Ivar’s Fish Bar

If you are in the Seattle airport and missing Clam chowder… this is the place to go… not only do they have clam chowder (either red or white)… they also have fish and chips (which is So fresh and good)… and fried clams… I LOVE their clam chowder, so last time i went, i got this TWICE!!! Also, somehow, my 4 piece fish and chips meal turn into 6 pieces… nothing beat a great deal right… :)

The dining options in SeaTac are pretty slim, at least in terms of the DECENT options. Ivar’s is pretty much the best place for a decent cup of chowder and some greasy fish ‘n chips.
The price is very reasonable, the service is quick, and this is a fairly centralized location making it easy to get to/​from your gate.
You could do worse!

While the food is good, the service, timeliness, and organization of Ivar’s SeaTac was disastrous this Sunday afternoon. As happens too frequently at this location, the Express Line isn’t staffed and the wandering around staff behind the counter never even look that way, including the one at the adjacent register; she ignored me through two customers and then wandered off, not returning in the remaining 15 minutes I was there.
The lack of systems mean that, after orders are placed, folks step back from the counter to await their order. But it then meant that 20 or more people were blocking access to the counter. With two cooks who seemed to be newbies and slow behind the counter, the service was further delayed.
My simple order – chowder and shrimp cocktail – was easy to fill. Placing it and navigating the broken system is what took 20 minutes or so. You can do better, Ivar’s!!!

Lately I have been craving seafood– especially crab! So I had to order the Dungeness Crab Cocktail and the Red Clam Chowder. I love crab and it was a great way to eat crab without getting my fingers dirty and having to break through the crab and shell to get the meat out of it. So no need to have stinky seafood smelly fingers! The cocktail sauce that they used was great since it was not too tart and not ketchup tasting. The celery they use had a crunch to it and was diced in small pieces so it made it easy to eat.
My other order was the bowl of red clam chowder– I love tomato base chowder and it was not to salty & highly acidity tasting. It had more potatoes in it then clam pieces — I wished it had more pieces of dices/​chopped clams. They ended up giving me a cup instead of the bowl — so i showed them the receipt and got my bowl of chowder! Wahooooo
Overall it is a great place to get crab and chowder– just know that since it is in an airport it is a bit pricey. Next time I want to try their fish and chips– especially the halibut fish n’ chips!

We came here because it was suggested to us plenty of times; we weren’t even that hungry, but we had a layover and wanted to give it a shot. Sad to say we’ve had better fish than what they provide. It was bland compared to most other places and tartar sauce was ok. If the fries weren’t hot and crispy, this would have gone to a 2.

Friendly counter service and fast cook… I stopped for breakfast and got an eg cheese salmon english muffin. The muffin was supposed to be toasted but it was a bit soggy. Still the egg was cooked right and the salmon was cut up bits and fresh, good taste. Skip the coffee…

This is probably one of the best options in any airport for great, fried fish. Just go with the original and fries and you’re good. I don’t know if I’ve ever had better fish n chips than Ivars, either at the original location or the one at the airport!

If I missed my clam chowder fix while I was in Seattle, I always make sure to get it here at Ivars in the seatac airport.
This time I also got a smoked salmon breakfast sandwich (hold the cheese) and it was surprisingly delicious! Nice warm muffin with a over medium egg and lots of chunks of smoked salmon. Great breakfast option!
I noticed that they didn’t have my oyster crackers that I’m used to getting with my clam chowder. A little disappointed there, so just got a few more saltine crackers. Not quite the same. Overall, I still love coming here!

OWOW THE WORST!
The little tiny pieces of tough fish no bigger than my finger with a side of mediocre slaw for $ 11.
Had I not gotten my order take-​away I would have asks for my money back.
NEVER AGAIN!

Five Stars for Pacific Northwest fast food? YES!
Ivar’s is nostalgic for many locals from the Seattle area, especially if you don’t live here anymore.
On business here in Seattle I had been dreaming of Ivar’s… creamy clam chowder and fish and chips ever since I arrived.
Fortunately, at SEATAC there is an Ivar’s in the main terminal.
I ordered the ****** NUMBER #1 ********… A drink, fish and chips and a clam chowder… unfortunately, SEATAC doesn’t have downtown Seattle pricing… a cool $ 15:00! Not cheap, but worth it.
The fish is cod, with a little corn meal in their batter, delicious, crunchy and delicious local cod.
Here’s a secret about me… being a local you would think I love seafood… (sad face) as a bratty kid, I wouldn’t eat, oysters, clams, salmon, and only tiny pieces of crab.
I still don’t like oysters, but the clam chowder is the bomb. Creamy, thick, rich.
You can feel the thick decadence flowing down your throat… YES, it’s that good.
COD: tender and moist.
FRIES: GOOD
CHOWDER: RICH.
It’s funny how a fast food place can bring back so good memories of my family eating together at IVAR’s… But I’m a happy man now… at least for today!
Oh, BTW… IVAR’S birthday is March 15^th! … don’t know what the local establishments are planning but I wish I was there.

Refreshing oasis from Starbucks.
Fish tastes fresh. Moist flaky meat. I had the regular cod fish & chips.
They have a good variety too. Halibut — fried & grilled, salmon, scallops, clams, shrimp.
You can switch out the fries for coleslaw or other things.
Very friendly & efficient staff.
Definitely worth going to if you’re in SeaTac & feeling noshy.

I fly a lot for work and am at the airport a couple times a month. I always stop by Ivars before I leave. I love the crab and egg sandwich, the smoked salmon sandwich and of course the fish and chips. I usually get mine Cajun style.
They always seem to be busy so build in a little wait time.

Ordered seafood platter. Shrimp and calamari were good, fries were Cold!
Service was the reason for 3 stars!

It’s fast food in an airport — my expectations aren’t too high here, ya know? Ivar’s pulled through, though. I was pleasantly surprised.
So, on the flight coming into Seattle, I threw up. I was that person who throws up on an airplane. I hadn’t been feeling well and the motion during take off was enough to set off my stomach. (Sorry, random girl who sat on the row with us. I’m so sorry you had to see that. I hate that I was that person, too.) I still felt unwell during my entire week in Seattle and I was nervous to get on the plane due to that same nausea. I just really did not want to throw up again. In my quest to settle my stomach, I treated the situation like I had a hangover. What do you do if you have a hangover? You eat greasy food. Fried fast food it is!
There wasn’t a line when we walked up, and thank goodness because everyone and their mom lined up to order food after we ordered. The food takes a little longer to come out than most fast food, so I assume they make it to order, which is nice. I ordered the three piece fish and chips cajun style and John got a combo fish and chips with clam chowder. Pricing was standard for airport food.
The fish and chips were good. The fish wasn’t overwhelmed by the breading and it was nice and flaky. The fries were okay — not my favorite, but not terrible. I mostly was just really impressed by the fish. I managed to eat half of the fish and some fries before it was time to board the plane. I hoped that would be enough to settle my stomach — I didn’t want to eat too much and then just throw it all up, so I saved the rest of the food for when we were at cruising altitude. Luckily, Ivar’s seemed to do the trick because no vomiting that time!
Thanks, Ivar’s, for serving delicious fish and making my stomach a vomit-​free zone.

Ivar’s Fish Bar is a quick service restaurant located in the central terminal area of the Sea-​Tac International Airport. They are located in the secured area of the terminal requiring a ticket for access. The menu is rather large, but primarily focused on fried seafood.
Ivar’s is famous for their fish & chips and chowder. They have a breaded-​style fried fish instead of a batter-​dipped method. You can choose Alaskan cod, halibut, salmon, and even prawns or scallops to pair with the average French fries. The chowder is hearty and delicious, especially with the smoked salmon. Service is a little slow since the dishes are made to order.
I usually stop here for a quick meal in the airport. Prices are reasonable and the quality is good. I prefer the batter-​dipped style, but Ivar’s is always good in a pinch.

People who give this spot better than two star review have a) must have gotten better food than I did or b) have never eaten at a «real» Ivar’s before.
First of all, the chowder is epic… it’s Ivar’s…if the chowder isn’t epic, time to close up shop for the end of days!
We had the Halibut and chips ($ 14.99)…it sucked. Fried halibut is one of the great gifts of the PNW to the world… it’s sweet, chewy and awsome! This was flat, tastless and crumbly like overcooked cod. It was definitely halibut, but the worst halibut that I have ever eaten. While the tartar sauce was in pre-​packs, it was oddly not sweet at all, and very salty… not sure what is going on there. The fries and coleslaw were ok.
Our flight was departing out of Gate C… there is both a Beecher’s and a Wolfgang Puck’s there. Had I known, I would never have gone to Ivar’s at Sea-​Tac. Do yourself a favor… don’t go there. Save your appetite for Beecher’s…they have a crab and cheese melt that looked AWESOME for the same price!

I just took the red-​eye from Seattle to JFK last night and the best part of that whole experience was Ivar’s.
Quick, no frills seafood joint at Sea-​Tac. I was about to order at Qdoba… until I saw Ivar’s from the corner of my eye. I ordered the Wild Halibut Caesar Salad (dressing on the side) and it was shockingly *perfect* for airport food at a reasonable price (I think it was $ 10). I was told their Wild Halibut trumps their Wild Salmon — plus I had been eating chunks of wild maple smoked candied salmon in Victoria, BC… so I already had that fix taken care of.
Most of these reviews focus on the fried foods… I personally think the fried stuff looked gross… I am VERY picky when it comes to fish and chips.
But the Caesar Salad with one of the wild fish options is a great meal to have pre-​flight: Filling, light, and affordable.
Bonus: You can bring your Ivar’s meal to Vino Volo nearby. They allow you to eat your outside food while you have your glass o’ white.

Ivar’s is a decent option if you are looking for seafood fast and on the go. It makes sense that this location inside the airport right after security exists. They typically have a line, but we made it through in 10 – 15 minutes with our food.
My husband is obsessed with clam chowder so he ordered that… in a bread bowl of course. He really enjoyed the taste of his chowder and in a bread bowl it made for a hearty meal. I ordered fish and chips. It came with three pieces of fish and fries which was plenty of food for me. The fish isn’t a high quality meal, but it’ll help with my craving for seafood.

I always have flights that are a little after dinner time so I find myself eating at the airport for dinner more often than not. This time I decided to give Ivar’s a shot since I was particularly craving fish-​n-​chips.
I knew that Ivar’s wasn’t going to be selling mind-​blowingly amazing fish-​n-​chips, but I was hoping for something decent enough to fulfill my craving. First off, the set-​up of the lines and pick up is a little disorganized. There is a line to order, an area to pick up, and also an express line. Since there are so many people at the airport, people are just in a blob everywhere. You don’t know who’s in line to order, who’s waiting and who’s just standing around wondering if they should even eat here in the first place.
We ordered the 5 piece fish-​n-​chips and the calamari and chips. While we were waiting, we noticed that there was only one cook in the back so food was coming out very slowly. Furthermore, the cook would fry up the fish in batches. If you order was part of that batch, you would get your food. But if not, you were stuck waiting a while for the next batch. So food comes out in waves. It took us a long time for our food to come out.
I do like that their ketchup and tartar sauce are in these cute little cups that make it easy to dip. No need to tear packets and squeeze the stuff out. The cod looked a little limp, but I did appreciate that it mostly was cod rather than breading. The breading struggled to stay put with the cod so it was falling apart. It could have been crispier for sure. The calamari was just sad though. We were given like three clumps of stuck together calamari. It looked so little in portion compared to the fish-​n-​chips. Did not like the portion size of that. The fries were standard. I typically see more fries with fish-​n-​chips but it was still a good amount.
Overall, the organization could be better and they could really use more cooks. Quality of the food is struggling a bit. Although the fish didn’t fulfill my craving, I think the fries dipped in tartar sauce did. I think I’ll stick to getting my fish-​n-​chips from San Francisco here on out.

Everyone who’s been to Seattle knows there’s a Starbucks in every corner possible. Not that there’s that many Ivar’s, but let’s just say you won’t have trouble finding one when in town. Case in point: they have one inside the airport too. With time in our hands before our flight boards, it was high time we tried it before leaving the city.
I heard their ALASKAN SALMON CHOWDER ($ 4.99/cup) is the popular thing to get here so I got that. It’s a hearty bowl of soup that beat their clam chowder out of the ballpark. The smokiness was evident as was the taste of salmon that was nowhere near fishy. The hype is on point.
Known also for their fish and chips, I ordered one but got the SALMON n’ CHIPS ($ 9.89) instead of the usual white cod. I’ll take all the Alaskan salmon I can get my hands on while I can. Fried to perfection with a golden crisp batter and fresh flaky fish to boot, this was pure bliss that we ordered an extra basket of fish sans the fries ($ 8.40). If you love salmon like I do, you’ll never look at fish and chips the same way again.
Ivar’s is surprisingly one of the better meals I’ve had in an airport. It sealed my Seattle trip on a bittersweet note as I knew deep down that all the fresh seafood indulgence has finally come to an end.
P. S. They automatically pack your food to-​go if you don’t say anything so let them know if you plan to eat at the food court.