This is hands down one of the best restaurants in the city. Amazing food, amazing staff, fresh ingredients, and top of the line bourbon selections! Sailfish, Balard Cut, and Parish NW are always at the top of our list for eateries!!!
Food and drinks are excellent in a great location! Happy hour everyday has a great selection!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joyce M.
Celebrated my fiancé's birthday here after hearing great things. We tried the oysters, scallops with risotto, potatoes, and the renowned crab cake. The oysters were fresh and satisfying, and the crab cake truly lived up to the hype - it was outstanding. However, the scallops were good, yet the risotto had an unexpected sour note. The potatoes were okay but didn't quite match the anticipated excitement. Service was decent but a tad awkward. In all honesty, while some dishes shone, I might explore different options next time.
Valerie W.
Walking into Sailfish you are greeted by friendly staff and a wonderful ambiance. I love all the plant life at the bar. Great spot for happy hour or even a date night! Oysters and Espresso Martinis...say less! Their Happy Hour is quite good. Half a dozen oysters for $18 and they are SO very fresh! Highly recommend. The espresso martini has sarsaparilla which makes it have a truly unique flavor that I absolutely loved. Triple fried potatos... yum. Really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. If you love seafood or just great cocktails I definitely recommend stopping in!
Mark U.
It's OK...definitely quantity over quality when it comes to food. A limited selection of mostly small plates and shares...
Sarah M.
We sat in the center of the restaurant at the circle communal table with the fire center. The server sat us there instead of our originally reserved table which was a small, dark table right by the door. The server was personable and checked in on us and the food frequently. The let down was probably the king of the north oysters which were so tiny, but described as medium sized. It was an insignificant bite. The triple fried potatos were good, but definitely way too greasy. They were so crispy yet the inside was unusually fluffy, they kept falling out each bite. The risotto tasted sour at initial taste and we learned that could have been from the lime squeeze finish. I didn't love the texture and taste with fennel and sage but the scallops were beautifully cooked. We also ordered a Sablefish which was in a light miso broth with tofu and cabbage and that was nice but felt more like an appetizer rather than a shareable entree. Overall it was a decent experience but some of the food left more to be desired. Rounded up to 4 stars.
Ellie M.
Mediocre food. We went here because of all the positive Yelp reviews. I don't recommend it and I won't be going back.
Austin W.
This is a really cool spot. The ambiance is cool and the food is incredible. We had the crab cake and it's probably the best one I've had.
Andrea A.
We were very excited about our reservation, but our experience was very underwhelming. For $20 cocktails I'd expect a regular sized portion. But the glasses were oddly smaller than normal. The food was priced more extras your typical restaurant and they call them share plates but the portions are smaller than if you had it yourself. I chose the spot because the place itself looked great. I loved the high ceilings and plants, the place looked great, but we definitely left hungry. It was $6 for a side of bread that was the end of the loaf so we pretty much had 2 pieces of bread to share. They could do better for the price. I will say the scallop risotto was delicious! But the kale salad needed to be rubbed a bit or add some lemon to break it down and more flavor.
Rustam Khashimkhodjaev
Great sea food awesome vine and amazing service. We tried almost everything on the menu and where quite satisfied.
Good food. Oysters were great. I enjoyed the kale ceaser but less excited about the squash salad. The sable fish dish I really liked and the scallop risotto was solid.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
IronMaiden
It was a quiet Tuesday night. There were two other tables seated. We had the Kale Caesar Salad, Crab Cake, and Sablefish. All the dishes were tasty, although the salad was too heavily dressed for our taste, and the very large expensive ($33!) crab cake came by itself. The small piece of sablefish ($37) had a flavorful broth. For the prices of the entrees, we would have thought they would come with something else on the plate.
MichaelC
We split the crab cake and the scallop risotto and they were both fresh and delicious. It was an unusually cold evening for Seattle and the restaurant was uncomfortably chilly even though we were seated at the communal fire table in the center of the restaurant. Even our server wore her jacket the entire night. So that put a bit of damper on the meal; we basically ate quickly and left. I would go back on a summer evening, though!
Whitney S.
One of my favorite restaurants in Ballard. The portions are great for sharing, filling but not too heavy, and lots of flavor loaded into each bite. You can really see the attention to detail that is put into each dish! Can't wait to go back and try the other dishes they have to offer. Highly recommend for some of the best seafood dishes you can find.
Susan F.
In the old location of the Matador, this restaurant is lovely and cozy on a rainy, dark Seattle late afternoon. Came with my sister for HH. Joey, our waiter, was welcoming and an expert on the cocktails, my gin and tonic was fantastic, and food. We beat the crowd and are both looking forward to our next visit.
This is hands down one of the best restaurants in the city. Amazing food, amazing staff, fresh ingredients, and top of the line bourbon selections! Sailfish, Balard Cut, and Parish NW are always at the top of our list for eateries!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crab Cake, Broccolini, Mussels and Clams, Brussels Sprouts, Aguachile
Food and drinks are excellent in a great location! Happy hour everyday has a great selection!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Celebrated my fiancé's birthday here after hearing great things. We tried the oysters, scallops with risotto, potatoes, and the renowned crab cake. The oysters were fresh and satisfying, and the crab cake truly lived up to the hype - it was outstanding. However, the scallops were good, yet the risotto had an unexpected sour note. The potatoes were okay but didn't quite match the anticipated excitement. Service was decent but a tad awkward. In all honesty, while some dishes shone, I might explore different options next time.
Walking into Sailfish you are greeted by friendly staff and a wonderful ambiance. I love all the plant life at the bar. Great spot for happy hour or even a date night! Oysters and Espresso Martinis...say less! Their Happy Hour is quite good. Half a dozen oysters for $18 and they are SO very fresh! Highly recommend. The espresso martini has sarsaparilla which makes it have a truly unique flavor that I absolutely loved. Triple fried potatos... yum. Really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. If you love seafood or just great cocktails I definitely recommend stopping in!
It's OK...definitely quantity over quality when it comes to food. A limited selection of mostly small plates and shares...
We sat in the center of the restaurant at the circle communal table with the fire center. The server sat us there instead of our originally reserved table which was a small, dark table right by the door. The server was personable and checked in on us and the food frequently. The let down was probably the king of the north oysters which were so tiny, but described as medium sized. It was an insignificant bite. The triple fried potatos were good, but definitely way too greasy. They were so crispy yet the inside was unusually fluffy, they kept falling out each bite. The risotto tasted sour at initial taste and we learned that could have been from the lime squeeze finish. I didn't love the texture and taste with fennel and sage but the scallops were beautifully cooked. We also ordered a Sablefish which was in a light miso broth with tofu and cabbage and that was nice but felt more like an appetizer rather than a shareable entree. Overall it was a decent experience but some of the food left more to be desired. Rounded up to 4 stars.
Mediocre food. We went here because of all the positive Yelp reviews. I don't recommend it and I won't be going back.
This is a really cool spot. The ambiance is cool and the food is incredible. We had the crab cake and it's probably the best one I've had.
We were very excited about our reservation, but our experience was very underwhelming. For $20 cocktails I'd expect a regular sized portion. But the glasses were oddly smaller than normal. The food was priced more extras your typical restaurant and they call them share plates but the portions are smaller than if you had it yourself. I chose the spot because the place itself looked great. I loved the high ceilings and plants, the place looked great, but we definitely left hungry. It was $6 for a side of bread that was the end of the loaf so we pretty much had 2 pieces of bread to share. They could do better for the price. I will say the scallop risotto was delicious! But the kale salad needed to be rubbed a bit or add some lemon to break it down and more flavor.
Great sea food awesome vine and amazing service. We tried almost everything on the menu and where quite satisfied.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Good food. Oysters were great. I enjoyed the kale ceaser but less excited about the squash salad. The sable fish dish I really liked and the scallop risotto was solid.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
It was a quiet Tuesday night. There were two other tables seated. We had the Kale Caesar Salad, Crab Cake, and Sablefish. All the dishes were tasty, although the salad was too heavily dressed for our taste, and the very large expensive ($33!) crab cake came by itself. The small piece of sablefish ($37) had a flavorful broth. For the prices of the entrees, we would have thought they would come with something else on the plate.
We split the crab cake and the scallop risotto and they were both fresh and delicious. It was an unusually cold evening for Seattle and the restaurant was uncomfortably chilly even though we were seated at the communal fire table in the center of the restaurant. Even our server wore her jacket the entire night. So that put a bit of damper on the meal; we basically ate quickly and left. I would go back on a summer evening, though!
One of my favorite restaurants in Ballard. The portions are great for sharing, filling but not too heavy, and lots of flavor loaded into each bite. You can really see the attention to detail that is put into each dish! Can't wait to go back and try the other dishes they have to offer. Highly recommend for some of the best seafood dishes you can find.
In the old location of the Matador, this restaurant is lovely and cozy on a rainy, dark Seattle late afternoon. Came with my sister for HH. Joey, our waiter, was welcoming and an expert on the cocktails, my gin and tonic was fantastic, and food. We beat the crowd and are both looking forward to our next visit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5