The Walrus and the Carpenter — Restaurant in Seattle

We came early as soon as they opened (we heard the place was busy). The people cueing us up were a tad bit intense. They kept asking if our entire party of five had arrived. We mentioned that one was in the bathroom, but indeed here. They made us wait until he returned to be seated. We were seated in a corner table -half wooded booth and half chairs. The booth bench could only be exited from one end (this made it a pita to get in and out for the rest room). We ordered 20 oysters, asparagus, fried oysters, tonnato dip, bread and butter, spring greens, grilled sardines, creme broule crepe, and strawberry clafoutis.

The fried oysters were some of the best that I have ever experienced. Crispy, delicate, briny, delicious. The fresh oysters were too chilled and their flesh was still very tight and firm. We waited for them to relax a bit but they never did as they were heavily iced. The oyster flavors were delicious and the options of briny to sweet were a nice touch. It is a pity that an oyster bar does not seemingly have a grasp on things being too cold to be optimal. Ironically, the oysters I had at Pike Place were far superior in this regard. The sauces served with the oysters were far too overpowering, covering up any oyster qualities. The tonnato dip was excellent and creamy, but it came with far too few chips to even finish the dish. The chips did not seem homemade, but seemed like the ubiquitous Tim's. The asparagus was horrid. It was mushy and slimy at one end and then burnt to a crisp at the other. It was literally a mouthful of dried carbon. If you can't cook asparagus maybe that is a sign that things are going in the wrong direction. The grilled sardines were another disappointment. I was expecting a fresh sardine like one would serve in tapas. Instead is was more like a canned sardine over grilled on the skin-side, turning the texture into a dried, crunchy, mealy mess. Heaps of oiled and herbed walnuts accompanied the sardine. I am not sure the textures or the combo were a well-made match. Poor execution imo. The bread and the desserts were fine and enjoyable. The spring greens were basically a partial head of little gem lettuce, each leaf was dressed with a nice tangy dressing. Each lettuce leaf priced out at about $3 each, lol.

The servers were great, but they should have disclosed two things up front: There is a bathroom code needed to access the bathroom. I saw person after person frustrated as they climbed back up a flight of stairs after reaching a locked bathroom. Why you would do that to your customers is beyond me. When the bill arrived it included a 22% fee (for us this was nearly $125). After seeing the bill, we looked and saw a cryptic message at the bottom of the menu stating this, but it is unclear exactly what is is for. Was this in lieu of tipping? We were not sure. We asked the server and they seemed a bit nervous about it. They mentioned that it added to their wage which they stated was $15/hour. After leaving the restaurant we checked the website and see that the owners/management state much, much higher wages than stated by the server. This left a horrible feeling at the end of a...

This was the worst dining experience I've had in over 20 years! Despite the high reviews online our experience was awful. We arrived at 6:30pm on Friday night knowing that they do not accept reservations. We arrived and there was no one else in line, though the restaurant was full. We waited close to 20 minutes before the host ever acknowledged us. He walked past us and a growing line of other diners at least a dozen times without so much as even making eye contact. We were all treated like he could care less that we even existed. Finally we forced the issue with him and made him take our name and estimate our time. He told us it would be 45 mins but we were welcome to have a drink at the bar and we were ushered into a nice bar located next to the dining area entrance. The drinks were good and they offered small plates for snacks. However after 30 mins something started to look strange and I started paying attention to who was getting tables in the restaurant first. When people stopped ordering drinks at the bar they got seated in about 10 mins, but other groups who were waiting before we arrived still were not being seated, but they kept ordering more drinks and more food. After 30 more minutes I figured out the scam. We stopped ordering more drinks and within 10 mins the bartender came up and told us we would be seated in about 10 mins and asked if we wanted to close our tab. What?? Long story short, the bar is not owned by the restaurant (Walrus). The bar is a completing different bar (but that is never explained when youre invited to "wait at the bar"). So as long as you keep drinking they will let you sit at the bar rather than seating you!! Its a complete scam on the part of both Walrus and Barnacle bar (drinks are very good however, if youre just there to drink). At 9pm we were finally seated at the restaurant and given a new drink menu!. We skipped drinks as I was already frustrated by the bait and switch scheme. Then we attempted to order food. They had about 10 dishes other than oysters. we picked 5 dishes to order. When we ordered the waitress informed us that 3 of the 5 dishes we wanted to order were now out of stock!! Maybe because I had to wait 90 mins?!!!! In the end the 2 dishes we got were hugely overpriced and just Meh. The oysters run about 5$ each. But I noticed not many other people were drinking in the restaurant so that explains the overpriced food. So, in close to 4 hours we drank in one restaurant and ate (badly) in the second. Total out of pocket was close to $350.00 for 2 people. And we left still hungry and had to find more food at the Hotel. Needless to say no tip and certainly never going back! Just be honest with people up front and it would change everything, but I hate being scammed and this was the biggest scam I've experienced in decades of dining. So, if you dine there, know how the system works, ask questions and don't assume they really care about you as a diner. I now understand why they don't take reservations. Maybe you'll be lucky to have a different experience, but...

Your go to PNW sea tasting small plated sharing spot with oysters! On a Friday night, this place is alive with an open kitchen. Our server April was phenomenal, just like how she represents the entire vibe of the restaurant. We waited over an hour for a 3 top, but Barnacle next door is always the move.

Fun fact, this was the first place I ever tried a beef tartare when I was as broke college student and my bro treated me for my birthday. At the time, I thought rare meat and oysters were weird, disgusting and everyone was getting scammed monetarily. This time it was for me to return the favor.

Foods/Drinks: Caviar bump is a must for everyone in their lifetime, and for only $15, you can try it here. Obviously its not Sturgeon Beluga, but give it a try to taste the seas. Oysters, its a must at a place like this with designated oyster shuckers. We got the Hoshi, Hammersley, and Sapphire. All the oysters were good, but we fell in love with Hoshi. MP currently is $5 a pop. Steak Tartare with egg yolk is truly a staple, as good as I first tried it pre-pandemic. French breakfast Radish and little Gem was a miss for me personally as I'm not a fan of salad, and it was a bit too salty for my liking, however, great contrast in flavor and texture. The day's special fish collar was good and it has Vietnamese flavor (fish sauce and red chili) influence with a nice char and rich flavor (soy). If you're used to the traditional Korean Banana milk, then don't have the expectation for the N/A b.a.n/a.n/a.s. The Thai Breaker took us straight to a relaxing beach. The server recommended the Strawberry tart, Bang! Since its cherry season in WA, we had to get the vanilla pot de Creme, literally cherry on top to finish off the experience. (July '24)

I can understand how Chef owner Renee Erickson won James Beard award and started her Sea Creature empire with this...