A waterfront restaurant specializing in fresh Pacific Northwest seafood, particularly oysters, with views of Elliott Bay.
Insights
SeafoodAmericanSeafoodUpscaleLunchDinnerCasual
Last updated: 9/8/2026, 4:21:26 AM
Key Information
Located on the Seattle waterfront, Elliot's Oyster House is a renowned establishment specializing in fresh, local seafood, particularly oysters. It offers a classic Seattle dining experience with views of Puget Sound.
Customer Perception
Customers generally praise Elliot's Oyster House for its extensive oyster selection, fresh seafood, and waterfront ambiance. Some reviews mention it can be a bit pricey, and a recent Reddit discussion raised concerns about their tipping model.
Additional Details
The restaurant is situated at Pier 56 on Alaskan Way, offering scenic views.
We visited Elliott’s Oyster House as a group of four during our Seattle trip. The waterfront atmosphere was beautiful, and the host gave us a lovely, private outdoor table. Most importantly, the food—especially the oysters—was excellent.
Unfortunately, the service did not match the quality of the food. We asked our server to recommend three oyster varieties, four of each, but our first dozen did not arrive until nearly an hour later, after we had already finished most of our other dishes. When we followed up, we were simply told, “The oysters are coming,” without any apology or acknowledgment of the long wait.
We also noticed that other tables received complimentary bread, while our table never did. It was a small detail, but combined with the delayed oyster order, we felt our table could have received more attention.
That said, the oysters were incredibly fresh and delicious—we enjoyed them so much that we ordered a second dozen! We were also completely comfortable with the 20% service charge; we simply expected more attentive service and communication.
Overall, excellent food and a beautiful atmosphere. We hope the service can improve to match the high quality of the restaurant. We would still return for the oysters.
Elliotts was the culinary highlight of our trip to Seatle. The service was fantastic with helpful menu suggestions and insights into the food. We started with oysters and enjoyed the wide selection avaiable. The wild mushroom strudel was perfect and a must try dish along with the dungeness crab cakes which were delicious. For the main I ordered the rockfish which was perfectly cooked and the light sauce allowed for full enjoyment of the fish itself. Would highly recommend and look forward to dinning again on our next visit to seatle.
5
This was my first time here, even though I’ve heard a lot about this place for years. The oysters were top tier. Didn’t know there could be so many types of oysters with different flavor profiles. This time they had about 20-25 different types. Our favorites were the slightly sweeter, especially if they felt a bit buttery. The white clam chowder was spectacular and the cioppino was great (although I wish it had a few more pieces of shrimp and fish). We made a reservation and glad we did since there was a long wait (Friday night). They include 20% service few on all checks that is split between the kitchen and the server. Up to you if you want to tip your server extra
5
Elliott’s Oyster House was my birthday dinner, and while it was definitely on the expensive side, this was one of those meals where I felt the experience was worth the money.
We had an incredible oyster tasting, and our server, Quincy, made the evening even better. He was extremely knowledgeable about the different oysters, personable, attentive, and genuinely seemed to enjoy walking us through the tasting. We tried several varieties, including Pickering Passage, Totten Inlet, Eld Inlet, Kumamoto, Sasquatch, Capital, Little Creek, and Barron Point. Our favorites were the Pickering Passage and Totten Inlet—both had that clean, slightly briny flavor we really enjoyed.
The clam chowder was excellent and easily one of the highlights of the meal. We also ordered the Celebration shellfish platter, which included oysters, prawns, snow crab claws, and scallops. Everything was fresh and enjoyable, although I was a little disappointed by the size of the snow crab claws. At around $110 for the platter, I expected more substantial pieces, but the claws were really just the smaller tips.
That was honestly my only real disappointment. The waterfront view was beautiful, the service was exceptional, the oysters were fantastic, and the entire evening felt special. They even helped make my birthday feel like an occasion.
Expensive, yes—but for the quality of the seafood, the oyster experience, the service, and that gorgeous waterfront setting, I would absolutely come back.
5
We enjoyed the food. We went about 530pm and it was very loud but the waiter, Jeremiah A did an excellent job. Very friendly and helpful with recommendations on what to try. We ordered the fried oysters and clam chowder to start. Grilled Halibut, Prawn linguine, 1 oyster and then the bread pudding and vanilla bean creme brulee. The prices were higher then expected so we did have a bit of sticker shock. I would recommend this restaurant if you love seafood/oysters just be aware of the prices. And again, shout out to Jeremiah A, excellent waiter.
