Ivar's Salmon House on Lake Union Reviews

Good place and good food. Tried the taste of the NW. Portions could be a little bigger (wouldn't mind paying a little extra). Service is ok

Great Service !! A wonderful selection of food on the menu

They know how to cook their seafood. Copper River Sockeye was perfect. Happy hour clams on Thursday was a deal.

Great overall experience here. For guaranteed seats always call and make reservations though. I'm a big salmon fan, so I always have to try it out a whatever seafood place I'm at. Ended up going with a seared sockeye and they cooked it perfectly. Not overdone in any spots and the butter sauce worked well with it. The server was only around when they needed to be, so that's a plus. I like my dinners to be private. Well, as private as it can be in a public restaurant.

Food-
Decor-
Service-
Price-

Excellent service, good food. Requested a seat by the window and they honored the request which was awesome. Nice view of lake union and clam chowder was great. Would recommend.

Great Sunday Brunch! I loved it!
LOTS of selection with QUALITY food. (includes Ivar's famous fish-n-chips & chowder) Also had excellent service from the wait staff...our coffee & waters were never 1/2 full (I'm an optimist)
Really about the best value around for only $29 (my 3 year old son, Max Danger, ate for free!)
Recommend reservations... (did ours on my Droid phone)

Last night before temporary closing, salmon house known for having curated salmon and other seafood was down to only coho and fish n chips, a sad farewell..hopefully they will be back in the spring when we can revive good memories with good friends.

Food was prepared well and the service was outstanding. We were here for late lunch on Sunday without reservation and we had a good time. Make your reservation ahead of time for lake-side seating. For any special days, I
would recommend this restaurant compare to other lake-side restaurant up on Edmond or Everett.

The location of this restaurant is great, but it could be tricky to find if you are not familiar with this area.

Excellent seafood place, bit pricey, but good quality and nice views of Seattle

Quite simply, "The Best"! My out-of-town family and friends will meet with me here every time they visit. Sunday brunch is an event worth considering no matter what the weather. I call ahead for reservations.

Come by boat or seaplane for an added treat. Men, if you plan to visit "stag", and if you are married, bring a note from your wife, or you will not be permitted more than one cup of clam nectar (side effects, you know, yes?).

Poor wait staff, bartenders great if you want to get complete service sit at the bar.

I'm not sure how it works with other people. but we were there celebrating a birthday last night. the view was great, the food was great. the service was great til we got the bill. After that we were totally ignored. no one came by to offer water or check in on us.

I go here quite a lot since I live so close. The happy hour at the Salmon House is absolutely unbeatable. The food is always tasty, drinks are great, and the views top it all off!

The view of downtown is at a very unique angle. Great food as well. The salmon sampler is great and it's interesting to see how different kinds of salmon compare.

Had an amazing experience here. All of the fish is incredibly fresh and salads are very tasty. There is a good selection of wine, and the chowder is to die for. Ambiance is perfect; try to get a table near the water. Little pricey, so come prepared to spend some change.

One of the Seattle tourist spots that the locals go to regularly. Go to the bar after 3pm for happy hour. They not only have discounts on local beers and ciders, they have great deals on food too. Also, they pay their wait staff properly, so tipping is not expected.

Wonderful views of city and water. Food 4 , put very pricey.

My friend and I both ordered the Copper River king salmon. Salmon itself was amazing, but everything else was lacking. The sides were individually bad and did not do anything to round out the plate. For the price we paid, we expected a better thought out dish. The place has a nice view of Lake Union and has outside seating for days with good weather.

Great place... Salmon is really good and their happy hour is totally worth it

Very good and cheap oyster shooter for the happy hour menu. And happy hour starts from 3pm every day. Beautiful view also looking into the gas work park.

Come during happy hour. Great price and quick, friendly service for excellent fish and chips!

My food was average especially for the price. Some of my other European colleagues had the same opinion.

The service was good.

I took a few friends visiting from California and the lady working the counter was very friendly. She even gave us free samples of the chowders so we know which one fit our liking. You can't go wrong with any of the chowders and the fish and chips are crispy and tasty.

I was disappointed at how I was treated at the restaurant. I went there for a dinner since my mother came to visit far away from home on April 6th 2018. It was a table for 5 and I made reservation at 7.30pm. As me and my family entered the restaurant, we were not greeted by the two hostess at the front and they did not even say anything like as though I was invisible. So I said "Hi, I've made reservation at 7.30pm". The lady didn't even ask what was the name of the reservation and said that she couldn't find me on the list. Then I spelled out my name and she cut me off and said "okay i found you, since your reservation is at 7.30pm, you have to wait until 7.30pm before being seated". I was there early for less than 20 minutes with my family present and there was a lot of seats available so I don't understand why I have to wait and they didn't bother to explain to me anything and completely ignored me and telling me to wait. People that came after us came early as well and they were seated immediately. While we were having dinner, my mom was calling the hostess as she was passing my our table and asking for a napkin. I understand that she is not a waitress but instead of telling my mom that she will let our waiter know that we need some napkins she just look at my mom in a rude way and roll her eyes to the side. From then on, I completely lost my appetite that I did not enjoy my food and I did not enjoy my dinner. I am very disappointed how unfriendly the two hostess were and how they did so well making us feel unwelcome. Despite the mistreatment I received from them, I still tip our waiter well since he deserve the credit for being polite and helpful. Unfortunately I don't feel like going back to this restaurant as I don't feel like it's worth going there if I'm not feeling welcome.

Super Easy to tie up and grab some fish & chips here

Fun family tradition to eat at the buffet and boat to the game!! Highly recommended

Great food and service with a great view. Come here for special occasions as it is a tad pricey. Good deals on wine and good wine selections.

Gorgeous view of the water and lovely restaurant. We enjoyed our meal and service.

Ambience and location are superb.

Our starter of crab dip was amazing!
However my food was overly salted .We ordered the beignets which were part of the New Orleans theme, they were nor fully cooked.

Seeing as I do not eat here often I have no idea if this is typical or an exception.

I hope this is an exception

Very good salmon. Excellent location - great place to eat if you want a cool view of the city.

The worst experience ever! Being a Seattle native, I grew up loving I cars. Today I took my daughter and out of town guest to my favorite place, man has it changed!!! The salmon sampler had a blood clot on the sockeye and bones in the coho. The salmon burger patty was thick and soggy like it had been frozen. The uniforms were atrocious to put it nicely. They looked dirty and hung awkwardly. On of the bussers had the top buttons undone and his chest hair was visible..... I never want to know in the staff has chest hair. To top it off both my and my guest stomachs are in knots. I can not say at this time if I can be willing to give Ivars another chance. It makes me so sad because growing up Ivars was AMAZING and rave worthy.

Seattle has a lot of nice restaurants with great view. But Ivar's Salmon House is probably one of the best during the sunset...

Had the fish and trips out on the deck. Great experience!

The best fish I have ever had. I would recommend getting the alaskan halibut. The fish, potatoes, and broccolini was pristine.

Exceptional view at cheaper happy hour prices, and excellent service. A group of us went to Ivars for happy hour/dinner last night. We had a great time. Easy free parking across the street. They had happy hour from 3pm to close. A lot of happy hour selections on their menu. The view of the Seattle skyline was great.

I made reservations and asked for a table by the windows, and we were not disappointed! We had the BEST table....in a small alcove with windows on three sides and an amazing view of the water, boats, Seattle skyline, etc. We loved watching the yachts go by and the seaplanes land. The service was fine. The food was delicious. We had salmon, of course, including a salmon pasta special. The food was kind of pricey. The dessert menu had a "dessert trio" for $13 where you could pick three different dessert items. This was a great way to share a dessert and allow the three of us to try different things. I wish other restaurants would offer this choice. My only complaint was that there were bread plates on the table when we sat down. We asked about bread and were told it was "$4 for a basket or $1 per roll." Seriously?? With such high prices, the least they could do was provide complimentary bread!

I ate here with a friend and had a nice time. There was a happy hour menu (advertised as 3pm to 7pm) that had many of the same entrees as on the regular menu...but with smaller portions for half the price. I think the portion side was fine, considering how many restaurants give people far too much food anyway. I ordered the happy hour dishes of salmon and vegetables (~$17), as well as a salmon Caesar salad (~10). The salmon meal was so filling that I had to take the Caesar salad home in a to-go box. The salmon entree had three different types of vegetables alongside greens and mashed potatoes. The Caesar salad had large pieces of shaved Parmesan, as well as generous croutons that tasted homemade. The waitress also gave us free bread before ordering, which was nice. Overall, I had a great time at Ivar's and recommend it. There is a closer Ivar's at Mukilteo, but I've never seen the happy hour menu there. Considering how ordinary entrees cost ~$30, I much prefer this location for their happy hour menu.

Favorite place for happy hour. And the location, whether indoors or outside is always a crowd pleaser!

The view is incredible, the food was good. I had the cod BLT and my husband the tacos. Theirs were some of the best tacos we ve had, and my BLT was tasty but I thought the sour dough and the cod would be a bit more flavorful.

Classic Ivar s experience, even if the ambiance isn t as nice as the Salmon house patio

Pricey and food was underwhelming. Location and view are great though

Fast, hot and tasty. The walk up counter was great, and the half and half chowder was outstanding.

One of the best salmon houses in Seattle, very popular. Their main plates consist on clams and fish dishes.
The view is also awesome!
The waiters and waitresses were very friendly also. A must go!

The cornbread is why this Ivar's is better than all the others. They have honey by request and it is the perfect pairing for salmon. The happy hour is one of the best in town. And the service is fantastic. They really take care of the food and customers here.

Great view even on a rainy day. Very cozy ambience inside the restaurant

Extremely expensive in comparison to even finest places in Seattle. I took friends for dinner and cheapest thing on the menu was $20. The food was not of the quality or size when an average diner is $37. What happened to this family friendly spot? Dinner was $270 for 3 adults and two children. We had TWO beers and a meal each. I will NEVER step a foot in this place solely for being horrible overpriced.

Was open to great views service was friendly and professional

Alderwood smoked salmon done so well! They can weave a surprising balance of flavor from enhancing the natural flavor of the seafood with the seasoning they choose. If you like seafood, Ivar's is a must try. The view from the Salmon House location is supremely picturesque of the downtown, of Lake Union and the cut. They have specials for that come and go with the season. Most recently we had their apple fritters for dessert that were prepared to perfection such that I don't recall ever having a better version. Full flavor, light and moist at the same time. Great.

Seated us quickly when busy, was great bisque, and managed good food in a packed house. I cleaned my plate. Nice service

Not sure what is happening to Ivar's but service has really deteriorated. Slow service when it is busy is one thing but we counted at least 25 empty tables. When it got too hot for us outside we asked to move inside and were told sure we just had to settle our bill. The server said he would talk to the hostess and get us a table. But once we settled our bill we were told we had to wait as if we had just walked in. After my husband escalated, explained we had just spent over $120 on our food and drinks outside and we just wanted a table to have dessert, they seated us but we surely no longer felt like welcome guests. We are frequent customers and usually always bring out of town guests, but will be thinking again before we plan another visit. Also shocking during this visit was the state of the bathroom. Really gross.

Extraordinary Father's Day Brunch! Eye-popping menu, Gorgeous presentation. Janette was our perfectly attentive server. I loved helping my grandsons get the most out of their crab legs. Fun watching them learn to enjoy good Northwest Cuisine!

Bad customer service. After docking our boat, we attempted to eat lunch there on Saturday, June 1st. However, we decided to just walk out because the outdoor hostess became confrontational about switching tables to one on the water.

Very delicious food, great atmosphere and views of the water and Seattle Skyline. We had the Clam Chowder and Salmon Sampler...

I predict this place will be closed within a year if they don't hire a manager with passion for service. Dirty glasses replaced with broken ones. I watched 2 servers with dirty shirts. Unbuttoned shirts. No smiles. 0 sense of service or personality. Apparently the candle had to be lit in the middle of our dinner. The food was good. Priced according to the location and quality, but with the current level and quality of service the food is soon to not be enough. This is a landmark location that deserves better.

Green curry mussels are very good as is the Ivarita cocktail. The view is fantastic as you can see all the boats going through the Montlake cut. Great view of space needle.

A great view and fabulous salmon even on a rainy winters day

Held an event in their large banquet hall. The staff was excellent and gracefully handled all our last minute requests.

Food is always amazing here. Love the drinks too. We had a table of 17 with most of the people being kids. The server was so good to keep everything straight and even separated our checks.

Definitely worth checking out if you never been.

Highly recommended the outside patio during nice weather. Amazing view of the water and fun to see boats go by. Truly a Seattle icon spot.

Big place, noisy, ask for a corner table. Good food. I like the corn muffins, it is like a savory cupcake. Salmon & crab cakes are good

Great view, excellent service, best of all delicious food!

With the prices for the food I was expecting far better. My food was verging on cold and the Salmon was overcooked. Very, very disappointed. I will never come back.

This is one of my favorite views in the city! Unbeatable view of downtown from Lake Union. The food is delicious! I particularly recommend any of the salmon dishes and the Dungeness Crab Bisque is my absolute favorite! The service is always friendly. If you do not want to sit in the restaurant to get the views you can also sit in the bar at tables to enjoy the same window view and no reservation is required.

The man Ivar, nice remodel, too bad the city can't figure out how to get the construction done

Great place. Amazing views, great staff and amazing food. The fish and chips were on point!

Great service (attentive & speedy). Fantastic salmon. Decent view and decor. Good cheese cake.