Chinook's At Salmon Bay

I came here for an interview dinner when I interviewed for an internship at Microsoft. It was the first time I’d ever interviewed anywhere, so it was after a day of grumpy Russians asking me Windows programming questions that I had no idea about (I was surprised when I found out they were making me an offer a few weeks later). Four of us packed in to a very small car and drove across the 520 bridge (which our hosts pointed out was floating), and ended up at Chinook’s. After moving to Seattle a few years later, it took me a while to figure out where we’d gone—I remembered it being on the waterfront so I assumed it was on Lake Washington or Elliot Bay, but Seattle manages to have like 5 different waterfronts.

Chinook’s holds my top Seattle seafood spot for a variety of reasons besides their menu. First of all, they have pricey fresh food without all the snotty trappings of a pricey fresh food establishment. The giant open room contains no walls or soft surfaces to muffle sound, so it gets almost disturbingly loud when they’re busy. That, along with the exposed heating/electrical works on their high ceilings and the spartan black and white uniforms of the waitstaff give the restaurant a strong cafeteria vibe. Even with picture windows offering a beautiful view of a harbor full of small fishing vessels, this is not the place to take a date for a romantic dinner. In fact, the walls are lined with decidedly unromantic photographs of the commercial fishing industry, making it obvious that this delicious food is the result of messy, cold, and dangerous work. I actually believe those matter-of-fact photos provide a context in which the food tastes better.

Despite all of those quirks, and the fact that it’s a member of a Northwest chain called Anthony’s, it’s a great restaurant. The staff is attentive and professional, and their low employee turnover is a good sign that people who work there are treated well. They bring passable fresh-baked bread to tide you over until the appetizers arrive, and during the season, they always offer fresh salmon (and halibut) cooked in a variety of styles from pan-fried to alder planked. Some say the food is too rich – as if it’s butter and not photography that makes the food taste better – but that’ll never be a turn-off for me.