Bob's Chowder Bar & BBQ Salmon — Restaurant in Anacortes

As a local business owner myself, I hate giving 1 star reviews but this place was not good and I don’t understand the 4 star average. My husband went in to get us a table while I fed our baby in the car. He sent me the menu and I told him my order (we were starving at this point). I was hurrying to finish feeding her as it had been 30 mins. I go in and asks my husband if he put the order in, which he did. The restaurant was not that busy, the food came out probably an hour later. The food: wow…so disappointing. I ordered halibut fish and chips and my husband got the captains platter. The seafood is NOT FRESH it is frozen store bought status. The halibut filet was so thin. Also the fries were a mediocre serving. We ordered 2 pineapple sage margaritas which sounded amazing. But they were disgusting. The pineapple again was not fresh, it was some syrupy concoction. You could use some pineapple juice? The fresh sage garnish is deceiving. We couldn’t even drink half of them. The service…Ok this is an easy fix. They were really polite and friendly. But they clearly had no set “area” to which they were assigned. If they were assigned a section or tables they would stop asking us if we ordered…And yes the service was slow. I asked for extra tartare sauce and that didn’t happen. When we were done and I didn’t see a server I just went up and paid. I noticed some cookies at the cash wrap and got 2 to go. The chocolate chip cookie was 100% store bought cookie dough from Costco/Cash & Carry. The coconut, Mac nut Choco chip cookie was actually really good and didn’t taste store bought. The bill came to $100!!! That’s the insane part to me. For $100 I couldn’t even get a good quality meal. So honestly because of that cookie and the friendly service, this place earned 1 star. Otherwise it would get...

Update:01/17/21 - After a walk on the Tommy- Tom - I drove by and saw that Bob’s was offering outside dining, today was a good day, the voices of children, family other people dining it was a good choice for my mental health. Bob’s is taking all the Covid precautions so I felt safe. It feels like somethings are getting back to normal.

Update- 10/22/19 -

Came in for fish and chips again this time I tried the gluten free batter - It wasn't as good as the first time it was like the batter sucked all the favor and juices out of the fish.

I ended picking the gluten free batter off and just ate the fish which again was thick and delicious.

My server Lauren was kind and attentive to my needs Martin the manager took time to say hi and we spoke briefly about the fish and he said they are working on a way to make it better.

Now the fish n chips weren't bad they just weren't my favorite and the regular fish n chips are so, so delicious it's crazy good.

Gluten free remember is just an options they offer some may like, other may not but you have choices which is appreciated.

First review - Bob's is a great place the fish in chips are made just the way I like them.

The manager came out asked how I liked the food? I told him I loved it the fish was thick and juicy he shared with me that they get special cuts for their fish and chips and I tell you its delicious.

The French fries were delicious as well they do a great job on the tarter sauce.

Friendly service the place is bright open, they offer outdoor seating as well. Clean place many options as well.

I am looking forward to returning for more...

We've been coming to Bob's Chowder Bar for several years - any time our travels bring us to this part of Washington. Today's visit will be our last.

Service was terribly slow - it took 50 minutes to get a cup of chowder with a side salad and my husband's plate of basically all things fried (fried seafood sampler with onion rings).

The salad which was mostly spinach, had gone bad. I had to pick out slimy black blobs of spoiled spinach leaves hidden under the dressing. We brought this to the attention of our waitress, who offered to make another salad for me. Sadly, this one was the same as the first. My chowder was over salted and filled with bacon bits vs. clams. It had no clam flavor, instead tasting like a potato/bacon soup.

My husband's meal was completely overcooked...clam strips were tough, fried cod was dry, onion rings were almost burnt looking, and the fried oysters were on the verge of being undercooked due to their size.

When our bill arrived, no adjustment had been made for the salad. We asked to be credited for the salad and only pay for the cup of soup I ordered. Our waitress talked to whoever is running this place, only to return to say that because she made me a second salad and I ate part of it, the manager wanted us to pay full price. We again stated that we felt we shouldn't pay for spoiled food. She went back once more, returning saying the manager would not credit us. He wouldn't even come out to address the situation himself - instead, making our sweet waitress...