Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar

Fried clams were just genetic frozen fried clams, wouldn’t buy again. Shrimp were also out of a box. Pass.

Have not been since 1989. I was hooked on the Cajun Power Garlic Sauce at this place. I have been ordering it ever since. Thank You! I hope it is still available at your establishment. Hard to believe a trip from Sacramento to Vancouver Island, Seattle, and Portland would result in such a long relationship with a business in Abbeville LA. I hope we can stop by again some day. Just had a gallon and three large bottles delivered to our home a few weeks ago.

Darn good sea food a short walk away from the market. The garlic toast, captains basket, and salmon soup are all to die for. Dining on the patio is a blessed retreat from the summer tourist crowds.

I ordered the special set, which includes two raw oysters, three shrimps, two slices of bread and a cup of soup of your choice.
It was a great deal because you get a bit of everything at an affordable price.
So the oysters and shrimps were quite fresh, but one of the oysters was really small. I had shrimp soup, which was tasty and flavorful. The bread was ordinary.
I’d say it’s not bad food wise, tho not outstanding. The problem about this place is that the service was really bad. I’d not want to come again.

I wandered in here after squeezing by the line at the original Starbucks. I was greeted in a friendly manner and was welcomed to sit anywhere I felt comfortable. The servers here seemed in a big hurry for how slow it was. (About half full at lunch hour.) My server could not be bothered to make any suggestions regarding the beer when I was considering a choice so I just asked for ice water with lemon — which he was swift to provide (sans the lemon). The fresh oysters were excellent. The Cioppino was not the expected tomato-​based version and was a bit over-​spiced. Small everything regarding the seafood in it and served with terrible and ordinary chunks of white bread (some crusty French baguette would have saved this experience for me.) Servers within earshot were impatient with a couple of tables with foreign guests who clearly needed help with the menu. Cute little wooden booths though.

Unpleasantly Surprised. With all the great food around, I stopped in to Emmett’s.
We were immediately seated by a friendly server. I ordered the Combo Basket at the recommendation of the server. I also had to try their clam chowder. The Combo Basket had a small amount of Fish, Shrimp, and Oysters. They had Tiny Clam Strips that looked more like crumbs. The Other seafood was tasty, cooked perfectly, however portions were small for the money. The Big disappointment was the Clam Chowder. Tiny tidbits of chowder, old bacon bits, and mostly potatoes that have been broken down to a gritty mess. My guess it old soup that had been over & reheated. Left me wishing I could have gone elsewhere.
Chef Gary Curry

It’s amazing how experiences can vary. Great experience with excellent oysters. I also prefer my oysters served on ice but i watched the guy shuck them from iced bins about ten feet away… so i am giving them a pass on that issue.
The broiled oysters were as good as the fresh.
Service was perfect.
I wish I could drown in golden mantle, shucked oysters. :-)

Had a selection of oysters. One option was entirely too big. Three bites to finish an oyster? Come on. These probably should not be served to humans; otters, maybe.
Had a fantastic local dark beer.
Cioppino was incredible. Highly recommended.

Located right in the Pike Place Fish Market and recommended by more than one shop owner I stopped in for some fresh oysters. They were large and fresh however not cold enough. That might be just my liking but I want them sitting on ice right up until I’m ready to eat them. The clam chowder was excellent. At first it looks like mostly broth, as soon as I stirred it up a bit, every bite was full of potatoes bacon and clams.
The service was sub par. The waiter seemed somewhat bothered by me and the few other patrons dining. I’m hoping it was the language barrier. By the time I left, the tiny shop was packed and almost every table full of patrons.

I did NOT like our waiter, seemed quite impatient and came off like he really didn’t want to be there.
Kept my water full though! Yay!
Food was ok, nothing to brag about. There were 6 of us, two outta-​towners.
Probably won’t be back.
But, food came out quickly and hot.

Divey lil Seafood Café conveniently located in pikes market, (across the street from all the flowers.) Very small café and the two tops are crazy small but we fit, this place shows age of a time of smaller people. Definitely worth a stop for the oyster appetizer special, served with a cup of tasty chowder and peel and eat shrimp, They have the best cocktail sauce for dipping. Menus are cute written on brown paper bags. Beers only $ 4. Service here was ok, just think ‘oyster shucker type dude’ a bit tired of tourists but not all bad. ;) if shopping in the market its a great stop to take a quick fresh seafood break!

We had an awful experience. A vendor at the market recommended this place for fish and chips… We should’ve left when they threw the menu down at us. We sat ourselves and there was literally only one other pair of customers at the place. We got the menus and made a simple order, but the servers seemed so rude, and in their own worlds. There was some game on, and it was obvious they were less interested in doing their jobs and more interested in being entertained by the screen.
The food came and the fish was good and the fries were fine. Nothing special. We wanted the food to go, but ended up sitting there and quickly eating it just for convenience.
My friend got up to wash her hands at the restroom and the waiters literally snapped his fingers at her and said «no, no, no» and directed her to the public restrooms outside. It would’ve been fine if he nicely told her and didn’t snap at her…
I wouldn’t return. Very rude.

Located right at Pike Place market. This place has fantastic oysters at a fraction of the cost at many other locations. They offer several different varieties and have some great beers on tap to wash them down. Well worth the price of admission.
This is a must do on your list.

WAIT TIME FOR FOOD IS TOO LONG.
If you got somewhere to go and you don’t have time to wait, then I would just skip out. Even though we were seated right away, we had to wait over 45 minutes just to get raw oysters. What could they be doing? Fishing out the oysters from the sea? I was sitting there almost with no appetite anymore because we had to wait that long for food. We were not greeted nicely and the seating is just so cramped. We were served with raw oysters on the half shell just on a plate with no ice and not cooled. But the clam chowder at least tasted like it, so it wasn’t that bad.
Too bad there weren’t that many restaurants with raw oysters, but there was a oyster bad down the street that is about 25 cents cheaper per oyster. I have yet to try that place, but maybe next time I will.

This was only my second time having raw oysters on the half shell, so I don’t feel like I can adequately review this portion of my meal. However, I can say this– they were just as good as the oysters at Jack’s Fish Spot, if that is any testament to their tastiness.
What I can confidently review are their fried oysters. I’ve had fried oysters from several different areas around the U.S. (NOLA, Florida, California, and many more), but I have to say that these were the freshest tasting oysters I’ve had the delight of being acquainted with.
While the food was great, I was VERY disappointed in the service. The waiter made our experience rather awkward, and was unable to properly divvy out the checks with the right meals. Additionally, our table had not been cleaned off, and the restaurant itself was much too small for such a tourist hot spot.

We were happy we can sit any of the restaurants near Pikes market. Emmett is not far from The First Starbucks. It’s so busy around here. I had IPA which was super, Cool decorations all over the restaurant. Food was good.

Do you like fried seafood? Yes? You’ll love this place.
It’s definitely a tourist-​trap kind of place… a bit overpriced for fried seafood.
I came here knowing this though, so I wasn’t disappointed.
The Captain’s Basket was plentiful and worth the money. The oyster appetizer wasn’t bad either although the oysters hadn’t really been cleaned super well. I’m not too picky about dirty oysters since I’m from the coast and have eaten many bushels of freshly caught ones, but maybe some people won’t be as carefree as me.
Service was… awkward. Our waiter wasn’t very personable at all and didn’t really come to check on us. Not a huge deal, but it just was kind of weird. I mean, come on, dude… you work in downtown Seattle, be a little hospitable. There weren’t many other patrons when we went, again, not a big deal, but I didn’t feel like this was really the «go-​to» restaurant if you want fish at Pike Place.

My gf and I stopped here for oysters before heading to the airport. Their menu is printed on the back of paper bags so I assume it’s constantly changing. The price of the oyster were about $ 3 each, a bit expensive yet satisfying.

food:
Northwest Seafood Gumbo ($ 11.50)
Fish and Chips ($ 9.25)
The gumbo is completely flavorless. It is actually very underwhelming (as in zero enjoyment). I am saddened that I entered this establishment and asked for this meal.
The Fish was very fish, but flavorless as well. Its like they refuse to purchase spice, even salt and pepper. The «chips» were wet french fries that appear as if a drunk guy cut and fried. They taste burnt. I’m typically not this critical but this was just bad.
I wasn’t expecting a master chef level of meal. Actually a burger and fries at BK would have been okay. Terrible.

DECENT SEAFOOD
«Mediocre» and I’m not talking about the SB ’14 Champions. That just seems impossible to say about any seafood places in the PNW but there are some and unfortunately I have rated this place as one. It is a decent place to get some fried goodness.
The place is small, its in the middle of Pike Place Market, expect lots of tourists and a small line with at least a 10 minute wait to get a table. The place does not have a fancy ambiance therefore do not be misconstrued when service isn’t excellent with decent tasting food.
OYSTERS — the menu has a section that says «oysters» and «oyster bar special» listing out prices. No details about the oysters which is very important when ordering oysters. I had to ask the waitstaff what kind of oyster and from where. We ordered 4 pieces ($ 2 each), I’m usually good with keeping track of my oyster names but with a menu like that I cannot recall what oyster we had but they were fresh.
CLAM CHOWDER — I don’t think you can go wrong with any clam chowder from the PNW. The chowder was flavorful with a nice thick but not to thick base, good amounts of clam meat and flavor.
CLAM AND CHIPS — their clam and chips are prepared very closely to Ivar’s clam and chips. The clam strips did have heavy breading but it was still good and you can taste the clam meat under the breading. The crunchier the batter, the better, and they make it nice and crunchy.
Will I be back? There’s a lot of other restaurants to check out.
Until the next review.