Ivar's Salmon House

Ivar’s Salmon House is known for its brunch buffet, and it does it very well. The experience of a high-quality (but informal) brunch buffet somewhat clashes with the ambiance of the huge restaurant itself, which is built out of an large old Indian loghouse, complete with Indian artifacts and lessons on the walls. I’m not saying the decor was bad, but I just didn’t expect it to go with such great food.

The restaurant overlooks Lake Union, and I bet this would be a fantastic weekend brunch spot on a sunny summer morning. I’ll definitely be back for that.

I have been to this place many times and seeing how seafood to me is the best thing since running water…I LOVE it. To me, ya just can’t go wrong coming here!
I have probly had just about everything on their menu (over time, of course) and I absolutley love it all.

really good happy hour!! and I love the calamari! The prices for alcohol aren’t too shabby either. And I love the Sunday brunch!!!

Ivar’s Salmon House is on Lake Union, so it’s convenient after a day of boating to stop in for dinner on the way back from the lake.

The convenience is why I am giving this Ivar’s location two stars.

The service in the bar area is why I am only giving this place two stars. We came in on a busy weekend night around 7PM. Realizing that it was prime reservation time, we headed for the bar area and grabbed a table. The six of us then sat, shivering (it was cold on the lake and we hadn’t warmed up yet), praying for a mug of hot tea to start the thawing process. We waited for 10 minutes before we managed to get the attention of someone, then another 5 minutes before he actually made it over to the table.

After taking our drink order (we were all ready for food as well, but the server wanted to only get the drink order first) of several hot teas and several beers, we then waited another 20 minutes before first the beers started appearing, then some, but not all, of the hot teas. I used to be a server. I know hot tea can be a pain in the rear. But really, sometimes you just have to suck it up and give your customer what they order. We asked about the missing teas twice throughout the time we were there and they never arrived. Bad form, Mr. Server, bad form.

The meal itself was typical Ivar’s and good, filling warm food. In other words, the food was just fine but the service was not. Not sure if we’ll bother coming back to this location.