Succulent Seafood @ Steelhead

Looking at the open kitchen and the artwork above it with a fishing theme

I have a former classmate who lives in Seattle and I asked her what recommendations she had for restaurants downtown.

One she has visited and enjoyed is Steelhead Diner at Pike Place Market and so after our first day of shopping we headed there for a late dinner.

A half pint of the Kilt Lifter ruby ale

It's a block up from the touristy seafood market and it's next to Rachel's Ginger Beer that is known for making handcrafted ginger beers using natural ingredients.

The diner itself really does look like a diner with booth seating and old school formica tables, though the ceilings are very high. And the restaurant has a fly fishing theme, as the logo is a fly -- used by anglers to catch fish, while there are some of the real thing put together in plexiglass boxes.

The theme also hints the restaurant focuses mainly on local seafood, being steps away from the fresh seafood market, while there are a few meat dishes to keep carnivores happy.

In keeping with the local theme, the diner also has some craft beers on tap and I ordered a half pint of The Pike Brewing Company's Kilt Lifter ruby ale. It really does have a lovely ruby gem-like hue and as the waitress sold it to me, takes quite balanced with a slight taste of smokiness.

With that, we started our dinner with dungeness crab and bay shrimp tater tots ($9), featuring the crab and shrimp meat mixed in with mashed potatoes and deep fried then garnished with roast red peppers and cilantro. There was a lovely seafood taste from each bite, thanks to the meatiness of the seafood.

Delicious crab and shrimp tater tots

Another winner was the Alaskan razor clam chowder ($10 bowl), a white chowder with apple smoked bacon and flavoured with the delicious smelling truffle oil.

I ordered the Pike Place cioppino ($25) that was a massive bowl choc full of plump Mediterranean mussels, massive though slightly overcooked Gulf shrimp, perfectly cooked fin fish and large sweet clams in a spicy tomato broth with torchio pasta and diced potato.

It was quite overwhelming for one person to finish, but it was so delicious -- savouring the succulent seafood, and enjoying the flavourful broth -- that I soon realized I would finish the dish (minus some pasta). The cioppino definitely hit the spot.

The very large but satisfying cioppino with local seafood

We also enjoyed the steamed Totten Inlet mussels a la Vercruz ($15), again featuring the juicy mussels with some spiciness from the Spanish chorizo, and more fresh flavours from the basil, white wine and dried tomatoes.

The jumbo lump Dungeness crab cake ($17) were really large and thick, almost all made of crab meat and panfried for a slight crunch.

If that wasn't enough, we were intrigued by the peppermint cheesecake ($10) for dessert. It's actually a subtly flavoured mini cheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust topped with finely chopped candy cane cake bark and whipped cream.

It tasted more of the mintiness from the candy cane which made it more refreshing in a way to balance out what many perceive is the heaviness of cheesecake. I could only manage eat one bite, while my two companions couldn't stop eating the delicious dessert and cleaned up the plate.

The peppermint cheesecake on a plate decorated with flies!

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit here and fondly remember our lip-smacking dishes...

Steelhead Diner

95 Pine Street, Suite 17

Seattle, WA
98101

(206) 625 0129

steelheaddiner.com