Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar

Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar in Seattle, WA | What to eat

This restaurant is a swell place to go when you have some time on your hands and want to wile it away over beer and seafood. A laid-back oyster bar just across the street from the Pike Place Market in a back street nook inside the Soames-Dunn Building, it can be maddening if you are an efficiency nut in a hurry. For leisurely enjoyment of oysters, clams, and mussels, or baskets of fish and chips, or wonderful soups and chowders, this brash little eatery is a Seattle treasure. There is a sunny, flower-adorned courtyard behind the building for warm-weather dining at rickety little tables, and an indoor area with small booths.

For many regular customers, Emmett Watson’s is a place to come for several beers accompanied by oysters on the half shell, either raw or broiled. We have spent many a happy afternoon at a patio table enjoying a drawn-out meal of oysters, then shrimp, then a cup of chowder, and an occasional order of garlic bread. For appetites in search of well-balanced meals, we recommend anything fried (fish, clams, shrimp, oysters) or the steamed mussels or clams in garlic broth.