Review: Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar {Seattle, WA}

When Sarah and I were choosing our return flights from our trip to Seattle for a Starbucks event almost two years ago (ack!), we purposely chose a later flight. It meant we would land back at our home airport at around 6 am, and then I took the car service home, changed, and went straight to work. Which was pretty killer.

But it also meant that it bought us an afternoon of sightseeing around downtown Seattle. Nearly seven hours, to be exact. Since this was the first trip to Seattle for both of us, we couldn’t not do it, right?

After our last bit of the Starbucks’ obligations ended, we checked out of our hotel room, left our suitcases with the front desk, and headed off in search of adventure.

Mostly the food kind.

By way of Pike Place.

When we happened upon Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar (judge nothing by their web site, it’s lacking in a severe way), it was pure happenstance. We had just bought piroshkies from Piroshky Piroshky, and honestly just wanted a place to sit down and dig in. We ended up walking down a little alley way and found an outdoor courtyard with tons of available seating.

As it was part of the Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar, we came by our seats honestly.

By buying multiple Diet Cokes. (This was long before I gave up Diet Coke)

After we polished off our food, we took a quick look at the Oyster Bar’s menu.

And, well, when it comes to oysters, it’s really hard for me to say no.

Sarah too.

And so we took our party of two inside to one of their well-worn, deliciously broken-in booths and started to order off the fun paper-bag menus.

I swear we seriously just ate our way through Pike Place.

And it was, like, the most fun ever.

When we ordered the Oysters Rockefeller, our very cute, affable waiter, Trenton, said that they were made to order and it would be about twenty minutes.

“Is that ok?”

But of course.

And then we busied ourselves doing what most food bloggers do.

We took pictures of everything.

We also devoured a platter of raw oysters in the meantime.

I mean, is there any other way to go?

Aside from one person at the bar, we were the only people there that afternoon. Which, given it was the middle of a weekday afternoon, isn’t that unusual.

But it also meant we got the full attention of the aforementioned very cute waiter. Who certainly had OUR full attention when he said something about enjoying waiting on some very cute girls.

Us. Duh.

The service was friendly, perfectly paced, and exactly how we wanted to spend our afternoon.

And those oysters? Yum. Seriously and unabashedly yum.

We split both the raw and the Rockefeller, and I hate to tell you, but it probably took longer for them to be made and plated than it did for us to demolish them. The raw ones were fresher than fresh (and being we were just steps away from the water, they better be), and they were smooth and slurpy and all sorts of divine. And the Rockefeller? Normally not my favorite preparation of oysters, though I will eat oysters six ways to Sunday, they were creamy, flavorful, and perfectly warm.

If you happen to be in the area, do seek out Emmett’s. By the way, it’s named after the famous Seattle sports columnist, Emmett Watson. The restaurant is a little bit out of the way, which makes it less touristy, more eclectic, and an awesome end for an afternoon of eating your way from one end of Pike Place to the other.

Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar
1916 Pike Place, Ste 16
(between Stewart St & Western Ave)
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 448-7721

Bonus Photo

I took nearly 600 pictures on our 2-1/2 day trip, and I have many favorites, but the one above is definitely towards the top of the list. When Sarah and I were picked up at the airport by the car service, we had an awesome driver. He knew that it was our first time to Seattle, and since he had a half-hour to kill before going to his next pick-up, he offered to give us a quick tour of some of Seattle’s highlights. The first was a trip to Kerry Park, where the lighting was absolutely perfect for this beautiful shot of the Space Needle. And I so loved him for that. We couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the city and its people.

Hungry for more Seattle?
This bakery has gotten rave reviews for their piroshky and we highly recommend it.
Tom Douglas’ Lola had wonderful appetizers that we inhaled on our first night, and a delicious lunch and dessert on our last day.
Gross, but awesome, and a must see … the famed Seattle Gum Wall.
A few peeks into the Seattle street music scene.
A brief love letter to Seattle.

*All the above photos were taken by me, with the exception of the one of Trenton, where he was looking off into the distance. That one is from Sarah.