Ivar's.....Somebody's Watching Me

Have I mentioned I am a fan of fish and chips? Surely it is so. I have eaten an ocean of fish over the years. Almost nearly as much as I eaten cake! The white flaky goodness encased in some crisp fried batter? Who can resist that? Add in some french fries and it is deep fried delight goodness! With tartar sauce! While I have always been keen on fish and chips, living in SF proved a challenge in finding places who did not charge a fin and tail just to get it. Yes, places served it up but in most instances it wasn’t like England with a chips shop on every corner. And one of the better affordable places was down around Pier 39, the touristy area locals tend to avoid unless visitors are in town.

Once I was back in NC, there were ample places and opportunities to get fish in chips in both cod, flounder or catfish versions and they weren’t necessarily going to stretch your wallet. I did find it odd with SF being right on the water but fish being quite expensive. And the Triangle being right in the middle of the state and a bit of a drive from the coast, things seemed more readily available and affordable. I think I chalked it up to a thriving fishing industry off the coast of NC while in SF they were more about the Dungeness crab (which was also pricey).

Thus once here in Seattle I thought, well, they are on a sound and Pike Place Market is known for fish, can I get some decent fish and chips at a moderate rate here? I figured I would start out around the waterfront since you know, right on the water and all. Of course, Pike Place and the waterfront here are like Pier 39 in SF, where all the tourists go, though where I live in the city it is an easier walk to get to and if they are offering up something affordable and tasty, I am down for mingling with the out of towners to get some deep fried fishness. Which is what brought me to Ivar’s.

Seems Ivar’s is another one of those institutions in the area having been around since 1938. They have a number of locations including inside the baseball stadium. Their place on the waterfront has both the dine in restaurant over the water and a walk up take out counter with waterside eating. Since this is a wallet watch eat, the counter is my destination. Fish and chips and clam chowder seem to be their thing here and seems they also do the chowder bread bowl thingy like SF, but chowder is not really to my tastes. I only like clams fried, in chowder it is all to fishy and clammy tasting. For the fish you can get cod, halibut or salmon (yuck! no!) and am going classic with the cod. It comes in 3, 4 or 5 pieces—nice! But it is not a glutton day so 3 with fries for $12 seems about right.

fish and chips

They are panko breaded pieces of fish that while not the biggest are decent sized enough to satisfy and you do get a fair helping of fries to round it all out. Everything is cooked to order so these are gonna be hot out of the fryer when you get them—be warned. And for the most part they are okay. I mean, they taste relatively fresh and there is enough tartar sauce to go around with them. My biggest drawbacks are the the breading isn’t very crunchy and seems to absorb the oil. The come right out of the basket onto the try of fries which brings all the grease to the plate. At least for the one I got as I could see it being prepared. The fry grease also seems to cling to the fish a bit too. It doesn’t make these out and out bad or anything, it is more of an underlying greasiness you notice. The panko really isn’t adding anything here either, no seasoning, no crunch, more of a looks thing. I mean it isn’t like they taste bad or anything—just not memorable.

cajun fish and chips

It was why I also made another visit to try the cajun version of the same thing. It is like $1 upcharge and I will say they nail the spice on it. You can definitely taste the heat, plus as you see, it does offer more breading which did add a hint more crispness. Though they still suffered from the grease which seeped through the fish and kept the crust from being as crispy as I thought it should have been. Again, not bad or anything, more like, “it was just okay.”

But as a consolation, they do seem to do fries pretty well and offer up plenty with the basket. While the fish may have been greasy the fries came out crisp and hot with a decent enough amount of salt that I did not feel the need to add more. I kind of enjoyed the fries more than the fish which was a bummer as one of the funky aspects of the counter fish bar is the seating area next to it.

Mine! Mine! Mine! Feed the seagulls!

Part of the area runs down the side of the building that contains the sit down restaurant and comprise a set of tables outside that face the water. If it is a nice day it is a great place to sit and look out across the water. Though for parts of the day it is in the direct sunlight with no shade as an FYI. When you enter this seating area there is a sign posted which actually encourages you to feed the seagulls. Usually it is the opposite but not here. I guess that is why the extra fries. Part of the kitschy for the spot is toss out the fries and watch the gulls catch them in the air or fight for them off the table. The birds will sit along the railing and at least wait until you throw something before “mine! mine! mining!” to beat the other birds to it. I ran a little test and would set them on the table to see if any would be brave enough to come up to me. Obviously they were and he/she/they kind of waited for each fry to be laid down before snatching it up. While that gull in back was like “why won’t you toss me one?!” Birds are so needy! If you are watching your carb intake it is definitely a good way to not waste food. And I mean, they encourage it.

As far as fish and chips go, the offering at Ivar’s is, as stated above, okay. I can’t see actually going out of my way to go there again but if you are here visiting the sites and want a quick bite that is relatively affordable without having to walk back up the hill to Pike Market, then this is good enough. The fish is at the very least fresh and you get plenty of fries. Plus, if nothing else, you do get the funky touristy experience of being able to freely feed the gulls with permission and encouragement. You’ll get some fun or funny Instagram photos or if you have kids, they can do a silly TikTok. That alone could be worth the price and the walk.