Seattle: The Crab Pot

After a nice nap on board the Argosy Cruise, I was all ready for our first real meal.  Top on our list for a meal at the Seattle Waterfront is the Crab Pot.  This is quite unlike any Seafood restaurant that we had ever been before … and certainly a meal that is unforgettable.

The Crab Pot is located on Pier 57 … just a stone throw away from the Argosy Cruise and the Seattle Aquarium.  Anyway, Pier whatever, if it’s on the waterfront, you will be able to find it.  The Waterfront is not a long stretch … almost all the main attractions are located on a 1/2 mile stretch or so.

It was almost 2PM by the time we got to Crab Pot.  I thought that it will be a great time to go for lunch expecting to avoid the lunch time crowd.  Bad idea.  Even at 2PM we had to wait 20 minutes for a table.

It was a really cold day, freezing cold as a matter of fact.  We asked to be seated inside but they told us it will be quite a wait.  Being hungry and not wanting to waste any more time waiting we took the tables outside.  It was quite OK.  It was not that it’s outdoors but it certainly is not as warm as inside. [I thought Suanne certainly looked very hungry and cold in this picture!  LOL!]

The Crab Pot has a very extensive menu which includes steak, burgers, chicken and of course seafood.  But the Crab Pot is known as the home of the famous Seafest.  There are four choices of the Seafest.  They are charged by the person.  The cheapest is $15 per person and ranges up to $33 per person.  My advice is to get the most expensive meal you can afford — it is worth every cent.

After doing a few calculation, we decided that we can afford “The Westport” which costs $22.

First came one of the best bread we ever had … and no, it’s not because we are hungry and cold.  They are really nice … warm and crusty sourdough bread.  It was so nice, we asked for more.

Herein is the fun and best part of eating in the Crab Pot.  First they lay a large piece of paper over the table.  Then they gave each of us a wooden block, wooden mallet and a bib with a large red crab.  Oh yeah … no plates, no forks and knives … we all eat with our hands.

They came with a big steamy pot of seafood and then promptly dumped the whole lot onto the table.  It was a lot of food and for a moment we could not decide what to go for first.

The favourite was perhaps the mussels as they were the first gone.  The prawns were awesome too … they were so good that we ate it even with the shells on.

Nanzaro ate only the dungeness crabs and sausage.  He so enjoyed it, he did not say a single word the whole meal.  He just quietly picked on the crabs before we realized that he ate almost all the crabs himself.  That rascal.

They also gave us a lot of melted butter … so much that it overflowed all over.  I guess that is the whole idea.  It is supposed to be messy.

It was a great meal although we made a mess of the table.  The food was great but more so, it was fun.  With hindsight, I wished we had gone for their “Alaskan” which included Alaskan King Crab.  Some of the neighboring tables had that and it looked absolutely delicious.  Next time we’re in the Crab Pot we’ll plan to save enough money to order that.

If you’re looking for food around the Seattle Waterfront, I suggest you go to the Crab Pot and try their Seafest.  Highly recommended.  Like I said earlier, it will be an unforgetable meal.  I guarantee that.