Sea-Tac Airport’s Ivar’s Makes Frommer’s Top Ten List

by Michael van Baker on March 2, 2011

“Frommer’s picks top 10 airport restaurants,” reports USA Today, and the good news is that Ivar’s came through for us.

This is serious stuff, people. Only two airport restaurants from the West Coast made it into the top ten–Encounter at LAX, a “hip and kid-friendly restaurant inhabiting a wacky outer-space-themed building” was the other Pacific-side pick. We can’t tell you anything about that, but with Ivar’s, Frommer’s picked a local hero:

Ivar’s has been dishing up chowder and seafood since 1938, and while the airport spinoff doesn’t have the fishy ambience of the original, it’s probably the best restaurant in Seattle-Tacoma airport.

Back when Link light rail first started running to the airport, the SunBreak Airport Lunch Team took a ride down to experience, vicariously, a little of the glamor of heading off into the wild blue yonder, and to get an over-priced lunch. Without naming names, we easily negotiated the over-priced part, but were left wanting when it came to glamor or even good taste.

Since the SunBreak Lake Union Waterfront Lunch Team often pulls up a seat at Ivar’s Salmon House on Northeast Northlake Way, choosing Ivar’s at Sea-Tac should have been a no-brainer. Sadly, it’s in the Central Terminal, protected by security, and we didn’t have any tickets. But if you’re a real traveler, we can easily join with Frommer’s in recommending Ivar’s.

The airport location is open from 4:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., with breakfast served from 4:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. (“Our breakfast menu includes Cinnamon Roll French Toast, and fresh, hot-off-the-grill breakfast sandwiches with fresh egg and cheese and your choice of sausage, bacon, Dungeness crab, smoked salmon, or bay shrimp.”) The rest of the menu (pdf) makes me hungry for second lunch: True Cod fish & chips (4-piece, $7.99), halibut, salmon, prawns, calamari, scallops, clams, chowders, and made-to-order salads. Only two items exceed $10: the grilled halibut caesar ($10.29) and halibut & chips ($11.99).

Filed under Food, News, Restaurant, Travel
  • bilco

    So Ivar’s is ‘probably the best restaurant in Seattle-Tacoma airport’. If it’s only ‘probably’, there have got to be some other decent airfood places.

    Sadly, I’ve found none of them – whatever you do, don’t try to eat at Bush Airport in Houston. That place is a deep fried debacle.

    And I refuse to accept that anything at the NYC airports is worthy to ingest.

  • ozmafan

    Best fish ‘n’ chips in Seattle I’m almost positive. And now you tell me I can get a breakfast sandwich with crab, salmon or shrimp?!? Yes, please. I know where I’ll be stopping before my tip to SFO in May.

  • Michael van Baker

    Srsly. Sushi at an airport? Why don’t I just give myself food poisoning and stay home?

  • bilco

    Simple answer, MvB – because it’s so much more fun having food poisoning in the air! I did that once, on a trip from Lima to Atlanta, and I’ll never forget it.

  • Constance Lambson

    I have to agree, Ivar’s is the best option at SeaTac. Decent food, not completely extortionist, several GF options (which is a rarity for airport breakfasts, but Ivar’s has hash browns and fresh fruit), and I’ve never had the feeling that the people working there want to rip off my face and feed it to the sharks.

    In re: Deep Blue Sushi, it’s very *expensive* food poisoning, which is always better. You can’t really enjoy GI distress until you’ve paid $50 for it.