Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar
1916 Pike Place
Suite 16
Seattle, WA 98101 (206) 448-7721
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Sun 11:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
31 Reviews for Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar
The optomist in me keeps expecting that . . . . "wellll, maybe this time it's going to be great!", but each time I head here, I just tend to be completely disappointed. Everything is either too crispy (clam strips) or too chewey (Fish 'n Chips) or too soggy (fries) or too non-tastey (food). I've enjoyed their clam chowder, and that is the only saving grace for not receiving one weeee little star for my inevitable disappointment.
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Great introduction to seafood offerings at the Market Place for tourists like myself. A dive hole in the wall joint that specialized on fish and chips and some oysters.
The GF and I split an order of clam chowder, Captain's basket (fried fish, clams, oysters, shrimp and chips), and a dozen oysters. Boy, we had a blast. Food was reasonably priced and the servings were just right.
My only grip was the service. The waiter was f-in creepy. Actually scared the GF at one point. Put a sour note to a great food experience for us.
I don't understand how this place has any good reviews... The only thing I can come up with is perhaps the place recently changed owners.
Regardless, this was hands down the dirtiest, most disgusting, shittiest excuse for a restaurant I've been to in my entire life.
Ordered oysters, the gumbo, and salmon/cheese/bread plate.
The oysters were slightly warmer than room temp and tasted funny.
The gumbo was very bland and required the addition of much salt to find any flavor.
The smoked salmon was hard and dry (not in the right way), the cheese was warm and sweating, and the bread must have been a couple of weeks old... it was like eating cardboard.
Our waiter had some terrible skin disease, with red, puss-filled, ashy rash all over his hands and up his neck. Same guy who was putting the silverware on the table, etc.
When it took a half hour just to get the check, I went to the back to find him, and things got even worse. The oysters had come out of three dirty, moldy, plastic buckets shoved up against the wall (and unrefrigerated). A guy was dumping silverware into a not-very-soapy sink basin. And the guys making the food were the last people on Earth I'd buy anything from, especially something I'm going to eat (I'm talking... disgusting looking to an innovative degree).
My stomach started hurting a few minutes into the meal, and I vomited about a half hour after eating. I don't know what happened to this place between the time I read the positive reviews on Yelp, and the time I got there, but #@#$ this place.
FYI: look up the the King County health report on this place, here: http://www.decadeonlin...
Yum! Fresh Fanny Bay oysters cheaper than anywhere else I've found. The place is kinda cramped, and they don't seem to have enough staff working. That said, my waiter was funny and able to help me identify oysters. I give it four stars because you get really good food for the money. If you're down by the market, it's definitely worth a stop. I don't know that I'd wade through the market just to get there.
I love it when friends and family visit from out of town. We were doing the obligatory Pike Place Market stroll when we walked by Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar. Mmmm! Oysters! It's definitely a place that caters to tourists and out of towners. I was amused by the waitstaff and indulged their theatrics, but I suppose it's right in line with the fish tossing show. The bar was good where it counts. Fresh oysters. Not much else I can say about it.
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This is one of those "hometown treasure" restaraunts that's repuatation far exceeds it's actual offerings.
It is divey, kitsch and eclectic.
It's basic fish/chips fare. We arrived for lunch literally as they were opening for the day. The waitress was nice and attentive.
They serve wine in little 'kiddie' glasses, they're menus are made to look like it's Sharpie scrawled on a paper bag (The watiress indulged us and explained the printing process to us), and the decor is all things Seattle history.
This is a great place to pop in for a quick lunch when in the Market and one of those, "Oh you've never been to Seattle before?" places.
I don't like Oysters, but my lunch companion found the Oyster sampler plate to be acceptable.
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I was not impressed by Emmett Watson's.
Ordinarily, I would not even go to a place like this, but my mom wanted to, and we were in the area, so..
She enjoyed her shrimp & chips meal. I ate my small, lackluster salad and choked down my overly cooked fries.
The booth we were crammed into was way too small (and I'm not a fatty!) and very uncomfortable.
Our waiter was friendly, but as he was the only one working during a busy lunch rush, we had to practice being patient while trying to signal him for the check, etc.
I would not come back here because the few vegetarian options were both boring and not good.
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Really good oysters! Delicious! I can't rate it any higher though, considering everything else we ordered was completely disappointing. Avoid their soup! Clam chowder is a maybe, but other seafood type soup, run away! Soup were bland, with no flavor at all. Oddly, we got 2 different soup yet they were the same thing with different toppings... that seems wrong.
Waiters weren't attentive either. But the fresh oysters were delicious! Great of stopping by for a couple shots of oysters but for a whole meal, maybe you should move on...
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I was really looking forward to eating some OYSTERS, after being drawn in by the name of the restaurant, but was disappointed to find on their "paperbag" menus that OYSTERS wasn't really their specialty. At least I didn't feel like I could order a whole bunch of different ones to taste...
This place will work as a quick lunch while visiting Pike Place Market. I had some good soup and good steamed clams, but I'll probably try a different restaurant the next time I visit Pike Place.
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Hopefully the oysters are better than the fish n' chips. The fish was rubbery and the fries were cut nice and thick but were luke warm. All in all the experience was forgettable. Even the staff seemed less than thrilled to be there.
Thank you Yelp for directing us to this hidden treasure! Located in the famous Public Market of Seattle, you wouldn't guess this lil restaurant existed unless you were a local. Emmett's is concealed in an itty bitty corner at the end of a mini plaza.
Starving and ready to order one of everything off the paper bag menu, my boyfriend and I decide to have a combination seafood basket and one more order of fish and chips. Oh man! The oysters that came with the combo were devoured with the quickness and I immediately flag down our server to bring us more of those! Forget the other seafood, the oysters were it!
I like that this place is very casual and obviously know oysters because only the better restaurants have small menus with quality items.
If I could, I would have brought some of those oysters back to the bay area! Yum, Yum.
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I found this place in my Jan and Michael Stern book, located across the street from Pike's Place market, and hiddne away, this small place is known for its oysters, they have a bunch of different kinds, and the shuck them for you as you sit there.
The food as I recall was just fine, nothing special as were the oysters.
The menu is standard Seattle seafood place, some chowder of som sort, a few sandwiches, etc etc.
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After reading Jeffrey Steingarten's chapter on the Pacific Northwest, I found a place he mentioned on a list of signs at Pike Place Market. It was at the other end and I decided to work my way through. It was unfortunate that by the time I got to Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar, my belly was packed to the brim with mini-donuts and fried chicken from the irresistable stalls I had just passed.
I walked into the nearly empty restaurant a few minutes before closing time, stood at the bar and waited for someone to notice me and ordered one oyster.
ONE FRIGGING OYSTER. And it was the best oyster I have ever had ever in my life!!! It tasted like the dude just brought it right out of the cold mud and rinsed it off a few seconds before handing it to me with a small wedge of lemon. It might have been a quilcene. I don't remember.
I wish I had more room in my belly for more but I was left shamefully handing over my debit card to pay the $2 for the single oyster. He said, "No problem." But I'm sure he was thinking "wtf? who orders one oyster and puts it on a visa?!"
The next day I got a half dozen oysters at a fancier restaurant to try to recapture what I experienced the night before, but they were nowhere near as fresh, cool and deliciously slippery as the one single oyster I had at Emmett Watson's.
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The service and portion sizes are what give this place only 4, rather than five, stars. The food was heavenly though. I ate the salmon soup, which was big hunks of salmon swimming in a delicious, herby broth with a cream-topped crustini floating on top---sounds odd maybe, but it was sooooooooooo freakin' good. I had stepped just a little out of my comfort zone in ordering this, but I'm glad I did. Good oysters and beer too. I also like the hidden-away quality of the location (across from Pike's Place Market).
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I love going to Emmett Watson's Oyster Bar. Only because its fun. The food is great but not wonderful, the prices are okay considering your in tourist mecca otherwise known as Pike Place Market. Its just great seafood in a wonderful place. The menu on paper bags is nice, it doesn't seem dirty to me it just means they are being thrifty. I went with my dad because we were hungry and its familiar. Our server, Charles, was a pretty cool guy. Yelling orders, singing, stomping everywhere. He is one of the reasons why this place has character. Both of us had the fish and chips which were okay. But they filled us up and it was quick. So to sum this all up,cause I know my writing is confusing, if you want quick,good, semi-cheap seafood and you want to eat at Pike Place then Emmett Watson's is where you need to go. If you want more expensive seafood with alot of fake frills that is next to a Hooters then go to Chandlers.
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It sounds like I hit this place on an off time, because the food wasn't memorable. All the fried items were soggy and were clearly not fried in fresh oil.
My "gumbo" didn't have the depth of flavor or richness that true gumbos have.
But, I liked the menus written on paper bags, the outdoor patio seating, the rootbeer on tap, and the cute and friendly hipster boys working there.
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It's a hidden gem in the Soames Dunn building in Pike Place Market and once you find it you'll want to leave bread crumbs so you can find it again. Their clams and chips are my favorite and for the price, especially in the Market, you can't go wrong check it out.
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When friends come to town and want some good local seafood I say pfshaw to Anthonys and Rays(Unless it's my parents and they're paying) and I bring them here. It's definately not swanky and the only view is of the garden patio and the soap store next door, but the food is darn good and afterwards they have the market to visit.
The Oysters on the half shell are always a good variety. a dozen will bring you samplings from 3 or 4 local areas.Depending on your server you may have a hard time getting a good description. According to my east coast chowder snob friends the chowdah is very good. Coming from San Francisco I'm a bit of a Cioppino snob myself and I love this version. Great, tomatoey sauce packed with fresh fish.
Also great on the menu are the oyster sandwich, the fried oysters and the fish and chips. They also have lots of ice cold beer to wash it all down.
Another plus is that once you've eaten here you can go next door to the Bavarian Meat Deli http://www.yelp.com/bi... and load up on brats, wurst and bologna.
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I was hankering for some oysters, and since Elliott's was closed, I decided to walk over to EW because I heard some nice things about it.
First of all, I almost bypassed the place because the sign wasn't strategically placed, and the only reason I saw it was because I had to stop inside the buidling to get some money from the ATM machine. So that was a minus for me, albeit not too big of a minus.
The menu was on the back of a brown paper back, which was what I expected based on past reviews, but I didn't expect it to be so dirty. The prices listed made me feel a little better, though I must say it's a bit sendy for the raw oysters (my fave... yummm). Seriously though, the dirty menu took off a whole star for me.
I got the Captain's basket, which basically had a whole assortment of fried seafood + fries. The seafood wasn't't too greasy, which was great, and they didn't bread it too much which was even better. The fries, though, I wasn't a fan of, but maybe because I'm not too much into the handcut homemade style fries thing. Or maybe it was the lack of any seasoning.
Overall, a very average dining experience. But for the price, it might me be worth it...
Now THIS is my kind of place. Holed away in some back alley, tiny, kind of a dive, quirky service and funny music, but with some damn good seafood.
We'd just finished our cruise to Alaska, and gorged ourselves for about a week straight, so we weren't even that hungry. But we figured we'd eat something before we flew home so we kind of fell into Emmett Watson's. It's too bad we were so freaking full because the little that we did eat was heaven.
6 oysters on a half shell, 2 of 3 different kinds. Each one all fresh and all good. You won't find the old, fishy, rotten smelling oysters here. Some steamed clams in garlic sauce? Yes please. Tasty? For sure. Don't suck them down too quickly though or you might chip a tooth; they could have washed a little bit more sand out of them.
Oh... if I only had more time. Do yourself a favor if you're in Seattle, or if you live there. Stray away from the madness of Pike's Place Market and settle into the small booths at Emmett Watson's for some good eating.
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So, I've been here twice now, and I'm a fan of this little hole in the wall. They have great chowder, where the potatoes have a touch of texture and bite to them, but still are soft. The fried foods rock, and yes, they have oysters. I split a dozen the two times I've been, and they always seem to have an interesting selection. This last time, we had Penn Cove, Evening Cove, and Jug Cove oysters. The jug cove oysters were big and plump. The Penn Cove oysters, were flavorful, but the Evening Cove were defnitely the best we had. There was a noticeable sweetness to them. Granted, this will not always be the case, but for the moment, those were the best. Why not 5 stars? Well, it's not because it's a bit divey, or because they have menus on paper bags. I like that, and it fits. The only issue I had was the service can be a bit spotty, so they don't need to be catching crumbs, but they should be knowledgeable about their oysters, and they should be a touch more accessible. That's their only flaw that I've noticed. Just minor, but so worth it!
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Mmmmm Oysters! Grabbed a pint and a basket of oysters and chips last night after work. The oysters were perfect, not greasy or too "bready" and tasted as though they were freshly shucked. Brian really liked the fries - me not so much. I think they were hand-cut and the quality I am sure was super...just not my style. But I wasn't eating there for the fries :-)
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worth braving the market for.
good chowder, great oysters, and amazing fried fishy goodness.
beer is cheap and the pints are generous.
if you only share the secret with the tourists who are nice, we're all set.
Typically, when you think of fried oysters, one would probably picture tiny shriveled up morsels of shellfish. Not here. The oysters at Emmett Watson's are ginormous, perfectly breaded, and cooked just right to retain the slimy goodness.
Very good bang for the buck too. For about 8 clams you get 6 oysters and chips. They also have Rainier beer in cans. You can't get more Northwest than eating oysters and drinking Rainier beer at Pike Place Market.
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I loved reading Emmett Watson's column when he was still around (can you say curmedgeon) and that's the only reason I went here in the first place because I hate oysters. And boy, you oyster lovers just don't understand us non-oyster lovers. You'd think I had two heads or three eyes or something like that when I tell you that. Anyway, other than oysters, the reasons to eat here are: 1) the clam chowder. oh mama, thick, creamy, buttery, clammy. 2) the fish and chips. My kids get 'em every time and these are their favorites. This place is as unpretentious, down to earth and curmudgeonly as Emmett was.
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yum is the word for mussels and seafood here at this little divey place in pike's market. love the menu on the paper bag too!
i just got back from the perfect mid-day lunch at emmett watson's and can say that i am supremely satisfied. this is a really great little waterfront seafood joint/cafe. located in the midst of pike place im sure this place gets its fare share of the tourist crowd, but is tucked away enough to avoid the crowds and maintain the sense of stripped down intimacy that really makes this place a winner.
the food is greasy and fried and served up quick. i went during the normal lunch rush and was served in less than 10 minutes. i had the fried oysters and chips (7 bucks for 5-6 oysters) and can tell you that they were breaded just right. they were large and filling and washed down wonderfully with a cold alaskan amber. these were at least two bite oysters! its no wonder these delicious bad boys are going extinct and ill be the first to lead the charge.
the atmosphere is also really great. its just stripped down and simple. the menus are simple and i think, hand printed, on brown paper bags. they offer a limited number of menu items, mostly consisting of chowder, fried fish and seafood. its this unpretentious, affordable, food first approach that makes this place worth the trip and having to wade through the gawking tourists of pike place.
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Yummy oysters. Service is a little slow tho...
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Hidden in an alley across from the Pike Place Market, this is basically a fish shack near the waterfront. The creamy clam chowder is thick and flavored with butter, the fried oysters and chips are grease-free, and the boiled shrimp are large and mouth-watering but need to be peeled, and when in public I prefer not to play with my food before eating it. The key lime pie will convince you you're in hot and sunny Florida instead of the wet and foggy Pacific Northwest.
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I've been to this oyster bar 3 times and each and every visit, I've ordered the fried oysters. I've yet to be disappointed. It's your basic seafood shack that holds these delicious pearl factories on a pedestal. These oysters are great! They're medium sized, lightly breaded and come with a side of fries. As opposed to those tiny, swallow-after-one-bite sized, served over a bed of soggy cabbage, oysters you find in many frou-frou establishments.
As for price, you can't get any cheaper than this. If I remember correctly, it costs $6.95 for the fried oysters and chips, which comes with 5-6 oysters. So not only will you be satisfied with your meal, but with the bill as well.
I only have a couple gripes about this place, which I consider trivial and should not deter you. The booths at this place are extremely tiny. So unless you're a 5 year old, an anorexic watching your friends pig out, or someone who enjoys playing footsies with mom, go for the pull out seats. Service is on the "meh" side. The same emotionless waiter has served me for all the times I've eaten here. Either he's contemplating to finally tell his parents that he has dropped out of Med school and plans to support himself though Xbox Halo tournaments across the nation or angry at the fact that his uniform consists of ugly crustaceous sea-life. It's ok to smile man! Everything will be ok! Now get me my damn fried oysters!!! 2 servings while you're at it!!!
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if you like oysters, like you really really like oysters.then come here! the selctions are great and the prices are reasonable its a secret little spot thats all about the food. still nice place to chill out but the really reason to come here is not to hang, out its to eat!
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