Good basic salmon; great views
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Expecting great seafood from Ivar's Salmon House when we went there with out of town relatives, I left underwhelmed by the fish, but delighted by the views.
Situated on Lake Union, Ivar's has great views, especially on a warm summer evening. Sitting on the deck, or inside at a window, is highly recommended.
The fish, including several varieties of salmon, halibut and shrimp, is roasted over alderwood and has a lovely hint of smoke to it, but we were all a bit disappointed in the quality -- the salmon was a bit dry and didn't burst with flavor, and the crab cakes needed more crab and less onion.
The halibut was better, with a good texture and nice mild flavor, and the shrimp was surprisngly good, slightly sweet and smoky. White clam chowder was nice, with a subtle onion note, but the smoked salmon chowder wasn't quite as flavorful -- a bit smoky, but the salmon didn't come through.
The views are great, but I might get the fish and chips takeout and sit at a picnic table next time, myself.