The Walrus and the Carpenter – Ballard, Seattle, Washington

The Walrus and the Carpenter located in Ballard neighborhood, is an oyster bar/restaurant, in the same vein as Hogg Island Oyster Company and Anchor Oyster Bar in San Francisco. We followed the directions from Google maps to their address and could not see or find any sign of the restaurant.  In fact, Theresa had to call the restaurant to find out that it’s actually in the rear of the building, behind another restaurant that occupied the front of the building.  The entrance from the street is only marked a small overhead sign.

The door then opens up into a long hallway leading to the back of the building

Where you see the main dining room and a small patio area

W&C does not take reservations, and it’s all on a first come, first serve basis. Seating is available at the bar or at about a dozen or so small tables. This is not a good place for large groups.  I would say max number in your party should be 4 or else you will be waiting quite a while.  When you arrive, you put your name on a waiting list. What is nice is you leave your phone number and they will call you when your table is ready. This allowed us to walk around the neighborhood to kill the anticipated 45 min to hour wait for our seats.  I wish more restaurants did this.

We were seated at the bar and took a look at their menu.  In addition to the oysters, the menu consists of several small plates which are good for sharing. This is a perfect place for anyone on a low carb/high protein diet, as most side dishes don’t include carbs.  Yelpers seemed to mention the steak tartare a lot, so we ordered that along with the grilled sardines.

Oyster selection and pricing vary daily depending on availability and season.  When we went, W&C had an all Washington lineup of oysters: Samish Sweets, Pickering Passage, Kushis, Sea Cow,  and Treasure Cove.  We decided to get 2 of each to sample. Our favorites were the Samish Sweets and the Treasure Coves, so ordered 4 more of each.

The tartare was topped with an egg yolk, seasoned well with a hint of lemon and paired will with the dry rye toast.  If you are squeamish about consuming raw meat, I would say skip this. But for you more adventurous eaters, I would say this is one of the better tartares I have eaten. It’s inclusion on the menu surprised me a bit, but I guess it fits in with the whole cold, raw bar theme of the restaurant.

W&C has some other hot/cooked dishes include clams, fried oysters, a few soups and stews. The sardines came topped with walnuts, parsley, and shallots, with a hint of lemon as well.  Nicely prepared and seasoned.

W&C has a full bar with several beers available on tap or in the can or bottle.  In fact our waitress was also the bartender

Verdict:
W&C s is a great oyster bar to satisfy your oyster cravings. While the oysters are the center of the culinary show here, the accompanying players are no slouches either, so fret not if you don’t eat raw oysters, you will still get a good meal here, and well worth the wait.   W&C is literally a hidden gem that you have to seek out, but you will be rewarded, but perhaps after a bit of a wait.