Ivar's Salmon House on Lake Union Review

Good food and a nice waterfront barge patio to enjoy a summer afternoon watching the boat activity.

The food wasn't bad but wasn't particularly good either. The bread with clams came stale, the salmon chowder was so so.

Great food.. ..couldve ordered one of everything exceptional service too...

Wasn't a great experience for many reasons.. way over priced...

The happy hour prices at this location are fantastic, and sitting out by the water is always lovely.

All of our dishes were creative and tasty. And the view from the restaurant is one of the best in seattle. It's a perfect place to take visitors to.

Great food and service. Great views of Lake Union and the Space Needle.

This is an adventure waiting to happen for your family , located next to a nice quiet romantic part with all and vintage Steamboats and Portage bay sightseeing for you to view and enjoy with you family. Not a quiet place a the high traffic bridge is overhead, nevertheless a their cooking is exceptionally flavorfully tasty Fish and the place for a good party is here !

Awesome food and service and atmosphere.beautiful lake and weather as well

Great food. Great views of the ship canal and the city. Wonderful service. Reasonable prices. Nice atmosphere. What more can one want?

Overpriced, but pretty good salmon. Some was undercooked...we were about 20 in our group and most plates had some undercooked. We had a set menu with 3 types of salmon and one of the choices was globally undercooked.

Stopped there every time i went to Seattle. the food and service are unique. the outside seating area is beautiful but bit noisy due to the bridge traffic above.
Although fried, not too greasy food and their clam chowder is the best in entire Washington.

$40 For completely flavorless overcooked Salmon and clam chowder that tastes like it came out of a redi-whip can. This is not food, it's perfomance art.

The food was tasty. Our server was perfect, she was friendly, efficient and there exactly enough. The two very best things were the views of the city and lake Union and the quiet. Even when it got busy, it wasn't noisy we could hear everyone.

Good fish and chips but you can get the exact same ones at the fish bar.

Seattle local place to take out of towners for local flair and flavor. Food is excellent but stay away from fried battered shrimp or oysters as this is more fast food like, nothing special but their salmon plates are what makes this a local favorite. Decor is very Pacific Northwest. Interesting almost museum like. Service is good. Casual or dress up.

Was really nice atmosphere, the food was good too. The view was amazing.

Classic spot along north Lake Union. I got the app tower and one of the seasonal salmon dishes. The fried calamari was the stand out for me. The waitress was quick to tell me the seasonal dishes were fresh, never frozen and locally sourced. I got the coho salmon and really liked my meal. It wasn't heavy. The friends I went with got the fish chips and weren't impressed, so I wouldn't venture outside of salmon here. I got the hazelnut torte and really enjoyed it, especially the whipped cream.

Best fish and chips ever. I will always go back every time I visit Seattle.

The Ivar's chowder is great as well as the Salmon sampler. The view is good for a casual sunset dinner.

I'm not sure what people are talking about. Hostess was disorganized, food took too long, oysters had tons of shell from whoever prepared them and no way out was worth $100.

I appreciated the decor, but... it was nearly impossible to get a drink from the bartender, my salmon was overcooked, and it waiter seemed annoyed to be serving us.

Never a wait and good sea food pick. The brunch when they have it is usually good, If you are a boater its a great place to tie up for a meal. Fantastic city views.

Fantastic food! We ate at the North Lake Union University of Washington area and it was excellent!

Ivar's Salmon House restaurant was ok except the fish was overcooked.

Food was amazing. But they have all those carvings with no artist names on them...

Beautiful view. Amazing food and great service. I have visited Ivers a few times and it is always a great experience.

We went to the Ivar's stand outside the restaurant. Consistently good fish and chips, which is more than you can say for other places. Scallops were also good.

Great outdoor seating next to the marina. Highly recommend the king salmon! Nice staff.

Ivar s is an underappreciated classic Seattle gem. The waterfront view is spectacular, and the Pacific Northwest Native American themed decor is beautiful. There is a lovely bar with views and a fireplace, and a comfortable dining room. One of Ivar s great virtues is that it is not deafeningly loud when the restaurant is full, unlike the current trend of hard-surfaced, crammed bustle and clatter in Seattle restaurants. One can actually converse with one s dinner companions at Ivar s.

What about the food, you ask? It is decent, generally very tasty in a seafoody way, pretty darn good clam chowder, never quite the very best that the aforementioned loud, viewless restaurants offer, but still, more than satisfactory. Sometimes I really crave seafood, too. The service is very good (we had especially good service from Natalie at the bar the other night. Shout out for Natalie!)

Ivar s is in what a Seattle native friend pointed out is one of the last remaining undeveloped neighborhoods from his longish-ago childhood. It is right on the lake with space needle city views!!! It is only a matter of time before that land is engulfed by UW/tech sprawl high-rises. Enjoy Ivar s while we can!

Fabulous Mother's Day Brunch. Classic Seattle charm.

This was one of the best sea foods that i have tasted, i wish to visit this place more. Good job guys.

Delicious food. Many choices. Reasonably priced. Great service and wait staff. Beautiful views from most tables. Will definitely return!

This is an amazing place to visit for lunch or dinner, the Staff is very friendly and the restaurant is filled with beautiful art ,totem poles and history, they have a Beautiful waterfront view and large comfortable seating for cozy couples or large family parties. The food is great and you will be pleased with the wonderful selection of seafoods and salads, and don't forget to try the famous clam chowder it's absolutely delicious! There is plenty of parking and outside seating also

Disorganized, complains if you have a party and decide to order from the bar instead of your waiters delivering your beer. Great view but staff ruined it. Decent food.

Great deck and delicious food, can't wait to go back.

The food is good, but the prices are too high for what you get and the ambiance.

Love their fish and chips and sitting in their bar area for happy hour makes the meals very affordable.

Great outdoor seating. Kind of overpriced but the wine list has some gems; try the Four Graces Pinot Blanc!

My favorite restaurant in Seattle, hands down. The bread is great, and the salmon is PHENOMENAL. And if you sit along the windows there is a beautiful view of the Seattle skyline. I come here every time I'm in the city and I recommend it to anyone who visits.

Great location every seat has a view of the water. Great food & service!

Best seafood on the waterfront,real Alaska salmon as advertised ,not farmed and labeled as wild like all the other fake restaurants in the area , polite and respectful wait staff, I WILL RETURN ,

Love this place. Always something good on the fresh fish side of things. Great views. Watch out for the little cornbread muffins; they're like 95% sugar. Gack.

I don't like seafood, but I take guests here and they love it. The ~3 non-fish dishes are superb.

Excellent location on the water with beautiful water views while enjoying great seafood. Had the salmon and crabcakes, they were delicious. Very moist and flavorful.

Have not been to Ivar's Salmon House in years, it was actually quite wonderful, seat yourself and we were there for happy hour which was awesome because of the small or even bigger plates and drinks at a really good price and great atmosphere

I always went to Ivar s salmon house for the king crab legs which came in a generous portion. For $60 tonight I got one and half leg and steak was extra. Service was spotty at best though it wasn t the waitresses fault. Not going back anytime soon.

TOO PRICEY, LITTLE PORTIONS, AND GOOD NOT HOT ENOUGH!!

We made reservations ten days in advance for a celebration with family. We should have seen the writing on the wall when at 7 on Saturday night there was ample parking and ample seating. We really couldn't have been more disappointed and will not return. After 20 minutes we finally ordered drinks and the stacked tray appetizer with seared Ahi, calamari, and coconut shrimp. The Ahi had sat for awhile. The calamari was very heavily breaded and oily from overcooking in too low initial temperature oil. The shrimp was good. The service was horrendously slow. We finished the appetizer and had only the one drink round. One of our party asked about the ingredients in a cocktail for allergy concerns. The server didn't know so left to verify. He just brought the drink anyway without it being ordered. Our meals arrived 47 minutes later for a party of 4 adults and 3 children, no ala carte orders. Only a chowder order arrived warm. Everything else was not even luke-warm. We asked for the manager who was gracious and offered to let us graze off of the plates we had while he prepared more and offered chowder. We sent back our plates, the chowder was great. The food finally returned. It was sent back for being cold. My wife had grilled salmon. Half of it was raw. The "sushi" below is the grilled salmon. The other plates were warm but definitely not hot. We left it and told the server. we received a 15% discount on 6 drinks, 3 kids meals, an appetizer, 4 adult plates for $250. We traveled across state the next day while my wife enjoyed histamine poisoning. A food poisoning from poorly stored fish and shellfish that produces a rash, painful abdominal cramping, and violent GI expulsions: perfect for a 5 hour road trip. Don't waste your money or risk your health.

Solid HH menu. Fast service and good food, although pricey

Wonderful experience. Food was great but staff was amazing. Friendly, great service and on thier game.

Actually went to Ivars Salmon House around back. Excellent lunch. Fresh salmon.

The summer berry salad is awesome as is the Salmon crostini. Good food - relaxing atmosphere with a waterfront view.

Nice view of Seattle, excellent food at a good price, with Happy Hours in food and drinks.

Salmon chowder was flavorful. Seafood cocktail was small but good. Salmon sampler with the lemon fennel sauce was great. We usually avoid fennel since it tastes like liquorice but we couldn't even tell it was there.

Good ambiance and great view of the Seattle skyline

The seafood is reliably fresh. The Duwamish Indian carvings, art & lodge-style interior really enhance your visit. Good menu. Not all locations are full-service; some have limited menu offerings.

I love Ivar's Salmon House. Their food is always delicious with great service.

Fresh and wonderful ingredients. Possibly the best Salmon in Seattle and the prices are about half of what you'd pay at the top restaurants.

I come here every time I visit Seattle. The food, the views, the one of a kind decor. This place can't be beat.

My parents visited from Michigan last weekend so I wanted to do something special. This was a really great choice. We went on Sunday for Brunch - the food was excellent, fresh, plentiful, our server was attentive and kind, the views were great, the restaurant was beautiful, and it was worth every dollar. Come with an empty stomach, and start with the unlimited crab legs!

Good views, delicious seafood, lots of fresh catches, great service, good serving sizes and fast! Nice patio on side! Can accommodate large groups! Drinks were okay.

Love Ivar's! The ambiance it's the best in Seattle! My only issue was my Salmon was not as fresh as usual and overcooked. However, been going there for over 30 years and this is the first time Salmon was not perfect.

A Seattle seafood restaurant fixture of the highest caliber. An incredible view o Lake Union and the marina. A warm wooded high ceilingly log house family ambience. Exquisite Native indigenous art on the walls . Delicious smoked salmon and crab cake dinner, with a healthy serving o potatoes and fresh sauteed spinach and a combo crab shrimp Louis salad. Excellent attractive and amenable servers with excellent suggestions. A little bit pricey. All this and more awaits you here. No trip to Seattle is complete without a visit to Ivar's.

Really great experience. Different types of salmon, all explained. Great seafood platter. Fresh desserts. Only ding - the seafood tower appetizer was tiny for the price and description. Service was great.

The views of the skyline from the patio are wonderful. We got the mussels and the jumbo shrimp and mushrooms. The mussels lacked flavor for my personal taste, but the shrimp and mushrooms were delicious, along with the flourless chocolate cake.

Great food, great location, reasonable parking. And if you like playing Ingress or PoGo, than this is the place for you.