After watching the fishes being tossed around at Pike Place Market and seeing all the beautiful seafood on display, we knew that we had to have some before we left Seattle. Even though we would be going to Alaska where seafood is notoriously abundant, we figured that any seafood served on the cruise ship would have to be frozen since they load up on supplies at the beginning of the cruise. My sister suggested going to The Crab Pot, a loud and boisterous touristy restaurant on a pier next to Puget Sound. Instead of plates, you receive a wooden cutting board and a wooden mallet. Patrons wear lobster bibs around their necks and whack away happily at crabs, smashing the shells to extract the meat inside. It’s kitschy but also a lot of fun.
We had a large group with us so the wait was long, about an hour, but luckily we were able to score a bar table in the back while we waited. I guess the purpose of these tables are for people who just want to have drinks and a few snacks but don’t want to get any of the famous crab pots. The only food available in the bar room are appetizers for sharing. We ordered a few pitchers of local beers and some steamed mussels and fried calamari to nibble on while we waited for our table in the dining room. Unfortunately, the food took forever to come out and we actually were seated in the main room before we got our appetizers. We had to notify our waitress that we had already ordered and paid for appetizers in the bar room, and by the time they brought them out, everything was cold. The fried calamari were rubbery and not crispy – these were pretty bad.
Cold, soggy, and rubbery fried calamari
The mussels were also cold but still tasty. We sopped up the juices with slices of sourdough bread.
Steamed mussels
While the appetizers were a disappointment, we were here for the seafood pots. Pots have to be ordered for a minimum of two people, so we decided to share a Westport pot for two, an Alaskan pot for two, as well a Captain’s Combo of fried seafood. I also had to add an order of spicy seasoned fries, because I can’t resist seasoned fries. We figured that would be plenty of food for seven people, and we were right.
Spicy fries seasoned with Old Bay
The Westport comes with Dungeness crab, snow crab, shrimp, clams, mussels, andouille sausage, corn on the cob and red potatoes. Everything is steamed together and seasoned with Old Bay. The Alaskan comes with the same items as the Westport, with the addition of king crab. Basically the waitress comes with two huge metal mixing bowls full of the seafood (the two servings are in one bowl) and just dumps it out in the middle of the table. There are no serving platters or niceties here, just seafood, the mallets, a cutting board, and your fingers.
Crazy amount of seafood dumped in the middle of the table
There really was a lot of Old Bay seasoning on everything, and after a while your tongue and lips got kind of numb and tingling from all the salt, but everything was good. The king crab was excellent, and the claw we got was bigger than my fist. It’s incredible how large king crabs are, and they’re so tasty and sweet. The potatoes and corn were surprisingly good too, as they had soaked up all the flavors of the seafood.
Corn on the cob, potato, and sausage were dispersed throughout the seafood
The Captain’s Combo was just ok. It was a standard plate of fried seafood, including shrimp, calamari, clams and fish. This was mostly for my dad, who isn’t the biggest seafood eater (unlike my mom, who at buffets can mow down plate after plate of snow crab legs). He seemed to really enjoy the fried fish.
Captain's Combo of fried seafood
We really did a good job on the seafood pots. I think all we left behind were a few stray potatoes and slices of sausage. Everyone was full, satisfied, and happy after this meal.
The aftermath
To top it off, my sister told the waitress it was my birthday so she brought over a huge slice of mud pie with a candle in it. The mud pie had an Oreo cookie crust, mocha ice cream, toasted almonds, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. I passed it around the table to share and it was a huge gut bomb after all the food we just ate, but a nice cold and refreshing end to the feast.
Huge slice of mud pie
Overall the seafood at The Crab Pot probably isn’t Seattle’s finest but the restaurant is tons of fun and great for large groups. The atmosphere is casual, you eat mostly with your fingers, and everyone can just let loose and hammer away at their food – it’s a great way to get any aggression out of your system! Again, if you’re looking for a fine dining spot with carefully prepared entrees, this isn’t the place for you. But if you just want some fresh seafood that’s simply prepared and served in a relaxed environment, I definitely recommend going to this restaurant.
The Crab Pot
1301 Alaskan Way, Pier 57
Seattle, WA