Name me a "casual restaurant on the water" in Seattle.

August 10, 2012 10:06 AM

"Someplace casual and on the water" in Seattle ... which restaurant should I take a party of 7 to this coming Friday night that fits these criteria?

I love local, seasonal food. I have many favorite restaurants. None of them are "on the water"...

I'm thinking something along the vein of Poppy or Sitka and Spruce. My default "on the water" restaurant is Ray's Boathouse in Ballard but that's not casual.

So the three main criteria:
- on the water
- casual (where casual means you can wear a polo or solid colored form-fitting shirt and be fine, not based on price)
- local, seasonal food (not a must).

posted by kthxbi to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

Best answer: Which water? Would Ivar's Salmon House on Lake Union fit the bill? That's always our favorite, and we're casual types.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 10:08 AM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

There are a number of "casual" places on the waterfront -

The Crab Pot is a lot of fun (they give you bibs and mallets and dump seafood on your table)
Ivar's Restaurant (the sit down one)
Anthony's (a bit higher end and a bit further North up the waterfront)
Elliot's (especially if you like oysters)
posted by dotgirl at 10:12 AM on August 10, 2012

Here's a list of Seattle waterfront places. I vote for The Crab Pot, which has consistently good seafood and is definitely casual.
posted by bearwife at 10:14 AM on August 10, 2012

I like Salty's.
posted by cashman at 10:45 AM on August 10, 2012

Ray's up in Ballard is wonderful. A bit dressier, but they have the Ray's Cafe option.
posted by lyra4 at 11:01 AM on August 10, 2012

Best answer: Seconding Ivar's on Lake Union. Rent a boat for your party and sail on up to the dock!
posted by Quietgal at 11:39 AM on August 10, 2012

Best answer: Ivar's on Lake Union. It's as fancy or as casual as you want to make it. The food is simple but very well executed, and the service is great.
posted by matildaben at 12:31 PM on August 10, 2012

I like the Harborside McCormick & Schmick's.
posted by a girl and her dog at 1:33 PM on August 10, 2012

Agua Verde qualifies in both "casual" and "on the water" categories, and according to their website they do seem to service sustainable, local, and organic foods.

Caveat: I've never actually been there; my wife has and didn't enjoy the food either time but it seems to get pretty consistently good reviews.
posted by camcgee at 2:27 PM on August 10, 2012

Elliott's.
posted by litlnemo at 3:22 PM on August 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

El Gaucho Aqua. Great happy hour. Much more relaxed than you might think. Excellent food.
posted by jennstra at 4:27 PM on August 10, 2012

You can buy el gaucho gift cards at Costco. Saving 20% immediately
posted by jennstra at 4:29 PM on August 10, 2012

I've been to Salty's and like it. I've heard both Ivar's and Anthony's are good as well.
posted by deborah at 4:42 PM on August 10, 2012

We always enjoyed going to Maggie Bluffs. Underneath (super-fancy) Palisade, so it shares the same great water views, but much more casual.
posted by themissy at 8:33 AM on August 11, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks all! I've just made a reservation for Ivar's Salmon House. I tried to book a reservation at Ray's Cafe but even though I attempted to book over a week before the date, their only availability was at 4:30 or 8:30.
posted by kthxbi at 10:17 AM on August 11, 2012