Ivar’s Seafood Bar

Me and my fiancé dined here for the 1^st time. It was outstanding. The food tasted fresh. Great atmosphere and good drinks.

If I am in the neighborhood — I will have to come back and try again since my initial experience was not the best. We use to eat at Ivar’s weekly but over the years have stopped coming for various reasons such as menu changes and service.
This location was friendly but not helpful. I have loved their chowder since the beginning but todays Clam Chowder was extremely diluted. I asked about it and was initially told it was the way it now is. When the manger walked through the restaurant — at the end of our meal — I showed it to him and he said it was totally wrong. He brought back another bowl which was as it should be — but in my opinion the damage was done. No compensation — free dessert or anything was given other than the usual excuse — we have a «new person» and she kept adding water to make sure there was enough — WOW the old «new person» excuse. I wonder if he would be happy to be on a bus and in an accident only to be told the drive was a «new person» so it was not their fault. Perhaps the «new person» should be trained? Perhaps Ivars should feel a little of the pain for the lack of quality food by offering a dessert, comp ticket or something.
The music was good — old time songs. Also I asked for two pieces of fish and was given the kids meal — really — including kids crackers. I did not realize the adult meal was three pieces — a choice it seems like I should get. I questioned the manager about this and he says it is Ivar’s Corporate Policy to give an adult that wants two pieces a KIDS meal. Huh — if this is a common thing — perhaps they should add two pieces to the menu. Not an impressive experience.

Ivars gone downhill in certain areas while others are still ok. Worked at their Pier 54 location as a teenager, many moons ago.
The Good: Fries are great. Their white chowder is still decent. Love their fried clams. Cesar side salad was surprisingly good. Spouse liked them breaded cod pieces. Liked their Coke dispenser (aka «Freestyle»).
The Bad: Halibut was sliced thin and not chunks like most other places. Salmon fish n chips tasted fishy and seemed like it was the cheap farmed (or keta?) salmon.
Staff at the Bellevue location seemed pretty unhappy. Too bad.

Love their fish!
Halibut, salmon are great! Their fish is fresh and the best!
Clam Chowder is OK.

I had the clams and chips. Very tasty and the tarter was awesome! Small cool little place. Began to get busy but wasnt loud for the size. Great service clean store.

Wow. My 1^st time eating here and the halibut was perfection. but even more delicious than the food was the customer service. SSSSooooooo friendly!!! The cooks, the cashier… everyone was greeting me, making eye contact and smiling. They have a great thing going weather its the training, the mgmt or just the caliber of people they hired. Phenomenal!

Ivar’s is a classic when it comes to fish and chips, Although it may be considered «fast food» by some, I find that their fish is hard to beat. The fish is always has a nice flakiness to it and is covered with a thin breading… the pieces are very substantial and filling. A dip of the slightly sweet tarter sauce perfects each bite. As for the fries… they are alright, but could be crispier. They seem to get soggy fairly easily since they’re in a compact pile with the fish on top.
I consider the pricing to be pretty reasonable. It’s about $ 22 for a «boat» which includes a chowder, 10 pieces of fish, fries and coleslaw (enough for up to 3 people).
I’ve always had a good experience here, but on my most recent visit, they forgot to substitute red chowder in the «boat» even though it was recorded on the receipt. We had taken our order to go, so we didn’t notice this mistake until we unpacked everything.
Note: Photo below is from a different visit.
We tried the Shrimp & Chips, however this only included 6 large shrimp on a pile of fries. It was about $ 9 for the entrée, which is pretty steep, coming to about $ 1.5 per shrimp. Although they tasted great, I would still stick with the classic fish and chips.

I revisited here again today (my first time was only like 5 days ago). I was hungry, I wanted something fast, I wanted something that wasn’t too pricey and I didn’t feel like Asian foods. which is very rare lol.
This Ivar’s also tended to be on my way home. Like literally, I just turned right along 156^th and I was already in the parking lot. The service was also really good for sorta-​fast-​foods restaurant. Tables were clean, all silverware, sauces and napkins were always there to use. I went in around 8 pm tonight so there were a bunch of old people there. It made me feel older but whatever, I got what I wanted and I spent only 12 dollars. (4 pieces fish n chips + cup of clam chowder)

Great food and great service.
I ordered the oyster and fries. The oyster is creamy and of good quality! The batter is not overwhelming and add good flavor to the oyster. Fries is decent too. Their tartar sauce is very yummy. I am glad they don’t charge extra for that like some other restaurant.
The cashier brought the food to my table right when the order is done from the kitchen so good is piping hot. He also brought customers moist towelette during their meal. This is a nice touch. The chef greets and interact with the customers when he is free. This makes people feel very welcoming.
Conclusion, great fast food restaurant.

Had the seafood combo and bowl of chowder. Chowder was simply outstanding. Cod was flaky and very tasty. Clams were a bit overdone, but the flavor was fantastic. Shrimp were pretty small. A bit lame. That said, a decent meal at Ivar’s beats any fast seafood restaurant in Colorado!

I had heard great things about this place’s chowder and was really craving it, so I stopped by to pick up a tanker size chowder to split with my girlfriend. Saw that there was some clam strips and chips and decided I was hungry enough for that, too. I subbed the fries with rice, though.
Anyway, let’s start with the service; the girl that helped us was nice enough, but seemed a little distracted, which is totally cool. I’m that way when I’m at work all the time. We ordered to-​go and the food came out fast and we left without checking the bag.
Mistake. They had forgotten my rice, which was disappointing. Which sucks for me because I love rice, especially with seafood. I didn’t want to drive back and let the rest of the food get cold so made a call to the restaurant to tell them and the guy who answered the phone couldn’t have cared less that it happened. Just casually said something about a list or something. That was a bit disappointing.
The food was okay, good for a fast food seafood place. I love clam strips and they were definitely tasty. And the clam chowder was good, but not as great as it’s touted to be. I was only disappointed because I had heard such great things about it. I mean, I would absolutely prefer it over any of the store made clam chowders.
We’ll have to see if I feel like stopping by again.

For some reason, I had always thought that Ivar’s Seafood Bar was like some sort of expensive sit-​down restaurant where waiters take your order. I had driven past this place so many times but never entered until recently, and it was nothing like my expectations. It was probably the word «seafood» that led me to assume this place was a bit more upscale, and even though I was wrong, I’m glad to be wrong. Great little restaurant, and one worth revisiting.
The way you order at Ivar’s is exactly the same as the way you would order at a fast food restaurant. It’s pretty casual, but they still have neat little features like crayons and pictures for the kids to color in. Prices in general are low, and the food here is actually not that unhealthy. I ordered a dish of grilled salmon, wild rice, salad, a corn bread muffin, and a slice of lemon. That’s a rather balanced meal for ten dollars, and a cup of clam chowder is only a few dollars. Both are good, but the red clam chowder is lower in calories than the white clam chowder.

My family and I were looking for a snack to share while walking around the waterfront and Pike Place Market. We decided the kids would enjoy pretty much anything fried, so we ordered fried clam strips, fried baby shrimp and fries. I loved the casualness of sitting outside by the water, and the kids loved throwing leftover food to the seagulls on the water (this is encouraged by the restaurant).
The fried clam strips were crispy and good. The fried baby shrimp went fast with our kids — and they lamented when we ran out! The French fries were plentiful and pretty good, although I do like them a little more well done than served. I would definitely give 4 stars to the seafood bar but not sure if the sit-​down restaurant food is worth the hefty prices.
Next time, when it’s cooler outside, I will return for the chowder!

Ivar’s is a solid choice for reasonably priced, good seafood and chowder. The menu has a large selection of seafood along with chowder options that sure will impress. My family and I always default here for something quick, filling and they have never disappointed. With the rotating side snacks, Ivar’s keep things interesting. A tip for ya, get the green beans snacks, they sure are addicting!
I would give Ivar’s 3 stars for their food but the staff here are so friendly that they deserve a star themselves. All the workers here are extremely helpful, attentive and make sure that you have a satisfying experience so a big kudos to them!

Joined a group of my colleagues here at Ivar’s for dinner during a recent business trip to Seattle. Working at a non-​profit, once we were seated we realized the prices for most of the entrée items were way out of our reimbursement rate and I asked if we could have happy hour menus instead. We were informed that happy hour was only served in the bar, and so we quickly packed up and moved over to the bar section, where fortunately we found a table for five and much more palatable prices.
We were greeted warmly by Nations, who got us set up in a jiffy! Half-​price fish & chips (a bit smaller than the regular menu but still plenty), chowder samplers, and delicious salmon blts were all favorites. Nations thought we were teachers (one of my colleagues was rocking some professorial looking glasses) and he gave us exceptional service, saying «teachers deserve to be taken care of too!». I let him know that we weren’t teachers but non-​profit workers, and he laughed and thanked us for what we do, and kept the great service coming. Very kind & charming.
Food was tasty, service was exceptional AND there’s free ping-​pong tables and other fun games out front! Thanks Ivar’s!

Very solid fish and chips, good clam chowder and I thought the service was very good. Ate dinner here on a weeknight and it wasn’t that crowded, so the food came rather quickly.
I like the breading on the fish and the pepper sauce. I also mixed some of that sauce with the tartar sauce.
Clam chowder was tasty, maybe a little too creamy for me, but better than most.
Oh, coleslaw was meh. Served in a small bowl that ended up being a LOT of juice in the bottom. Only ate the top half.

If you are looking for a solid lunch or dinner option in Crossroads, then this is the right place for you. The food is consistently decent, the staff is friendly and the interior is clean.
Here’s a quick rundown of what we usually order:
~Caesar salad– gotta have the greens
~Cornbread– soft and sweet, add butter
~Clam chowder– chock full of seafood
~Fish n chips– an original and fan favorite
~Mini prawns n shrimp– my personal favorite
They also have one of those crazy high tech soda machines that has like 100+ flavors! I stick with water though…

Ok, ok… I know what you’re thinking. «How is this looney toon giving Ivar’s a 5 star review? Oh, he’s from San Diego. Now I get it.»
Now hold up for a second. I actually grew up in Washington so suck it Trebek. And there isn’t anything close to this in San Diego. Especially the chowder. I have had dreams of this chowder since I realized San Diego’s seafood just wasn’t the same as Pac NW seafood. And really, no other fast food seafood joint compares to Ivar’s. Not in my experience at least. Definitely not in SoCal.
My wife is from Cali and it was her first time here. We ordered the salmon and chips and chowder in a bread bowl. She loved them both. (So much so that she wanted to get more Ivar’s again before we went home.) And so did I. It brought back memories of my childhood. The staff was also really kind, courteous, and quick.
So for all you Washingtonians who don’t understand this 5 star review try leaving the region and surviving without Ivar’s. It’s definitely one of those «you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone» situations.

I just had to update and say that ALL of the staff here are extremely friendly and attentive. I come at least twice a month, and everyone has a smile on their face for every customer, they make sure to walk around and hand out wet wipes to customers after they’ve dug into their meals, and they make sure to thank everyone while leaving. I’m very impressed.
I wish that where I worked had such personable employees. I have customer service aspects to my job position as well but even I don’t go as above and beyond as far as enthusiasm and conversation.
I really like going.
Oh, and the food’s always fresh and hot. That part’s important too: P

It’s Ivars. Consistent fresh fried food. The fish may seem a bit pricy but try living in the South where it is catfish. No comparison. You are lucky to have that here. Fries done to order and not waiting under a red light. They must use two fryers as the fries don’t taste like fish.
The guy at the registrar was polite and brought out my food and some wipes for when I was done.
Can’t eat here everyday but beats the other fried fish places hands down.
Clean and a cool coke delivery machine.