cup there was not a SINGLE piece. After I complained about this, the staff working there, really, really tried. They told me that that's the kind of soup they have been serving all day, so it's not like they ran out of something. They tried to accommodate me and fished and fished for something and did their best. The best was some tiny minuscule bits and pieces of salmon. The menu however proudly boasts that this soup has gotten Ivar's supposedly some sort of awards. What I'm guessing however is the following. This self-serve cafe is a part of the large full-service restaurant in the same building - Ivar's Salmon House. The left over bits, pieces and bones left over from the main restaurant are used to make the chowder soup (which is fine for the base broth). However, no actual fish meat is added after this step. So the owners are simply engaged in a scam. We also tried Ivar's clam chowder and a simple small piece of grilled salmon at another location - a full service Ivar's restaurant at the Seattle pier. You would think that being a sea food restaurant in the heart of a Seattle, where salmon is everywhere, would enable them to make this super simple dish. Nope. The clam chowder was again average in taste and skimpy on the clams . And the grilled salmon was annihilated on the grill - dried out, no longer tender and juicy. If you would like to have a real smoked salmon chowder, go the Pike Market Chowder.

    Virgin bloody
    Joe N.

    It's always good to come back here when visiting from San Francisco. This time my friends and I sat inside the restaurant instead of sitting outside on the street. I got a lobster roll with a virgin bloody to kick off my Sunday afternoon. The lobster was flavorful and the bun the lobster came on was to die for. Service was awesome as well from our very enthusiastic bar tender. Can't wait to be back.

    Did
    Michelle T.

    Nothing says Seattle summer like Ivar's on the dock. Go to meal to enjoy the outside. There is a boat dock to park at and grab a bit to eat. Order at the window and walk around back to enjoy your fish and chips

    Tanker of White & Baby Prawns 'N Chips & French Fries (side)
    Erin K.

    You order outside at the stand and find a seat indoors until they call your order over the speakers. The employees are nice, but you don't interact with them much other than to order and pick up the food. The indoor area is a pretty small space but has a simple and woody atmosphere. We ordered the baby prawns n chips and a tanker of white chowder. We shared the tanker between three people, and it was a good portion. It's pretty salty, but it was delicious. The baby prawns were smaller in portion than expected for the price, but they were still good. We ordered an extra side of fries, and we actually all thought the fries were delicious. The sauces (ex: ketchup, tartar sauce, etc) that the employees gave us were pretty limited, so we did have to ask for more. Although this place isn't the cutest or the most well-decorated, it's still a decent place to get quick take-out/bite. Ivar's Salmon House is right next to the fish bar for more of a restaurant feel, but I didn't get a chance to check it out.

    Menu from October 2022
    Gina B.

    I only get a couple things from the menu here, but they are great go-tos and the outdoor seating area by the water keeps me coming back! I always get a cup of their clam chowder (white) and my husband gets the salmon chowder. Both are so delicious. Sometimes we'll get some fish & chips (the regular cod) which always comes out hot & crispy on the outside, and juicy & flaky on the inside. I only wish the pieces were bigger! Also, once we got Cajun style thinking that both the fish and chips would be covered in Cajun seasoning, but it was just the fish. I'd love Cajun seasoning on the fries too. We've tried a few other items such as shrimp & chips and I think oysters & chips, but neither were as good as the cod. Service is usually pretty good, nothing spectacular but nothing bad. Just know that you need to order chowders separately from other items. I don't know why. Again, if weather permits (which I know is not often the case in Seattle), the seating in the back by the water is so lovely.

    Menu (3/2/22)
    Marie B.

    Been a Washingtonian since 1973, so Ivar's was a local treat before catching a ferry back to Bremerton ordering from the waterfront fish bar. Back then it was such an astounding feat to see orders taken 15-20 people deep. Talk about a kitchen crew crushing it! Ivar Haglund - a total Seattle legend! Was a Seattle resident since 1983 and my favorite spot was this particular Ivar's Fish Bar, Northlake close to UW campus and my UDistrict apartment. After hanging out in Frelard/Balmont and Gasworks Park, for nostalgic reasons and Ash Wednesday (3/2/22), I hit my old fave. Only two others ahead of me in line, probably due to pouring rain! Ordered a three piece fish and chips with a request for one each ketchup and tartar sauce. Friendly counter service, but none of the former showmanship ordering from the counter to kitchen line crew. No one to impress, I guess. I ended up eating these further down the road on Boat Street by UW South Campus after another brief stop. Good ol' pandemic dining, a la car! Fish and chips were nicely packaged and bagged up. However, in the past I recalled that the hand cut cod pieces were a bit bigger. Decent fries, just too many of them. Wish I asked for another tarter sauce. Way back when you'd end up with a ton extra which would get stashed in the fridge. As a Shoreliner since 2002, I usually get my Ivar's fix at the North Seattle/Aurora site. There the fish remained as I remember them, bigger cuts, moist, and crispy exterior. Realized I have never posted a Yelp review...so three stars, but an extra star for nostalgia on this rainy visit.

    John G.

    Great location with outdoors seating and great deals for happy hour! We stopped buy for late dinner and it happened to be happy hour. There are good discounts on popular items like fish and chips crispy calamari, beef tips and a lot more. So we ended up ordering too much food! The fish and chips was good as expected, the calamari was crispy and the dipping sauces good as well. I had the ram-ble on the barge which was good, but not my favorite. We enjoyed our time there, it was a nice day and we could see the boats on the water, the food and service were great and the happy hour menu .

    Over cooked burnt clam strips
    Van H.

    Spent $35 for two clam strips, and a chowder bread bowl, the clam were extremely over cooked-- the fries see better than the clam- what a shame. Local dive bar does a better job. If you are an ivar fan, the one on hw99 is the best --even better than the waterfront downtown . Third time here and I'm just dissatisfied. My poor family is eating burnt clams for dinner-- not fair!

    Salmon 'N Chips
    Kayla P.

    A great quick spot to grab some fish & chips or clam chowder! Nice spot in the spring or summer, and super close to the water or park where you can eat

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    6 years ago

    This is horrible spot!! Don't go there racist and judgmental. Food not worth it and there service is terrible

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    4 years ago

    I got Scallops 'n Chips. There were ten scallops on top of the fries. The taste is a bit light to me.

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    4 years ago

    Consistently good! Ivar's never disappoints. Nice service,too. Salmon chowder, yum!Alaska Smoked Salmon Chowder

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    8 years ago

    Cajun fish and calamari fries were amazing. Salmon chowder also excellent. Best of all was Lucitas customer service

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    7 years ago

    We sat outside with plenty of servers running around. We waited for 30 minutes without any service before leaving.

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    8 years ago

    Great food. View on backside pier was really fun. No dessert at this location. Was really enjoyable and relaxing.

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    9 years ago

    Stopped in for a quick snack. The sheltered seating is nice for a cold day. Excellent chowder, coleslaw, and slightly-sweet cornbread.

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    Page 3 of 4

    Ask the Community - Ivar's Fish Bar

    Are they serving alcohol on patio?

    Yes, on the full service side, we serve alcohol to guests.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Spud Fish & Chips

    3.5
    (338 reviews)
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    Wow! My first time back in three years and the renovation looks incredible. Spud's is modern and…read morespacious now! No more parking lot but there's plenty of table, booth, and bar seating. Food still slaps. Crispiest fish ever - beats Ivar's imo - and they have all sorts of toppings for your fries, like a savory spice mix, malt vinegar, and garlic vinegar. The fries were a bit green but still tasted fine! The owners' kids were working and were amazing!

    This was my first time at any Spud location. I've seen mixed reviews of other locations, but for…read moresome reason never looked into this one. One day when walking around Green Lake and getting hungry, I decided to give it a try. Not sure if I got lucky on that day (it was a Sunday), but the customer service was noticeably wonderful. The cashier greeted us with a big smile and just seemed so welcoming & attentive. I haven't had service like that in awhile around here. As for food, just wanted to go simple & got the cod fish and chips. This being a local chain, I didn't expect much. When I bit into the fish, it was way better than I expected. Crunchy on the outside, soft & flaky on the inside, and most important, flavorful! Sometimes when I get fish & chips, the fish is bland. Not here. The fries could've used salt, but otherwise they were nice. The condiments were great too. Tartar sauce, lemon, & vinegar (I think it had garlic in it?). There were also various hot sauces that were near the register. When my partner grabbed one of the hot sauce bottles, the two workers behind the counter noticed and confirmed that he made a choice they would have made as well! It was a cold day so most people sat inside. As we ate, more people arrived and I realized there weren't enough tables for them, so it got a little crowded. The prices are a bit high, but overall, I really enjoyed my experience here and will return!

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    Local Tide

    Local Tide

    4.6
    (503 reviews)
    1.4 mi
    $$

    I came here with a friend today around 2pm! There was a line to order but we didn't mind waiting,…read moreSunday afternoon on a sunny day so we expected it! I've been wanting to try this place for awhile and I am so glad I finally did! We ordered a few things to share and every single dish was delicious! Shrimp toast: this was a great appetizer to share! Very crispy and the sauces on the side gave it a more complex flavor! It came with a sweet mayo and chili sauce. The chili sauce is definitely spicy if you can't handle spice so beware on how much you're using if that's the case. I also really enjoyed the slaw that came with it, it was very refreshing and it had a bit of sweet mayo flavor to it, I think it's the same as the dipping sauce but I could be wrong! Fried oysters: these were delicious! I think fried oysters can be a hit or miss for me, sometimes the interior can feel too dry and feel kinda of mushy-like, like I'm eating bread rather than seafood. But this had great texture on the inside while being crispy on the outside! The sauce on the side tasted like a pepper aioli which gave the oyster a nice tang *the fried dishes were great but after having a few, it definitely felt heavy, so this would be something I share with someone else vs eating it on my own Smoked salmon belly dip: I really enjoyed this! It was creamy and had chunks of salmon in it. It wasn't too dense or thick so it was perfect for scooping onto the kettle chips. The kettle chips were lightly salted so it was the perfect combo with the dip. Clam chowder: wow I absolutely loved this! This is different than any other chowder I've had. While I love a white creamy chowder from your typical seafood places, the base being a fish stock definitely brought out the seafood flavor vs a white chowder feeling like a cream base. This chowder still felt creamy and rich without the seafood flavor being overpowered. Rockfish bowl: the crab rolls were sold out by the time we made it to the register so we opted for this instead and I am so glad that we did. I didn't really expect this to blow me away but this was such a refreshing dish that balanced out the fried dishes we got. It used viet flavors that you may typically find in a banh mi which made it refreshing and had great texture from all the different fresh ingredients and fried garlic. I also loved how the fish came in patty form mixed with pork, it was flavorful and moist. I love any type of fish tofu/patty, I think it really makes fish flavorful when it sometimes can have a really mild flavor. I'll definitely be back to try the crab rolls!

    I have been wanting to try this place for a while now and finally made it ! This is a small shop in…read moreFremont, and I have never not seen a line out the door, but they turn tables pretty quickly. On a Saturday evening, we waited in line about 20 minutes and then were able to order and be sat. All the staff was very friendly. Even though they were constantly busy and wearing different hats, they were helpful, smiling and overall really nice. The food was solid. We tried the smoked salmon dip with chips, the fried chicken sandwich and the the black cod kasusuke. The crab rolls were sold out by the time we got there or we definitely would have tried those. The salmon dip was good, lots of dill, and the chips were crispy. The fried fish sandwich was light, which was nice for something fried, and the roll it was on was soft and warm. The black cod kasusuke was my favorite dish of the meal. The black cod was tender and fell apart, and it was seasoned so nice. It came with a spinach salad and rice which was also delicious. If I could give half stars, this would be pushing a 4.5. Nothing blew me away, but everything was fresh and enjoyable!

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    Inside
    Inside
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    Duke's Seafood

    Duke's Seafood

    4.0
    (1.5k reviews)
    1.7 mi
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    Where do I begin?! We had such an amazing experience at Dukes, for our last night in Seattle. We…read morewalked in with no reservations for a party of 2 & were sat at a clean table overlooking the harbor. Our incredible server Trey soon came over and helped us decide on some drinks, as we were debating between a few. The menu has so many options, it was hard to just choose one! We soon put our appetizer orders in, as well as our entrees. The calamari tasted fresh and crispy, what's not to like? The oysters I was recommended, tasted sooo fresh! The smoked salmon deviled egg was something I've never thought would work, but it tasted amazing. You can never go wrong with fish and chips, which tasted great! Our server was so sweet and was very attentive throughout the whole night. Dessert time came around and Trey recommended this Washington berry pie, we were sold! It came out deliciously warm with some ice cream on top, which was the cherry on top for our night!! Can't say enough great things about this restaurant, great staff, solid menu, we will definitely be back!!

    Have to admit at being disappointed in my latest experience at Dukes…read more It was about three weeks ago, the last Sunday in May. Went with my husband and met some family for lunch. We got there first, as the rest of the family went to the wrong location. So my husband and I were just there drinking water and waiting for them for a while. -I asked our waiter to please. "keep the water coming". Anyway, everyone finally arrived and we got things ordered. The food arrived in a timely way. Unfortunately, I have to report that their prices have gone quite high. I know most restaurants have had to raise their prices, but considering the food, both my husband, and myself felt that their prices were prohibitive, and with that in mind, we probably will not be back for quite a while. My hubbs had their lobster mac & cheese, which he gave a 7 out of 10. I had their lobster roll, which frankly, I could only give a 5 out of 10. It wasn't very flavorful, and definitely needed the dipping sauces that were served with it. Rather awkwardly put together as well, which made it kind of messy. Just kind of hard to eat. I did really enjoy their sweet potato fries though. Everyone else had various seafood dishes, which looked good, and one had a burger, which looked absolutely delicious. (I was kind of jealous once I saw it.) The service was good to begin with, but we had to flag down the waiter for water more than once. And towards the end of the meal, I was having some of that dipping sauce with the last of my sandwich; it was on the spicy side and I was out of water. Tried several times to get the waiter's attention, but it didn't work, and I had to literally yell at him to bring me some water. It was a little embarrassing, but I really needed it, & I was getting kind of mad! I mean, after all, I had made a point early on of asking him to refill the water. So that really kind of pissed me off. Because neither myself nor my husband had ordered any other beverage, & we really needed that water something fierce!! So obviously, I have mixed feelings on Dukes at this point. If money is no object, I'd say sure, go here and enjoy something tasty. But make sure you order some beverages so you don't have to count on the waiters for water!!!

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    Mr. Fish Chips & Chowder

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    4.1
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    3.1 mi
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    This place is just steps from the very touristy pike market place…read more Service was super friendly and prompt. The food? It was very good: the creamy chowder comes with spicy fish crackers which add an extra kick to it. We shared the mr fish combo and they brought it to us in two plates instead of one big plate - points for that!! The fish, calamari and the fries were all fried in a crispy batter. Well worth it!!

    My friend and I came here on a busy Saturday but it's a huge restaurant in a popular tourist area…read moreso they are definitely well-suited to accommodate lunch rushes. We got patio seating and ordered the rockfish tacos, the king of the sea (which is a piece of cod over a bed of fries and a cup of chowder), and the 30 mile clams. Our server was nice but obviously busy and we noticed that it took our food quite a while to come. It eventually did arrive all at once and by that time we were starving lol. The clams were an absolute showstopper. We especially loved the broth and dipped everything into it because it was that good! It came with two slice of garlic bread. I even wanted to add something to it to soak up ALL the broth. My friend enjoyed the tacos and while I really liked the piece of fried cod, it was quite a small piece. The chowder was pretty good but it was 80% potato chunks. Next time I would just stick to the regular fish and chips options. And of course the clams!!

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    Ivar's Fish Bar - seafood - Updated June 2026

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