4. Restaurants

Taylor Shellfish Farms

1521 Melrose Ave, Seattle, WA, 98122
  • (206) 501-4321
  • Store is closed

Taylor Shellfish Farms Menu

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  • J M.

    Oyster heaven... Went right when they opened for lunch - they pull them from tanks next to the tables and shuck them in full view- fresh fresh fresh delicious can't get enough!

    (5)

  • Denise W.

    Craving oysters so decided to make my wonderful fiancé drive here with me from Bothell. I felt like I was at Pike Place market but with less people. The price of the oysters were a shocker especially when they arrived and went into my mouth. I got one of each to try. For $2+ each I wasn't very happy with them. They were the size of a quarter and not creamy or sweet. Is it ok to say I was a little intimidated my my server too. He didn't seem very nice. Ok maybe that wasn't it. He's not a service guy and i felt like he should have been behind the counter taking my order like my bar tender not my waiter. That's it. It was a seafood market pretending to be a restaurant or trying to be. Clam chowder $6.5 was self serve and so was the water. See now the above makes sense. They had a New England clam chowder and oyster chowder. Both were very light. I think I like them that way as the thickness makes you so full. The roll was nice but I think would've been great but it's just sitting there self serve cold. Didn't think it was good enough to spend that kind of money to come back again. Makes me crave the place in Portland, ME I went during a business trip.

    (3)

  • Chris T.

    Great place for fresh Oysters. I recommend coming here if you plan on just having oysters. Don't have to deal with the a big restaurant and still get great quality. The geoduck Sashimi is good too.

    (5)

  • Jennifer Arlem M.

    This place is amazing!! It's a fabulous raw bar. Low key space with fast and friendly service. The prices are reasonable for oysters on the half shell as compared to some other places. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Food is fresh and clean. Can't wait to go back.

    (5)

  • Vince E.

    This review is possibly a year late, but I Taylor still holds a special place in my heart. Here we went to town on Pacific NW oysters, all freshly shucked in front of us. We had a pick of 7 varieties, all different, but reasonably shucked. We had David Leck with us that night who did an amazing job shucking for us. Taylor supplies oysters to the most popular restaurants in town. So it's a great way to enjoy some amazing oysters, without the pomp and expense of the higher end places in town. The one let down of the night was their Geoduck chowder, which we found watery, but it really didn't take too much away from the highlight of oysters

    (4)

  • Kay C.

    I thought for sure I had written a review here! I've come a lot. I used to be more of a fan than now though. What I love - the oysters are always fresh, it's a little market but you can eat here. They also have drinks and a couple soups. They have the best oysters and you can always count on them being good. What's not as great as before - the prices :( The oysters were always such a steal but now it seems that's not the case. I will still come here though because they're fresh and I like the concept but not as much as I used to.

    (4)

  • Yen D.

    One word: shigoku Come here for their happy hour which is from 3 to 5 to get a few dollars off their oysters and their alcoholic drinks. I always come here for their shigoku oysters and other varieties of oysters that they just caught. I've also heard very good things about their live spot prawns.

    (5)

  • Helen L.

    Great concept. Just for a very selective group of people. People who loves oyster and willing to pay for it. Pick the tight season for oyster..otherwise you get really skinny wimpy ones. The chowder was good. Seating was limited and very crammed for large groups. I recommend this place for a pre dinner stop. Maybe not for a meal.

    (3)

  • Janet N.

    Taylor was bookmarked long before my Seattle trip ever occurred, so was it chance that this place was also down the street from the rented apartment we stayed at? The shellfish gods must have been smiling down at us. When in Seattle, having their oysters and any type of seafood was a must! First meal was at Elliot's for their HH oysters but found them to be shucked poorly since there was so much shell remnants inside. I was so happy to hear of a name I was accustomed to, as they are based in WA. Stine H. and I came here in the afternoon and we ordered the Kusshi, Shigoku, Fanny Bay and Totten Virginica as well as the Geoduck sashimi. The Geoduck, was the first I've ever had and was surprised at the sweet and crunchy qualities it had. IMO, it was a bit small in size and not exactly uniform ... I wish they had uniform size throughout the sashimi, while still being cut to the same thinness. The whole serving was probably the size smaller than a Pink Pearl eraser, quite small. It comes served with lemon, wasabi and soy sauce. As for the oysters, I'm already a fan of Fanny Bay and have tried Kusshi and Shigoku, I like the latter two because of their meatiness and deep cups. Totten Virginica was amazing but sat neck and neck next to Kusshi because it has a clean yet briny flavor that's rich. Amazing oysters, I couldn't get enough and the champagne mignonette with lemon tasted great with all of these. They serve fresh oysters, clams and geoduck as well as chowders and the like. You can also purchase seafood to take out. The interior was lovely with the exposed wood, dim lighting with tables and window seats. Very easy, quick to order and everything was shucked beautifully.

    (4)

  • Annie T.

    Maybe I'm just not hipster to enjoy this Taylor Shellfish Farm, but the only food I enjoyed here was the seafood tomato soup. It wasn't cheap at $8 a bowl either, but it tasted much better than everything else. There is no hot kitchen at this location, so all the food are served either raw or cold. They were selling live mussels in the tanks but have no way of preparing it to eat... Service was also confusing because it seemed like self serve in some aspects yet I need to order from them as well. Nobody brought us the check so I had to go to the counter to pay as well. I think I'll try another location next time that actually do have a kitchen.

    (2)

  • Tin N.

    I thought it was sorta expensive... but honestly if you go for happy hour yes that's how you do it I love the two giant oysters which are pacfica and virginica? I wasn't too sure but they were the less expensive ones. The smaller ones were more seawater tasty if you're into that but I am all about the gains HAHA. Overall: If you want to go on a oyster fiesta you should go during happy hour which ranges from 3-4 I believe so make sure you get your feast on here :)

    (3)

  • Lilly J.

    Found this gem through a couple who went here the night before and was telling me about their adventure with the "live spot shrimp." I knew I'd have to come and try it for myself the next day. So what is this "live spot shrimp?" ($5 each) well let me explain it to you. When you walk into Taylor Shellfish, you will see a nice tank with these orange translucent "spot shrimps" looking at you with sad shrimpy eyes. These are the shrimp that get peeled LIVE in front of you, even after they detach their beautiful clear shrimp body from their big head filled with sweet shrimp brains their tentacles are still moving. That's where you suck the brains out (seriously, that's how they are to be enjoyed). I would recommend you eat the body first as it is more of a subtle/sweet flavor (like amaebi) before you move on to the stronger flavors of the brains. It truly is quiet an experience, I will not lie, I was squirmish and scared, it took a few minutes before I could eat it. Be very careful, if you aren't, you can get cut from the sharp and pointy antennas, but hey for what I was doing ... I deserved it, karma! We also ordered one of each of the fresh shucked oysters. North Bay ($1.75), Olympia ($2) these were really tiny- smaller than Kumamotos and has an intense copper flavor, Shigoku ($2), Kumamoto ($2.25), Virginica ($2.5), they were out of the Naked Cowboy ($2.5). The Virginica stood out the most, it was the biggest one, usually the smaller ones are the ones with a more intense flavor, I found this to be a lil more creamy and sweet. These boutique-y oysters were worth it to at least try out, they were extremely clean and trust me I do not like it when there is sand in them, I couldn't even taste one bit of sand though. We also ordered a Whole Dungeness Crab for $36, this was for the 3 of us and we devoured it. It was very fresh and unlike a lot of Dungeness crab you eat which have been frozen or have a slight salty flavor, these were nothing but fresh and tasted very crabby. It's a little pricey but they do soften the shell for you so you don't have to do any cracking and they chop up the middle of the crab up too. Last thing we ordered was my personal favorite- the Geoduck Sashimi served with soy sauce and wasabi for $12, it's a very small portion. What is Geoduck? it's basically a funny looking Mollusk that's turning into a delicacy now, they're expensive probably because they dwell in water hundreds of feets deep. How could I describe it.. it taste similar to a clam, it's got that sweetness, clammy sweet, not shrimpy sweet. By the way, fun fact, it's pronounced "gooey-duck". Try this!!! All in all, everything was delightful here, they ran out of Seafood Stew ($6.5) because it's a popular item here, everyone was getting it (it's self serve), some even scrapping the bottom. So, if you want an adventurous meal filled with delicacy (add some white wine to your meal), something to talk about (live spot shrimp), grab a friend (don't be shellfish!) and go to Taylors !!!

    (4)

  • Lauren L.

    Excellent selection. Easy to spend a lot of money on quality oysters. Geoduck sashimi... if you've never had it, try it!

    (5)

  • Bill R.

    Totally fabulous. Geoduck virgin no longer, Sahsimi was great., a bit chewy but great clam like flavor. Portion could have been slightly larger for $12 but nice for the first time. Oysters, what can you say, great. Service happy friendly but a little slow. I will definitely go back when I return.

    (4)

  • Ken N.

    Came here during their happy hour which isn't really "happy hour" pricing. It's 33 cents off the oysters. Still looking at $1.75-$2.50-ish for each one. Kumamoto's a are guaranteed hit so out of the other oysters we tried, I'm surprised to say, the Totten Inlet (cheapest) one was my favorite. I usually don't like the large oysters raw. Shigoku was good too but we didn't like the Virginica. Geoduck sashimi was good, however, the portion size is hard to justify for $10-$12. I wanted to order more but not for that much.

    (4)

  • Katy C.

    Mmmmm oysters. They are so fresh. I've been wanting to come here for the longest time. Finally got my chance when a fellow raw oyster friend decided to go with me. Getting to capitol hill and parking is kind of a hassle, but it's well worth it to get fresh oysters. It's located right next to the melrose market, it's a small space with a couple of bar tables and bar stools. There's a big tank inside with all the oysters. It's a first come first serve place, seat yourself, then waiter comes. The menu is quite limited, theres oysters of course, clam chowder, dungeness crab, salmon, etc. But I was here to try the oysters. There were four types of oysters available on the day I was there: kumamoto, shigoku, north bay and another one I forgot. Guess it wasn't memorable. We tried two each of all four kinds, then decided to order two types of of the four. Dozens of oysters later, I was satisfied. They were cleaning shucked, the taste was really fresh and the kumamotos were especially creamy. LOVE. Next time I need to try all the other stuff on the menu, like the dungeness crab and geoduck.

    (5)

  • Mindy E.

    What a gem of a find! We were looking for a place to get oysters and randomly picked here because it was close by. It's not quite a restaurant, there's only a couple tables and a counter looking out the window. But oh my, the oysters were amazing. It was very reasonably priced. My first time trying oysters and it has spoiled me.

    (5)

  • Steve B.

    Standing on a squishy oyster bed we found this picnic area where the shuck the freshest pacific oysters we've ever tasted. Perhaps it was the fire roaring away or great wines we had with them this southern inlet part of The Sound is famous for being perfect for bi valves to thrive. If you want to be one with the sea, come experience this place. They got it going on.

    (5)

  • Andra V.

    To say I am disappointed is an understatement!!! Whenever I am in Seattle, I always come to Taylor's on Melrose to have at least a dozen fresh oysters, as oysters are some of my most favorite things to eat. Well, not anymore!! I do not know when I will be able to eat one again. My son had eaten one of the fresh oysters we ordered and when he put the shell down there was a squiggling worm inside the shell in the remaining juice. SQUIGGLING. What made it even worse was the attitude of the server. They did not do anything and they said it happens all of the time! YIKKKKKK!!! To top it off our bill was over $60. I won't be going there again. Sooo disappointed.

    (1)

  • Jenny L.

    Warning: come here to eat oysters. I know this feels obvious, but I came with someone that doesn't eat oysters and thought there would be other things to order. There is, but not much of a selection. I'm pretty noob with enjoying oysters, and thankfully the staff here was very descriptive on all the different oysters they have. Small and casual dining area, next to a cute market dining place. Oysters were AUH-mazing. I can't really tell you why it was great, but from the few times I've eaten it there and there, Taylor's got a good reaction out of me.

    (5)

  • Erich D.

    They've got an awesome edible aquarium here! I'm not joking. We came on a warm weekend day around brunch time and were surprised to see how sparse the patronage was. Lucky for us I suppose. If you're not grabbing a bag of fresh oysters or other shellfish to-go, you'll be delighted to table service that is friendly and helpful. They suggested we try one round of each oyster varietal they were offering before randomly ordering a dozen of one kind or a mixed of all, and it was a good idea. We loved the sweet kumamoto and the excellent shigoku oysters so we ended up indulging on a bunch of those. Very fairly priced for excellent quality oysters and perfectly shucked--no shell particles lingering and the oyster is turned for presentation and maximum slurpage.

    (5)

  • Ally-Marie B.

    All of the oysters are great, but THE best are the Shigokus. A dozen to myself and I'm a happy camper. The gooey duck is wonderful!!! The seaweed salad is amazing!!! The squid salad is very tasty!!! And the staff knows their seafood, so ask questions and be excited. They are too!!!

    (5)

  • Cathy A.

    The food is good, but it's limited and the service is rocky. Because of that, I'd realistically give the food 3.5 stars, but the establishment 1.5. Separately the oysters are probably 5 stars. To be fair, my party generally liked the food we ordered. Oysters were top notch and the food was inventive. We even tried the geoduck sashimi. I really liked the smoked salmon dish and seafood soup. What I didn't like was that one server was particularly unhelpful and short with us. First things first is customer service at any restaurant and one particular server ruined the experience here. For me, that grants a no return and 0 stars. But I'm trying to be fair with balancing the exceptional food. Not an enjoyable location for large parties, or if you want a variety of seafood options.

    (3)

  • Sara M.

    If you love amazing seafood - especially raw oysters this is heaven! I highly recommend going here for your appetizer and then trying one of the other great restaurants nearby.

    (5)

  • Miriam M.

    We stopped in this place on Friday night. You're supposed to grab a menu and a seat. There was a table available, and as we walked over, the server told us we couldn't sit there! He said it was reserved, which is odd, because when we called earlier, they said they don't reserve the tables and that it's first come, first served. We waited for about 10 minutes, debating whether we should leave or not, and the table stayed open and empty. Then that same server decided all of a sudden we COULD have that table, so we stayed. The oysters were absolutely amazing, and the clam chowder was the best I've had in Seattle. I could taste the differences between all the oysters, and they were SO FRESH! The geoduck was my favorite part of the meal, though! I've never had it, and it was so delicious. The quality of food at this place deserves 5 stars, but I just can't get over that they had a table reserved when they don't do reservations.

    (4)

  • Amanda V.

    My boyfriend loved his oysters and gooeyduck and was truly in heaven. My salmon and cream cheese had good flavor but was served too cold and took forever to get through it. But it was a cute spot and we enjoyed getting a light lunch there.

    (4)

  • Kathleen C.

    This is like a snack place! They only serve oysters, some soups, and a few other light appetizer type of foods. It's good for pre meal I guess or when you're not too hungry. Good thing there are so many other restaurants nearby to hit up after! It's also a little seafood market that you can buy clams/oysters/etc to bring home. With that being said... Food: The raw oysters on the half shell are really yummy! My favorites are kusshi and shigoku. They're about $2 for one which is pretty reasonably priced! I feel like elsewhere typically it would be $2.50-$3.50. I've also tried their chowders/stew, not really worth it. The geoduck sashimi is alright but very dinky portion. I only got it once out of the few times I've been here, probably won't again since I don't love it and it's $10+ for a few bites. Def only come for the oysters now. Tips: Not the biggest spot. It's all bar type seating. Comfortably I would say group of 4 max. I've had to wait up to 15 mins once and none the other times.

    (5)

  • Lily L.

    I've been here on several occasions, mostly with friends because I want them to enjoy fresh oysters from the local area of Washington State. My favorite will forever be the Kumamoto oysters, but I'm always up for trying out new ones and supporting local oyster farms. I have not had one person tell me they don't like oysters and for the first time oyster eaters, they said their experience was enjoyable and they would gladly return. It is mostly self service here and restrooms are located next door. Some say it's actually cheaper for you to order them unshucked and shuck it yourself. I'd say go for it because the shucking experience is rewarding. The employees are knowledgeable about the oysters and make pretty accurate recommendations based on your preference. Come on in and enjoy. Oysters are available year round if I'm not mistaken.

    (5)

  • Yumiko K.

    If you are looking for a nice seafood dinner, you may have to order a gazillion oysters. However, if you are looking for a place for a quick (seafood) snack or appetizer, this is the perfect place! You can get a plate of oysters, geoduck sashimi, chowder (they had 2 different types), etc. My boyfriend and I shared kumamoto and shigoku oysters and a whole Dungeness crab ($36). I got a live spot prawn as well. I didn't expect one of the guys to come over with the said prawn to our table, rip its head/legs/shell off, and put the body and head on my plate. The head was still moving, and the beady eyes were looking at me!!! I felt TERRIBLE!! I did eat its body anyway, and it was fresh, sweet, firm, and delicious. (I still felt awful every time the prawn's beards wiggled... I love how they cleaned, cut up, and cracked the crab. It was super easy to eat without any crab forks or crackers. They served crab miso mixed with aioli for dipping, which was awesome. Parking can be challenging as with any restaurants in Cap Hill, so if you get lucky, you totally should restaurant-hop!

    (4)

  • Wen L.

    Did not even get to eat anything! I'm visiting Seattle and went with a local friend, who lives near the restaurant. It was a waste of time trying to wait for a seat. They do not take reservations and the seating is unorganized. You just crowd in the front confused about who is there first and have to wait for people to leave. If you have more than 4 people you are kind of out of luck with finding seating. The menu looked good though. Good luck.

    (1)

  • Sam M.

    The best oysters and crab I've ever had. That's all I have to say. And by the way, I've had some of the best shellfish in CA, WA and the Northeast.

    (5)

  • Emily K.

    So Fresh so Yummy... I would def. come back if i'm in Seattle again.

    (5)

  • Cristina M.

    I don't even like oysters... but this place..made me think, I just might. Everything here is just so fresh. Turn your head to the right and you'll see live oysters and geoduck for sale. Turn your head to the left and you'll see people..killing those live oysters and geoduck to be served at your table just a few feet away. Any fresher and you'd be in the ocean.

    (4)

  • Sheena N.

    Got a dozen shigoku oysters with a blonde ale and it was perfect! Sometimes when you get oysters from a restaurant they come with bits of shell in them but these were perfectly shucked and super fresh. They had a clean, crisp flavor and didnt taste like salt water or mushy. I thought the oysters were reasonably priced at $20.99 for a dozen. Too bad I don't live in Seattle, I would definitely be a regular here.

    (5)

  • Meg H.

    You know those places you keep in your back pocket in case someone ever asks you for a recommendation when they are traveling to another city? This is that. I went here on a recent trip to Seattle with one mission in mind: oysters. This location at Melrose Market is called a "Shellfish deli" and it's part of a conglomerate of Taylor shellfish locations. It is basically a fish market with oysters, clams (including geoduck) and mussels resting in water with a counter and a few high top tables. The menu is super small but has everything you need. My coworker and I each ordered a dozen oysters, and had the store choose them for us. They arrived perfectly chilled with a lemon wedge and every single one of them was fresh, flavorful, sweet and briny, depending on the variety. If memory serves there was very little else on the menu, but 7 varieties of oysters and some clam chowder. During happy hour 2-4PM M-F, the price is $19.99 per dozen, and $23.99 regularly. Not too bad to pay $1.65 to $1.99 for such high quality. As good as the oysters are...and they are GOOD, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a new favorite wine: 2011 Cedargreen Cellars Sauvignon Blanc. It was served by the glass for $8.50. I took one wiff and thought whoa, and was hooked on my first sip. I will never go back to drinking champagne with my oysters. This stuff had the perfect minerality for oysters. YUM. The service here is casual (not in a slow service kind of way, in a cool way) and friendly. I will always come back here, AND will recommend it to my unsuspecting tourist friends.

    (5)

  • shaynee l.

    great food great staff great location. i have already recommended it to others and would go back for sure! come to cali taylors!

    (5)

  • Adam S.

    Great selection and knowledgeable staff. We had a sampling of eight different varieties. A great off the beaten path location. Locals come in to pick out there own oysters or crab and take it to go to prepare at home. Priced very fairly, but it would be easy to get carried away with all of the deliciousness and run up a bill! Crowded and metered street parking if visiting from outside the neighborhood. Would definitely go back!!

    (5)

  • alicia k.

    If you love raw oysters, you must eat here. They serve the cleanest, most plump oysters at very reasonable prices. Small seafood market with a few eat-in tables where you can get oysters on the half shell, clam chowder and a few other items. The seafood is kept in very clean tanks. Get there early because it gets crowded. Happy Hour 2-4PM. $4 off a doz. oysters. Great place for pre-dinner drinks!

    (5)

  • Jace P.

    This is a must try place to eat if you love seafood. Their clam chowder is cooked fresh as needed and they have an oyster bar. We will be back for more in the future.

    (5)

  • C. W.

    OMgosh!!! Came here two times in two days. So frickin good. Had the smoked salmon, Dungeness crabs, 5 different types of oysters and the best geoduck sashimi ever! I even had them ship some smoked salmon back to the bay area. Everything was excellent!!!! I wanna go back so badly!!!! Very chill atmosphere. Servers could be better. Some acknowledgement when we enter would be nice. Coming to take our order would be nice too. Both times we had to flag the servers down. But the food makes up the lack of service.

    (5)

  • Patrick M.

    The short: Who doesn't want some pacific northwest seafood when visiting the area? This place offers that, but the offering is limited and a little pricey. The long: While in Seattle I wanted to make sure I had some of the seafood that they are famous for. I ran across reviews for Taylor's and decided to give it a shot. When I walked in the first thing I noticed was the tanks in the middle of the room that were full of fresh live seafood. The menus were sitting in a little bucket hanging on a post and some guy said to just sit wherever from across the building. After about 10 minutes a server came over and took our order and off he went. We got our own water, rolls, and chowder from the area they had set aside from it. The chowder was pretty good and warm. I really enjoyed the sea salt rosemary rolls that were available. Our lunch was ran out by another person and dropped in front of us. I had 1/2 a crab which was good, but really lacked flavor to me and was super small. I was a little disappointed to be honest. My wife had geoduck sashimi and some oysters and she loved it. I tried the geoduck and was really surprised by it. I didn't think I was going to like it and I did. When it came time to leave we had to wait around for someone to pop up to get a ticket and even then it was yet another person who brought the check and a fourth person who returned my card. Just plain strange, but the seafood was fresh and not to expensive for the level of freshness. What works: Good and super fresh seafood for a reasonable price What to improve: Service is a little "off" and the menu is a bit anemic.

    (4)

  • Fadi H.

    I had my first geoduck at Taylor's and it exceeded my expectations. The oysters were delicious too. They were knowledgable about everything and the service was great too.

    (5)

  • I M.

    It was nice and clean. Enjoyed the one on one service since they were slow. The staff took time to tell us about the different types of oysters. The restaurant seemed clean. The tanks house the different seafood. It was enjoyable!

    (4)

  • Evan N.

    Nice place to try different type of oyster before u buy it and bring it home, no luck on clams to get it cool for dinner unless u want the stew

    (4)

  • Joel M.

    The oysters here are delicious, and they do a fantastic job of marketing themselves as a local-food hipster paradise. But beware, these guys are spraying neuro-toxic pesticides into Willapa Bay and Gray's Harbor. seattletimes.com/seattle…

    (1)

  • Alexis S.

    Without a doubt. Best. Went to a number of other oyster bars while visiting Seattle. So glad we found this one. Mellow, non-pretentious atmosphere. Oysters for sale individually so you can "taste-test" the local stuff. Clam chowder is a must. Happy oysters. Andy, the waiter, is also a great asset.

    (5)

  • Jason C.

    Fair price for oyster and a large selection to choose from. The food is good too. The service is a little slow but it definitely a more relaxing low key type of place so it ok for the atmosphere.

    (4)

  • Anna C.

    I came here with my friend on a Sunday afternoon - perfect place to come after a long bike ride or a walk in the city. There was no wait - and we got seated immediately by the staff. This place serves mostly raw seafood - oysters, tuna, etc...We ordered the oysters (2 of each as we were not to familiar with seafood), geoduck sashimi, and 2 bowls of clam chowder. Man oh man were these entres fesh and delicious. The oysters ranged from $2-3 each, varying in size and all extremely fresh. They tasted amazing and had subtle variances in flavor depending on the type of oyster. I was definitely pleased with the quality and freshness of the oysters. The geoduck sashimi was pretty good - I've never tasted this type of clam but it tasted really delicious and had a different texture than what i am used to in sashimi. The clam chowder was self serve and a pretty large quantity - it came with fried geoduck inside the chowder. I found the chowder a bit to creamy but still full of seafood amazingness.

    (5)

  • Melissa L.

    Dungeness crab & lemon aioli sauce was amazing!! So delicious!! I don't eat oysters, but my husband loved them.

    (5)

  • Kurt K.

    Great fresh seafood! Ended up having the seaweed salad and full Dungeness crab. Both were extremely fresh and very flavorful. Didn't order any oysters as the bill was getting high with the crab. Seemed a bit expensive for oysters, but I guess that's the price for super fresh. Unfortunately they didn't have any chowder as it was being cooked. Bummer! Maybe next time.

    (4)

  • Joseph P.

    This place is a slam-dunk. From the moment you step inside and you are hit with the wonderful smell of fresh seafood, you know you are in for a treat. The service is quick and the staff knowledgable. We just had oysters. Our server recommended a variety and it worked out great - we had a nice diversity of tastes, and textures. (With some good German lager to go with it.) Overall I feel like this is a can't miss place for oysters. I can't wait to go back and try the geoduck sashimi, the crabs and more.

    (5)

  • Marc M.

    This has to be one of the best places around to get fresh shellfish. Unfortunately for me, I do not like oysters so am not able to enjoy their specialty but I have still been able to find stuff that I really like. The space is perfectly nestled into the Melrose Market building which provides lots of opportunity to check out the other shops either before or after getting your fill of all the tasty seafood. If you've never been here, it truly is one of those "must visit" type of places.

    (5)

  • Chad R.

    Virginica oysters are a must when visiting Taylor's. Fun restaurant with a great experience that has a cool vibe. The one thing I will say sort of negative is the people seem a bit turned off by shellfish novice. They explained all of the menu options, but appeared just a little disinterested in creating an experience. Over all fantastic time would recommend to anyone interested in shellfish options.

    (4)

  • Angela P.

    I've watched many episodes of "Bizarre Foods," and there's little featured on the show that I would dare to eat. But geoduck? That didn't seem so bad. When planning our vacation to Seattle, seafood was an obvious must. We went to Taylor Shellfish and ordered a few oysters, geoduck, and some beverages. They offered 4 different types of oysters, so we both had one of each. I'm not familiar with the nuances of each, nor am I a big fan of oysters to begin with. I can, however, assert that they were all very fresh, meaty, and flavorful slippery suckers. Each one had a distinct flavor too. I loved the geoduck sashimi! The wasabi and soy sauce complemented the dish well, but I liked the geoduck alone too. The texture was exactly like sashimi. I drank a local sauvignon blanc which paired well with the seafood; he had a local pilsner which was also very good. The beer & wine list features many local varieties. Inside Taylor Shellfish feels like a nautical deli, with open tables of oysters sitting in tubs of water with water constantly running through the tank. During the pre-dinner hours on a Tuesday, it was decently busy. We grabbed seats by the window and ate at the bar. We had a lovely, small meal here for around $40 including drinks. I highly recommend this place for something different. It's especially ideal if you want to eat your way around Seattle without having multiple heavy meals in one day.

    (5)

  • Cee D.

    Pretty miserable experience, overall. Bad service from the get-go, which peaked when we were shorted considerably on our order. We received about 2/3rds of our large oyster order, but were charged for the whole thing, including what we never received. The oysters tasted great - truly, very good. However, they were poorly shucked, and there were shell fragments throughout the oysters, which more or less ruined what would have been the only highlight of the experience.

    (2)

  • S O.

    Walking in on a Saturday afternoon, my fiancé and I lucked out because two tables had just cleared out. Seating is self-seating, but a waitress came around and took our order. They do have seating outside that is lower than the inside tables, which are all talk/high tables. We ordered a beer to share, a smoked salmon appetizer (with dill, cream cheese, crackers, and capers), and 17 oysters. All together, the bill came to $72 (without tip). The oysters ranged from $2 each to $3 each, and the salmon appetizer was around $9, if I remember correctly. Pricey, but I loved the fresh oysters and my fiancé loved the salmon. It was fun sitting next to the live oyster bar, too. If you like oysters - like me - then you will have a grand old time!

    (4)

  • Charles K.

    Taylor Shellfish is the king of oysters distributing to almost every restaurant in Seattle. The Capitol Hill location is the most unique as it has a fresh oyster tank where customers can scoop up based on per pound. I highly recommend the geoduck sashimi and the oyster dip. My favorite oyster is the shigoku's.

    (5)

  • Andrea J.

    Great place for a oysters at a reasonable price. We also got the calamari salad which was spicy , crunchy and soft at the same time. There are 6 or so oyster varietals. The kushi, shigoku, olympia and the Kumamotos are a fairly staple find here. Priced between $2 and $2.75.

    (5)

  • Richard Y.

    We came here with high expectations and were sorely disappointed. The bad attitude of the staff the bland food and the VERY high prices all contribute to this 1 star. Regarding the waiter when I couldn't find the restroom (it is in the market next door) he became very frustrated and gave me very confusing directions. As someone visiting Seattle for the first time I think he could have been more understanding. Later there was a girl who was serving us and I was on the phone. The table was full and since I was on the phone I motioned to her to move the plates to make room for the new dish. She gave me a dirty look so I moved the empty plates myself and she basically slammed the dish on the table. Bad attitude from both totally contributed toward a negative experience. On top of this the food was really bland and tasteless. We ordered the oysters crab and geoduck sashimi. The proportions microscopic and taste truly uninspiring. Wasn't even full so went to the market next door for a turkey sandwich and beer for $15...which brings me to the next point; the price. So for the bad attitude and mediocre tasteless food we get a whopping $87 bill. Like rubbing salt in a wound...this place is overrated and the bad attitude of the staff is a real turn off. Recommend don't waste money here.

    (1)

  • Sandee T.

    Tis Shallow Fare... stopping for light appetizers before dinner~ * GET - Oysters = Totten Inlet, Shigoku, Kumamoto, all were tasty and well-cleaned...freshly shaven horseradish was a rarity we haven't seen in CA (lol) * GET - Seaweed Salad = the heartier-thicker version, yums * AOK - Calamari Salad = a bit toooo salty but otherwise tasty * GET - Geoduck Sashimi = the view of fresh geoduck grossed me out (haha!) but my dining companions loved it * YES - Offers fresh seafood on small simple menu: Dungeness crab, shrimp, oysters, geoduck - all on display, and chowders * YES - Offers alcoholic beverages * YES - Friendly, warm service by both our waitresses * YES - Offers high top and window bar seating; not great for large parties, great for dates * FYI - Walked in with zero wait, no ressies needed * FYI - Accepts credit cards

    (4)

  • Peter T.

    Simple place really. Oysters are in tubs of water, you pick them and they serve them. If you get them take away they won't chuk them which sucks. I stopped by wanting to grab a few before meeting my friends at nearby bar. I put in my order them had to wait well over 10 mins to get my 2 oysters. There was one person choking and three walking around. Not good service. Indifferent about going back. Should have a quicker option for someone wanting take out or a couple quick shooters. Instead I had to watch two big tables served before me and then the guy get to my small order.

    (3)

  • Tim U.

    Amazing seafood, but we had to get more food afterwards. Was expecting full meals, but only got appetizer like dishes. Shrimp cocktail was average, oysters were delicious, oyster soup was good, but not amazing, good selection of beers. Seafood salad was delicious, but not worth the price. In short, great seafood, but very expensive for what you get on some of the dishes.

    (4)

  • Xy Z.

    Tonight's dinner place, not fancy but do tasty. Peale passage and geoduck sashimi are both my favorite, will definitely come back again!

    (5)

  • Kay P.

    The oysters here are super fresh! The menu is simple. You choose between three different raw oysters and a wine menu. There is a special menu if you're looking for something other than raw oysters but I decided to stick to oysters and wine. The staff was friendly and recommended I first order one of each oyster to find out what I really liked. Our waiter also recommended a wine that would go great with our oysters and seemed knowledgable. All the oysters were freaked and they prepare them right in front of you with their open kitchen. Their shrimp cocktail is amazing! The shrimp were huge! You do have to take off the shell yourself but that's okay bc it's so worth it. As far as the bathroom- this place isn't spacious but it is nice so if you need to use the bathroom you do need to walk out of the restaurant, turn to your left and the next building over is where you'll find the bathroom. As a first timer here, I asked if this has always been this way and the manager informed me that it has. The restaurant has room for their oysters to be on display, their open kitchen and seating- that's it. I suppose it would be more convenient to have a bathroom in the restaurant but it's only next door and 10 steps outside isn't an issue to me bc the oysters are fresh and the service is great!

    (4)

  • Kevin C.

    Very fresh oysters. We also had the oyster dip with chips which was really amazing! It was creamy, a bit tart, and very light! Definitely try to go during happy hour too. The waitress got our oyster order wrong but she gave us the correct ones afterwards free of charge! Service was a bit slow though and she got 2 of our 3 oyster orders wrong :/ Overall pleasant experience and the decor is really nice. Come for the oysters!

    (4)

  • Allison R.

    My favorite place in the whole Seattle area for oysters!! They are fairly inexpensive (about $1 to $2.75) and extremely fresh!! Best Oysters in the city, hands down. Major downside is how incredibly hard it is to get a table there. There is enough seating for about 20 people maximum to sit and eat there. The wait will stack up fast. A great option is to buy yourself an oyster shucking knife, buy a few dozen Oysters to go, get a bottle of wine, some fancy cheese, butter and bread and take them home for a candle lit picnic in your living room with your sweety. ^-^ Pro tip!!: They are cheaper if you buy the Oysters to go!! ($.50 to $2) They also have wonderful soups, crab, seaweed salad, geoduck and light artisan sodas.

    (5)

  • Kim L.

    I love the oysters and nice service everyone provides here. Guest and I shared 22 oysters varying from the south of Washington through BC. It was interesting trying the different types and discussing the flavor changes in each. Will def come back for more oyster experiences

    (5)

  • Lisa S.

    I would rather take the two-hour drive from Seattle to Chuckanut Drive than eat at the Taylor Shellfish Farms restaurant. The staff and ambiance are nice, but the oysters are a bit pricey, even with the Happy Hour discount. We ordered 24 oysters, and the total bill came up to about $70. The waiter said the Happy Hour discount was about $0.20 off each oyster, and each one was on average of $2.50. At Chuckanute Drive, you get to enjoy the beautiful view and pay $0.85 per oyster. I guess the Melrose location is more accessible and convenient, but my future oyster-binging will be at the Chuckanut location.

    (3)

  • Rena H.

    This place was definitely a sticker shock but it was OK, I prepared myself for it when I shelled out $40 and was still hungry when I left. I came in on a Tuesday at 12:00 and I was the only one there during the whole lunch hour. The place was clean and the server was very friendly. I ordered the following: Geoduck Clam Sashimi - It was very good, I loved the "crispness" of the meat. However $12 for about 12 quarter size thin slices of mean is pretty expensive. Cup of Clam Chowder - I didn't like it, it mainly has sliced carrots. Every bite I took had two-three slices of carrots. Not enough clams and potatoes Then I got two Shigoku and Kummamoto Oysters. Those were good, very sweet and fresh. I probably won't go here again, I'm sure I can find another place that serves Geoduck Clam Sashimi.

    (3)

  • Tianyi S.

    I had the privilege of enjoying a platter of super fresh, briny and sweet Totten Inlet, Kumamoto and Shigoku oysters. The experience would have been awesome if: 1.) My party of 3 didn't have to wait 20 minutes for a table at 2pm. 2.) There weren't shattered bits of shell in many of my oysters. 3.) We got the 24 oysters we ordered, rather than 16.

    (2)

  • Sin-Yaw W.

    I have not seen Geoduck butchered. And the "chef" did it in front of me, a bit explanation/demo also. Calling him "chef" is probably an over-statement. Most of the preparation is about shucking oysters and slicing Geoduck sashimi style. At least during this Saturday lunch hours that I was there. I would not say the services were stellar. If this is your first time, you may actually feel a bit annoyed. You are supposed to pick up a menu, find a table, and flag the waiter for your order. Alternatively, you could also treat this as a fish market and flag the same person for raw shell fish to go. Freshness is the main selling point, not the sophistication of the cooking methods. If you are into fresh shellfish, simply cooked, then this is near heaven for you. It is not for those who expect restaurant grade services. This is a very unique 4-star for me. I am a fan by now. But I would not recommend this for everyone, only for those who care for the foods more than the ambient and services.

    (4)

  • Monica T.

    My husband and I visited here as part of our Capitol Hill tapas crawl, because we like being weird and touristy. A summary: Oysters: delicious Geoduck: fresh and tasty Service: unexpectedly slow and kind of weird (the oysters came before our wine) Atmosphere: Cramped. They shoved some chairs in at the front counter to squeeze us in. "Squeeze" being the key word here. A cool place with very good food, but some of the other places we visited around Seattle kind of blew this place away.

    (3)

  • Daniel L.

    Good stuff..whenever I find Kumamoto oysters I'm pretty much set for day. Music included my girl by nirvana. This place was exactly what I wanted out of my lunch. Thank you Taylor's for being awesome.

    (5)

  • Jenn W.

    We dropped by here for an appetizer of oysters/seafood before dinner. The place is small (probably seats around 15?) but was pretty empty around 5pm on Sunday. The gooey duck sashimi was amazing - love the texture and flavor. Slices were a bit thin for using a fork (chopsticks would be ideal) but doesn't matter when you're shoveling it into your mouth before your dad eats it all. Just kidding I probably ate the most of it... We also got about 2 dozen oysters - shucked quickly (but not that carefully - bit down on a bit of shell) - calimari salad, and shrimp cocktail. The salad was interesting, kind of salty but Asian flavored. High squid to stuff ratio. Shrimp came deveined but not peeled. A bit of work - I'd skip it next time. They've also got a bunch of easy bottled beers to go with the seafood. Casual place - definitely recommend for fresh seafood without the hassle of the pier!

    (4)

  • Felisa D.

    If you like seafood and shellfish, this is heaven. I've been here more than a few times for my oyster-fill. They have an amazing selection and have award-winning shuckers. The best way to tackle this place is to come with a group of oyster lovers and order a sample platter. Oysters are best enjoyed and appreciated when you eat different kinds side by side. You'll actually notice the cucumber-y finish of a Shigoku, the sweetness of a Kusshi and the funkiness of a Sea Cow. I am THAT person who has her favorite kinds of oysters. They are THAT kind of a place that can deliver not only a great selection but even knowledgeable suggestions to suit your preferences. Let them know if you like them briney, sweet, meaty or whatever. Ask them to pair the wine you've picked. They got your back. And even if you're just there for some goddamn oysters and don't need to lovingly describe them individually as if you're defining a beloved, they also have your back. The geoduck sashimi is also a must. I would describe it as having the clean, crisp sweetness of scallops with the chew of squid. And I have yet to have a soup/stew situation from here that has not impressed me. Maybe my strong feelings for this place can be blamed on the feelings brought up by eating aphrodisiac oysters. It's love!

    (5)

  • Margaret R.

    Huh. Don't get the hype. - overpriced - not much selection - definitely not the best oysters I've ever had.

    (2)

  • Jonathan H.

    5 stars all the way. I took my friends who were visiting from SoCal and Taylor Farms made their day. Best oysters they ever had! They were raving about it all day. Number of choices for fresh oysters. They are all shucked to perfection. The gooey duck was also sooo good! If you love oysters, this is a must have if visiting Seattle!

    (5)

  • Angela R.

    This place is definitely difficult to get a table, but they accommodated our party of 6 oddly quickly (within 30 min)! It's pretty perfect spot for 2, but any more than that I would say you would be in for a wait. Oysters were fairly expensive (up to 2.75 each), we also had half a crab, the octopus ceviche, seaweed salad, and a bottle of Muscadet - our server, Tom (who I think is a manager) was incredible. Our table was slightly annoying, as it was my friend's birthday, and he was hilarious, accommodating and gave us great recommendations on oysters and wine (we began to order and he steered us in another direction that was affordable but still delicious - the wine rec was SO good). Thank you!

    (4)

  • Michelle C.

    I only just started liking oysters this past year and my heart weeps when I think about all the good shellfish that I missed out on. :'( That's why I'm so glad that there are places like Taylor Shellfish where I can go and try to my hearts content! My friends and I stopped by early on a Friday night and we were surprised with how busy it was! (Granted, the space is a bit small...) It was no problem though because our party of four was seated in about 15 mins. One minor hiccup was our first server. My friends and I are all pretty unfamiliar with the different types of oysters, so we asked our server if he could quickly explain the tastes/types. He gave us a look and asked, "Really?" Um, yes. We actually would like a quick explanation, if you have the time for that.. -__-;; Thankfully our next server, Adair, was a gem! Super friendly and helpful, she gave us a bunch of suggestions and even stepped in to take our group's picture. :) I don't know what the deal was with the other guy, but Adair's personable service totally made up for it. We ended up trying the geoduck sashimi, Shigoku, Olympia and Fanny Bay oysters. Who knew that oysters & beer would make such a good combo! :D FYI, they don't have a restroom inside the actual store itself - you'll have to get the code from the staff and head over to the Melrose Market.

    (4)

  • HourLy L.

    Fresh oysters and slight pricey. 4 choices were between $2.50-$3.00. I love kumamotos and was glad they had them. We got 10 oysters with mixture of all 4 they offered. I liked how fresh and icy cold they were but for some reason I felt they were all salty. Even the kumamotos that I'm used to being slightly sweet was salty. Maybe they're a different breed than the CA ones I'm used to. I ended up not using the mignonette sauce they offered after one because it made it saltier.

    (3)

  • Tiffany L.

    All the shellfish were very fresh. We came for happy hour and the oysters are $0.33 cheaper on each oyster. The only thing I don't like about this place is that it's pretty much self service. You have to get your own water, napkin and even the soup you order. The geoduck was extremely pricey. It was $12 for a small serving which is about 3 oz. You can get it from a chinese seafood restaurant for about $45 a lb depending on the season. The Chinese restaurant will sashimi it the same way in bigger slices and you'll also have a choice to deep fried the head or make a tofu mustard green soup.

    (3)

  • Ruirui D.

    This is the worst place I've ever been. We're visiting Seattle and saw this restaurant with super high reviews. We ordered the Crab, Oyster, and the Geoduck Sashimi. The Oyster is average, definitely not the best I ever had. The Crab has no flavor. And the Sashimi, not to say that it has no flavor but only the soy sauce, they only give you a finger's volume for 12 bucks. The Wasabi with it has no taste but just a lump of green cream. HOWEVER, THE MOST IMPORTANTLY is that the servers have really bad attitude. Their faces are saying I don't care you eat here or not, and I wish you'd better not. After we paid more than $90 for the meal, we're still hungry that we have to go to the market nearby to get a turkey sandwich. My experience made me really confused why so many people give it four or five stars.

    (1)

  • Jireh H.

    For lovers of oysters visiting Seattle, the recommendations boiled down to two main points: (a) visit Local 360 at 3 pm for $1 oysters sourced from Taylor Shellfish Farms; or (b) just go straight to Taylor Shellfish Farms for your oyster fix at about $2 each. While cheaper for the same thing sounds better, we never had time at 3 pm all three days of this surprise trip that my wife had planned secretly for the last 7 months. So we ended up just going straight here instead - all three days. [NOTE: I wasn't able to verify if Local 360 had ALL oysters available at 3 pm OR if it was based on what was available right then. It should be the latter though since it is cheaper than wholesale prices.] We were glad, however, that we came here instead. There wasn't a crowd like a normal good Seattle restaurant would have. There were no lines and it proved to be a straightforward shuck-and-slurp-fest with an adequate selection of hoppy drinks to choose from. The staff, which were different all three days except for one who remembered us, were exceptionally friendly (even more than the Seattle-norm). Please note that they are NOT a lunch spot unless you are planning to eat RAW and eat LIGHT. They have two soups to choose from and that's the only hot foods I remember. I came here solely for my zinc fix and to wash it down with something exceptionally hoppy. So for the food, I'd say: Geoduck sashimi [ yelp.com/biz_photos/tayl… ] is a MUST-try for those who never had the opportunity to try it before. Fanny Bay and Totten Inlet is up there as my favorite oysters. Interestingly, the cheapest of the group too. Olympia [ yelp.com/biz_photos/tayl… ] is TINY and has a cute tasty bang to it; but it is so TINY that it is only worth shelling out cash for if you're a real fan or you want a different finish. Oh, I must point out...no condiments needed. It is THAT fresh that you just shouldn't defile it with anything (even lemons). :D 15/06LR

    (5)

  • Matthew H.

    I already miss this place, mainly because they have a self-serve seafood bar and I love that. Got a dozen oysters even though I had just eaten because there is always room for oysters, I went with the sampler. I then ordered a whole dungeness crab which again, amazing. Prices were too bad and they have some cool t-shirts so I picked up one. This location is killer since it's right next to Melrose Market. Definitely have to get here for the seafood.

    (5)

  • Teresa N.

    They place is so popular! They don't take reservation and we waited about half an hour for a table for two! On top of that, they have 3 , 4 locations in Seattle! We came to this places for oysters and geoduck cos it was highly recommended by some local friends. Glad we tried it and it didn't disappoint. My friend and I shared a clam chowder, a dozens of different oysters, geoduck sashimi, bottle of cava, and a bottle of tap water. Ha Needless to say the oysters were super duper fresh, ranges from $2 to $2.75 each (they do have HH but it's only 33 cents discount each, what a joke), geoduck was very fresh but it wasn't as sweet as I thought, still delicious, the clam chowder was decent, the bottle of cava was yummy because there was alcohol in it, bottle of tap water was pretty good. The location has a setup and vibe kinda like a seafood market, and I liked it. I recommend this place if you visit Seattle and you like seafood!

    (4)

  • Rachael C.

    One of the most underwhelming experiences while on my trip to Seattle. I just got the impression they knew we weren't from around here, and at times it felt like we were invisible. We were seated with no menu, at a dirty table..with only three chairs, when we needed four. There was additional seats too, but it took about 15 minutes before the server actually wanted to assist us with these situations. I was just there for the oysters before heading out for a picnic. The oysters were fine enough, but the sauce was horrendous, and lacked flavor Between this, and the lackadaisical server, I would not recommend this location. I had a much better experience at the Pioneer Square location

    (2)

  • Emily E.

    These were some of the best oysters I have ever eaten in my life. Absolutely delicious, and so, so, so, so fresh! The waitress was very knowledgeable about the menu and was able to direct everyone to the right oyster for them. Some of us aren't too into raw shellfish and she recommended their very mild, non-brine y tasting guys and every one even out picky eaters in the group left full and happy! If you are in Seattle, stop here and grab a beer and a tray of oysters.You will be happy you did trust me.

    (5)

  • Tony L.

    If I could, I would rate Taylor Shellfish as 3 1/2 stars. We stopped by on a late weekend afternoon, and the place wasn't very busy. It is housed in the Melrose Building, which has a lot of cool stores. However, you have to enter Taylor from the street. There are tanks full of fresh shellfish if you are looking to take some home to cook yourself. We sat at one of the small tables and ordered: Clam chowder (self serve): this was very flavorful, with fried geoduck belly I believe. Shrimp cocktail: shell-on cooked shrimp: just ok. Geoduck: so sweet and fresh, but at $12 for a small portion, it is definitely pricey. Shigoku and Kummamoto oysters: Out of the two, I preferred the Kummamotos, but both were really good. All you need is a squeeze of lemon. Overall, the food is really fresh and good. The prices, however, are pretty high. The above dishes plus two non-alcoholic drinks came to about $80 including tax and tip. And, we went somewhere else to eat afterwards! For fresh shellfish, this is a good place to go, but be prepared for the expense.

    (3)

  • Keani T.

    Best oysters I've had! The Totten Inlet and Kumamoto's are life changing. Two thumbs up for the Mirugai sashimi as well! I wish I lived closer I would come back and eat here all the time.

    (5)

  • Jessica G.

    Let's get one thing straight. I do NOT like or eat seafood. Nothing. Zilch. I hate the look, smell, texture, and taste of it. Having said that, I think Taylor Shellfish Farms is amazing. I visited with a friend who is quite the seafood aficionado, and everything from the clean, vibrant atmosphere to the impeccable service (not to mention SUPER fresh selection) was very impressive. The prices seem very reasonable for seafood as well. There needs to be a special shot out to the employees here. They knew that I was not a seafood fan but still gave me quite the show when I requested to see a geoduck close up. They even squeezed it to show me that it was alive and squirted water! It was certainly a very weird and amazing experience that I shan't forget. Get yourself a nice glass of wine and enjoy yourself. If I ever did eat seafood, you can guarantee it would be from here.

    (5)

  • Marissa S.

    Thanks to Taylor Shellfish Farms for popping my GEODUCK cherry. I've never had it before and man was I in for a treat. A sashimi plate is $12 with a tiny portion of thinly sliced shavings of this sea creature. It's so fresh it tastes like the ocean while flavor wise, think clams and texture wise, think squid but very thin. If you've never seen it before, it's oddly shaped like a penis. Enough said. Another reason many come to this market/dining joint is because they are famed for their oysters. They carry about half a dozen or more types of these mollusks from the nearby waters of Washington and British Columbia. Each piece range from $2-$2.75 and you get charged per shell no matter how many you get. Pricey but you do get what you pay for. A plate of Olympia, Shigoku, Kusshi, Fanny Bay, Totten Inlet, and Virginica were the ones I had. Everything was absolutely fresh and succulent but I have to say, the first 3 I mentioned were my superior choice with their sweet elements making you want more. The chilled mignonette had a nice punch of acidity which gave a good pucker and they also have a wonderful house cocktail sauce if that rocks your boat. All that slurping requires another pairing, your choice of poison, that is. So rejoice when I say they have alcohol offerings, too - a glass of rosé fit the bill just right for me. Xinh's Oyster Stew ($9) could've been warmer and I wish the broth was thicker than it was watery. Delicious, yes, but I would skip it next time and get more geoduck or perhaps the spot prawns. With just a handful of pub tables and a counter seating by the window, prepare to wait as they don't take reservations. Ideal for 2-4 people in a group only.

    (4)

  • Y C.

    I went by myself for a snack the food was OK. The best part is probably the seafood soup. Also ordered the oysters and shrimp and a beer. It was pretty fairly priced which is why it deserves a 3 star. The service was colder than the shrimps on the ice though. What can I say, your place is not cool enough yet to act like this my friends. Also don't ignore your customers waiting to get seated forever when there's clearly plenty of space, but whatever, really, it is not like I will ever come back for some basic seafood that I can get anywhere else.

    (3)

  • Gabs T.

    Ordered: Half crab - AMAZE balls Geoduck sashimi - Ehhhhh... It was fine, but not mind blowing (I had those expectations) Smoked oyster dip - AMAZE balls

    (5)

  • Elizabeth S.

    Awwwwww this Arizonan misses this place so much, I think me and my friend alone are three dozen oysters on a Thursday night here, and it was packed! We scouted for seats for like an hour I swear. To start, this place is so different than anything in used too. Seeing oysters? In baskets!? What!? I'm from the desert! So that was fun. They usually have a limited quantity, so I would suggest going early to get your pick of the oysters! They also have a really good selection of beers. I miss this place so much!

    (5)

  • Lisa U.

    Savory, fresh oysters and well knowledges staff. Too bad my girlfriends and I demolished our tray of oysters in 2 minutes flat. I definitely want to try visiting the farms and eating oysters right from the source.

    (5)

  • Stephanie F.

    The champagne and the oysters were delicious. The server was kinda pretentious. Still a fun experience though!

    (4)

  • Charles S.

    Very pleasant place for an outdoor lunch on a warm weekend. Excellent raw oysters,nice baked oysters and decent prawn PoBoy. Good local beer selection. Go for it.

    (4)

  • Jean S.

    A tiny place that I imagine gets very crowded during peak hours. I was lucky enough to come by on a Sunday evening, so we were able to be seated right away and had wonderful service. There were seven different oysters, and we asked for a sampling of them across two dozen oysters. Unfortunately, only four types of oysters were served to us. Still, they were all delicious and presented beautifully. I very much enjoyed the clean and refreshing Totten Inlet and Totten Virginica oysters. My husband liked the more briny Shigoku. The Kusshi was also fresh and tasty. We ordered a half dozen Kumamotos, and they were very creamy in texture. The cocktail sauce was very interesting and thicker and more flavorful than I'm used to - and let me say that the mignonette was the best I've ever tasted. We will definitely return whenever we need our raw oyster fix, although street parking was a bit tough in the neighborhood. Almost forgot to mention - decent wine and beer options.

    (4)

  • Pam U.

    What's not to like about fresh oysters since you live in the Pacific Northwest?! This particular store front is tiny, mostly to give off the quick lunch and go type of setting. Walking in, it was tiny with a few tables, we got kind of early right before lunch was about to start, so if you go grab a seat quickly. Tables do fill quickly. Self serve chowders, ( geoduck and seafood stew), the menu is simple, fresh oysters, crab that they will cook in front of you and geoduck sashimi. Holy cow, geoduck sashimi. It's an acquired taste, but it's worth it if you are an adventurous eater. I had fun going there I can't wait to go back.

    (5)

  • Heather F.

    Decided to try oysters for the first time so we went with the sampler at a place that is so highly rated. A dozen miscellaneous oysters with lemon and a house made sauce came out, beautifully presented, ready to eat. While the experience with our drinks and oysters was great, our service not so much. Taylor shellfish farms is your typical Capitol Hill attitude, pretentious and slow. There is an open kitchen and we watched them chat for ten minutes before they even began to work on our oysters. It wasn't busy, there was only one other couple there at the time. I want to really like all of these places in and around Melrose Market but I find myself leaving unsatisfied every time because the people who run all these shops are on a high horse. I will probably give them another go in the future, maybe they were having an off day. For now though, it's just meh.

    (3)

  • Karla S.

    3 thumbs up! Oysters, duh! Seaweed & Calamari Salad, yesssss! Paired wine :) The perfect Sunday afternoon.

    (5)

  • Lawrence H.

    A no-frills place to go for fresh raw oysters and a few other seafood items. If you don't like seafood, there's beer, cider, and wine, but nothing else. Oysters are expertly shucked, ultra fresh, served with champagne mignonette and lemon slices. There's also a few small plate items (all seafood oriented) such as cracked Dungeness crab, geoduck sashimi, raw spot prawn (when in season, and YES this is a single raw prawn that is killed at your table and served to you uncooked), and a selection of self-service seafood soups like oyster stew and clam chowder. In the background, you'll hear the gentle sounds of flowing water and the hum of people talking. Chairs are high stools that aren't exactly comfortable but you're here for oysters and wine, not for a two hour extended meal. But the prices are great and oysters worth it. Also great for happy hour ($0.33 off per oyster). Bathroom is in neighboring building with key code.

    (5)

  • Sarah P.

    I came expecting some big nice oysters for happy hour but ended up with the smallest oysters ever! Plus, the wait was extremely long because they only had one waitress working. Not worth my time and money.

    (2)

  • Kristina V.

    Amazing Shigoku oysters. Amazing geoducks, amazing seaweed salad, and amazing chowder. Come here. Have a beer. Have a cider. Sit and enjoy what comes. The sauces and vinegarette are just topping but not even needed.

    (5)

  • Nathan C.

    In town for a few days for a conference. Love the super fresh seafood and friendly staff. Be back next time cheers.

    (5)

  • Kaylin O.

    Craving some fresh oysters, we headed out here during our trip in Washington. Rather casual place to get some fresh oysters and even shrimp but we stuck with the fresh oysters instead of the jumping shrimps. We tried a good variety of oysters. The guys helping us there were nice and gave us suggestions. We got to try the tottem virginica, olympia, shigoku, and kumamotos. We like kumamotos prior to going here. Surprisingly, we really like the tottem virginica too. Great casual place to hangout, have a drink, and some oysters!

    (4)

  • John Y.

    Came here for oysters before dinner. The place is kinda small, maybe 3-4 tables and some counter space. The servers were very knowledgeable about oysters - species, where they were grown, size and taste, etc. We ended up trying a few of each - I liked the Virginian and Totten Bay the best. Quite pricey though - oysters were $2-$3 each, and there are a number of places around Seattle of similar quality with better deals.

    (4)

  • Jane A.

    FAN-TASTIC. I am a fan and this place is fantastic. (5 stars + meteor shower) It's true and I can testify this, the Pacific Northwest has one of the best and freshest seafood. This place has some very fresh shellfish; especially the geoduck sashimi - hands down delicious. Location is on Capital Hill, expect difficult parking and a lot of hipsters. The place is very small, 1/3 are tanks of fresh seafood. There's bar tables and high tables. The chowder and bread bar is self serve. Came here with a mission, to try something I grew up catching but never ate (isn't that weird). It just never appealed to my appetite to eat geoducks... let me clarify... raw geoducks. The site of a geoduck on beaches aren't attractive as they resemble an uncircumcised private part sticking out of the sand. Still isn't attractive looking when they're caught or if they're bathing in a holding tank. They just don't look "tasty". I've heard how good geoduck sashimi is and I had to try it. When I try something for the first time, I will do my best to get the freshest or at the best place - even if it requires traveling to a different state. I landed here and I am SOLD. It's become one of my favorites and I like it more than raw oysters. GEODUCK SASHIMI ($12) - The portion seemed very small but the taste goes a long way. A wedge of lemon, saucer of soysauce, and geoduck sashimi. They finely sliced the geoduck to thin pieces the size of dimes or a little larger, the small heap of geoduck first resembled a translucent ribbon. The geoduck texture had a chewy consistency. The best way to describe the taste is mild and sweet (similar to a fresh scallop)... with a hint of that freshness of ocean air (you know kind of like Uni). It has that "ocean" flare to it - hard to explain unless you've tried Uni you'd understand. The tiny pieces soak up flavor quickly so it's best to squeeze a little lemon and barely dabble it into the soysauce. It was VERY enjoyable and I craved it everyday since. I will come here just for the geoduck sashimi. Highly Recommended. Will I be back? You don't have to ask me twice. JABA APPROVED. Until the next review...

    (5)

  • Lorrie M.

    Fresh seafood, reasonable prices, cheap-ish beer? Sign me up! Pretty stoked I got to finally visit Taylor Shellfish after all this time. I've been wanting to try it out since my first few times in Seattle. I really like the atmosphere because for the most part it is kind of a come and serve yourself style. It reminded me very much (shockingly) of Texas BBQ places where you come in, grab a seat, grab a beer and serve yourself (+order oysters of course!) The oysters were reasonably priced, delicious, and very fresh. I though the geoduck sashimi was just ok, so maybe if you're not into it you can skip. My favorite oysters are generally ones that have a cleaner finish so you can ask about your tastes specifically when it comes to oysters when you order. Clam chowder is serve yourself, great hang out spot! It's very small though so don't bring your whole gang.

    (4)

  • Ashley C.

    3.5 stars but rounding up to 4. We ordered the shrimp cocktail, the seafood soup and of course a dozen oysters. The oysters were fantastic and very fresh. They were some of the best that we had especially for the price. The shrimp cocktail was also delicious as well and the shrimp were very fresh. The seafood soup was good but nothing special. I would skip it and order more oysters next time. Service was average. The seating system is a bit disorganized and there is not a lot of seating. We sat outside on the small patio and it took forever to get our server's attention. We felt a bit forgotten about and it almost knocked it down a star. However, the reasonably priced fresh seafood made me round up.

    (4)

  • Joy H.

    My husband decided to surprise me by taking me here for lunch . . . except I CAN'T EAT OYSTERS RIGHT NOW! Evil tempter!!! This place is a little bit of a hole in the wall and very small and cozy. The staff is super friendly and even let me try both chowder and stew to see which one I preferred. I got the New England clam chowder with "fried geoduck" which was pretty good, rich, and a little spicy. I couldn't really taste any of the fried geoduck though. It also came with rolls which was nice! My husband got the calamari salad which was ok although a bit too gingery he said. Overall nice little spot - just wished that I was able to try what they're known for! Also wished the menu was a little bigger (maybe fried calamari?).

    (3)

  • Deb T.

    Best little find on our trip to Seattle! We literally ate at least 3 dozen oysters...7 different kinds! Very quaint place. Super fresh oysters! Small, but yummy wine and beer selection. You MUST put this on your Foodie list for any Seattle visit...or if you're a local, become a regular!! NOTE: They also sell their oysters in Pikes Market so you can get them to go and sit by the water in style as well. :-)

    (5)

  • Patricia L.

    When in Seattle, gotta have your seafood! I think this was my favorite dinner I had here. It's super casual and there's a ton of tanks with live crabs and other shellfish. My boyfriend and I ordered a ton of food. We started with geoduck sashimi and oysters. The geoduck sashimi wasn't as good as the ones we had at Pike Place Market, just because it was slightly chewier. However, it still tasted so fresh and ocean-y. I'm totally a fan. We also had the jumbo shrimp cocktail. They were good, but really nothing special. I think it was my least favorite bit of food. That day, they had 7 kinds of oysters. We wanted to try them all, so we ordered two of each (14 total). My favorite there was the kusshi and some other local oyster. So of course, after slurping up the little gems, we ordered more of those pieces. None of them had any sort of grains of sand or anything, so they were properly prepared. Lastly, we ordered the steamed dungeness crab. It was absolutely amazing. So good. So much meat, so tender, and so sweet! It's impossible to get crab this good in California. I love that they served it with a buttery sauce inside the shell. It was fatty and buttery, which complemented the crab perfectly. I loved this place, and I'd come back again. Just buy me a plane ticket! Tip: They don't have their own restrooms. They'll give you a key code and you have to go next door to use the restroom.

    (5)

  • Matt M.

    I unfortunately had a very dissapointing visit recently. Don't get me wrong, the oysters were outstanding. The service, soups, and atmosphere just felt off. It wasn't horribly crowded when my group of four came in. We sat at one of the high top tables and ordered some drinks with no issue. It just went downhill from there. Our poor waitress didn't seem to have a clue about what was going on and I really hope it was just an off day for her. Two of the people in my group ordered 4 each of 3 types of oysters and the other person and I got 1 of each of all 7 types - seems pretty straightforward. We originally asked for our own platters, but knew table space was at a minimum and just opted for one giant platter out of simplicity. What came back was about 2/3 of what we ordered. It took walking over to the shucking station to finally get the attention of somebody to let them know we ordered more than what we received. The other waitress tried to be as helpful as possible, but didn't take our order and there was really nothing she could do. The soup had great flavor, but wow was it salty. That day they had a tomato based seafood stew and a Thai oyster soup that was basically a coconut curry broth. Again the flavors were excellent, but we couldn't get over how salty they both were. The whole Melrose Market area is always so charming and on a sunny Friday afternoon you would think everyone would be in good spirits. I felt like I didn't belong and it was really offputting - never had that experience there before. I'm hoping I have better experiences at the new oyster bars in Queen Anne and Pioneer Square.

    (3)

  • Patty C.

    There were only 3 types of oysters left when we were there. We ordered all three, (6) shigoku, (6) kumamoto, and (2) virginica plus two spot prawns, and geoduck. We each ordered a lager to go with our food. Everything was very fresh. The spot prawns were sweet and plump. The geoduck was fresh, but a little fishy. Our total came out to $83 with tax and tip, and we left hungry. It was good, but very pricey. The seating really isn't that difficult. Just grab a menu and wait in line for an open table that fits your party. Once seated, the server will come over as soon as possible. Our server was busy, but I didn't feel ignored like some other reviewers.

    (3)

  • Taj K.

    A fantastic recommendation from a local. I see this place is a bit of a chain but I get why it is highly recommended. This location has limited seating. But we went for happy hour on a Tuesday. Happy hour is terribly inconvenient between 2-4pm. The deal is about 30 cents off each oyster. No drink deals. We got a dozen oysters which consisted of two each of what they offer. I have only had my east coast oysters. The west coast definitely has a lot to offer. High quality and delectable. I bet there are some better places in Seattle but this place is great. You can also but oysters to go. Freshest I've seen!

    (4)

  • Jessica M.

    For the two of us, we ordered a dozen oysters, geoduck sashimi and live prawns to go with 2 glasses of wine. Everything was fresh and tasty but pricey. After dropping over $70 here, we headed over to another restaurant to have our entree. I would still come back for oysters, but I will probably skip the geoduck and live prawns and have them at a Chinese seafood restaurant for much less $$.

    (4)

  • Ivy Lou H.

    This is a pretty cool place! It's situated next to the local market in Melrose. I didn't mind their service, didn't even know if it's good or bad coz I was thinking of the oysters, crabs and prawns that I've been craving the whole day. I've eaten 9 large oysters, half crab (but it was still huge) and had orange-mango soda. My hubby got the local craft beer (Immortal) It was heaven for me Pretty expensive, $2 per oyster, drinks at least $4.75 plus I forgot how much I paid for the half crab. Total was $50 for what I ate plus tip making it $58. Anyway, this is our last day of our vacation and I'm making every remaining minute count!

    (4)

  • Gnod L.

    Came here on Sunday for some oysters during my weekend trip to Seattle. The place is cute, and interesting in terms of layout. They have fresh oysters in huge containers as soon as you walk in so that is a cool factor. TV was a tad small for the size of the place. Menu was a bit limited in my opinion. We ended up getting some oysters, soup, and geoduck sashimi. All were pretty good overall. Price isn't exactly cheap, and that's fine but I thought it was a bit funny that happy hours on M-F only offered .33 cents off regularly priced oysters ($2+). I guess it's because I'm used to $1 oysters back home, even for some west coast oysters. But again, I think it's expected for a smaller place, with limited menu. I would recommend checking it out if you're in the neighborhood and in the mood for some oysters but expect a bit of a tight seating arrangement, slightly pricier oysters, and limited food options. Beers were good however! Lastly, go check out Starbucks reserve up the block. Very cool place.

    (3)

  • Diane T.

    I hate going against the grain with all the other reviews...but I really didn't find Taylor Shellfish all that amazing. I would give it to them, the oysters were fresh and on par..but everything else was just mediocre. We ordered two of every oyster (a sample of each kind). Our server was a bit short with us and didn't seem too delighted that we only ordered oysters. As a poor graduate student, i can only afford so much so this was a treat in itself. So if i say i don't want beer/wine with my order, back off! The oysters took about 20-30 mins to prepare..which was a long time. No one checked on us in between. The only redeeming factor was that the guy shucking our oysters apologized and thanked us for our patients. Our server didn't take the time to explain which oysters were what, but the guy prepping them did. I don't see how people can comment on the great service, since ours was slow and negligent. Overall, fresh seafood, but nothing spectacular. Go there for a snack, it's not a place for a great meal. **small location. mainly bar seating.

    (3)

  • L C.

    This place got super popular since the last time I was here, which was just a few years ago. This time around, the place was crowded and unorganized. The waiter/host (to which there's only 1 on the floor at any given time) is always either busy with someone else or not to be found. You walk in, sit at a table (if it's open), and wait. And wait. And wait. Until the waiter is finally ready to take your order, then you wait some more for the shucking to happen. I think we waited around 20 minutes before we got to order and I ate everything (1/2 doz. oysters) in 2 minutes. Even though the organization was lacking, everyone was very nice. And the oysters were, of course, super fresh. Just wish they would have a better system going on for table service.

    (3)

  • Sylvia K.

    My friends wanted to get oysters so we came here for lunch. It was just before noon on a weekday and we were the first ones to arrive. We picked up some paper menus and seated ourselves. The guy who worked there came by and asked us if we had any questions. One side of the restaurant has water tanks where the live seafood is swimming around and where the oysters are stored. The menu doesn't have descriptions of the different oysters they have, but the oyster tanks do, which really helps if you're looking for a particular flavor of oyster (more sweet or milder, etc) and where the oysters come from. The guy came back and took our order and I saw him pick the oysters from the water tanks and maybe fifteen minutes or so later, another guy brought out a large dish of shucked oysters on ice. They presentation on the platter was really pretty - they kind of looked like little seafood jewels. The guy explained to us which oysters were which kind, which was good because my friends each ordered one of each kind of oyster. So I actually don't really eat oysters, but I did want to try, so I ordered a Sumo Kumo (bigger and more sweet) and an Olympia (which apparently are making a comeback by being restored after they were overharvested decades ago). And I'm pretty sure both were harvested in Washington state because that's what I was looking for when picking the two oysters I wanted to try. But the descriptions over the oyster tanks will say where they picked them from (either from Washington or from British Columbia). My two oysters tasted very fresh. I can't really say myself if they were really good since I don't really know and they tasted like the ocean. But my friends loved the oysters and said they were really good. In addition to oysters, they have a few other seafood things on the menu, including dungeness crab, geoduck sashimi (not sure what that is...) and also a chowder bar, with two daily soups. That day we went, it was a seafood stew and some sort of thai curry soup. You grab a bowl and serve yourself. Water is also self-service and then napkins are a roll of paper towels. In the end, they let us pay separately which was really convenient and great. Even though I can't attest to the taste of the oysters personally, the place itself and the service was awesome. By the time we finished lunch and left, the place was pretty packed.

    (4)

  • Keun L.

    I would like to rate 3-1/2 star but since Yelp won't let me, I have to give it a 3 star. First it was an expensive lunch for $50 and second I did not come out filling full. But, the quality was great. And it should be for the price! I had one oyster of everything they got (few less than dozen) and was fresh and delicious. I wish it had better garnishes though. I also had a spotted prawn raw and it was crunchy and tasty as well - much better than Awaebi in Japanese restaurant. But for $5, the head would be fried in a Japanese restaurant but it wasn't here. I also had their Geoduck sashimi - again, fresh and crunchy but small in portion.It came with wasabi and soy sauce but wasn't too much different from what I could get from a an average Chinese restaurant in Vancouver. I also had their Oyster Thai soup which was spicy and tasty but salty - a good flavor though. It went down well with the buns they had (good bread - crucnchy outside and soft chewy inside). I also had their cucumber soda. This was a winner as I do not like sweet soda. If it wasn't 11am, I would have tried a beer or wine but may be next time. Overall, I felt that this place is NOT a restaurant but more like a fresh seafood take out place. I would recommend that in a nice summer day, if you got some money and want afternoon beer with a friends over fresh seafood, this is the place if IT HAD A PATIO!

    (3)

  • Andy K.

    This is exactly what I came to Seattle for: unforgettable seafood. We had the already shucked Shigoku and kumamoto oysters. Unlike other oysters that may have been dead for a while, these oysters tasted fresh. Not only were they fresh, but they also tasted amazing. I never knew oysters could exhibit such a wide array of flavors. After going through oysters like it was my job, we had the crab, which was just as fresh and very easy to eat. The restaurant itself keeps it simple in terms of its layout. The layout isn't very pretty, but that's because it makes eating oysters its priority. In the middle of the restaurant are tanks filled with oysters and crabs. Looking at these creatures itself was a treat. Another option is to buy the live oysters/crab/geoduck and take them home. One thing that threw me off was that there were no restrooms, especially because eating the seafood requires getting your hands dirty. However, this was negligible in context of how great everything else was.

    (5)

  • Bosule P.

    Not the best service but you can't deny the quality and freshness of the oysters. We ordered the Kusshi oysters, prawns, and geoduck sashimi. Simple and straight forward seafood -- can't go wrong.

    (4)

  • Sam B.

    Great local place.. Oyster tanks with fresh dungeness crab in the tank! Very tight place for space.. Eclectic and fun.. I will hit it again!

    (5)

  • Anh T.

    I ate here twice during my visit to Seattle. So good! You know the seafood they are serving is fresh because there is a pool with fresh crab and oysters that you can buy to take home. They have at least 6 different oysters to choose from so if you don't know which you may like the best, get a sampler and try one of each. Then order your favorite ones! During happy hour there is a discount of about $0.30 per oyster 2-4PM Monday to Friday. All oysters come with vinaigrette and lemons, there are various hot sauces that are also complimentary and it is $1 extra for freshly grated horseradish. I also tried the crab, they cracked all the shells making it really accessible and easy to eat. It came with an aioli that they made with the tomalley (crab head innards) which was also tasty but the crab was so fresh it did not need much more than the lemon they provided. Geoduck sashimi is also really fresh. I enjoyed this but I may be a bit biased because I have this often in Chinese restaurants and the geoduck slices are usually bigger and put over a bed of ice so that they are kept colder. They also have chowder and seafood stew which is self served and paid by the bowl, it's not unlimited FYI.

    (4)

  • Funglin W.

    Oysters and shellfish as fresh as it gets! There are 9 different oysters available here and the "chef" will shuck them fresh as you order. There is also Geoduck (sooo good but sooo pricey), clams, and crabs! PROs: 9 oysters to sample, fresh shellfish all day long, reasonable pricing CONs: since they shuck as you order, it is extremely slow before you get your food. so come on a downtime or be ready to sit here for awhile

    (5)

  • Kari G.

    Low key space with fast & friendly service and active oyster tanks right there in the dining space with you. The prices here are very reasonable for oysters on the half shell as compared to some other places... especially considering the quality here is MUCH higher than some of the more gimmicky/overhyped places that charge a little more. And I know -- I've looked. Staff was friendly and knowledgeable. We ordered about two dozen raw oysters in several varieties and weren't disappointed by any means. The oysters all had a wonderful flavor to them, appropriate for each oyster's respective breed, and there were virtually no shells in any of them. That's quite a feat. Kumamoto and Sea Cow oysters are and always will be my favorite. So fresh and so clean!! What can I say, I'll be back!!

    (5)

  • Patty L.

    Wow! I was in town for Thanksgiving, so I had to try the local specialties since I love seafood. Taylor's did not disappoint. I went around 11 am on a weekday and I was the only patron for a while, then 2 other very friendly customers joined me. The staff was attentive and the manager was very nice. (Ask for suggestions if you've never tried raw oysters or do a bit of research online so you know what to expect.) One oyster had a bit of the shell in the liquid, but it wasn't a big deal. I LOVED the geoduck sashimi. I'd never tried geoduck before, but it was amazing on it's own and yummy with the soy sauce (I think it was soy sauce lol) as well. Geoduck has a very mild, slightly sweet, clean taste with a nice crunchy bite to it. I liked the texture a lot. As a raw oyster newbie, I started with some of the small oysters then I graduated to a couple larger ones. Definitely chew two or three times after slurping the oyster into your mouth. That way you can really taste the flavor of the oyster. They also have a good selection of drinks. I had a pear cider which paired very well with the raw seafood. Everything was fresh and the place was very clean. I especially liked the oyster tank setup they have. The location is a tad small, so I would imagine that it can get cramped when it's busy. Regardless, I highly recommend this place for locals and visitors alike! I will be back. Yum : )

    (5)

  • Veasna C.

    Lets just say I've been eating raw oysters for a while now. I have had good and bad ones. Umm this spot put my good oysters to shame!!! Best oysters i ever had, the cleanest most delicious tasting oysters!!! Diffidently recommend Taylor's oyster's to all the other oyster lovers out there. Just saying

    (5)

  • Felicia C.

    If you are eating in the few tables turn over fairly quickly- it's hard to nurse a beer and oysters for too long. Pretty efficient service and prep, the oysters were the stars!

    (4)

  • Mridula P.

    OMG! tried this place after recommendation from friends and colleagues.. I was in the neighborhood and happened to see this spot on a late night. Their oysters are as good as they can get.

    (5)

  • Anjelica A.

    This place was one of my favorite stops on my recent trip to Seattle! Right when we walked in the staff was dancing around the empty restaurant. I had to ask whether they were open. They immediately smiled and welcomed us, and I really appreciated their enthusiastic vibe. They seemed to be having so much fun working there. I thought that was really cool. The pretty waitress with curly hair and glasses came over to help us out and she answered all our questions. TSF is like a shellfish deli. They have bins of still-in-the-water oysters and the famous geoduck, a tank of crabs, a tank of prawns, and a serve-yourself chowder bar. The menu is limited but everything on it is fresh and reasonably priced! The waitress pulled a geoduck (pronounced "gooey-duck") out of the water to do a show-and-tell. I had never seen one before, live or otherwise. It's a large clam native to the Washington coast, with an enormously long siphon that looks like an elephant trunk, or like something else which is not discussed in polite society. TSF slices it up fresh, sashimi-style. Our party decided on a sampling of oysters, the prawn cocktail, and the calamari salad. It was my friend's first time having oysters, so my experienced oyster-eating friend L.J. and I decided to show him the ropes! We ordered 3 of each of the six kinds they had (3 of the briny variety, 3 of the creamy), so that we could each have one of each of the 6 kinds. We loved each and every single one of this little babies, but I think we preferred the briny ones! We tried the Fanny Bay, Shigoku, Kumamoto, Totten Inlet, Virginicas and Olympias. They were all moist, meaty, clean and the among the freshest I've ever had! Absolutely delicious! The best part was that each one was priced around $2.50, so much cheaper than you will pay at a more expensive oyster bar. I felt as if we were able to sample a great variety of fresh oysters for a great price in a casual atmosphere! TSF was one of the highlights of my trip to Seattle, and my favorite fresh-seafood experience in the city.

    (5)

  • Toby C.

    The oysters were AMAZING. The vinegar sauce they have complimenting the oysters is the key too. Service was great! Our drink was a little bit late and the server proactively took it off the bill... Super nice.

    (5)

  • Anthony N.

    I've only been here a handful of times, but the qualities of the oysters are really good. My favorites are the Kushi and the Shigoku. Both are very reasonably priced (see pic) and are a good size. The place is pretty small, so don't come here with a group larger than four. They also serve soups and geoduck sashimi (which I'm not a big fan of so I didn't try). If you're looking for a good, decently priced oyster place, come check this place out.

    (4)

  • Alexander T.

    Although the seafood was indeed fresh and delicious, the limited selection and prices are huge deterrents to coming here to enjoy a full meal. This entire place seems like the appetizer section of a seafood restaurant, without the actual entree or dessert course follow up. I tried the geoduck sashimi and several oyster variants. The most interesting dish here is the live prawns which they behead at your table and continues to twitch after they serve if to you.

    (2)

  • Jeff P.

    If you're in any kind of rush, this place is not for you. Expect to sit down and enjoy your company, surroundings, and most importantly the food. The service is very laid back. The menu is small. There are 8 types of oysters to select from, a couple chowders, fresh crab, geoduck, and maybe a couple other things. We ordered two of every kind of oyster just to give them a try. We also tried the Geoduck seafood chowder and and the Geoduck Sahimi. Oysters were ridiculously fresh and reminded me of the ones I get from Tomales Bay north of San Francisco. Some we liked more than others, but the differences were subtle. Memorable ones were the totten inlet, virginica, and olympia. The geoduck sashimi was also very fresh with a slight crunch and mild flavor. No fishiness at all. The soup was also very flavorful, but at $6 I probably would not get it again. Great stop for fresh seafood in Capital hill a bit away from the city center.

    (4)

  • Rob O.

    I think it all comes down to how crowded it is there because the food is as fresh as it gets! Nothing like a good local beer with fresh Olympia oysters. Small but tasty! I also had to try the live shrimp. Super sweet but not for the faint of heart. They prepare them right in front of you. Then... the goeyduck (sp?) clams. Soooo good. If you like raw shellfish, come eat here!

    (4)

  • Amanda G.

    This place was solid, but somehow lacking for me. Perhaps because I happened upon the Walrus and the Carpenter for oysters at happy hour on my last visit to Seattle and was completely enamored with both the oysters and the atmosphere, and the other non-shellfish culinary delights. If you want to get a regional oyster fix, Taylor Shellfish will satisfice, but not my favorite spot in town.

    (3)

  • Justine C.

    Really fresh oysters! They have their own oyster farms. If you go during happy hour oysters are $0.33 off each! The Dungeness crab is good too!

    (5)

  • Vivian H.

    Don't get the geoduck chowder! There was barely any geoduck in my cup. It was basically a veggie soup. I sampled the shigoku, kusshi, kumamoto, and olympia oysters. My favorite was the shigoku. All oysters were cleanly shucked, but they did not give us lemons when every other table had lemons. I thought prices were very good, and during happy hour, it is $4 off a dozen.

    (4)

  • Linna C.

    Skip Elliot's and park yourselves here! It was a blessing in disguise that Elliot's will be under construction until July of next year, because it led us to Taylor's shellfish where most locals get their oysters! Happy Hour is between 2-4 pm, where every oysters is 33 cents off. It may not sound like a lot, but oysters usually range from $1 to $1.50, therefore, you can usually get an oysters for under $1!!! In addition, they have a bath of oysters waiting for you, so that you can actually pick out the oysters you want! We had a couple glasses of wine and ordered over 2 dozen oysters. Great local spot to stop by!

    (4)

  • Latifa S.

    I've been putting off writing a review for this place for like a year now. Call it obsession, not wanting to share...all that. But this is where I always go for ma oysters!! Do~ sit at the counter. I always pull up a chair right up to their shucking station. Chat up with the peeps thee. Michelina is amazing. I love her. She gave me some gooeyduck to taste and wow. I ordered two more plates after. It was soo sweet, chewy and yummy. It's like clams but better ...like butter on a hot knife, melted in my mouth with every little bite. Swoon....party in my mouth and my brain. That was a year ago. I've been a fan ever since. Order a bottle of house white, Pinot grigio or some champagne. Get a mix of oysters. I like kumamotos , pacific and few other sweet and salty one. I have yet to try out their chowders and such but one day I will. For now, I shall eat my doze of oysters, gooeyduck with wasabi and drink some Pinot while talking to real nice peeps. yes, this is my spot. Happy spot. This is a place you come to taste the sea. If you need your seafood cooked and fried,don't come here.

    (5)

  • Eve C.

    Talk about fresh! Taylor Shellfish Farms markets itself as a seafood deli. Essentially, you pick what you want out of the case and they prep it for your consumption. You can eat your selection of oysters, dungeness crab, clams, and mussels there or take it home - it's your choice. It's a very informal and relaxed place, and the staff is more than eager for you to enjoy yourself and their amazingly fresh raw bar offerings. We ordered an assorted dozen oysters - 2 each of the 6 types they had that day. Since there were 3 in our party, the staff generously gave us 3 of each type so we could all enjoy the freshest of the fresh! We also ordered a dungeness crab, which they cleaned and cracked for us. And our visit wouldn't have been complete without a sampling of their famous oyster stew. Everything was beyond fresh and delicious - if this place was in my neighborhood (hell, even in the same city as me!), I'd be there all the time! They have a good selection of craft beers and some wine to sip on while you enjoy your fresh bivalves and crab. Prices are a bit on the high end - oysters range from $15-$25/dozen, dungeness crab is $14/lb, which each crab coming in between 1-2 lbs. But for this type of quality and freshness, it's a small price to pay!

    (5)

  • Ryan N.

    Horrible customer service. We were ignored by the waitstaff that would rather clean tables and wait on people that entered after we did. After 10 minutes we gave up and walked out. The oysters looked good but we'll go find a Seattle establishment that wants our money and treats its customers better.

    (1)

  • Richard P.

    Went to Seattle for vacation and came here on recommendation. I always knew Seattle had great seafood, but wow, I did not expect the freshness of these oysters! Choosing oysters still in the water was new to me. Most of the time in NY they come out of a box onto a ice bed. If we had to choose it would of taken us forever with their selection. Instead we opt for the sample platter and let their great staff do their work. We also ordered shrimp cocktail with their fresh made sauce. The oysters were definitely fresh, had such great clean finish. We ate so much, and enjoyed everything! Taylor's is a must try! Enjoy!

    (5)

  • Cat T.

    My bestie and I have been craving oysters for quite some time. After lots of drooling over the Yelp photos and reviews, we finally made it out to Taylor Shellfish Farms (TSF) on a Wednesday night. TSF's menu is short and sweet - mostly raw seafood, with the exception of their stews/chowders and dungeness crab. The menu also has a fairly small selection of beer, cider and wine. My bestie and I started off our meal with pear cider, bread rolls, and cups of oyster stew and geoduck chowder (which you serve yourself at the soup bar next to the counter). I thought the oyster stew was pretty tasty, and I liked that they were generous with the oysters. However, I thought the geoduck chowder was....mostly veggies, and not enough geoduck. If you're not sure what kind of oyster you want to try, I highly recommend ordering the dozen sampler platter. My bestie and I ordered 2 sampler platters, so 24 oysters total. Our platter had 4 each of the following oysters - Canadian Pacific, Shigoku, Naked Cowboy, Kumamoto, Puget Pacific, and Olympia. The presentation of the oysters was top notch - all the oysters were nicely shucked and arranged from smallest to largest, and they threw in a generous amount of lemon wedges and vinegar. My oh my - my bestie and I BEASTED through the oyster platter. Everything was delicious! I wish I could remember the names of the oysters I liked though - I'll have to pay more attention matching the names to the oysters next time I go to TSF. All I'm able to say is that I thought the smaller oysters had a bit more flavor than the larger oysters. But all-in-all, eating at Taylor Shellfish Farms was quite possibly my best seafood experience in Seattle yet! Some final thoughts about my dining experience at TSF - 1) Geoduck is pronounced "gooey-duck," and is completely irrelevant to the Pokemon character Geodude. 2) There's happy hour Monday - Friday from 2-4pm, featuring $4.00 off one dozen oysters. That sounds like an awesome deal, something to remember the next time I have a weekday off from work. 3) There's not a lot of seating, so I bet this place is packed on weekends! If not Happy Hour, weeknights seem to be a good time to go to TSF.

    (5)

  • Kristine T.

    If you aren't in Seattle to (at least) try some oysters, you are missing out on one of the delicacies of this town. Everyone highly recommended Taylor's and we were not steered wrong. Showed up at 11:30am on Sat. morning with plenty of seats. We had several of each kind and all were delicious in their own unique way. One of the highlights though was their housemade soup. They had a red seafood chowder and a Thai clam one. We tried both and by far, the Thai one was simply amazing. So many rich flavors, good heat, smooth consistency, one of the best Thai soups I've ever had (including those I've had in Thailand).

    (4)

  • G R.

    Could not get enough of the seafood there. The oysters were delcious and we also had the raw shrimp. The heads were still moving when we got them at the table. Could not be fresher than that. They have many types of oysters and I wish I could find a place like that in SF bay area. I would be there weekly. The wine was delicious and it was perfect for our Sunday early lunch. Service was very nice and very Seattle like.

    (5)

  • Jane C.

    Love love love..did I mention LOVE the superr fresh oysters here. Not crazily priced and perfectly in season! The wines are about average per glass on the markets, but if you like local beers they offer Pike Place Brewing bottled beers for cheap! There are some things that are missing. If you are a horseradish lover on your oysters, I don't think this place offers it. Also, the oyster chowder and geoduck chowder can be left in the corner. I personally think this was the "downfall food" that they offer here. I can't wait to come back to try other things, but be sure to come early and during off peak hours as this place is small and tables are on a first come first serve basis. Happy Oystering!

    (4)

  • Irene L.

    yay oyster raw bars!! ...Not so yay service. But maybe that's just because we're oyster noobs? ...regardless, the good stuff first - you get what you pay for here. The Kumamoto and shigoku are delicious (and the most expensive) and noticeably sweet! The chowder bar is on point - the Thai curry oyster soup isn't playing around with its spice level and is a nice alternative to the raw oysters. Ok sadly the bad. It's a casual place, but the service is lacking even then. We seated ourselves and waited ~15 mins (heads swiveling like owls to catch waiters coming by) for someone to finally ask us if we'd been helped.

    (4)

  • L M.

    By far the most fresh Oysters that I've tasted so far in Seattle. The store is cosy and the staff very friendly. We tried s few rounds of oysters along with the geoduck sashimi. I didn't think the sashimi was out of this world (but then again whose is) and I definitely wish they had fries to go with the oysters. BUT I really, really loved the oysters. In particular, I recommend their fanny Bay (BC).

    (5)

  • Keith D.

    If you love fresh shellfish, this is a don't miss place. Excellent selection of fresh-farmed oysters served by the friendliest staff you'll find anywhere. And thanks to Kyle (a new friend) who made the experience even more special! Hope you make it to Dallas one day! I'll be happy to show you our unique eateries! Eating here at lunchtime really gives you the opportunity to ask questions and get some education on sustainable sourcing of shellfish! Bravo!!!

    (5)

  • Timothy K.

    This place is a serious win if you like Oysters. The excellent selection is fresh as hell, the horseradish is ample and pure, and no shortage of hot sauce options if that's your thing (it's definitely my thing). Show up early on weekends or else you'll be waiting, and every dollar will be worth it!

    (5)

  • Charles S.

    Great seafood place. Awesome oysters, all types. Try the Geoduck!

    (4)

  • Danny S.

    Awesome and super fresh oysters! Pleasant little establishment with friendly staff. Perfect spot for a lazy Sunday bite.

    (5)

  • Jared R.

    Came here for the geoduck, break out the bill fold this place isnt for the cheap hearted. Good quality but small protions. Nice set up

    (3)

  • Tracy P.

    I loved the casual ambiance and quaint style. The oyster tank displayed in the dining area was cool. My husband and I came for the Oysters since we are oyster fanatics. I loved the selections offered and the server was really good at explaining the differences (creamy, sweet, clean cucumber, etc). Her explanation was spot on, since we decided to try most of them and wanted to compare. Some oysters were better than others but overall, they were all really good and freshly chucked. The crab was also good but not worth the price.

    (4)

  • Casey R.

    Went here on a busy Saturday night for my first time. Their seating system was extremely unclear and the waitstaff only made it worse. After asking where to sit, who to talk to, and how to order, my friends and I were scolded by both servers (the man had long hair and a scorn, and the woman was the typical tattooed/short hair way-too-cool for me hipster we all know). After our second scolding for not following the seating protocol we immediate left and moved our business elsewhere. Taylor Shellfish did not impress. The servers were unnecessarily rude and we were completely disrespected. I was excited to try this place given all their buzz, but will never try it again. It's basically just another place on Capitol Hill with a cooler-than-you attitude.

    (1)

  • Carrie B.

    This is a small but chic shop. There were several offerings for oysters, we tried three or four each. All were delicious. The waiter was very patient in explaining the origin and flavor of each type. The chowder was good, but wouldn't get it over the shellfish.

    (5)

  • Pauline O.

    After flying into Seattle & settling in our hotel, we were hungry! Out of all the food places I wanted to try, Taylor Shellfish Farms was only a couple blocks from our hotel. We ordered 6 Kumamoto oysters, 6 Shigoku oysters, & geoduck sashimi for two. The portion of the geoduck sashimi was really small, but it was still good! It had a little crunch to it & came with a ponzu dipping sauce. Since my bf only wanted to try a couple of pieces, I enjoyed the rest. Yum! Kumamoto Oysters are my favorites & it did not disappoint. Overall, everything was fresh & delicious! I would definitely try the geoduck chowder next time! :3

    (5)

  • S P.

    Shigoku and kumamoto fresh shucked oysters have always been a favorite but now thanks to Taylor's I'm hooked on Totten Inlets. The geoduck (shellfish) sashimi was terrific and also highly recommended.

    (4)

  • Rachel L.

    Wow. Seriously the best seafood I've had in a long time. Really cute and casual ambience, super chill and helpful people working here, and just a great experience overall. With great food, great people, throw some alcoholic drinks in there, nothing can go wrong. ***FOOD*** Thumbs up THAI CURRY CHOWDER Wow. Very interesting, unique, and tasty. With this creamier option, it'll fill your belly up, making less room for the other good stuff, but it's all about priorities. This chowder was full of oyster bits, some carrots, and other yummy things. AND as a bonus, it is gluten and lactose free! Perfect for all my lactose intolerant homies, myself included. OYSTERS They had, if I remember correctly, 8 different kinds of oysters. They were out of the larger ones, but we tried the Shigoku, Fanny Bay, Olympia, and Kumamoto. They were all great and very fresh, but my favorite was definitely the Shigoku, which is a little sweet at the end. They also have a wide variety of hot sauces that you can use to spice up your oysters. Definitely try the hot sauce that's made in Ballard. The green one. So good. GEODUCK SASHIMI Holy cow! Everyone needs to try this at least once no matter how gross and schlongy you think a geoduck looks. I'm seriously still thinking about the Geoduck sashimi. It is SO GOOD! It was very sweet, which was very surprising. Give it a little dip in the soy sauce (with the wasabi mixed in, of course), and it's a perfect amalgamation of sweet, salty, and spicy. LIVE PRAWNS This produced the most dichotomous mix of emotions I've ever felt about eating something. It was a lot of disturbance, a little bit of grossed out, some sadness, but then also joy because of how delicious it was. It was messed up. They bring the live prawns over to you in a pot semi-blanched. Then they break the heads off and put them on the plate, very nicely in a row, and then the bodies next to them (so effed up, when you think about it). Then you watch in horror as you see the heads move for the next ten minutes........... I did NOT eat a head because... cruel. However, I did, after much prodding, eat a body, which to my delight and horror was really quite delicious. And by "really quite delicious," I mean it was really really good (crying inside). When you bite into it it's as if it's been cooked. But. You know. Less so. And it's really sweet. Just don't think about or look at the heads that are still moving as if they're wondering "what's going on" and don't watch the other people you're with eat the heads as the little eye balls pop off and you'll be fine :) ***SERVICE*** Thumbs up Julio was our server and he was super awesome. Really helpful, really cool dude, and gave us good recs. The girl who took care of the prawns for us (bless her heart) was super cool too. As much as I was horrified by what was happening in front of me, it was a pretty interesting experience. And, she did it one at a time for us, which she says she usually doesn't do. But I thought it was more interesting to watch and perhaps, dare I say it, LESS traumatic than if she had grabbed a handful of prawns and ripped off all their heads at once. Hahaha. I've already recommended this place to my friends who like eating seafood and I hope you do the same. This place is the best place to get seafood and you could probably go in sweatpants and nobody would give af. You probably shouldn't do that at Westward or Walrus and the Carpenter, though... Edit: ALSO, they have Happy Hour!! 2-4pm and take $0.35 off each oyster and some other food specials. Just Go. Go and your belly will thank you.

    (5)

  • Meghan B.

    wonderful customer service that really added to the experience and overall atmosphere. Exceptionally fresh food. Simple menu. Clean and sharp in overall appearance. To highlight the service: walked right in for a table for two. When one of our orders became unavailable, our drinks were topped off complimentary. *Servers knew many diners were in before the show at the key arena and were courteous to ask, as to accommodate for time constraints. prawns cocktail. OYSTERS MARCO. DUMPLINGS. SEELBACH.

    (5)

  • Josh T.

    Everything was so fresh and delicious! We ordered kumamoto, shigoku and fanny bay half shell oysters and none disappointed! My favorite were the kumamoto and the shigoku as a close second. If you like sweet and buttery- go for these! Tip: ignore the $ and go for the smaller oysters- they're always better. We also ordered a whole dungeness crab and it tasted great. It was precracked making it easy to eat. Skip the oyster stew- kinda bland. You can get better elsewhere. This is a must go if you're in Seattle. I wish I lived in the area- I would go here all the time!!

    (5)

  • Kevin K.

    I came in when the place was at half occupancy, so it wasn't super busy, so seating was easy to get. I saw the really "cute" sign that greets you as soon as you walk in. "Grab a menu and find a seat, we'll be right with you" Red flag. I sat down and looked over the menu, and was ready to order after a few minutes, nobody came, or even looked at me. After about 10 mins the server finally comes and I put in my order. I ordered 8 oysters, it took about 20 mins to get them. I kept looking at the counter to see why it was taking so long. There were four guys back there and over half the time they were chopping it up with one another and laughing and smiling, but not processing orders. It doesn't take long to shuck an oyster, especially if you work around them. It was taking long because they weren't processing orders, mystery solved. The oysters finally arrived and the first thing I noticed was GRIT and dirt all over one of the oysters. I tried to clean it off with the fork, but no dice, there was still grit and dirt. The other oysters were variable on the grit, some were clean, others had some degree of grit. Some of the oysters were shucked off the shell and slid off, while others were still stuck to the shell, very inconsistent. I finished and I wanted to get the check, took about 10 mins for the guy to bring me the bill. Took another 10 for him to come back for the payment. It took an additional 10 after that to get my change. The server won't look at you, nor remember that you are waiting. The oysters themselves are fresh, but the preparation and service are not that great. I found this place based on a recommendation, but my recommendation is to pass on this place.

    (1)

  • Jerod Y.

    What an amazing place! Fresh oysters, crab, and clam chowder with great service and fun environment created a fabulous experience! This is a place one must try in Seattle!

    (5)

  • Elisa C.

    Went twice already. Friendly staffs, fresh oysters. This place can definitely helps me with my home sick craving for Swan Oyster Depot in SF.

    (4)

  • Andy M.

    Great raw bar in Capitol Hill. They have other locations, too, but it's cool to be so close to "the source." There is a map of where all the oysters come from, and it is a fun game sampling all of them and figuring out where the ones you like are grown. They have some fun treats, too, like live spot prawns (yum!) and geoduck. Everything is fresh, fresh, fresh, and they have a great selection of local beers and wines to complement the shellfish. Service is kind of an odd mix of self-service and waiter/waitress, but on the plus side, all the yummy herb rolls, butter, and oyster crackers you can eat are free. Tables are kinda uncomfortable - all high tops or bar seating along the window, or tiny two-seaters outside. It all fits in with the industrial decor, though. Prices are not too far out of line with everywhere else. This is not cheap food, but it is well worth it.

    (5)

  • Alison W.

    Oysters! We happened to be there on a certain consumer created holiday so they had a special going on that included half a crab, geoduck sashimi, a dozen oysters and a small shrimp cocktail (6). It's a pretty good deal. Along with another dozen oysters and two clam chowders, it was enough food for the four of us. Well maybe the girls. I'm pretty sure the guys were still a bit hungry afterwards. Oysters were good - fresh. I wish we were listening when they explained what each variety was but I'm probably not enough of an oyster connoisseur to care and remember for next time I had oysters. Some were brinier, some were sweeter, all were delicious. Crab was crab and the shrimp were big and fresh. The geoduck is not something I've ever had served sashimi style. But I don't think I'm a fan - glad I tried it but not my fav. It was slightly fishy and I don't know if it has much of a distinct flavor. The oysters are the best and, of course, the thing to get here. A couple of my friends also got some clam chowder from the self serve clam chowder bar. They also have huge whole lobsters. The place is super small, maybe 6 tables and a bar/stool area. It was pretty busy the night we went and I think we waited more than 30 minutes for a table.

    (4)

  • M J.

    We go here for happy hour often. Great oysters and a great location, but the service experience at Taylor Shellfish is definitely hit or miss. We love the business and we want them to be successful, but several of the staff members' attitudes leave one feeling as though they are an inconvenience.

    (3)

  • Ken L.

    Did you know that Taylor Shellfish Farms supplies most of the better restaurants with their oysters and mussels? Before heading over to Sitka and Spruce for our reservation, made a stop for predinner, fresh oysters. Specifically, we enjoyed the Xsmall Pacific, Kumamoto, Kusshi, Virginica, Olympia, Shigoku oysters with a couple of oyster stews during happy hour. With every oyster cleanly shucked and served, the impression of "right out of the sea" taste sensation had us nodding our heads and curling our toes. When the sensations were over and we received the check, that feeling diminished quickly. Awesomeness comes at a price, even during happy hour. $52 for a dozen assorted oysters and two small oyster stews. Moral of the story: You DO get what you pay for.

    (4)

  • Kent L.

    Taylor shellfish is my go to place for fresh oysters, whether it's the Capitol Hill, Pioneer Square, or Queen Anne Stores. Capitol Hill more of a quick stop cafe/market with self-serve soup and live tanks to choose your seafood directly - Queen Anne more like a restaurant, and Pioneer bit more of a pub feel (have watched football games there)... The oysters are exceptionally fresh and well cleaned when they arrive at your table. They come with a nice bright and light mignonette which I can recommend to add a dab. Favorites include deep cup Shigoku and Kusshi, and an eastern port to the west Virginica with a truly unique finish. Ordering a big platter with at least 3-6 oysters per person is the way I would go - both visually and taste stimulating. Outside of oysters suggest the geoduck sashimi which is small but excellent. Crab is good but a bit overpriced. The tomato based seafood stew is excellent, not too tart, just the right amount of sweetness and generous amounts of mussels and clams. There is a nice selection of wines - pair the mega platter with a crisp white and indulge in all your senses!

    (5)

  • Ben R.

    This place is local!!! A few different varieties of Oysters for customers to choose! It can't get any fresher than this. I would also recommend the spot prawns as we'll!! They are delicious!! However, these are not for those with weak stomach as the prawns are lives and the staff just took the head out and put it right in front of you!!!

    (4)

  • Arry Y.

    I really want to like this place. I really really really do. I don't. I don't like going there. -- Food is good. Oysters, how can you mess that up - nature does all the work! -- Nice selection of booze to accompany the treats. -- Staff is not that friendly, nor attentive. Needs more attention to detail. Slow. -- Something about the way the tables/seating or layout is just completely off. -- Strongly advise the owner to re-think the whole layout of the space. It's really awful. Meh. I don't like going there. Mental note. If it gets redesigned inside, I will be there - then you'll have oysters, booze, and a place to visit. Not saying it needs to be fancy, saying it needs to make sense.

    (2)

  • John M.

    Walked in after being told by a friend about the reasonable prices. Was on the way to a different place for brunch. Got kusshi, virginica, and shigoku oysters with very freshly grated horseradish. Kusshi is a favorite of mine but I was very impressed with the salty/sweet of the shigoku. Virginica was less sharply flavored but equally as tasty. Wish I could have ordered more but had to rush next door for brunch. I saw a spicy thai oyster soup that I must have before I leave.

    (5)

  • Katherine S.

    I think this place has the most oysters variety in Seattle. I went last Friday and they had 9 different types. I also got to try the live spot prawn! SO good, but very expensive. $5 for 1. You could get spot prawns right now for $14/lb. They definitely overcharge. Otherwise, their live geoduck is also very good.

    (4)

  • Jennifer T.

    Possibly one of the best places to get fresh oysters. They were juicy and delicious. However, I wouldn't recommend the half or whole crab. It was good but not worth the $22/$36. I would come back here just for the oysters :)

    (4)

  • Jason P.

    The service left much to be desired. I found the restaurant through yelp and decided to check it out because of the high star ratings. It was all downhill from there as I was virtually ignored for the first 10 minutes in the restaurant, during which my group had to seat ourselves because the waiters ignored us. Then came the long wait in which we were ignored some more before I called out to a waiter to ask for service, at which point he just grunted that his colleague would be with us. The food was just alright and was nothing special. It's OK, but I've had way better for that price. Also, did I mention that I strongly suspect that the "fresh" crab was probably pre-made? This place was probably good in the past which is why it has such good reviews, but judging from my experience today, their bellies are probably too full and it's better to stay away.

    (2)

  • Alex S.

    Ok, so I gave it a 2nd try. This confirmed my review from a year ago that they are overrated and if the locals think this place is really cool, then: 1) You are a hipster who puts more emphasis on image than substance 2) You don't know seafood 3) Seattle's food scene isn't impressive First of all, I read more than a few people complain about the service. It's true. Our server was nice enough, but slow and inefficient as molasses. The seating system is whacky. They are so inefficient that they can't even ask for drinks or provide a glass of water for at least 15 minutes. I don't mind waiting for fresh oysters to be shucked, but my gosh, it doesn't take the most inefficient high school drop out to take drink orders and clear tables. Pretty weak service seems to the concensus. Geoduck sashimi. $12 for thinly sliced pieces. Overpriced and totally wrong. Too thinly cut to enjoy the flavor and texture. Accompanying wasabi was of very low quality. Don't bother ordering it. Oysters: I would give them 4 stars. Sure I went in off season in July, but Shigoku and Kumos I had were solid. Correctly shucked, plump and flavorful. Overall 3 stars for frustrating slow inefficient service but good oysters. But again, I might have a better time buying and shucking my own oysters for half the price and no wait. I don't think that there will be another visit.

    (3)

  • Andrew K.

    The concept here is confusing - took me a while to figure out how to order, pay, and where to sit. But, it was worth it. The spicy thai oyster chowder was kind of delish. And the oysters were tops. I felt cool eating here, which is a virtue.

    (4)

  • Denise L.

    I am so ooh goo gaga over this place. Thanks to YELP, we found our first real dinner spot on Friday. Although...it wasn't what we imagined, we should've guessed by the name. It wasn't dinner, but a spectacular appetizer place for us. Walk in, and see tanks of FRESH oysters. About a dozen different kinds, as well as real geoducks. Some bar top tables, and some ladies sipping wine at the front counter, a very chill place to grab some oysters on the go. If you want your oysters shucked, expect to pay $3-$4 extra. So we decided to go for the Virginicas. They were about $22 for a dozen. We also added a dozen shigokus which were a few dollars less. Shucked perfectly on ice with some lemons and sauce on the side. I also tried the minuet sauce, which was pink and I believe consists of champagne, garlic, and some other yumminess. HOLY COW! These Virginica oysters were creamy and divine! I was having a orgasm in my mouth! The shigokus were good too, but HANDS DOWN, all 3 of us have never tasted such mind blowing fresh oysters like the Virginicas! Totally worth the money! I wish I was richer so I could order dozens and dozens to myself! Unfortunately they were out of the geoduck chowder, which I hear is great, so I'll definitley be back for my VIRGINICAS and chowdah!

    (5)

  • Eric R.

    I'm not an oyster person but went here because my wife really wanted to try it. For an oyster place it was pretty good. They had a decent variety, served anything you wanted fresh, and you could watch them pull the sea creatures and cook them right off. Good experience if you're in it for oysters, looking to get a feel for the PNW, or just want to try something different.

    (4)

  • Inna B.

    How did the employee respond to "I love oysters, but I'm not excited about shucking them"? He said (something like) "Grab a table. I'll bring you a glass of wine and shuck a dozen oysters for you!" I decided to get a cucumber DRY Soda instead (of wine), and he ended up choosing oysters that he thought would go well with that drink. Fantastic! On my second visit I also got oysters and a DRY Soda, and learned that they have Tabasco sauce... and that Tabasco sauce goes quite well with oysters! I had plans to be away from home for hours after both of my visits, so I haven't purchased any seafood to take home yet, but... maybe next time. The cost of a dozen oysters varies because different oysters have different prices per dozen (plus there's a ~$4 shucking fee if you choose to have them there), but in my experience a dozen oysters with a bottle of DRY can go for $22, and a half-dozen with a bottle of DRY can be about $9. BONUS: They now have a weekday oyster happy hour!!!! I believe it's 4-6pm.

    (5)

  • Matthew B.

    If u wanna eat fresh oysters or good dungeoness crab or live spot prawns or geoduck right outta the muck u should try Taylor Shellfish. Best time to come is during oyster happy hour. I recommend a Stiegl Radler to sip with your oysters. It's a grapefruit beer. I enjoyed it so much the first time I had lunch here I went back the next day. Any place that supplies 90% of the best restaurants in Seattle with oysters is legit.

    (5)

  • Jeffrey H.

    If you do not drink, it is not a good place. Food is not bad, but you cannot get full here. Kind of shellfish bar for friends to drink.

    (3)

  • Andy W.

    Simply a no-nonsense place for oysters. You want to stop by for some fresh oysters and eat them - no problem. You want to buy some and take them home - how convenient! They have the tanks of oysters in the dining room. I've had oysters at Elliott's (during their happy hour), but this oyster-experience (to which I'm still rather new), was a bit better. There aren't many seats in the place, so you would likely have to wait if you wanted a seat for more than 2 people. Also, service wasn't that quick either, it took a while for our order to arrive, and for anyone to notice we had come in, waited for a table, and then sat down. But when the oysters arrived - they were delightful. We had a variety so we ensured that we tried each one they offered that day. They explained which oysters were which - that was a nice feature that Elliott's didn't bother with when we were there last. All in all, a really nice place if you want to try different oysters and find out which ones you like the best!

    (4)

  • Casey K.

    They killing the Oyster game. Just like the Seahawks made the Broncos their bitch... Taylor Shellfish Farms makes all other Oyster restaurants theirs.

    (5)

  • Sarah A.

    If you go to ONE PLACE inSeattle, make it Taylor Seafood farms. AMAZING. we're in town from Vegas, and this place was close to someplace else we were going to. What a god!!! It's small, get there early, but totally worth it!!! Try the Goeduck sashimi. Try ALL the oysters. The tone is super casual, cuz it's all about the food. I will visit here EVERY time I come to Seattle.

    (5)

  • James W.

    Amazing. Really a small relaxing joint where you can have fresh tasty oysters -- some of the best I've ever had. Staff is really nice. They also have really good soups with oysters in them. I have literally dreamed about this place since and can't wait to go back.

    (5)

  • Stacy H.

    The oysters here are amazing! Probably the best oysters I've ever had. All of the oysters were delicious but my favorite was the Shigoku Oyster. The only reason why I gave it four stars was because the second time I went the server smelled like he didn't shower for days.

    (4)

  • Brandon B.

    Absolutely spot on. Ended up going here on a total whim not realizing that I had a meeting at the exact same location a few hours later. Couldn't have made a better decision. Twice in 3hrs was perfect. The oysters were so fresh and clearly tops in the city as seen by the map of probably 100 local restaurants that buy from here. The live spot prawn and crab were my favorite and can't be missed. I will certainly be back.

    (5)

  • Dee G.

    The oysters were amazingly fresh! They have an outstanding selection of fresh oysters and it is a great experience to go in pick out what you want and have them shuck the oysters in front of you. This place is a must return!

    (5)

  • Nancy Y.

    BF and I thought it be ok to walk from Pike's Place to Taylor's. BAD IDEA!!! Even though your android tells you it's only 15 minutes away, it's MILES AND MILES AWAY! Anyways, got there and REALLY wanted to try the geoduck sashimi. The guy at the counter told me they had to defrost or something so it may take 30 minutes, so the BF and I decided to get some oysters and wait since we did walk ALL THE WAY HERE! 40 minutes goes by and I go up to the counter to ask if they will have the geoduck sashimi ready soon and he told me most likely it won't be ready. It would have been nice to tell me this as I was sitting around waiting for it. I did get to come here on my last day and try it. Geoduck was nice and tender, a bit fishy but the soy sauce helps undermine the taste. For $10, you get maybe 1/4 cup of geoduck-not bad in my opinion. Staff is very knowledable about they oysters and where they come from and their flavors. While eating my oyster, at one point I saw a small tiny worm jump out of the ice and I have no idea where it landed. I also did see some crawling around the ice. Not really appetizing so I REALLY examined the oysters before I ate it. BTW, make sure you get the discounted price for happy hour because when we went they charged us the full price and we didn't realize this until after we left.

    (3)

  • Andrew N.

    This place is a must if visiting Seattle. The oysters are all fresh and shucked as you wait. All of the oysters have a unique flavor, depending on the type selected. My favorite are the kumamoto as they are sweet and smooth in flavor. Others have very particular qualities. For example, the shigoku have a salty, ocean tasting quality to them. The oysters come with a standard horseradish cocktail sauce, which is very good. There's also geoduck and other fresh seafood available, and these can be ordered to take home as well.

    (5)

  • Weifei Z.

    So fresh, so worth it!

    (4)

  • Olivier F.

    #NAME?

    (4)

  • Suz S.

    the clam chowder.

    (5)

  • Lance F.

    Enjoyed it tremendously. Friendly staff, fresh oysters and crab. Not a place to sit for hours but was the perfect start for bar hopping and drinking in Capitol Hill.

    (4)

  • Delta D.

    This is by far the worst service I have ever received. The waitress was rude from start to finish. I wish I had trusted my instinct and left on arrival. Food and small menu not worth it for this terrible experience. I would not recommend.

    (1)

  • Mia P.

    Best oysters and crab I have ever had and I really love my seafood! The atmosphere is perfect seaside vibe and the staff was really cute! I recommend this strongly

    (5)

  • Gene B.

    I don't know how many times I walked by here, not realizing that I could be slurping down fresh oysters on the premises, before I walked by one evening and saw people seated by the window doing just that! I'm not going to bemoan all the lost opportunities, but be happy about all the future bivalves that I'll be consuming. This is a self-service operation. That doesn't mean that the excellent staff won't help you or answer questions, just that you have to go up to the counter and place your order. Before doing that make sure that you stop by the beverage cooler and choose your beverage. The have a good selection of beer, wine and even cider that goes well with oysters. I always prefer a good beer or ale with my oysters, but that's the way I roll. Then order your oysters, they have a good selection and , remember these are the same oysters that are found in most of the fine dine establishments around town, because Taylor Shellfish supplies them with shellfish. So you're getting the same goods for much less money. They also have a sashimi geoduck and scallop plates available as well as two chowder options. After you place your order, sip on your drink and then they'll bring your lovely shucked oysters to you. Repeat the process as necessary. They also have the oysters, scallops and geoduck for sale retail as well as fresh crabs, mussels and clams. So, you can take the party home, if you want to. The shelves on the walls are loaded with all sorts of shellfish cooking paraphernalia. I also have to mention that I attended Taylor Shellfish's first anniversary party this past July and, let me tell you, they can throw a party! Live music, free BBQ oysters, raw oysters, steamer clams, curried mussels along with demonstrations throughout the day. It was a lot of fun and very delicious. Mark it down for next year!

    (5)

  • Tim C.

    This place was a little awkward to eat at because it's a storefront but you can order food at the tables there. I can see why it would be hard to find a table during peak hours after work or something. We came later in the evening, a group of five of us and I was lucky to scope out a table being the first one there. Here's the rundown: Oysters 5*, We ordered a mix of all the oysters they had in season that day and it's clear the smaller the oyster the better haha. The bigger ones didn't taste that great, but the others were goooood. They had different textures and sweetness levels so I'd ask the waitress what the differences are and order from there. Geoduck Sashimi 4*, Tasted so fresh and crunchy...perfectly how I like my geoduck Chowders 2.5*, Being that this was a seafood restaurant which and the chowder somewhat making a name for itself, I was not impressed. It was plain, brothy, and not the chowder that would hit the spot if I was craving it. Calimari Salad 3.5*, This was actually surprisingly good. We ordered this because one of the people in our group doesn't eat raw food so this was as close as it got for her haha. But everybody liked it with the asian-y type dressing it had. The one thing that we didn't get was the crab. It looked like everybody else got it but we feared we had too much food. Wouldn't mind coming back for it next time though!

    (4)

  • Scott K.

    Chowder is like milky water. Service lacking. Shellfish and heavy metal blasting over the speakers? Not my idea of an over priced meal. Not memorable. I'll pass next time.

    (2)

  • Ronny L.

    Thank you for introducing me to your Shigoku Oysters. I thought Kumamoto's were my go to oysters but not anymore. The Shigokus were meaty, sweet and succulent. Four of us ended up eating 2 dozen of these along with another dozen of the mixed batch. Love the atmosphere of this place. Not like the other pretentious places, this place is for people who just want to enjoy some oysters. In the middle of the restaurant, are tanks filled with bags of different kinds of oyster. You can buy a few bags to take home or just enjoy them there. The pre-shucked ones cost a bit more. One thing I wish they would allow is for customers to shuck their own oysters. That would be the icing on the cake.

    (5)

  • Inness P.

    Oysters are not my favorite thing, so these four stars carry both extra and less weight - extra because I was impressed despite my tastes, and less because I know nothing about the shellfish. My sister had a craving for oysters, so she, my boyfriend, and I decided to try Taylor Shellfish Farms. The doors were still open, so we waltzed in without checking the hours. We were told politely that they had closed for the evening, but when we apologized and turned to go, they chose to let us stay. They had a special, they said - "[a good amount of oysters] and a bottle of wine, $20." We enthusiastically accepted. The meal was perfectly fresh and complemented perfectly the warm summer evening. We had a great time. Our bill was $40, which was confusing at first. Turned out it was the bottle of wine on its own that cost $20! We decided it wasn't a big deal because we'd had such a nice experience, and the meal was worth the price at any rate.

    (4)

  • Shy K.

    You need to have a casual attitude about getting a seat and ordering, but once you've gotten planted do yourself a favor and take the edge off with some incredible curry oyster chowder. Raw oysters couldn't be improved on, dungeness crab was sweet and meaty, and live prawns...wiggly!

    (4)

  • Alice T.

    If I were a man, this could be my man cave. I could kick it with the other cool guys that work here, eat some fresh seafood, enjoy a cold beer, watch some football, and listen to good music. But since I'm not a man, I'll just enjoy a nice dozen of the freshest Shigoku oysters you can find ($20). At less than $2 each, these are almost happy hour prices all day long. The last star came off because of the geoduck chowder ($6.50/bowl). We came close to closing and didn't realize the bowl of chowder we were getting was literally scraping the bottom of the barrel with very little seafood. So come for the oysters, not the chowders.

    (4)

  • Ha L.

    I'm not sure what to think of this place. I come in and I can't tell if it's a restaurant, bar, cafeteria, or seafood store. I thought the staff seemed a bit disconnected. I couldn't tell if we're supposed to order/pay at the register or table. As a newbie here, I wanted to try every oyster on the menu. That was a bit of a mistake on my part because the larger oysters were extremely salty and left an oceany taste in my mouth. The two small oysters were amazing.

    (3)

  • Helen S.

    A-OK. Food: - Fresh oysters at reasonable prices - great seafood stew with lots of salmon - one of my friends got the Curry Oyster Soup and it was horrible. It tasted like diluted thai curry. If you are planning to try this, feel free to bring along some rice. Service: - BAD. - The seating system was super unorganized. - Servers were rude and slow. She looked so annoyed when we asked her about the taste and origins of the oysters. - minimal service was given by our server. She always looked away from our table when we wanted to order more. - pretty much self-serve the whole time. I will come back for the oysters but will definitely tip less.

    (3)

  • maixy j.

    The oysters were fresh and I really enjoyed the geoduck sashimi. I gave it three stars because the service is slow. At one point our waiter did not submit one of our orders so we had to ask for it to be submitted again. It also took awhile to get refills on our water.

    (3)

  • Jennifer B.

    I try and try again but my experiences don't live up to the hype. I've eaten here multiple times and I never find it a pleasant experience. The food is pretty good. The seating is awkward and uncomfortable. I feel like I'm in a deli. The staff isn't friendly on a whole and I feel like I'm a burden just being there. The waiter told us it was 4 minutes before happy hour so it was fine if we ordered and would get the happy hour price. We had already ordered other non oyster items so it wasn't like we were sitting there not eating. We ordered 2 dozen oysters plus a few other items and wine. At the end they didn't get us an itemized bill so when my boyfriend showed me the credit receipt I knew it was wrong. They charged us for extra oysters and didn't give us the happy hour price. I had to argue with the manager that the waiter said it was 4 minutes before happy hour so he told us to order and we could've waited. She didn't want to give us the happy hour price and finally gave in. I was too tired to argue about him giving us more oysters or charging us for more than we wanted b/c I knew that would be a harder battle. The whole things was super annoying. I may check out the Queen Anne location to see if it's any better. I found I've been going to Walrus and the Carpenter, Westward, and the Fish and Poultry place just to find another good oyster joint that isn't such a hassle.

    (2)

  • Taffy K.

    My first time here I ordered the north bay and kusshi oysters. They are served fresh on top of crushed ice. The place is a bit small, but it is worth the little squeeze. Definitely worth trying!

    (4)

  • Ivana Y.

    The freshest shellfish in Seattle! I was in Seattle for a weekend and had oysters literally every night. This was probably one of my favorites! I love the variety and how you get to chose your oysters. Tried the Kusshi's, Miyagi, Fanny bay, Olympia, and Kuamoto's.

    (5)

  • Michael F.

    It's not what's for dinner. It's what you stop at before exploring the rest of Capital Hill for dinner. The oysters are fresher than the bottom of the bay. And the server could identify what I'd eaten by looking at the back of the shell. She wasn't impressed but I was. So there. Go there. Eat a bunch and have a beer. Then go have dinner.

    (4)

  • Raven Z.

    Amazing time!!!!!!!!!!!! Very fresh !! Order 20 oysters ～yummy yummy～～shrimp is soso and the soup is delicious !!

    (5)

  • Rita I.

    The choices of oysters are great here! Staff are really knowledageable and the freshest of fresh shellfish! I had two of each oyster and a nice IPA along with some geoduck sashimi which is great! Seating area is a bit tight and soup serving is a self serve. I like to sit at the window and people watch and eat the scrumptious things! It's nice to feed my inner cravings for delicious oysters all over the place! Definetly reccomend.

    (4)

  • Danielle B.

    My experience was about 3 stars, but they get an extra star for the freshness of the oysters. My expectations were set pretty high for the food here. One friend suggested it as the one must try spot for Seattle and I had multiple sources rave to me about their oysters. When we arrived during happy hour (2-4 PM) on Friday and there was only one other table taken in this small establishment, I got a little skeptical. We ordered a dozen of the Virginica oysters and an order of geoduck to try (pronounced gooey duck--just fun to say, makes me a little squirmish to look at it whole). The Virginica ran about $24/dozen with $4 off for happy hour which came out to a little less than $2 per oyster. They are medium-large sized and were delicious. Very fresh tasting and shucked so clean. No grit at all. They served the oysters with vinegar, which I'm not used to. I usually top my oysters with lemon and hot sauce. The vinegar was a nice twist. The geoduck tasted like a blander version of squid or octopus. Not necessarily something I would crave when having seafood/sushi. But I am glad I got to try it. The service is a little spotty. If you're eating in you seat yourself and the waitress will come around. Clam chowder/gumbo is self serve. Then when we approached the register to pay they way overcharged our group. They weren't exactly friendly about fixing it either. So that part of the experience turned me off a bit. Highly recommended for the raw seafood lover.

    (4)

  • Anthony T.

    I have been there 3 times now and it is one of the top spots I suggest/bring out of towers to. The quality of the oysters and geoduck are amazing,and everything is FRESH, FRESH, FRESH! Each time i have gone there I just ask them to make a sampler of everything that have in stock that day and I have never been disappointed. Tip: A good way to try all of the oysters they have on hand is to ask them to make a sampler. Try the geoduck sashimi (warning: the texture is a bit hard/crunchy so if you don't like that don't do it)

    (5)

  • Ryan W.

    I had high hopes about this place and I guess the only thing that let me down was the service. I popped in here with a friend while doing some holiday shopping in the area. We had about 30min to kill so the plan was, pop in eat some oysters and head out. It was my first time here so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to pick out the oysters then pay, then sit down and eat. We were told to sit down and pay at the end. I had already picked out a dozen oysters so they told us they would shuck them. The place was about half full seated and one person in line. We waited with our beers... And waited... And waited. It took them 45 min to shuck 12 oysters... Half way through I went up to check on the status and the girl at the cashier told me that "they got caught up in... You know..." That was her exact quote what ever that meant. After working in the restaurant industry I tend to be more lenient on staff since I have been there, but this was a poor excuse. Not wanting to make it a big deal I sat down and drank my beer. But 45 min to shuck 12 oysters is pretty ridiculous. Not only that but $7 for a beer and a shucking fee for oysters that was not mentioned to me until I was paying and asked why the bill was so high for a dozen oysters and a beer. Over hyped and did not deliver. If you are willing to pay a premium for oysters in a capital hill location then it might work. I wouldn't have minded the prices if they were upfront about it. But the service was very disappointing. On a 1-5 scale Food: 3 Ambiance: 3 (seafood section at a grocery store with tables and lots of wood) Value: 2 Service: 1

    (2)

  • Edward B.

    I loved the concept very cute establishment but was disappointed on multiple levels. There are tanks are filled with live crab,but then it is served cold....which was just strange to me! The price of a whole Dungeness crab was $36 which was high compared to Souhern California pricing. Also I found the flavor lacking and the oyster chowder watery.

    (2)

  • A C.

    What a great find! My goal was to stuff my face with sweet oysters from the northwest and I got it here at Taylors. We went at 11am around opening time, the service was fast as we were the only ones there on a Thursday morning. I tried all the offerings twice but my favs were the Inlets and Olympias. Inlets were creamy, earthy and aromatic. The Olympias were sweet like apples! The bf had clam chowder and he liked it. The oysters were def the stars of the show here. I would come back again in heartbeat.

    (4)

  • Lulu W.

    One of the best raw oyster places i've been to, also kudos for their house horseradish - yum! We also had other sashimi and raw seafood, everything tasted fresh and delicious. Ambience is very simple and service is friendly. Would recommend to raw seafood lovers.

    (5)

  • Vincent C.

    What better way to kick off a long weekend in Seattle than delicious oysters for a late lunch? A definite must for happy hour. It's not $1 oysters like they have here in Chicago, but do you really trust dollar oysters in Chicago?! I live in seafood purgatory, so I'll happily pay a premium for the good stuff. There's a lot of different choices, but I would recommend sticking with the Kumamoto (my old fave) and Shigoku (my new fave). It does take them a little long to shuck the oysters, so be prepared if you're starving. We just chatted with our server about the particulars of the brine tank where they keep all the live bivalves.

    (4)

  • Carol L.

    From 2-4 pm, Monday through Friday, you save $4 per dozen on half shell oysters! You don't even have to stick with the same variety. We did a mixture of the three daily oysters: * EX-SMALL PACIFIC ($11.99/dozen discounted to $7.99/dozen) * SHIGOKU ($18.99/dozen discounted to $14.99/dozen) * KUMAMOTO ($21.99/dozen discounted to $17.99/dozen) As we were eating by the counter, the guy helping us began grating horseradish...make that lots, I mean lots, of horseradish into a tray of fresh cocktail sauce. Whenever we thought he was done, he just kept on going. The sauce eventually looked like a thick meat sauce. He gave us a taster and it was still warm and so good! He added a few complimentary oysters to eat with the sauce. If I didn't have to fly home, I'd have bottled some up and taken it with me. We also tried the GEODUCK SASHIMI ($10), a large clam found abundantly in Puget Sound. It was excellent with some shoyu and wasabi. A slightly tough texture, it was crunchy yet chewy. And did you know these clams are among the longest-lived animals in the world? The oldest geoduck was documented to have lived to 147 years! The service was indeed very friendly. We even got one of those impromptu oyster shucking lessons.

    (5)

  • Ashwin T.

    A delicious selection of west coast oysters (fresh to the point of seeing them in tanks) at reasonable prices (though not a steal). "Chowders" of thai curry oyster and mixed seafood were also tasty, and the restaurant was nice enough to let me sample both before choosing (I went with the former). While I did not try the entrees, everything that I tasted was good. My one negative was being charged $1 for cocktail sauce - while a nominal charge, seems completely unnecessary. Overall, a good place to gorge in some west coast seafood (if a little out of the way)

    (4)

  • Katya O.

    We came here in search of yummy oyster fix. There was a small wait and we ended up sitting outside. The oysters took a while to come out which was kind of surprising. We got a variety of the ones offered in the menu. All of the oysters were really salty, yes I realize that they live in salt water but I've tasted a lot of oysters and these were definitely overly salty. Also the cocktail sauce is made in house I think but I would prefer the standard sauce you get at regular places. Overall not super satisfied.

    (3)

  • Vincy C.

    Definitely not as good as people said. The oyster are fresh, but just on average. The geoduck sashimi is interesting but too salty for me. I would say you can go for a try, but it is not my first choice for oyster place.

    (3)

  • Stephanie H.

    This place is pretty awesome. It's like a seafood deli/market where you can go in and buy shellfish (mussels, clams, oysters, shrimp) to go and bring it back home to cook. I would totally come here to buy shellfish if I lived in Seattle. It's a really casual place where you can go in and find a table to sit down. They come to take your order and pretty much you can go self serve to get your chowder/soup. They had Oyster Stew and Manhattan Geoduck Chowder. Their Manhattan Geoduck Chowder was one of the best chowders that I've ever had. They barely had any left when we showed up around 7:30pm on a Monday night. It was a slightly thick but not too thick tomato base. And it had lots of geoduck and clams with a spicy kick to it. Definitely the best Manhattan Chowder that I've ever had. We ordered the geoduck sashimi which was good but pretty small in terms of the portion size. We ordered two dishes of that to split between six people. We also got a variety of oysters which were fresh and delicious. The best part of the dinner was the live shrimp which you can order for a really good price. The waiter/waitress will bring it to you, snap off the head and cut off the shell for you to eat fresh right there at your table. You can't get it any more fresh than that.

    (4)

  • Mark D.

    Dungeness Crab Half lb - 22 - very good and fresh. Perfect for crab lovers. Geoduck - 12 - just a few slices around 1in by 1in. First time trying geoduck and I really liked it. Reminds me of abalone. Seafood stew - 6.5 - soup is definitely worth getting as the bread and oyster crackers help fill you up. It changes daily but the seafood stew was pretty good Thai oyster soup - not a fan as it has thai flavors and I hate Thai food. Smoked salmon - salmon is way overcooked. I didn't like it at all. Wouldn't recommend.

    (4)

  • Paul L.

    Delicious incarnate Ambience: 4 Food: 5 Value: 4 Taylor Shellfish Farm is your destination for live, fresh, and delicious shelled seafood. Tanks of live muscles, oysters, lobsters, and shrimp line the inside wall; on the window side, high chairs and standing tables await customers. You're greeted with a daily selection of live and freshly prepared shelled seafood; shucked and prepared right before your eyes. We had the fresh steamed Dungeness crab and multiple rounds of tasty live oysters. Though the highlight was definitely the live shrimp. An unwritten dish is the shrimp, served alive. Freshly plucked from the tank, the staff de-heads and de-shells the shrimp at your table, as you watch. You then consume the fresh meat, watched by the shrimp's still twitching head and eyes. Wow! Not for the squeamish, though a must try for lovers of live food. Complete with a good selection of beers and wines, our visit to Taylor Shellfish Farms was a delicious experience.

    (5)

  • Nico D.

    The gazpacho soup was a nice surprise: it was nothing like the real thing, instead more of a salsa of veggies with loads of little shrimp on top. Very light and refreshing = great. The cocktail prawns were good, nothing to rave about. The smoked salmon was super disappointing = super salty and dry. This was probably what it was like when fishermen' wives cured their own fish in olden days. But it's only a good idea to relive the past when heirloom products and recipes are worth it. We can definitely forget this one. My wife liked her Pinot very much, I hated my beer... The major let down is the seating situation: tall stools with nowhere to put down your jacket, and tiny counter along the window, which can't hold everything you order. Just super awkward. Service was so so. Overall, not coming back.

    (3)

  • F K.

    Great casual spot to pop into for a few oysters and some wine. Very relaxed vibe with mostly helpful staff. In addition to a half dozen oysters, we also shared the seaweed salad which was great. Definitely a great spot to stop in for some fresh shellfish.

    (4)

  • Grace H.

    This place can turn your not-so-adventurous yet seafood eating friends who exclaim "I don't like oysters" into lemon squeezing, Tobasco pouring, oyster eating monsters. With that being said, Taylor Shellfish Farms is where its at. Walk in, order/find a table (I'll explain in a bit), and ENJOY. When ordering, don't be a noob like me and order the cheapest dozen of oysters (the Pacific ones). You are just asking to be disappointed. My personal favorite are the Virginica oysters! Also, don't forget to get a nice glass of white wine to pair with your oysters. Tip for fellow Yelpers: This place is bumpin' on the weekends! Avoid this by going on a weekday. If that can't be helped, be on the look out for a good table / set of seats, then order your oysters.

    (4)

  • Steven X.

    when I come back to Seattle this will be the first place i go to. the Geoduck was awesome. the oysters were amazing.

    (5)

  • Andrew S.

    Amazing oysters, great service. Waitress was very helpful picking both oysters and wine to pair with them. Small high top tables and stools, four per.

    (5)

  • Jonathan Y.

    .Fresh crab and oysters? Waiting beautifully and patiently in running water for us to feast? This place is fantastic. There is soup that is up for grabs as you wait for the oysters you order to be shucked in front of your eyes, or for the cracked dungness crab to be brought out on a plate with a bit of lemon. Order some wine and bring a date.

    (5)

  • Xiao L.

    Very fresh seafood. I have nothing to complain except the price. Definitely a $$$ restaurant.

    (4)

  • Eneri S.

    They only had 4 of the 6 oysters available from the menu. I ordered the Shigoku and Kumamoto. The oysters were fresh and creamy. They were served with lemon and sherry vinegar. We ordered at happy hour so saved some on the oysters.

    (4)

  • Estella P.

    If you want very fresh oysters with a myraid variety to choose from, this is the place to go. I initially came here to buy some geoduck, but also ended up eating some oysters in the meantime. They will shuck oysters for you for a $4 charge. I only had the Olympias but they also have geoduck chowder and dungeness crab. They also have wine to go with your oysters. The employees are very friendly and helpful. The downside to this place is the parking and few tables. Other than that I would come here for my oyster fix.

    (4)

  • Rich T.

    The best thing here is that oysters are truly fresh. This is really the place for truly fresh oysters at reasonable prices. It is perfect is u really love the purity of a simple oyster. It is great that they also serve champagne but really a nice find at the melrose market

    (5)

  • Huy H.

    Really cool to see all the oyster species in the tank and get to see them before you order. A bit price but worth checking out. I had their oysters another time at a different restaurant. Their champagne mignonette was great with the oysters.

    (5)

  • Leona T.

    This place is awesome! I LOVE RAW OYSTERS!! This place is probably the best and best priced place I've been to. But it's in Seattle.... You get to actually pick your own oysters right from a tank and have them shuck it there and eat it! They had about 6 different kinds. I also had the geoduck was very good. I tried both their chowder, no good. Pass on this. If you want good chowder here, need to go to Pike Market.

    (5)

  • Regina W.

    My friend and I went here for our oyster fix and it was delicious. It's a cute little oyster bar/market that also sells beer. We had half a dozen puget sound oysters (~$8) and they were super fresh and tasty. I recommend going early because it gets crowded. The service was also great. If you're craving fresh oysters, try Taylor's. The location was good too, as we were able to bar hop up the street.

    (4)

  • Ninette C.

    Nom nom nom. I love oysters so this was the perfect place for our light lunch Sunday! This place is casual and there weren't many tables but luckily we got a spot as it was not too crowded. I loved the tanks of seafood, the oyster map and the seafood books scattered throughout. The lady told us they served cooked crab, oysters, squid salad and soups but they later told us they didn't cook it on the spot but they had a few prepared pieces of crab. Some of these reviews are also saying they would cook all sorts of things on the spot and to my dissapointment, they didn't. I thought we would be able to order clams and mussels and the such but no such luck. My 2 friends and I shared: -2 oyster stews and 1 geoduck chowder plus bread -1 dozen oysters. We got a variety of oysters including the Olympia and some others that I don't recall the names of right now. The oysters were delicious. There was a bit of variation in the ones we liked and loved. I can't remember the names, but we liked a big buttery one AND a small sweet one best. We also watched someone prepare geoduck fresh. It was pretty cool and we got to try some fresh geoduck afterward. The prices here are good. We spent about $13 per person including tip and tax. Next time I am having a fancy at-home meal, I am totally coming here. I also need to come back for a light meal or snack plus cocktails next time to try more stuff! This place def. has 5-star potential as everyone else rated. I need a few more tries, but man am I up for that!

    (4)

  • Zach G.

    Thank you, Yelp. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I NEVER would have found this place without you. As a shellfish lover, this is close to being heaven in Seattle. I strolled in here around dinner time on a Saturday, and it was busy but not overly packed. After browsing around the fresh oysters bathing in their comfortable baths, I decided to get a dozen Olympia's, a type of (small) oyster I had never had before, as well as some Geoduck Chowder. I grabbed the chowder and downed it while waiting for my oysters. It was so incredible that words cannot describe it. Everything was in balance, the geoduck was cooked perfectly (not too chewy)...so delicious. Now the oysters - fresh, flavorful, and incredible. Prices - fair for the quality, but high to those who may not truly love what they're eating. Service - good enough.

    (4)

  • Adam A.

    Geoduck sashimi every damn day for the rest of my life

    (5)

  • Heather F.

    Probably the best oysters I will ever have in my life. Make sure you get the kushi!!

    (4)

  • Diane Z.

    Lots of oysters, but they really aren't shucked well. I don't think any of my oysters came without bits of shell mixed in. The drink selection is a bit limited as well. The happy hour is not great ($4 off any dozen). I would say skip it -- I really don't see any reason to come here.

    (1)

  • Food Junkie S.

    Went here to taste some fresh oyster and seafood. They had a good variety of oyster, mussel, etc. We tried almost everything and it was all very good. They had a decent wine menu and a few local beers. The guys were nice and helped us choose oysters based on what flavors everyone liked. Everything was very fresh. Very easygoing atmosphere.

    (4)

  • Sasha B.

    I come here very often for fresh oyster and would do it once in couple week. This place is not a restaurant but more like oyster togo place with four five of tables where you can sit in and enjoy the freshly shucked oyster. They always have at least 6 different kinds of oyster can you can buy home and shuck on your own (which is cheaper) or enjoy it there with a glass of wine or beer but at a much casual environment compares to Elliot or other oyster bar. They normally have Kushi, Shigoku, Fanny Bay, Totten Virginica, Olympia, and of course the Kumamoto. My personal reference is always the Kumamoto. Apart from oyster, I also enjoy geoduck sashimi and if they have live scallop in, always order it. Shellfish here is very fresh and sweet only a few hours straight from the farm. I tried geoduck chowder and clam chowder and it was just ok, you can skip it. One negative thing about this place is service. They do charge you restaurant price but service is incomparable. Tips: Buy it to go or come here on HH when you can save a few bucks on dz of oysters and hopefully you will get better service when there's less people.

    (4)

  • Samit C.

    We had three dozen oysters, a large half-crab, and the (so-so) geoduck chowder. Oysters were fantastic as was the crab, but I didn't love the chowder. Tip: Bring bread and cheese with you from the nearby Melrose Market to snack on while you wait for your food.

    (4)

  • Katy H.

    With a fresh and vast selection of oysters, who'd go anywhere else? Melrose Market is such a welcome addition to Capitol Hill in the last year (almost 2?) With adorable shops it's almost hard NOT to shop here. Taylor Shellfish is a favorite of mine because of the quality of the service and the quality of the products. Selection is top-notch, prices are competitive and I even heard they have geoduck chowder? My stomach is growling just thinking about that! Can't wait to come back and get more fresh food. You're nuts if you're not shopping here!

    (5)

  • Jen T.

    The oysters are pretty fresh, service was a bit slow. Must try the geoduck sashimi! Compared to the list of restaurants that they provide for - the price per oyster here is great! The oyster stew was pretty delish as well. I would come back just for the oysters only. Here's a tip- stick to the smaller ones, they're less salty and much creamier! Yum.

    (4)

  • M N.

    I don't understand all the good reviews. We regretted going there. Probably not the right match for our taste.

    (2)

  • Greg L.

    Great quality of food. Oysters and clams were large and sweet - fantastic. Tried geoduck for the first time. It was good but did not fulfill my expectations. Service is very quick but the experience is really for the food; service could be much better. Still a good local restaurant I would happily return to.

    (4)

  • Steph C.

    Taylor Shellfish Farms is a top notch seafood market, oyster bar, and Pacific Northwest-style sashimi stop. It boasts full tanks of oysters and mussels, geoduck and spot prawns, everything fresh as can be in an environment dominated by running water. As far as I know, anything in the market can be eaten in the dining area, where you can get casual service at one of a handful of tables. Michael K. and I came in for a late light lunch, and we had our fill of seafood, some of it so fresh it was writhing. We drank glasses of crisp bourgogne blanc and ordered a healthy sampling of what Taylor Shellfish had to offer. Service was on the slow side, but we didn't mind - our server was friendly, and we could see our food getting shucked and sliced not twenty feet away. Everything was delicious. We started off with the geoduck chowder, which was self serve. It was a soothing red chowder, with nice hunks of vegetables and a pleasant tomato heartiness. The giant clam was tender and tasty, but it was so sparsely distributed as to be almost laughable. We used oyster crackers for more substance, and that worked but it was no geoduck. I think we got unlucky with the bottom of the chowder dispenser. I hope that's the case anyway. We also sampled the seaweed and calamari salads, and ordered a half pound of the calamari. The seaweed was good, though not much better than standard Asian grocery stuff. The calamari salad was addictive, with lots of thin orange strips of cooked calamari mixed with seaweed and sesame seeds, with a light sesame and soy type of dressing. The calamari had a really satisfying chew. The main draw of Taylor Shellfish, though, is the selection of raw fresh seafood. Soon after we sat down, Mike and I demolished a sampler platter of oysters. This came with two each of the daily offerings, which were listed as Puget Pacific, Canadian Pacific, Olympia, Shigoku, Kusshi, and Kumamoto. We didn't get Kusshi oysters with our sampler, and we assumed there weren't any available until we saw a whole bunch of them on our way out. Still, the five varieties we got were excellent, served on a bed of ice with a little lemon and mignonette. They ranged in size and flavor, but they were all delicious and maximally fresh. The most exciting part of our lunch must have been the live spot prawns - we ordered one each, and we watched them meet their quick deaths just seconds before they reached our table, heads and bodies separated, prawny whiskers twitching. We ate the little bodies with a squirt of lemon, and they were absolutely succulent, sweet and plump and rich with clean shrimp flavor. We didn't know what to do with the heads, so that seemed like a waste, but I suppose Taylor Shellfish doesn't need a deep fryer for anything else. Finally, we ordered a plate of geoduck sashimi, or I should say mirugai, as it was even served with soy sauce and wasabi. This was lovely, though I wonder why it was shaved so thin. Most of the slices were giant clam ribbons, and while these were nice, I missed that firm geoduck bite. There were a couple bigger slices and these were clearly the best ones on the plate. Still, the sashimi was delectable, and I'd order it again in a heartbeat. On our way out, we ogled these sea creatures where they rested in their tanks. We paused to look at the geoduck - have you ever seen one of these things? You'd think it was a penis plucked from some hideous deep sea monster, curling and textured like a peeled banana. I wonder who first had the idea to slice it real thin and eat it raw. Whoever it was, I'm happy to carry on the tradition, and I'm happy Taylor Shellfish is around to help. I hope to come back whenever I'm in Seattle - the freshness and quality are hard to beat.

    (5)

  • Jenny Crai G.

    I agree with the other reviewers that their oysters tasted saltier than usual. The oysters here are overwhelmingly salty. The oyster juice is so salty that you are better off dumping it out. I have had better elsewhere. I was disappointed.

    (2)

  • Dae Y.

    we walked in and a gent with one of those blue gloves immediately said hello and engaged us. that was nice. he told us some info then said to walk up to the register at the back. we went back there and were greeted and he told us to sit anywhere. so we sat at the bar facing the windows. and then we waited for a while before anyone came around. they were out of the tecate i originally wanted. so i had to pick a different beer right off the bat. my wife got the rose (prnounced roh-zay). we ordered a dozen with equal parts kumamoto, puget pacifics, and shigoku. they are all pretty good. but i fully disclose... i am not an oyster snob. i didnt really like the mignonette. i have had better. maybe that sounds like a oyster snob. they gave plenty of lemon wedges - very nice. no napkins or linens, so we had to ask for them. they brought napkins. no one came around to offer assistance so we had to get up to fetch some tobasco. no one came around for a while so i had to walk up to the register at the back and ask for the check. then i forgot to take a pen, so i had to walk back to the register to get a pen. the bar seating was nice. we left the signed credit card slip where we sat. i did not walk back to the register to deliver it.

    (3)

  • Roger A.

    Hmm, as someone who has had excellent East Coast oysters I had high expectations for West Coast oysters during my Seattle trip . While Taylor's were good, they were small and not flavorful. Maybe I am spoiled? Or lucky :)

    (3)

  • Thomas C.

    Great oysters. Have a good selection to pick from. IPAs in bottles is always a plus. Very reasonable prices. Dine in, or take some home to prepare later. The geoduck sashimi was definitely the highlight of the meal though. On a side note, the background music is ON POINT.

    (4)

  • Carly C.

    LOVE this place. We live around the corner from here and it is our go-to spot when we have visitors. The oysters are the only thing I have had, but I am always tempted to get more. Everything has always been beyond fresh and tasty. The staff is great, they are fun, knowledgeable and you can mix and match the oysters- ask them for help and they will gladly assist. Plus you can get drinks (beer & wine). YUM!

    (5)

  • Diane J.

    Love the concept of this place. I've never been to anything like it. We ordered 4 different kinds of oysters but I couldn't tell you the difference. They were all good! The Thai oyster soup was a bit spicy but still very delicious!

    (4)

  • Nathan B.

    Yum!

    (5)

  • Kristin K.

    Later

    (5)

  • Necia D.

    I have a special fondness for Taylor's oyster farm, because it's (the farm, not the shop) a mere mile or so south of my dad's house, which totters precariously off a cliff just yards away from a "Slide Area" warning sign on Chuckanut Drive. Growing up, my dad would make oyster runs down to the oyster farm and return with these burly, briny Pacific oysters in mesh sacks. I'm not sure if the oyster farm changed hands over the years-I believe it did-before becoming Taylor, but in any case, I've wanted for a while to duck into their Melrose Market location and tuck into a couple dozen oysters. Which is what I did, right there in the sunlit window after a client meeting. A dozen kushis and a dozen kumamotos. Since I was there for happy hour, all dozens were $4 off. The smaller, more buttery oysters (as these are) are more expensive, averaging around 22 bucks a dozen before the HH discount. The larger, brinier oysters of my Puget Sound sailing summers are cheaper by a few dollars. The service is friendly but they definitely don't hover. If you think of it as a market with quick table service, that's about right. This is fine--I don't ask for much with such a simple spread of oysters on ice, but napkins would have been nice (particularly because washrooms are a couple of doors down, and, well, cocktail forks are a last recourse. Oysters will always be finger food to me). That said, the guys tossed in a few bonus oysters, and the oysters were stellar, so all is forgiven. I've had some great oysters around town in the last couple of years, but one thing that can really wreck even the most perfect oysters is an imperfect shuck. I have to say that these guys are AMAZING. Cleanest shuck around. It's expected, but never pleasant, to get a shard of shell in the slurp sometimes (God knows my own shucking, while decent, is flawed as often as not). But this was a very rare exception in my 24 delicious wee bivalves. They are cracking fresh, perfectly chilled, and simply delicious. Serendipitously, I also had the weird good fortune to discover--just as I was phone-Googling cost of living in Buenos Aires to research a job opportunity-that the woman seated next to me at the window was planning a permanent move to her favorite city: Buenos Aires. Strange synchronicity, delicious oysters. A good Seattle moment.

    (5)

  • Flora C.

    When I cannot go to Samish Bay, this is the place to be. Fair game and great halved oysters with great price. The geoduck chowder is not bad. It like the kick of it but it was not a wow. The geoduck sashimi is ok. It will save that for the sushi restaurant. The oyster is the king here. HH rocks. Note: Small tables

    (4)

  • Raina B.

    This place was GREAT on a blistering summer afternoon after checking out Seattle's sites. A friend and I enjoyed a dozen oysters and geoduck with two glasses of Sauvignon Blanc and it was just perfect. Hours flew by as we enjoyed the unbelievably fresh and tasty sea treats and I will definitely return every time I'm in Seattle. For those that have not tried geoduck before, TRY IT. They sashimi it and serve it with soy sauce. It has a wonderful texture and it is actually a reasonable price here - 1 serving for $10. My understanding is this can be charged much much more elsewhere.

    (4)

  • Scottie L.

    Nestled next to Melrose market, it serves as a perfect companion to it. Walking up reminds me of the seafood markets in Vancouver, BC. All of their tanks are filled with oysters, muscles, clams and geo-duck! There are also tanks for Crabs and Lobster (think their private event wiped them out during my visit). You can also pick up frozen seafood, fish and other items. Make sure to call ahead / hop on their site to see what they have in season to verify they are carrying it. On this September day, I was on the hunt for Prawns but the waitress said they only carry that seasonal in the Spring. If your hungry during shopping, you can also order a bowl/cup of their geo-duck chowder (Tomato based) or their Oyster Stew (Cream based). Both are gluten-free. I settled on the geo-duck and was quite satisfied with the little snack. There's also a complimentary rosemary bun with every soup. You can also order fresh oysters and the staff would be more then happy to shuck it right on the spot! The staff was super casual, local, friendly hipsters who were super helpful with everyone who came in. I even got hooked up with a shucking knife for my Oyster purchase today. I'll definitely be coming back for home served oysters to all of my guests.

    (4)

  • Bob C.

    So what is it with these seemingly anomaly's in service. It's as if some of us entered into a twilight zone of strange, unnerving service. Like other reviewers have mentioned, my own experience with service was indeed "odd." Odd, as in "we don't really acknowledge your existence" odd. Odd as in "we'll chat and be friendly if you come up and ask direct questions, but if you look like you don't know what's going on, we aren't going to check in with you" odd. Odd as in "we don't have a lot of customers, but cleaning your table isn't at the top of our to-do list" odd. Odd as in "hey I'm just running out the clock til I go home and won't really care what's going on around me" odd. They were out of the chowder (it's self-serve by the way, something we ended up figuring out, only to find out they were out). We got an oyster sampler. Sadly, no cocktail sauce or ketchup available. We had to ask for lemon. Not coming back, and this from someone who really can tolerate some crappy service if the food is good. Sad.

    (1)

  • Becca G.

    The atmosphere is awesome, very chill and intimate. The food was fantastic. We had the calamari salad, whole crab, prawns and a couple different types of oysters. I am not an expert on oysters but they were pretty good compared to others I have had. The crab was excellent but the calamari salad stole the show. I will be back with out of town guests.

    (4)

  • Cory K.

    This is now my go-to place for oysters. Make sure you order the shigoku. They are unbelievably plump and delicious. Down them with a glass of albariño and you will not be sorry.

    (5)

  • Kristen P.

    Came here this evening with a friend from out of town. She is super in to west coast oysters so we wanted to take her to a place she could get a sampler. Seating was not a problem which was surprising at 6 in the evening. We ordered a selection of oysters, scallop sashimi, the octopi salad and her and i got the soup bar, this is where we ran i to problems. The soup splashed up when she was serving herself and she sustained an immediate second degree burn with a blister that spanned the length of her thumb. The guys there were nice enough about it and they gave us ice, but the reception was pretty lackluster. It was clear that no one working was a manager, because as a previous liability claim worker, i can tell you restaurants have been sued for less, and any manager of a restaurant should see the potential for liability out of a situation like that coming from a mile away. She wasnt really upset about it, but i personally think that any restaurant should have management on duty to take care of stuff like this when it happens. Im not saying anything should have been comped to us, but a bandage and some burn creme would have been nice. As a result, i probably wont go back, and if i do, we will not be ordering a sub par, scalding hot soup. I just think if you are planning on going out and spending a pretty penny to eat essentially tapas, it better be high quality (Taylor excels in this respect) and have at least good customer service. Also WHY IS THE SOUP THAT HOT TO BEGIN WITH?!?

    (3)

  • Homan L.

    Still the ONLY place that has live scallops (in the shell, in a tank). If one hasn't tasted truly fresh scallops, one has not truly lived. Do yourself a favor, call far ahead (inventory is sold days in advance) and RSVP toward your path to enlightenment. Clean them, place some fresh sliced green onions, some clean rice noodles to soak up the juices, put it in the bamboo steamer. DO NOT overcook, sauce soy/oil optional. Sit down and prepare to be a believer. -1 star for service, still simply the best place to get fresh oysters in town. $4 off per dozen 2-4pm, can't beat that.

    (4)

  • Jan Y.

    probably the one place we visited this wknd without a line. but then again we went at 1045, 15 minutes before close. no wonder they were surly (or is that a prerequisite of living here?). oysters were good, but i didnt dig the lil bits of shell interspersed amongst the meaty, oystery deliciousness. I almost chomped my tooth off! I also wish the horseradish was a bit... less... dry... I would also love some tabasco, which unfortunately, they did not carry. The prawns however were tasty as were the oysters. Love how fresh everything seems!

    (4)

  • Stephanie C.

    Picked up some mussels to prepare at home. Probably the best mussels of my life. Thanks Taylor Shellfish!

    (5)

  • Milena P.

    This place blew me away! I have dollar oysters in Boston pretty much any time I can, so I sought out oyster deals in Seattle. Taylor's happy hour ($4 off a dozen) is great for those of us new to West Coast oysters because we can try them without feeling too much of a wallet hit if we don't like them. We got a dozen of Shigoku oysters and 1/2 dozen of Pacific "extra-small" oysters, with the (cheaper!) Pacifics being our fave. They were juicy, plump and huge and just delightful. The staff at the store chatted with us for a bit and we learned about their oysters. We asked about the geoduck to bring back to the East Coast, and they told us how to prepare it and even gave us a free sample. We're buying one tomorrow! We were very satisfied with our oyster snack here and would come here again if we were locals. Alas, we're not, but we'll definitely recommend to our new-to-town friend.

    (5)

  • Gorman E.

    If you like the Freshest, most flavorful shellfish...You need to come here pronto!!! Taylor brings us the most interactive farm to table experience with a custom built, live holding tank - a stainless steel buffet of Taylor farmed oysters, clams, mussels, geoduck and scallops. They also have DUNGENESS CRAB! Taylor's ace shucker, David Leck, won the International Boston Seafood Show Shucking Competition and is on hand to shuck your oysters! The Best Oysters...ask for David...he will hook you up with every kind! It was my birthday so he did a special for me. David Leck has great knowledge with friendly customer serivce! I ordered 16 oysters, bowl of geoduck chowder, and blood orange dry soda. It was all delicious! yelp.com/biz_photos/BvOL… Kumamoto Oyster: Introduced to Washington from the Kumamoto prefecture in southern Japan in 1947. Small deep cup, sculptured, fluted shell, uniform size and shape with clean, sweet, nutty flavor. Olympia Oyster: Native to the West Coast. Only as big as a fifty cent piece. Sweet, coppery flavor. Distinctive metallic finish. Olys taken cold, glistening and uncompromised, directly from their shells. Pacific Oyster: First introduced from Japan to Samish Bay, WA in 1905. Nicely cupped 2.5 to 3.5 inch shell with pronounced flutes. Shell color varies from whitish-grey to greenish to brown to nearly black. Flesh is white to chestnut with grey to bright black mantles. Fresh, clean, briny-sweet flavor. Shigoku Oyster Crassostrea gigas: Meaning ultimate in Japanese. "A small, dense, cornucopia of an oyster (with) a light, clean taste of cucumber and salt, (and) a finish of water chestnut and Jerusalem artichoke. Virginica: Introduced to San Francisco Bay from the East Coast in 1869 and to Willapa Bay, WA in the 1890s. Attractive pear-shaped shell with a somewhat flat top shell and slightly concave bottom shell. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Thank you, David. I love oysters, I will be back! Pro Tip: Oyster Happy Hour 2-4 pm Mon-Fri. They also have nice selection of wine for oysters. For Private Parties, you can rent the space ahead of time, up to 35 people.

    (5)

  • Diane L.

    You want Oysters? Then go straight to the source! Taylors has the freshest oysters in town and the prices are great here. I always take my out of town visitors here for a pre-dinner drinks and oysters. And then they love me forever.

    (5)

  • Vicki L.

    The fact that I HATE raw oysters yet still give TSF a 5 star rating should really, really speak volumes about this place. --- That said, do you know we have a celebrity in our midst?! The humble/handsome/always pleasant David Leck can often be seen working behind the counter here, shucking away (for those of you who don't know, he's a bit notorious for this: seattle.eater.com/archiv… ) But ask him about his prestigious title, and he'll coyly shrug it off or change the subject :) Whenever I'm trekking home from downtown and meandering up the hill, I always make a pit stop here (along with a couple of other key spots in the Melrose Market) to see if they've got my 2 favourite staples: seaweed salad, and spicy/sweet squid salad! If they do, I always grab a half pound container of each (the price is ridiculously low for such deliciousness). What else do I like here, given the fact that I hate raw oysters? The chowder, the bread, and most notably, the service! Everyone is always extremely helpful and willing to let you try anything your heart desires, so if you've never been here, or if you're intimidated, don't be shy! Ask questions and sample sample sample! You're sure to find something you'll love.

    (5)

  • Katherine D.

    I really like the idea of this place. Part retail/part restaurant, you get to decide. The space is cheery enough, and I like the bivalves hanging out in the customer area. The offerings are plentiful for dine in or take home. If you want to eat in, as we did, mosey on up to the counter and select a dozen oysters. They will be shucked for you and delivered to your table with lemon wedges and mignonette. We got the cheapest of the day, and they were still phenomenal. If you'd like soup, like we did, then you just let the counter know you're taking it when you order your dozen, and self-serve a cup or bowl. The -1 star comes in here, as the flavor of the oyster stew was incredible, but there was a mysterious lack of oysters in our bowl, just veggies and broth. They also sell Get Shucked Up Ts that gave me a smile.

    (4)

  • Kathy A.

    Yes! I finally got to try this place out! On my latest visit home to Seattle I made sure to make a stop here and indulge in some amazing seafood. There are not many places in the city where you can find fresh razor clams and geoduck just sitting there waiting to be eaten. I was really hoping to try the geoduck chowder, but they were pretty low on the supply so I opted for the oyster chowder. Good god this thing was just overloaded with oysters. I couldn't believe the ratio of the chowder broth to actual oysters. Most places would totally skimp you on the actual amount of seafood, but not here! And don't even get my started on how delicious the soup was... As far as oysters go, this isn't exactly the cheapest place to go for fresh shucked oysters but they have a ton of variety. Different kinds go for different prices per dozen and on top of that there is a shucking fee if you choose to eat in house. You can also just get fresh seafood to go.

    (4)

  • Clint W.

    i finally made it here! i can't tell you how many times i've walked past it, lingered in front of the window and kept going. it was jammed with folks when i approached and my friends were a bit late. so i was close to just call them and tell them to meet me at our next destination. just as i was ready to fire off a text, the sea parted and seats opened up! it's not obvious how the process works and we milled around inside before being approached by the staff. it took us awhile to land a table and since we had places to go, we ordered quickly. three of us split a couple dozen oysters and a bottle of prosecco. the prosecco came out quickly and pacified us for a short time, but it took a long time to shuck the oysters. we were down to the last of the bottle by the time the oysters came out, but they were worth it. we were giddy when our little container came to the table. next time, i need to plan a little better. i need to allow a bit more time and maybe order some chowder while waiting for the oysters. still, it was a good experience.

    (4)

  • Yummy P.

    I love my Shellfish! Especially when it is fresh and simple...as they do here, at "Taylor Shellfish Farms"!!! This was my FIRST experience here, so I understand the cruel and unusual punishment! lol - I may just have "Anti-Asian" pheromones! LOL This being said, It is a comfortably small establishment with a loud ambiance. I informed the woman that it was my first time here and she was great! She seated us right away and walked us through the ordering process...My issue was with the "grumpy bus boy / cashier". I slurped down their Kumamoto and Samish Bay Oysters and would have also tried thier "Geoduck Ceviche" but they were all out. I will emphasize the fact that I was more than pleased with both my service and meal while walking up to the register to pay...when "dun dun dun" mr. grumpy asked for our money. First off, he was the one that sucked our oysters and got mad at me for repeating our order to him (very nicely, I may add) and then got even more irritated when I said "I'm sorry, what was that?" when he asked if I wanted to start their "punch card"? Sorry, I'm not even sure that is what he said because he didn't want to repeat himself. Did I do something wrong!?! :((( I am not going to let one experience, especially a first - make or break my judgment...I will be back "Mr. Grumpy", oh yes, I will be back!!! SHUCK it up and SMILE!!! ...I may not smother you for free food - but ugly girls need love too! :P LOL "Taylor Shellfish Farms" your love and attention do to fresh and good quality is very much appreciated!!! ...my tummy thanks you!!! :)))

    (4)

  • Anondah M.

    We had an oyster sample and geoduck sashimi with a few glasses of wine. The geoduck was good, but oysters were OK. For some reasons, the oysters were extremely salty. Kumamoto is usually kind of sweet, but not this time. But more than anything else, the service was very bad the night we went there. Actually the server at our table was fine, but we saw one of the guys in white coats acted very unprofessionally to a couple at an other table. We did not know exactly what happened, but the guy was so pissed at the couple--they did not seem rude, but reasonably upset about something with the service. The guy went back to kitchen and started throwing and crashing things....to prove that he was wrongfully accused??? It seemed very childish and silly. If this were just a retail shellfish place, it might be OK, but if they decided to serve people for tasting, I expect better. No matter what customers say, you just do not yell at them (or act on anger). It's that simple.

    (1)

  • Vicky L.

    This place has been on my bookmarks for awhile... just patiently waiting for me to make a girl's trip up to eat. Jenn and I finally made our way back up and we happily gorged ourselves here. They have an awesome chowder bar that you serve yourself. We sampled the oyster stew and geoduck and calm chowder. Oyster stew was VERY oyster-y..... almost like every single oyster that wasn't deemed good enough to be eaten raw was tossed in here. We opted for the geoduck and clam which was fantastic. Followed that up with freshly shucked Olympia oysters and the geoduck sashimi. The geoduck sashimi was FANTASTIC. Freshly harvested that morning and sliced to order..... probably the BEST geoduck I've ever had. 5 stars for the geoduck..... I'll throw in an extra star for the prompt service and nice fishmonger. :)

    (5)

  • Matt R.

    Got some Olympias, Shigokus, and Bruceport oysters this weekend. This place is a lot busier now since they added beer and wine. On Sunday at 4pm there were probably 20 people inside (and it's not a large place). The word must be out because it seemed like a lot of tourists..... Good price, excellent selection, Tom's the nicest dude ever, and the oysters are beyond fresh. This might be the best place in Seattle to get oysters.

    (5)

  • Chris D.

    If you live in the hood, you're really lucky to have easy access to TSF. If you live outside of the hood, you're lucky to have TSF as a destination in another hood. If you live outside of Seattle, and you don't have a place as good and amazing as TSF in your hood or in your city, you're shit out of luck.

    (5)

  • Heather H.

    What amazing set up this place has going for it in Capitol Hill! I've done enough trekking down to the waterfront for oysters n' crab. From the fellas who work the front to the fresh seafood hanging out in the tanks it all adds up to an amazing spot. Even if the oysters aren't your thing, they have plenty of savory homemade soups and cold seafood sides along with specialty oyster-paired wines. The guys are superb at service and advice of what your taste buds are after here. Prices aren't that bad either. I got a large bowl of soup and seaweed salad for under $10.00. Next time I'm coming back for that crab!

    (5)

  • Sylvia C.

    Got a dozen Virginia Oysters and the oyster soup! was a bit confused when we came in because it looked like a market and there were no other customers, but the person who worked there came and helped us out! Basically just tell them what kind of oysters you want, and if you want any soup, they are next to the registers and are self serve! -fresh oysters -self serve soups -street parking (make sure to pay at the pay station) -there's an additional fee for cutting open the oysters (ex: Virginia oysters was $12 for a dozen, but we were charged $16) -happy hour take $4 off for dozen oysters order, and i think it was from 2pm to 4pm??

    (4)

  • Josh T.

    I totally see why people love this place, I do. Lots of oysters, you can choose what kind, all sorts of freshness and for the oysters themselves, yes, kudos to you little shellfish, you're briney like the sea and fresh and well shucked. But here's my complaint and reason for the rating: it's just so damn unorganized. Not in a fun way that the Pike market fish guys are sort free-for-all. But like, we waited in line for ~10 minutes to order, then sat down, then during the 15 minutes of waiting, watched other people just sit down and have someone come right over and take their order. AND you have to get back in line at the end to pay your bill. It was an insanely lengthy amount of time to spend in lines. It's crowded with other people equally unsure of what to do or staring at you waiting to snatch your seat from under you. Freaking hire an extra person or two! Faster service and bussing of tables, etc won't degrade the quality of the food or the fish market experience. The thing that really doesn't win me over is the oyster stew. Stew would be an entirely improper term to use here, there is no thickness to it, it's warm seafoody milk with lots of (relish?) and a few oysters. Not worth eating, definitely not worth $6. The geoduck stew/soup/chowder, however is delicious, full of veggies and flavor and that tasty phallic shellfish. Again, the oysters are great, though I'm no connoisseur so I don't know one from the other. I wish they had real hot sauce though, not just tabasco.

    (3)

  • Christina M.

    When you walk in and sit down, it says to just have a seat and you will be helped. I sat for 20 minutes and was not helped and it wasn't busy. I had to ask for someone to help, I tried asking about the shellfish and my questions weren't answered I just felt more confused. And I was with a friend and we both had completely separate orders and they were put all on one plate and wasn't explained what was what and we were charged extra for things we didn't receive and never once did he come back to check and see if anything was tasting okay (which it wasn't). And then I had to go back and ask for our bill to be split, and our waiter was very rude and disrespectful when we asked to have them split and have the extra charges taken off and was very short with us. I am incredibly unhappy and cannot believe I wasted so much money on horrible service and quarter sized oysters I will never be coming back.

    (1)

  • Bryce S.

    If you're a shellfish fanatic this is the place to go. Why? If you order raw oysters in a good Seattle or Eastside restaurant, or get that hot bowl of steamers, chances are pretty darn good their purveyor is Taylor Shellfish. So why not go to the source? This place is the next best thing to actually being in the water. If you want to buy great oysters in bulk like the restaurants, or just eat a dozen in the rough, I REALLY recommend taking that 80 mile trip north to the mother ship of Taylor Shellfish Farms in Bow, WA. If not, go to Cap Hill and enjoy!

    (5)

  • Mandy S.

    This is an authentic foodie experience. If you are an oyster person, this is for you. Don't go for a balanced meal. They only offer shellfish. Don't take a non shellfish person- they will be unhappy and ruin your experience. Great wine, beer, and cider pairings offered. I loved the local dry cider. DRY and crisp. Wonderful pairing. Great service- the staff loves and is proud of their product. They have great recs. Be sure to wander next door after the meal.

    (5)

  • Jon L.

    Headed over to Melrose Market to visit this place. It is a combination seafood market and eatery. The seafood selection is primarily shellfish items like clams, oysters and geoduck! They also do have Dungeness crab. Not much in the way of food (the prepared kind) aside from a couple chowders and raw oysters. They also have wines that go with the oysters. I decided to try out the geoduck chowder prior to catching a flick at Pacific Place. I have never had geoduck before. It is a strange looking mollusk. Tried a bowl of chowder ($6.50) with a roll on the side. The price is fair. A little cheaper than Pike Place Chowder. The geoduck chowder is not of the creamy variety that you would find at Pike Place. It is not rich tasting, rather more starchy. I grabbed a bowl that was quite full of potatoes which would explain this. If there is cream in the chowder, it is not enough. The carrots are a bit unusual since they were shaved slices rather than the traditional rectangular shape. The geoduck in the chowder was okay. Could not taste much of a difference compared to a regular clam. I did like the roll that accompanied the chowder. Wondering which bakery makes them. There is some seating, but not a whole lot. The seafood tanks get in the way. May need to take your chowder to go or wait for a table if you are trying out the oysters. Staff is friendly and boisterous here. The geoduck chowder was okay, but I would stick with Pike Place Chowder if you are looking for chowders with shellfish . Go to Taylor Shellfish instead to try out the oysters and pick up shellfish/crab to take home to prepare.

    (3)

  • Michelle E.

    My Faves are kumamotos and shigokus but Today the Totten inlets(Puget pacifics) were yummy in the tummy!

    (5)

  • Debbie P.

    Super fresh seafood!!! Great staff!!! I was here with my husband and a couple of friends. This was our "dessert" after an awesome Italian dinner at Ristorante Machiavelli. We had super sweet and succulent oysters. Since we were still full, we didn't have the space to try anything else. But we will be back. I would highly recommend to anyone who wants the best of the best!

    (5)

  • Lindsey P.

    Super. Awesome. Oysters are priced by the pound, so you can mix n' match any number assortment to be enjoyed together. They charge $4 for shucking, which is waived during the 2pm-4pm (weekday only?) happy hour. Great beer and wine selection. It wasn't too busy when I arrived at 3pm on a Tuesday, the gentleman behind the counter was lovely and had great recommendations for us oyster-novices. We settled on a mixed dozen and a few beers, sat down, and our shucked beauties arrived within about 5 minutes. Each one was meaty, delicious, ocean-y goodness. Our meal of 12 mixed variety oysters with one 12 oz and one 22 oz beer ran us about $30. When you're done you have to pop over to the Melrose Market next door to take in the amazing specialty shops and their mouth watering display cases of meats, cheeses, breads and more!

    (4)

  • Aaron M.

    This was stop #2 for us on our Seattle trip. Set in the foodies dream of places Melrose Market. It wasn't "self discovery", not in the least, we were referred here by a great friend of ours. His advice was if we wanted to get serious about oysters, to skip all the other places and eat here. I am glad we listened. Taylor's is my kind of place. Small, no frills, not luxurious, just a wide variety of oysters (7 different types to be exact), fresh crab and geoduck clams! Order in, or you can literally pick your own oysters, mussels and or clams and take them home with you. We chose to order in and went with two dozen oysters, a mix of every type. They were all tasty. The geoduck sashimi is a must have as well. I've yet to dig for Geoducks myself, as we typically dig for horse neck clams on the California coast. Geoducks have a similar taste, sweet with a snappy slight crunch when consumed raw. I particularly enjoyed the sashimi with a little wasabi and soy sauce. Last but not least, must try the oyster stew. I was thinking it would be more like a clam chowder with oysters, but this stew really is it's own. Great flavor and when paired with the fresh herb/salty bread, it's a win win. Taylor's, you did not disappoint, bravo.

    (5)

  • Yu C.

    Small, cozy, not pushy and knowledgeable. just the way i like it.

    (4)

  • Nathan R.

    If you are looking for super fresh oysters and a great variety of them you can come here and buy them to go or have them shuck them here and eat at their limited seating. Prices are market fair. But besides oysters they have chowder that tastes great. But the real treat is the fresh sweet shrimp, but it is not for the squeamish add they bring it to your table alive and prepare it for you.

    (4)

  • Steven N.

    Wow. First of all, thank you to the Seattle Yelp community. You guys are freaking amazing. This place is bomb. Seriously. I wish there was something similar up north in Vancouver. Oysters are so incredibly fresh. The environment is not pretentious at all and the prices are incredibly reasonable (compare this with Yaletown in Vancouver). The best thing ever was the oyster stew that they had going on. It was loaded with oysters. Definitely coming back and will be recommending this place to my fellow Canadians.

    (5)

  • Patricia C.

    O. EM. GEE. If you love raw oysters or seafood this is your spot! I enjoyed it so much we had to order another dozen of the Kumamoto. First time trying Geoduck and all I can say is, "wow!" Amazeballs in your mouth! ;P

    (5)

  • Ariel K.

    Had a whole crab & about 20 oysters and it was so yummy. Only thing about this place is that the restaurant smelled like one of worst public restrooms. Kind of killed the mood and the appetite.

    (4)

  • Jerry K.

    Sweet Mother of Jesus! This place is incredible. The shigoku were sweet and buttery. The the Totten inlets were briney and had a nice snap. Oh my, nothing and I mean nothing on the east coast could come even close.... Hahahahahjaha

    (5)

  • Opal D.

    I am writing this from my bed... sick after eating oysters here. Food poisoning and unfriendly staff... SKIP IT!

    (1)

  • Anita L.

    This is a badass place to get oysters. Service is a little confusing at first, but you can look around and read the descriptions of the oysters if you're not familiar with all the different species. Then go up to the front and order! Hopefully you can grab a seat and it'll be brought to you, and then you will pay the cashier when you're done and thank her for the glorious experience. Got it? I wasn't too impressed with the chowder, but the oysters were awesome. There's awesome geoduck sashami and live spot prawns to eat (which I did not see on the menu). The geoduck was amazing. Sliced thin and served with a little bit of wasabi and soy. It had the texture like squid or clam but with a briny sweetness. You order the spot prawns by quantity (so yes, you can just order one!), and it'll be brought to you live, then shucked live, beheaded, and the head will be presented for you to suck all the brainy juices and then you will proceed to eat the freshest shrimp of your life. Quite an experience. Only thing is that there's very limited seating, and they usually wait until you're seated to bring you your food, so it may take a while. Great fish market as well.

    (4)

  • Kate F.

    I will start this review by first saying that I have lived in the gulf coast region for several years. That is where I first fell in love with oysters on the half shell. I knew there would be a difference in taste, but I didnt realize how much I prefered gulf coast oysters before coming here. The place is small, the people are not as bad as reviewed here. The lady at the counter was friendly enough. Maybe not a huge fan of her job, i dont know, but she was nice to us. We ordered 18 oysters and some geoduck. I was so excited to try the geoduck, I had never heard of it and I am always down to try new seafood. It came with soy sauce and was quite nice. The raw texture was a bit chewy but I thought it had great flavor. As for the oysters, they were cleaned perfectly. I think the taste was just off for me. If your a fan of west coast oysters, def give this place a shot!

    (3)

  • Bunneh L.

    Our group of four ordered one oyster chowder, 3 geoduck chowders, a dozen oysters, and two Dungeness Crabs. The total bill was $105 and I literally left hungry. My beef was the fact that there was only ONE small piece of oyster in my entire bowl of soup. The rest was filler. Celery, potatoes, onion, etc. and the broth, despite the cream, was quite thin. Each of my dining companions complained of the same. At $4.50 for a small 8 oz cup, this was a ripoff. It's a self serve soup area and I swear the entire pot had maybe 4 pieces of oysters in it! Fail. They only had one type of oyster in stock, the Kumamato, and it was the most expensive at $22/dozen. They were delicious at least. Two stars for the beautifully presented and even more delicious crab. At $13.99/lb, it's actually reasonable (compared to everthing else that we ordered), considering they clean the whole crab and pre-crack it for you. As soon as we left, I went home and ate 6 potstickers because I was starving.

    (2)

  • ole Y.

    Oysters are fresh and tasty. Service needs a lot of improvement. It took 15 min for the the waiter to get to your table taking order....Parking place is so hard to find....

    (3)

  • Peter L.

    My new fave for oysters! Can't get any fresher than the supplier to many of the top restaurants in Seattle. Prices are super reasonable, even if it's not happy hour. And surprisingly a very good selection of wines, including a classic French Muscadet. Super low key too - go up to the register and order, and then one of the guys will scoop out your oyster from the live tanks. Definitely a great stop for oysters or for starting a night out in Cap Hill.

    (5)

  • Tom M.

    I read the reviews before-hand and wanted to love this place but unfortunately had a different experience. For those visiting, the place is tiny so if more than 2 people be ready for a wait and very tight seating arrangements. On the positive side the geoduck chowder was outstanding. After that, I don't have much positive to say. They were out of scallop sashimi and the oysters were definitely overrated. I ate the first oyster and thought it was pretty good, but then after the next couple my wife looked at me and I looked at her and we both said at the same time.."wow those are salty". We both love oysters and have eaten some that have a little more salty taste on the East Coast, but these had us heading for more bread to get the salt taste out of our mouth. Maybe we caught them on a bad day, but not a good experience.

    (2)

  • T T.

    Now this place has class! My god the little buggers are still alive when you slurp'em down. And Ale, good Ale. I like that. Bring your pals and ladies here for breakfast and dinner. Great spot. It's a must.

    (5)

  • Poulina K.

    For the past year I have been reading about this place and telling myself I have to go here, especially since I love fresh raw oysters! Well the day finally arrived and my visit to Taylor Shellfish Farms was everything I imagined it would be and more. First, the young gentleman who was our server/greeter needs to start his own comedy variety act, cause this guy was super fun, entertaining and sassy. Second, there are always at least 5-6 kinds of fresh oysters available for consumption. Mixing and matching is encouraged and prices are VERY reasonable. My favorites so far have been the Kumamotos. Talk about good things coming in small packages, these guys look small but pack a really creamy flavor and silky texture. I also tried geoduck sashimi: a very simple presentation with only a touch of soy and wasabi to enhance the natural sweet flavor of the geoduck. Texture may not be for everyone as it can be almost described as crunchy, but I enjoyed it. Other shellfish as well as fresh Dungeness crabs are available to eat on site or to take home. Add a great selection of white wines and rose, and you got yourself a casual sunny afternoon of shellfish delight.

    (5)

  • Brett B.

    Not fancy but very cool. We love oysters and eat them regularly. Not disappointed at all. Geoduck chowder was worth trying too.

    (4)

  • Lily S.

    There are some less than perfect reviews about this place and they all seem to be about the lack of restaurant-ness about this seafood market. Right, this isn't a restaurant, it doesn't have bathrooms (they're next door in the market), there is no wait staff, and you have to pour your own water. BUT IT'S A SHELLFISH MARKET!!! DON'T YOU PEOPLE GET IT!! They're nice enough to let you eat there and shuck it for you, just eat the yummy oysters and wash your hands with the lemons. Back to the review. This place has the freshest shellfish in town, unless you go get it from the beaches yourself. It's a must stop for all out of town guests and the perfect place to find different types of oysters. Get several dozen oysters, tell them to mix and match it. Also, get the geoduck sashimi, it's my favorite thing there. The workers there are so nice, and if you remind them that they didn't charge you for your soup that you scooped and waved it at them, they'll likely just say meh.

    (5)

  • David T.

    Need I say more!? you cannot get deals like this where I live! a must try if youre in the area.

    (5)

  • Wendy C.

    You will not find fresher oysters anywhere elsewhere; they come from Taylor's farm to your table! We ordered Pacific, Kumamoto, Shigoku, and Viginica varieties. Superbly fresh and clean, the fellow who was shucking won a national championship in his craft. If you ask, he will give you a lesson or two. Live scallops in the shells, tender and sweet when you have them prepare sashimi style. I'd get this over geoduck sashimi, not that the latter was terrible tasting just a bit chewy and shellfish-rubbery and less sweet. Both chowders had a watery consistency but tasted "heavy" because there was so much cream in it and butter floating on top. For this rich a soup, I'd prefer a thicker and velvety texture. Knowledgeable and friendly staff. The made our visit thoroughly enjoyable.

    (4)

  • Celeste T.

    You've probably had their shellfish if you've been to any of a number of tasty restaurants in Seattle, and now you can get the same oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels in a convenient location and at a great price. The live spot prawns were a highlight of my summer. I just bought a live crab there tonight, brought him home and boiled him (complete with traumatizing video of his little crabby claws flailing...I'm such a bad vegetarian!) and 2 dozen oysters - Olympia, which I'd never tried before, and Shigoku, a favorite. Man, shelling oysters yourself is hard, but they threw in a free oyster knife and I'm stubborn. I'm sure I'll get better with practice, and I'll have a lot of opportunity in the future to keep practicing. Because I'll be coming back here regularly. I'd like to try the chowders they have warming near the counter. Also on the counter is water and iced tea, complementary. They have a variety of sauces and condiments, cookbooks, cooking classes, and very helpful staff. I'm looking forward VERY HIGHLY to their getting a liquor license - I can't wait to spend happy hour here as often as possible!

    (5)

  • Angela Y.

    I almost didn't want to write this review b/c I didn't want to share this place. BUT -- it would be a huge disservice to Taylor Shellfish Farms to not spread the word! :) Amazing shellfish -- oysters on the half-shell were super decently priced (average of $13 - $16 per dozen, including shucking fees). Incredibly fresh, as you literally choose which live oysters you want to try (in a tank out on display). I noticed a huge sign on the wall that shows all the local restaurants in the Greater Seattle Area that serves shellfish from Taylor Shellfish Farms, and all of the best seafood spots in town were listed, including Elliot's Oyster House and Frank's! Went to Frank's the night before and had a great time; the food was delish, but the prices were definitely sky-high in comparison. Definitely going to try and make it here every time I visit my hometown! Taylor Shellfish Farms -- you guys are doing an excellent job. Keep it up! :)

    (5)

  • Wayne K.

    Clean and Fresh. Add a little vinegarette, lemon, and tabasco and oooh hmm yeah. Go at the happy hour and save a few bucks.. Get a dozen and be happy. Yeah.

    (5)

  • Christen g.

    This place is great..and yet still a work in progress, it seems. There are a variety of locally farmed oysters on display and for sale and an incredibly knowledgeable (and super friendly) staff. They're open until 10 on fri/sat and just started serving wine! There is seating for 15-20 people at tall tables, oyster and geoduck chowder (serve yourself) and various oyster swag, books, etc... They're clearly working towards a full Oyster Bar type place, but as it stands, this place rules. I bought oysters (raw), oyster stew, smoked oysters, etc... all summer. With the wine serving, I know where Friday happy hour will be this winter. Yay!

    (5)

  • Carson K.

    My favorite place in Seattle. Fresh seafood and awesome atmosphere. It doesn't feel like a restaurant. This is a great find if you love Rodney's oyster bar and Swan's oyster depot!

    (5)

  • Eli G.

    Went here for Happy Hour for the first time. Everyone working here was just so damned nice, considering how busy and crazy the line was. The cashier just picked stuff for me to try and made it really easy (thank you!) I wasn't in love with the chowder, but the oysters were indeed super yummy.

    (5)

  • Will G.

    Went here for lunch once. I ordered 6 oysters and a beer. I got the beer but the seemed to have forgotten my oysters. Upon mentioning it, the felt bad and gave me 3 more oysters. They were all fantastic -- some of the best I've ever had -- and very reasonably priced. Despite the hiccup, I would definitely recommend this place.

    (4)

  • Kosta P.

    Great place to learn your seafood. I was shy to show my ignorance when it came to ordering shellfish, but the host made it a breeze for me. A dozen of oysters later I zoomed on a few of my favorites and was hooked to try Geoduck sashimi. This was my first time in Seattle and this dinner became a highlight of my trip. Highly recommend!

    (5)

  • Coral H.

    Fresh oysters by the dozen. Hot chowder. Ciders and beer. Very enjoyable.

    (5)

  • Jeff G.

    No dude, this isn't the farm. The guy in front of me actually thought they raised the oysters here. They have a wide selection of varieties. Come in, tell them which ones you want shucked, grab a beer and maybe some chowder, sit down, and in a few minutes you will be in fresh oyster heaven. If you want to splurge a little get some shucked scallops sashimi style. Makes for an awesome, lunch. Come during the week for the happy hour pricing, and it's an awesome deal

    (5)

  • Crystal M.

    We drove out here just to try the oysters and the geoduck. When we got here we sort of expected restaurant, but it really was just a seafood selling place with a few cherries in it. You go to the counter and you order whatever oysters you want. If you want some chowder it's self-serve to the side, and then You pay. Due to the prices, we decided to get a dozen of the Kumamoto oysters. It was around $25. You wait at the table and the guy shuts them and brings them to you. They are the sweetest, most delicious oysters I have ever had in my life, and that is the only reason I would pay that much for them. Though the oysters were very delicious, I was really let down that we went there around 1230 in the afternoon and they did not have any geoduck left. The whole reason that we drove out here with to try the geoduck chowder, and even though they had a geoduck for sale, they told us they were out of geoduck. Which kind of confused me, but whatever. Overall, the oysters we have are probably the most delicious we will ever have. They are very expensive, and I know they worth it, but it would be a treat to have it again, not a necessity. I would also like to see them have geoduck on a regular basis to accommodate the demand. It was only Monday after all, how many people did they think they're going to serve , two?

    (3)

  • Julian H.

    Best oysters on the half shell I've ever had. Hands down. Great service, too.

    (5)

  • Megan A.

    Taylor Shellfish Farms has produced terrible, hipster monsters. All that hair gel and a little knowledge about oysters has gone to their heads. I think they should stop playing restaurant and leave customer service up to the actual restaurants that they supply to. If you need a storefront to sell a product, that is fine, but don't try to cram tons of patrons in your small, dirty space, charge them an arm and a leg, and then be rude to them. They sell a quality product, but at $18 per dozen, I think they owe their customers a little more respect and a little less attitude. I will not be back.

    (2)

  • Tim O.

    I'll keep it simple. This place "F**king ROCKS!! Hands down, the cheapest, freshest oysters in Seattle. Just an FYI, this is an Oyster market where people go to buy fresh PNW oysters and they just happen to have a few tables so you can enjoy some freshly shucked, yumminess while there. Its not meant to be a sit down service type of place. Lighten up people, the Oysters here are totally worth it! Also, to the people complaining about price and recommending Elliot's, remember this. Elliot's has a 1 dozen limit per person for their happy hour and a 3 dozen limit per table.

    (5)

  • Grant C.

    The chowder was very good, but the service was odd. When you walk into the establishment, there's a large sink to the right side of the room, which contain huge piles of fresh oysters (for take-out purchase). We were actually there for the chowder, and approached the gent with gelled hair at the cash register, located in the kitchen at the back. When we ordered our chowder, he gave us an odd sort of look -- maybe because we weren't there specifically for oysters -- and said, "The chowder's almost ready, buddy," followed by a blank stare. He didn't say, "Please have a seat," or "Please wait in line." Not really knowing what to do, we took a seat at the nearest table. Once the chowder was ready, he moved the pot to a self-serve bar, and we self-served. We then waited 20 minutes for him to come over for drink orders, which he never did -- but he did proceed to get the orders of every other table in the establishment. Finally, we decided to leave, not knowing if we had offended him in some way, as every other table -- including those who were only eating chowder -- were served. When we walked up to pay, the waitress running the register gave us a curious look when we had no running tab, but fixed it for us right away so that we could pay. After leaving, we then asked Seattle natives if we had committed some sort of social faux pas, and they couldn't identify what we'd done -- just as an FYI for visitors. The summary is that the chowder is very good and fresh, but there are no clear signs or staff instructions on how to order. It gave me and my wife the feeling that we were in some foreign country. I hope others have better experiences.

    (2)

  • Nelson S.

    Arrived at SEA, picked up rental car, drove straight to Taylor Shellfish Farms. Got 2 dozen oyster sampler, and the chowder, OMG, so good, truly the best oysters I've had anywhere. Some sweet, some briny, some buttery, but all delicious! Great that you can pick out your own and take home. Considering moving to Seattle just to be close to TSF is a little extreme right?

    (5)

  • James M.

    Taylor Shellfish Farms is an absolute Gem in Seattle. I only recently started eating oysters, however my parents are huge huge fans. So when they came into town for the first time I knew I had to find them the best. After searching and reading many reviews I settled that I wanted to take them to Taylor Shellfish and boy am I glad I did. TSF is a small little place by Melrose market (which also has a Home Grown which is delicious). TSF has an awesome layout of tons of live lobsters, oysters, and crazy other stuff. We sat down and ordered a few dozen oysters. You literally get to see each and every different type as they are all out in front of you. It is just a great experience and the Oysters were absolutely fantastic. My parents even proceeded to order another dozen, and really made their trip to seattle fantastic. I have come back a few times since then and each and every time their oysters have been fantastic and at absolutely great prices. +1 to TSF for being amazing.

    (5)

  • Melissa L.

    that is some cheap oysters. i hate having an expensive addiction, but i was able to slurp down some oysters for what broke down to $0.67 each, that's cheaper than most happy hours and i don't have to work with HH confinements. i even found a new favorite - totten virginicas...omy. no frills and gimmicks here, just downright scrumptious fresh oysters. the one downside is the place is small, so not good for big groups. that's ok, more oysters for me!

    (5)

  • David N.

    Awww shucks... Taylor Shellfish Farms is definitely legit. They are the local supplier for joints like Tom Douglas, the Coterie Room and such. Come dine in for oysters (hell yeah Kushi and Kumamoto), wine optional. You can also take home some geoduck and mussels. Prices are pretty reasonable with a small shucking fee. Downside is that there are a limited about of tables.

    (5)

  • Matthew C.

    If you want a casual atmosphere to grab some fresh seafood and a cold beer, you can't beat this place. It's not huge, so you'll likely have to wait a bit. If you live close by, it's easy to just grab some oysters and take them back to your place. Great spot.

    (4)

  • Helen Y.

    Enjoyed their selection of oysters and great service!

    (4)

  • Darryl B.

    Had a similar experience to Grant - food was ok, but the service was very odd. Only 3 tables occupied and 3 people waiting tables, so no excuse. The chowder was only ok, very watery and bland. The oysters were good and fresh, but overpriced in my opinion, but I can't tell the difference between a $10 oyster and a $20 dollar oyster. Waiter brought wrong food to our table and then acted like it was our fault. Went to pay bill and not only did I not get the $4 off for oyster re happy hour, I told her to add a 10% tip and she added 20+%. My bad for not looking at it more carefully before we left. We were a party of 5 and racked up a large bill so it didn't jump out at me. With all the great places for seafood in Seattle, I won't be back.

    (1)

  • Diana L.

    The boyfriend wanted oysters; he had wanted oysters for a few days, it just kept coming up. I know what you're thinking, but it's not that. I don't need raw mollusk to be interested in sexy times, I'm smack dab in the middle of my sexual peak; he just wanted to get some briny, sweet, bite of the ocean in him. *Insert fish/twat joke here, but my twat has NOTHING to do with the scent of the ocean. God forbid.* We landed at TSF, and much to the man's delight - not only were we able to get very reasonably priced, extremely fresh mollusk (read happy hour prices elsewhere), but there were two TVs with the game on. You know, THE GAME - SF v. the Giants of New Jersey (let's not play - that's the NJ team and you know it.) So we sat with a nice little bottle of Savignon Blanc, a lovely geoduck ceviche, a dozen Olympias (followed by another dozen Totens) and the TVs that made my man happy, and made it so I could play word games on my phone without getting any shit for it. YAY! . About a glass into it, I begin to give a fuck about football, and begin to forget about my phone: "I want the Giants. Look how shiny their helmets are! So pretty and blue. Mommy likes." "Um - does that guy think this is soccer? THE OTHER FOOTBALL MORON. THIS IS AMERICA. Shit." "OOH. That mother fucker just lost the game for SF. He's gonna have a bunch of roided out sisters up his ass in about a minute." These were the comments that brought the manager over to our table to introduce himself, and got him feeding us a couple Kumamotos on the house, and inspired him to let us stay while they closed up so we could watch that dumb ass lose the game for SF in overtime. And tell us what he's planning for the Super Bowl, which I could care less about but will be watching through a face full of raw mollusk, with my new best friend, TSF manager, Tom. .

    (5)

  • Michael D.

    I never give five stars. I loved this place. I swear, the only good food I had during three weeks on the coast...

    (5)

  • Jason R.

    Great space, just a little hard to find a table at times. Oysters, geoduck, crab, are great and fresh aka alive, they have a large variety. Beer, wine, bubbly are also served. Prices seem normal

    (4)

  • Cassandra C.

    Best Oysters!!! I just wish that there was more of a variety when we ate here. Was able to eat the Shigoku & Kuamoto Oysters only. After speaking with the staff, they were out of the other oysters due to the warm weather and was told to return in a month. :( This is the only reason why I didn't give a 5 star. I will be returning on my next visit to seatlle & look forward to tasting the other types of oysters Taylor shellfish farms will provide! :) I also ate the Geoduck Sashimi. Which is one of my favorites. Thinly sliced. Too thin for my liking but still sweet, salty and tender. Overall, seafood was very fresh. Oysters delicious! Probably the best I've ever eaten.

    (4)

  • Jen L.

    I'm here alot. One of favorite oyster places! Very well priced... and they have a HH. I literally ate a whole dozen today. David, my oyster officer, recommended the Virginica and Shigoku oysters based on my flavor profile, and I love them. Thanks to him, I left fed and educated! - Trotten Inlet Virginica: My ultimate favorite. David shucked the most beautiful, supermodel of an oyster. I never thought of an oyster as being sexy and lovely, but it truly had the most perfect slightly concaved shell with lovely plump oyster resting in the middle. I 'almost' felt bad for slurping it down ... briny then sweet and earthy. I think of this one as the prototypical oyster. - I also love the Shigoku because of the perfect shell scoop that perfectly houses this oyster. Beautifully briny, with a bit of melon sweetness, perfect proportion of meat and juices. Also if you are texture-sensitive, it's not a slimy and squish, more firm. Apparently because of being tossed around more in the ocean. - Olympic Oyster - this poor little oyster almost was driven to extinction :( very intense metallic flavor though a bit sweet. - Kumamoto - a little too mild in flavor for me. My friend who doesn't "love" raw oyster (I know, what's wrong with him!) liked this one the best. A good starter oyster. - Geoduck chowder - creamy, large volume of geoduck in the chowder. Get over the look of this phallic mollusk. I can understand how those with amateur palates could lack the appreciation the milder, light geoduck flavor. Try it raw.

    (5)

  • Anhers M.

    I'm not a fan of the first come first serve seating because how the crap does that work when you're eating seafood. I would understand sandwiches or ice cream but this set up does not work for a dozen of oysters. Overall, the service and friendliness was okay I guess cause we were a giant group with kids. I would not recommend this place if you're trying to catch up with friends or family. The seafood/clam soup was really watery so I'm not even going to call it a chowder. Also, they server their steam crab cold only.

    (3)

  • mister f.

    Quality mussels, oysters and beer. Can't go wrong here.

    (4)

  • Lefty R.

    This place was amazing. My GF is a huge oyster fan and we wandered in on her recent birthday trip to Seattle. 16 PNW oysters later, we added a half a crab to her meal and I saw a grin as wide Puget Sound. I had a couple of man sodas and she sipped a sparkling rose. What a great day.

    (4)

  • tiffanie n.

    Phenomenal crab and oysters. Geoduck was a ripoff. Too small for 14$.

    (4)

  • Frankie O.

    Best place to get shellfish on Capitol Hill. Grab a bag and fill it with whatever your heart desires. Crab, clams, geoduck if you're feeling bold. I go here specifically for the mussels. I can easily say these continue to be the BEST mussels I have ever eaten. You cannot find mussels this beautiful on the east coast. They are huge and pump, and possibly one of the easiest things to cook. I haven't had one bad one in the batches I've cooked, either. I have not yet sat down for oysters here, but they always look great.

    (4)

  • Diana L.

    Fantastically fresh, delicious food with superb service! Can't wait to go back!

    (5)

  • Elissa E.

    YES YES YES! (yes yes) thats 5 Yes's ! If you enjoy seafood, especially fresh oysters, then this place is for your. Make sure to come early. The crab is delightful also, wonderfully fresh and simple seafood. This is a great start to a fun evening. Its fun to share a dozen oysters and a brew before hitting the town.

    (5)

  • Akbelth B.

    The place looks nice however the staff was kinda rude The crab was delicious but there were two legs that seemed to be not fresh I think they mix fresh and old crap I don't recommend this place at all

    (1)

  • Jasmine S.

    I went to Seattle for vacation, and was in the mood for some fresh seafood. We walked all over the place around Washington U ( well thats what Seattle people called it) around the capitol area...and i have tho say this unique restaurant is definitely a place to eat at if you are 1. an oyster lover, 2. want something unique and different. It is a little confusing when we walked into the restuarant, instead of being seated by the host, we kinda waited around the tables and the bar for people to leave...( as the happy hour style in most bars) and once we set down, the waiter/waitress came around to take our order. They have very FRESH selections of oyster, and I recommend all the japanese ones, because they are A LOT tastier ( sweeter) than the bigger ones from other places. and we also had a crab..but december is not the season for crab...so the crab was a waste of money. But overall, it was a good restaurant to eat for oysters, and the restaurant actually cater its oysters to all the restaurants in Seattle, so for W-hotel and Olympic hotel (the hotel in that book 50 Shades of Grey) all get oysters from Taylor SHellfish Farms, and I am assuming they will charge you more for those oysters. So go to Taylor Shelfish and eat oysters!!!

    (5)

  • Amy L.

    Great prices on oysters! You can order a dozen of them without feeling as if you had emptied out your entire wallet. They shucked the oysters pretty well, and gave me a fairly generous portion of lemon slices and some sauce to go with them. I would love to come back and try out the geoduck sashimi if I'm ever in the area.

    (5)

  • Sona B.

    Oh man, if I lived in Seattle, I would live close to this place. The FRESHEST oysters I've ever had. We went oyster crazy, but it was totally worth it. So back story, the oysters are farmed in Washington and they supply a ton of the local and famous restaurants in the area. The guy helping us was super friendly and a smarty pants about local seafood. We had the sampler platter of the oysters (a lot of platters) and the geoduck sashimi. An must try when visiting Seattle.

    (5)

  • c p.

    Excellent. I had never had oysters before and we tried 4 of them, the Kumamato, Totten Virginica (our favorite) Kusshi, and Shgoku. Each was different and wonderful. Seaweed Salad was quite good and the Calamari Salad was gingery and fresh. Service was excellent. we had a bottle of Dry Creek Chenin Blanc...one of us hates white wine but liked it. It was a tad expensive but we enjoyed the full bottle. Parking was going to be difficult, so we too a Taxi from our hotel and then walked home.

    (5)

  • Jesse M.

    This is the perfect example of why Capitol Hill is great. Not enough good things can be said about Taylor Shellfish and the business they have set up. If you like local fresh and/or raw seafood this is the place to go.

    (5)

  • Nikiya A.

    FANTASTIC shellfish! Best mussels ever. Reasonable prices. They have a great selection of oysters. My husband and I go there two or three times a week. Doesn't get any better

    (5)

  • Caesar R.

    In all likelihood if you have eaten an oyster in Seattle it has probably come from their farms. Staring at a list of places they supply with their oysters, I was amazed at how many local restaurants were on the place. I came here twice in a 3 day period. I walked in the first time in the middle of the afternoon while there was some photo shoot was going on, but they were happy to help set me up with a dozen of the freshest oysters I have ever had. They have multiple tanks to showcase their seafood delights. Live crabs and lobsters against the wall of fridges. Center stage are local types of oysters, goeducks, mussels and clams in circulating water tank. This thing is mesmerizing. I got a fresh dozen of some totten virginica (an east coast species that the farm grows on the west coast) and kushi. All simply delightful with mignonette and cocktail sauce. On my second visit a few days later, the wife and I got a dungeness crab and some more oysters and some of their geoduck chowder. It was all delicious. Dave the guy shucking our oysters was the coolest host and not to mention the state's Shucking champion. SHUCK YEAH! Get here and consume as many of these delicious seafood items as possible. They have wine and beer as well. You can always grab the oysters to go as well.

    (5)

  • Jessica R.

    Have you ever watched that Mr. Bean episode where he eats a dozen oysters and then gets violently sick? Well, I watched that episode as a kid and have been terrified to try one ever since. Well, I decided to take the plung and try my first Oyster. I'm glad that my first Oyster tasting was at Taylor Shellfish Farms. Taylor Shellfish pulls these Oysters straight out of the tank (or whatever you call it) so it was very fresh.The staff was very knowledgable and friendly. Definitely try to get there earlier in the day because when I came in at 4pm, they were very low on the geoduck chowder and ran out of the scallops.

    (5)

  • Peter P.

    Oh My God! The crab here is mind blowing. Just get your Dungeon on and maybe a bowl of the days soup. Worth every penny.

    (5)

  • Dave M.

    AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING!!!! Had geoduck, crab, oysters and chowder. Everything was amazing, and we know seafood. WOW. Do not miss the chance to go here. It is hands down amazing. Simple menu, fresh seafood, nice people, good service. GO THERE!!! Just to reassure, I do not work there. I live in San Diego and came across this place because I love seafood. IT IS AMAZING!!!!

    (5)

  • Michelle H.

    The best oysters in all of Seattle!

    (5)

  • Lorri A.

    Give me an O ! Give me a Y ! Give me an S ! Give me a T ! Give me an E ! Give me an R ! Give me an S ! What does that spell? OYSTERS! Oysters Rock. And so does this place. Mmmmm... nom nom nom.

    (5)

  • Nadia D.

    Hopefully, we caught this place on a bad day. Extremely slow service, no explanation of the oysters served, out of cocktail sauce, and so busy that they were sending customers back in the kitchen to get their own platters and ice!!!

    (2)

  • Emily D.

    Taylor Shellfish Farms is one of the great gems of Seattle. Supplying all the fancy restaurants downtown with the freshest seafood and shellfish you can get. And you can just drop in and have as much as you'd like! I think this place is a must-see for any out-of-towners that want some fresh PNW seafood. The first few times I went here, I just got 2 or 3 oysters, and they were kind enough to not even charge me for them. The most recent time I went, my boyfriend and I got 8 oysters, the geoduck sashimi and the geoduck chowder, and washed it down with some delicious beer and cider. It was all delectable. The style of this place is unlike anywhere else, and the freshness of the food is unrivaled. If you love seafood and a laid back atmosphere, you must go here. I'm seeing some complaints about the service, and I must admit it wasn't the fastest, but that didn't bother me in the least. The server was very nice and we didn't mind taking the time to relax, sip our beers, and look around.

    (5)

  • Andrew S.

    Pretty good oysters, laid back vibe. But service was very slow just to get a dozen oysters shucked with no one else in the restaurant.

    (3)

  • Ashley C.

    We LOVED the food here. We came on a Sunday night, 45 mins before closing time and the service was pretty awful. The server was very nice, but clearly preoccupied. The oysters were great and so was the geoduck chowder. Will most def come back when we visit Seattle!!

    (4)

  • Peter Y.

    No frills, no gimmicks place. We came looking for oysters & got what we wanted @ very decent prices. The chowder & geoduck sashimi were a good bonus. If only more 'oyster houses' were like this place! For all visitors to Seattle, avoid the tourist area seafood restaurants & find this simple place in the middle of hipster-land.

    (5)

  • Le C.

    First time in Seattle. Good prices on oysters. Geoduck sashimi is delicious. Our waiter was squeezing water out of a geoduck... Playing early 2000's rap music, easy laid back atmosphere. Nice selection of beers. Highly recommend this place.

    (5)

  • Justin G.

    Amazing. Geoduck was ten times better then the "live" geoduck we ate later at umis. Everything was beyond fresh and staff was more than willing to teach.

    (5)

  • Alex L.

    Very huge fan of Taylor Shellfish Farms!!! This is the only place where you can choose from so many different varieties of fresh oysters on the half shell, while they are still in the water. How cool is that? The service was outstanding. Pricing range is very fair, compared to most restaurants and bars. It was my girlfriend's first time trying raw oyster's, so the master shucker let her sample a couple of varieties before we placed our order. Located right next to Melrose Market, would recommend to everyone and anyone who loves oysters!!!

    (5)

  • Christine B.

    BEST oysters ever! And by best, I mean the freshest, sweetest, most delicate tasting bivalves I've ever slurped from the half shell. YUM! In a city full of amazing seafood, thats sayin' something. Also, the prices are incredibly reasonable... probably half of what you might pay at a nicer restaurant.The Kumamoto and Olympic oysters stood out in particular to me that day. Note: Not a sit down place. Its mostly a small market, with a few table and chairs lining the windows. However, they do serve drinks and bread if you do decide to stay, and have excellent geoduck chowder. Oh, and theres a 20% discount coupon that can be found in the Chinook Book!!!

    (5)

  • Rowan N.

    EAT ALL THE THINGS! Pretty much perfect. This place is half fish shop, half cafe. There's just 3 small high tables next to the live oyster tanks and other fish packed in ice. We came here for lunch and the chef guy kept offering to cook things for us and the other couple there. I don't know how often that happens but I get the impression it was not uncommon. It was like having a personal seafood cook. What we put in our faces: - Geoduck chowder - pretty delicious - A dozen oysters - 2 kinds (of about 6 I think), fresh, high quality and amazingly cheap! - Sea perch - lightly battered, fried on the stove built into the shop counter, also excellent - A lb of mussels - steamed with a tasty broth with bread to mop up, a bit large for my liking but that's just me We were in danger of being even more gluttonous but we had a plane to catch.

    (5)

  • David L.

    Came here on a Wednesday evening after walking 30 minutes to get here. Arrived at 8:20 and was told by the server that they were no longer serving new customers even though the place isn't supposed to close until 9:00. The server was rude about the situation and not apologetic at all. Will not be going back to support this business no matter how good the oysters may be.

    (1)

  • Sergio L.

    Nationally famous oysters,now with a local raw bar with great shuckers and drinks. I love going in for lunch on a cool Seattle day. A half dozen Toten Inlet Virginicas, cup of Geoduck chowder and a glass of that excellent Cadaretta SBS. It doesn't get much better. As Hemmingway said"I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and make plans...."

    (5)

  • Chi D.

    I have become a fan!! I never heard of this place until a friend suggested us getting oysters there. She's an oyster lover. And I was blown out of my mind. The setting is casual but you will get to pick whatever kind of oysters you like (there are about a dozen kinds). The staff will crack them open and serve you. I also tried the oyster stew last time and it was oh-so-delicious.

    (5)

  • Kyoni R.

    Grand opening Free event !! My buddy works here !! All the Seafood you could eat !! kumamoto Oysters, 4 to five different types, BBQ oysters, Salmon Appetizers, Geoduck sashimi, Clam snacks, Crurried mussels, steamed clams...ah So much FREE stuff ... I ate over a dozen of each and stuffed myself silly with seafood !!

    (4)

  • Eamon K.

    The service was quick. The geoduck chowder was great. Good selection if good fresh oysters!

    (4)

  • Bossy M.

    ok, hold on. has anyone noticed how f%$@#ing handsome the dudes at this joint are...!!??? never mind the sexy shellfish. dave and tom made a sista feel like a cool breeze....we chatted, they smiled, and listened, inquired and served....everything a chick wants in a good shellfish experience. I purchased shigokus and a fat azz dungi and these gentlemen made it an absolute pleasure. they were handsome. the shellfish was spectacular. the whole experience...delicious. these cats clearly know their shellfish...and the ladies who love it. cheers tom and dave....cheers, Tracey

    (5)

  • Mary L.

    Oh gosh, when I first had the oysters here they were to-die-for. They were fresh and did not have that yucky seafood feeling to them you find at supermarkets. The geoduck was delectable. I honestly was just sitting there silently enjoying my meal...which is a good thing im opinion.

    (5)

  • Mikiko T.

    omg, I don't know where to begin...I am a HUGE fan of Taylor Shellfish Farms....I just LOVE them, like a LOT!! PROS: 1. The quality of the shellfish is very high. 2. Price is reasonable, and yet I haven't found 1 single dead clam! 3. People working there are super helpful and they are willing to answer any of my questions. CONS: none! Seriously, I cannot think of any :-) We go there once every 1-2 weeks to buy mussel, steamer clams, fresh scallops, and my absolute favorite.....oysters!! And also we are planning on asking them to have an oyster bar at our wedding next summer. If you have any question about oysters, talk to a gentleman named Bill. He made me feel extremely welcome to ask any questions about oysters, and his passion for farming high quality shellfish was almost overwhelming. (in a positive way, of course!)

    (5)

  • Ross H.

    Review is specifically for the Dungeness Crab Cracking Demo with Jon Rowley. I walked in loving Dungeness Crab but absolutely intimated on preparing them myself. I walked out full - of both knowledge and crab! Jon walked us through the basics of how to get all the meat out of a crab. We started with a whole crab and then hands-on explored and systematically dismantled the crab to to maximize the meat with minimal carnage. We then ate our work. The class was fun and Jon's knowledge of seafood is staggering.

    (5)

  • Chris Y.

    If you love oysters, you gotta come here and buy yourself a dozen...make that a couple dozen oysters! Yes, they are that good. Besides oysters, I bought mussels, clams, and geoduck. All have been top-notch and easily match the ones you get at some of the best restaurants around the country. And that's because top restaurants around the country get their shellfish from Taylor. The staff has been very helpful and helps to select oysters and even shucks them for a small fee. The one time I bought a whole Geoduck, he gave me great times to preparing it and it was great eaten raw. If you're looking for the freshest seafood, avoid touristy Pike Market and come here...You won't be disappointed.

    (5)

  • tiffany t.

    Crazy fresh oysters & geoduck! Puget Pacifics are the best oysters - great sweet cucumber finish.

    (4)

  • John S.

    No-nonsense oysters and geoduck. Very fresh, always delicious. Bit pricey for the portions.

    (4)

  • Stanley S.

    My wife and I came to Seattle to look for good Kumamoto to eat... while searchin on yelp... we've found this place which is not too expensive... this place is not too hard to find with my GPS... we walked in around 630PM monday nite... they had about 5 kinda of oysters... we knew that we wanted Kumamoto and we asked the guy to recommend a kind for us... we had 2 dozens... the Kumamoto was fresh and creamy as always... the other selection that the guy picked was clean and fresh taste... we both like it... and the soda that they sell in the store kinda compliment the oysters too... we tried the cucumber soda... nice and clean taste... if i visit seattle again in the future... i will def go back here...

    (4)

  • Jamie Q.

    This place invented Shigoku oysters. It is worth a flight to Seattle for a dozen of these. My new favorite varietal of oyster. And for the low low price of $18. I haven't been this impressed since I saw Brad Pitt in Troy.

    (5)

  • Stephen W.

    I love this place! The fish is so fresh, and the people are awesome. One of my favorite spots to eat oysters. Oh and the smoking hot manager doesn't hurt things either. Yum!

    (5)

  • Diane T.

    This place has a wonderful selection of local oysters and other seafood at a pretty affordable price. It's not really cheap, but hey this is downtown Seattle... The geoduck chowder is definitely one of the highlights! Not overly creamy or packed with filler. Grab a dozen oysters and shuck them at home, or enjoy them right there on the spot with some wine or beer!

    (4)

  • Grace W.

    small place, came here after work. you order first and find a place to sit. it gets pretty crowded so sometimes you have to stand awkwardly and wait till a space opens. its a little pricey, they have about 4-5 selections of oysters or so. theyre laid out for you to see when you walk in. it's a neat display! freshly shucked for you at the time of your order. the people who work here are really skilled! i had sand in one of mine. boo. inhaled my own dozen of oysters so quick i almost wanted to throw it up and eat it again. just kidding. ew. we also ordered a crab, it came cold. no butter, just lemons. ): the clam chowder is sooooooo gooood. they had two kinds of soups. i recommend both. will come here again when im in the area!

    (4)

  • Bob H.

    Helpful and Friendly Staff, great experience We mixed the first half dozen to see which oysters we preferred the most. Then we got a second half dozen of the those. The Shigoku and the Kumamoto are the best in my opinion. Had a half portion of the geoduck sashmi which was good. Had the blanch geoduck before so I was expecting a softer texture which was not the case. The favorite was good though. I would pass on the geoduck chowder though since it had too much celery but it was not bad at all.

    (4)

  • Tracy M.

    We stopped in because we saw the Melrose Market in one of our Seattle Foodie tourist type pamphlets. They had some mussels on special and they cooked them in the traditional tomato-wine-garlic broth. Despite being in a vacation rental, we were convinced we needed to buy a couple pounds and do the dish ourselves. Best mussels any of us have ever had. The staff was super helpful and the prices seemed good too. They even had geoduck!

    (5)

  • Sacha D.

    I created a Yelp account just so I could write this review...I came up from Portland for a show one weekend and was walking around on Capital Hill and pulled up yelp on my phone and found this place...the reviews seemed legit so my buddy and decided to go try it. It is a decision I will NEVER regret. We walked in and looked around and were greeted by the RADDEST guy Ive ever had help me out before, Tommy. He treated us like we were kings and hooked it up with hands down the best oysters I have ever had. SO FRESH, SO CLEAN, SO TASTY! Tommy I hope you read this man and know that every time I come to Seattle I will be stopping by to grub down! Cheers!

    (5)

  • Nelly N.

    Anything less than 5 stars and you must hate oysters. So fresh and so clean. They have a farm right in the store. I have never seen this before today. Going back everyday until we leave. Forget all the other oyster places. They made me love geoduck. Some ponzu would have made the geoduck next level eating. They have happy hour from 2 to 4pm. $4 off every dozen. These people made me love west coast oyster again. They are also the fastest shuckers ever. They shucked 2 dozen oysters in 5 mins. That's insane. Stop in and suck down a dozen.

    (5)

  • Gehan K.

    Wow...this is the best shellfish I eaten. Nice little restaurant with live lobsters...got some good wine to go with those oysters...try the rose white wine. Had some geo duck as well....not my fav bit it was interesting to eat it with Wasabi and soy sauce.

    (4)

  • Jessica S.

    This place is a gem. Came here with a friend this afternoon (Monday) while visiting Seattle. We got in during happy hour and polished off four dozen oysters between the two of us. Their dungeness crab is also very good (cracked for you!) Prices are very reasonable for what you're getting. Yes service can be a bit slow. But if you have good company and plenty of time to kill it's worth the wait.

    (4)

  • Mark D.

    I buy all of my shellfish here whenever I can. It has become a weekend ritual. They have beautiful live scallops, a great oyster selection, enormous crab and lobster, and clean clams and mussels. Someday soon I will try the geoduck, once I figure out the right way to use it. The happy hour is a pretty good deal, too.

    (5)

  • L Y.

    Since I LOVE oysters, I had to hunt for great oysters during my recent trip to Seattle. I made my husband come with me even though he couldn't have any because of his shellfish allergy. This place is AWESOME!!! It's CHEAP and simple! I got to try all 4 types and found I like the Kumamoto best followed by Olympia then Virginica. THIS is the place to go for oysters--they supply the oysters for many restaurants in Seattle...and even LA! Go to the source!!!

    (5)

  • Alix H.

    My favorite place to eat succulent freshly shucked oysters from people who know everything there is to know about oysters. It is a market but they have few small tables for you to sit and enjoy. You can also get freshly made soups (clam chowder or geoduck chowder) and wine pairing. LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

    (5)

  • Ria M.

    I love oysters even more since I've been to this place. I can't wait to come back when I'm in Seattle.

    (5)

  • Dave H.

    We just ate at Taylor Shellfish Farms and were very happy with the meal. Things to note: 1. Do not expect a long menu here. They do shellfish and do it well. 2. This is a seafood market first and a resturant second. The service is not what you would expect,iit is a seafood market be flexible. Go there for the oysters and you will not be disappointed.

    (5)

  • Christina L.

    Happy hour here is pretty cool, except if you come too late, most of the oysters will be gone. The last time I went there was an 1 1/2 into happy hour so there were no more kumamotos and the scallops were sold out. The only things I would prefer they do is serve raw clams and the whole scallop when raw (instead of just the muscle). Cool place to come for some oysters though, so if you're in the area, I definitely recommend it. Plus, all the good seafood places get their seafood from here =)

    (4)

  • Vivian L.

    Cheap and fresh. Small store and limited table. No server. The major problem is that even people are waiting in line inside, the people who has already finished their food, they will not leave. So I end up wait for over an hour to get a seat. But the food was amazon. The chowder is so so but the geoduck sashimi and Oysters are great. We end up ordered everything twice.

    (4)

  • Lilly N.

    First off, I have to say, Google needs to update their maps because I was unsure as to were the store was. :( As for the store/restaurant, it is nice and clean. The staff is very helpful. The variety is a bit limited, but what is available is delicious. I highly recommend going with some friends for happy hour.

    (4)

  • Jennifer W.

    The chowder bar is absolutely to die for. I loved loved loved the geoduck clam chowder which was creamy with a subtle hint of spice to it. Everything there is fresh and delicious, and I really liked that their wine selection complemented the fresh seafood perfectly. Staff here is super friendly and more importantly extremely knowledgeable on all the items on the menu. I would highly recommend this place and will bring family and friend here too.

    (5)

  • Katherine W.

    Really fresh seafood. Tried some of their guiduck, and their chowder was soy free!

    (5)

  • John M.

    Oysters are the best here. Very clean place, friendly atmosphere, and just plain good oysters. I have been here many times and now can't walk by without stopping in to have some. I always just let the Guy choose for me the oysters and eat away. You can't go wrong if you love oysters!

    (5)

  • Eliot E.

    If you're going to eat here, don't come expecting fine dining, but do come here expecting good, fresh oysters. Just go to the counter and order whatever they say is good. Then grab a beer from the cooler and sit down and wait. Repeat as necessary.

    (5)

  • Elysey E.

    awesome service, great wines by the glass, the chowders rule but the crab was too salty. (and i'm a salty girl!) i will go again but for the oy oys only. they have a super happy hour too! :)

    (4)

  • Florencia K.

    Best oysters in town! I went there during happy hour,and had the mix oyster and chowder and it were so nice and fresh. I just wish I can have more oyster. Will definetly become my routine in seatle

    (5)

  • Chris T.

    Great convenient place to try a variety of Oysters. 1 star off for the price. You can do better at Eliott's oyster bay happy hour (50 cents per oyster vs $2 per oyster here).

    (4)

  • Jeff C.

    Skip the touristy fish throwing at the pike place market and go to this quiet spot for *Fresh* Seafood to go. Also a great downtown/cap hill spot for a quick lunch. Excellent selection of fresh oysters shucked right in front of you - I was there around 2:30pm which was 'happy hour.' I got half a doz pacific oysters for $5 and some change! Good seafood stews/soups as well. Some hard to find seafood items in the ice box as well.

    (4)

  • Amy M.

    Mmm, I can still remember the slightly al dente texture and gorgeous savory flavor of the spot prawns we purchased this summer at this store. I have also purchased mussels, claims, crab and various sundries at this store and all were top notch. The spot prawns were a recommendation from one of the guys at the store--he told us how to cook them and they were the bidness. Not often you get big gorgeous spot prawns at a backyard BBQ. The cioppino I made from their shellfish was very much enjoyed--I've definitely found a solid seafood go to that isn't as far from downtown as mutual fish (though I continue my seafood love affair with MF). The guys who work here are awesome. FAN.

    (5)

  • Andreas R.

    This was a disappointment. Awful service. The staff was more interested in having a drink than putting out food. Somehow a small order of oysters and a geoduc sashimi took 45 minutes to come out. The oysters were unpleasantly salty, not briny and sweet as they should have been.

    (2)

  • eileen g.

    My friend and I came to Seattle with the sole purpose of eating our way through the city... this was one of the places we had on our go to list. Fortunately, it was one of the stops on our Savor Seattle Capitol Hill tour! Sooo good that we came back after the tour... David, the shuckmaster, took care of us showing us Seattle hospitality and hooked it up with some fresh oysters...The g

    (5)

  • Jackie A.

    These are the best oysters I've ever had! The staff is super friendly and I just got a great vibe from this place. REALLY delicious oysters. It's pretty affordable.

    (5)

  • Leanna G.

    They sell shellfish. Just shellfish. No salad, no cheese, no desserts. Just shellfish, farmed an hour north of here. The oysters we ordered were amazingly tasty and incredibly fresh. The food here is so damn fresh that the folks behind us had their prawns shucked at the table ... live ... wriggling and squirming. Which was perhaps a little more than I could deal with, but point is, the food is fresh as hell. At least with oysters, there isn't a lot of wriggling and squirming.

    (5)

  • Victor L.

    Really great place to get your shellfish fix without any fuss. Great variety and quality in the cool Melrose Market area.

    (4)

  • Dino D.

    Great place! Doesn't get much fresher.

    (4)

  • Brett W.

    Perfect. I would eat here every day if I could.

    (5)

  • E P.

    First of all they do not have bathrooms. Secomd no melted butter for the dungenous crab. No cooked food except for oyster stew or chowder. Oh wait dungenous crab is cooked. He does crack it to make it easier to eat. Be careful which oysters u choose as they may seem bigger in the water tank. Do not expect a fast oYster shucker. If u like rustix this is the place for you.

    (3)

  • M O.

    If you love fresh oysters, this is a must go! If you expect fish and chips, this is not the place for you. Highly recommend the mix oyster platter so you could sample 7 different varieties. I think they offer $4 off the oyster platters during happy hour. The geoduck sashimi was so tender and sweet. We also ordered clam chowder and that was pretty tastey. Service was great and price is reasonable for the quality of food. I can't wait to go back again.

    (4)

  • K M.

    Went here for steamed clams but ALL the fish is served raw except crab & chowder. Staff was way too cool for school, we left within minutes. I told them they were listed online for steamed clams, well... "We sell them here to take home and steam," well.... I live 777 miles from here so that probably won't work. However it looked like a young couple really into raw oysters would be happy.

    (1)

  • Kim N.

    I normally don't eat oysters but my friends highly recommend this place to try. I ordered the kumamoto oyster and geoduck sashimi. It was very fresh and yummy. My only disappointment was how little geoduck I got for the price I paid. I think oyster lovers will adore this place.

    (4)

  • Jessica S.

    Oysters are fresh, amazing and well priced for the quality. The 3 stars is for the slow and unprofessional service. The website states "our knowledgeable staff is excited to complete your desired culinary experience". This is far from our experience. I found the staff to be very unprofessional and totally unconcerned with anyone's culinary experience. All we ordered were 2 beers and a dozen oysters. The drinks came quickly but the dozen oysters were still not there over 20 minutes later. After trying to get the waiters attention unsuccessfully, finally went to the front to ask if our order had even been placed. I should also note there are only 5 or 6 tables in the place and they were not full. I'm no expert on shucking oysters, but 25 minutes to shuck and serve 12 oysters in a restaurant with 6 tables seems a bit excessive. We also had an awkward experience when we went to the front to pay, with the guy at the register failing to acknowledge us until he finished whatever conversation he was having with his co workers that was not work related. Overall very disappointing, been looking forward to trying this place for a long time with very high hopes. Will not be returning. Amazing oysters, but staff need a serious lesson in customer service.

    (3)

  • Ben H.

    We were craving for some good seafood, this was the perfect place. The oyster was really fresh. Along with the geoduck. Service was great too.

    (5)

  • Avivos S.

    nothing but oysters on the menu! well, that's not actually correct, they do have a few chowders/soups but really, oysters are the focal point of this really nice place in the heart of cap hill and the prices are great! (between $12-$18 for 12 freshly shucked oysters depending on the type). bottom line: fresh, cheap, fast. definitely come here if you're just in the mood for fresh oysters without any commitments.

    (4)

  • Hector A.

    I went to this place hours before I left Seattle, kind off just wondering through the last remaining places I had not hit up on my trip, we went to the melrose market we had herd it was more of a hipster spot. It was but we remembered the night before a waitress had told us about a oyster spot somewhere but we saw the sign at the melrose market we quickly remembered. We went in and kind of questioned sitting down because the place only had one customer in there and it looked nothing like any of the other restaurants we had gone to there it looked more like a seafood market. But there was nothing wrong with that, we sat down and Waited a bit but finally got some help we had the waiter recommend us an alcoholic drink I had a porter and my wife a cider. I ordered a dozen Kumamoto oysters, these where probably the best in comparison to all the places we went to that weekend that included mostly the top oyster spots in Seattle this was by far the best or equivalent to the walrus and the carpenter. Then I moved on to this clam or a conch not sure the name of it but i had herd plenty of it, I had actually herd it was native to the north west beaches of the us but did not expect running into it here, I probably seen it on a menu before but never recognized the name, well it was delicious, weird look but looks are deceiving. We had another drink and asked for a soft shell crab and another dozen oysters, I can honestly say a have never had better crab so fresh and sweet they made it so easy to eat they crack it up for you. We never ended up getting our second order of oysters we waited for over an hour for them and never got them, I gave the waiter the look you know the one that says where the hell is my food but he had no clue. I could see that they whee too busy flirting with the girls at the bar. O well we left happy regardless of the terrible service the food was delicious.

    (4)

  • Alex S.

    Happy happy joy joy!!! Reminds me of that fishy smelling hooker from grade school, only better!!!

    (5)

  • Darin S.

    I could never say enough good things about this place! Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum!!!!!

    (5)

  • David L.

    Why would Taylor expose their respected brand to this shoddy treatment? It's a dirty scruffy place and parking is hard to find. We walked in at about closing time (after one half hour looking for parking and a bit of a walk from our space.) The place looked uninviting and it turned out it literally was. One of the shuckers very rudely informed us that they had shucked their last oyster that day and we might as well leave because no one was serving us. The oysters are probably good but you can get good oysters a lot of places in Seattle without the rudeness and hassle.

    (1)

  • Andrew T.

    Arrived during happy hour and got the geoduck chowder and a dozen medium oysters. The chowder was pretty good but the oysters were amazing! I wasn't a huge fan of oysters before having them here but if I lived in the area I would be here all the time.

    (5)

  • Ann M.

    I really want this store to do well. They have amazing prices for lobster and Dungeness crab, and high end restaurants around Seattle sell their oysters for twice as much as the storefront's price. We bought lobster and oysters to take home and they were both delicious. Unfortunately, the customer service here was terrible. No one was mean or impolite; everyone seemed to be trying to do a decent job. And, to be fair, the store just opened, so it may take some time for them to get their bearings. What was so disappointing about it then? 1) The guy who helped us could not pull a lobster out of the tank for the life of him, even though their claws were banded together. 2) The signs for the oysters were really unclear. After tasting them, it seems like they were all the same type, but some were labeled Pacifics and some were labeled Totten Inlet. 3) We asked for extra small oysters, but he pulled a bunch out of an unlabeled basket. I think they were the right size, but why not take the oysters out of the basket that is specifically labeled with what I asked for? 4) This is the kicker. He tried to charge us for double the lobster's weight...what?! It didn't seem malicious, more like he just couldn't remember how much it weighed. Oh yeah, the process of buying a lobster and a dozen oysters took almost 15 minutes, even though we were the only customers there. No wonder he couldn't remember how much the lobster weighed. I want an awesome seafood shop in Cap Hill, but you're going to have to do better than this to compete with Pike Place Market!

    (3)

  • Liz T.

    Taylor's has made me a fan of Oysters! Wow!! - so fresh, so sweet, so briny - what a burst of flavors in your mouth! I can't stop thinking of the Kusshi, Kumamoto and the comeback kid, the Olympia! Will definitely be back .. and can't wait to try their geoduck chowder the next time. Street parking could be problematic in the area.

    (5)

  • todd s.

    Three of us stopped in for lunch and sampled all of the oysters available and all were exceptionally fresh, well prepared and presented, and tasted excellent. The kumamoto and shigoku were the favorites for all of us. We also tried both chowders which were hearty and flavorful and enjoyed some good cold beers. Lunch doesn't get any better.

    (4)

  • M P.

    Went today and destroyed 2 dozen oysters. Great staff and atmosphere. Prices are very reasonable.

    (5)

  • P L.

    Good oysters but really bad service and pretty rude staff.

    (4)

  • Colby H.

    Very cool expirence if you like oysters on the half shell. It's fun to pick them out of the live tanks. You can mix a dozen however you want or just order a couple. They have some of the more popular oysters. They also had some live scallops, crabs, Maine lobsters, clams, and gooey ducts. It's a must if you are into it. We walked there from Pikes place witch didn't take too long. I will be back.

    (5)

  • Eric C.

    Great selection of fresh oysters. Geoduck soup was ok... Tasted just like clam chowder. Nice friendly staff

    (4)

  • Sam L.

    Meh, this place is okay. The seafood isnt extremely expensive, but I guess you can't really talk about the price for this dining experience. The seafood was fresh. Nothing extremely special that I can point out. What really tipped me off to give a 3 star review was the service, absolutely terrible! Staffs seemed like they didnt care, and Im pretty sure one of them even snared at my party of 8. What is up with that?

    (3)

  • Liza K.

    Had a great experience. Good food, good wine, good suggestions and guidance from the staff. I would absolutely return. Thanks!

    (5)

  • Elena V.

    I've been to Taylor Shellfish many times but finally had to write a review after yesterday night's experience. Once and for all, I said, "These guys are SO great! I've got to write them a Yelp review." I originally visited the store because I love shellfish, and it was right down the street, but I've returned over and over because the shellfish is fresh, local and delicious. I continue to return now, even though I've moved out of the neighborhood. More than anything, though, I love this place because the guys who work there are 10s. They know how to give you a TERRIFIC customer experience, whether it's being knowledgeable about their shellfish, giving you a laugh, or giving you a little freebie like an oyster to taste. No lie, each and every time we've left the store, we've remarked how great those guys are and how much we love that store. This business truly deserves every success it has based on the way it treats its customers. They've got me for my shellfish needs for life! Just when we thought it couldn't get better, we saw the new tables set up with mouth-watering seafood being served with white wine. We had paella plans at home, but we were tempted to blow them off and just hang out in the store. Run, don't walk, to Taylor Shellfish! They also have a Chinook Book coupon, FYI.

    (5)

  • Alan S.

    I come to Seattle annually for the holidays and I begged my sister to take me here this year. The Shigoku oyster is my all time favorite variety and I only occasionally get them on the east coast and when they are available, they are frequently sold out. My family of 4 came here on Thursday afternoon around 1pm. There were only a few people dining there but once the happy hour hit at 2pm, the place became crowded very quickly. This place was amazing and its definitely now one of my favorite places in America. I wish we had something like this in Boston because I'd go very frequently. We had a coupe dozen oysters (Kumamoto and Shigoku), the geoduck chowder and a couple crabs. The oysters were some of the best I've ever had. Incredibly fresh tasting and perfectly shucked. The geoduck chowder was very good, a little on the spicy side. And the crab was incredibly sweet and fresh. Definitely one of the dining highlights of my trip!

    (5)

  • Benito L.

    Great geoduck chowder and oysters are heavenly

    (5)

  • Marvin F.

    By far the best oyster spot in Seattle, with a happy hour from 2-4 Mon thru Fri!!! I was lucky enough to find this place one day before a scheduled oyster sit with great friends. The oysters were the freshest I have ever eaten, and I know my crew really enjoyed them too. By the way, this review is from a Oyster Addict!!!

    (5)

  • Nika L.

    My boyfriend and I decided to try this place to kill time before our dinner reservations and we were pleasantly surprised. They have a pretty good selection of locally farmed oysters but there's also a small bar area - where they also serve wine. I recommend trying the Shigoku oysters with tabasco. So FRESH and the oysters go through a super organic tumbling process that gives the shell it's silky smoothness.

    (5)

  • Karen J.

    I'm done with Taylor shellfish. Apparently they don't actually want to sell to the customer. They had scallops out and when we went to buy them they said "oh sorry someone called in and bought those." If this was the first such experience, fine. However this is the second time they have done something like this. I'm ready to find a customer focused seafood store.

    (1)

  • Ajay A.

    Went during happy hour and went to town on a platter of oysters! I love this place!

    (5)

  • David L.

    Best oysters you'll find at the best prices. They don't get fresher than these. The company owns the farms. Friendly staff. Nice stews geoduck etc

    (5)

  • Noll K.

    If you are pressed for lunch and love clam chowder, look no further! I walked in at lunchtime, grabbed a bowl of Oyster & Geoduck chowder (it's self-serve), a few fistfuls of crackers and a juniper-flavored seltzer. Sooooo good on a chilly day!

    (5)

  • Edward B.

    this place is awesome! i wanted to write a bad review just to keep people away because it is really that good!

    (5)

  • Heather S.

    Scallop sashimi... Mmmm! Doesn't get any fresher than this. I got to pick out my favorite live scallops. I'll be back!

    (5)

  • M B.

    Top notch. Completely casual and unassuming. The oysters were fantastic and loved trying the fresh geoduck.

    (5)

  • Linnet T.

    Excellent raw oysters and steamed Dungeness crab. Can't get any fresher oysters! We spent the most delightful afternoon lunching at the counter sampling Kumamoto and Shigoku oysters, the oyster bisque, steamed Dungeness crab (super yummy with a glass of bubbly as they recommended), and geoduck sashimi. Very informal, friendly, fun atmosphere. So glad locals recommended this place to us!

    (5)

  • David V.

    The place to go if you are into fresh oysters, crab and unpretentious, good service!

    (5)

  • Isaac P.

    Awesome oysters in an incredibly casual, low-key atmosphere. The staff is really friendly and you sit at bar tables right next to the tanks of fresh oysters and shellfish whie watching them shuck your selection. The menu is simple - chowder and shellfish with a small beer and wine selection. The oysters are truly fabulous. It makes the higher end oyster bars look pretentious and silly while totally outdoing them on freshness/quality.

    (5)

  • S Y.

    Sunday is no shucking fee but it has been getting packed recently. My favorites are Olympia, Virginica, and Kunamoto oysters. I will have to try the geoduck next time.

    (5)

  • Jana W.

    we were really excited to try this place as we've heard good things and read good reviews. but it was pretty much the worst service I've had in a long time. the waiter basically ignored us for the first 20 minutes we were here and offered no apology/explanation. the food was pretty good, but I'm not sure I'll be back.

    (1)

  • Cindy H.

    really friendly and helpful, even for oyster noobs. clean, cheap and tasty :)

    (5)

  • Pink P.

    Seriously amazing oysters, knowledgeable and friendly, lovely location, and sweet prices. I don't even mind not sipping a dirty martini while slurping my oysters...this place is all*about*the*shellfish. Yum.

    (5)

  • Port D.

    if you love oysters this is where you want to be. A few blocks uphill from the convention center. If you're screwing around downtown timing happy hours, jostling with crowds and paying high prices, you're nuts. This is the place, pure oyster heaven. Taylor is the farm that raises the oysters that distribute to the downtown restaurants, so you get them fresher here. You can pick a couple dozen oysters, they shuck 'em, pour you a glass of wine, and you're served the freshest oysters on a bed of shaved ice that you've ever seen. Tip well here and become a regular.

    (5)

  • Rebecca D.

    This store has great fresh shellfish available. We went in without really knowing the type of oyster we wanted, and were provided great information on what is what. If I could afford to come here every day, I would!

    (5)

  • Miami S.

    Finally went to the new Taylor Shellfish Farm Store on Melrose. Very clean and orderly and a nice addition to "the Hill"s" plethora of great places to eat. Great assortment of chowders and oysters. Great suggestions on wine pairings. No surprises here due to the Mega Corporate "Monopoly" that TSF has over the smaller shellfish farmers of the Pacific NorthWest.

    (3)

  • Thomas L.

    If you like seafood, it is a MUST visit restaurant. Forget other expensive place. Friendly service, top of the world fresh oyster and geoduck!!

    (5)

  • Lisa D.

    are you craving for some really fresh oysters? or did you want to make some seafood at home? whatever the case may be taylor shellfish is the spot to be. I'm super impressed with the fact that it's a little oyster market with a few small tables that you can sit there and eat oysters that they shuck for you. fresh shucked oysters: totten inlet $14.99 a dozen; olympia $19.99 a dozen; shigoku $20.99 a dozen, and kumamoto $23.99 a dozen. ordered: they were nice enough to let us customize it where we pretty much got 2 of each type. just so we would be able try them all. all i gotta say is the oysters did taste fresh and they are super delicious. we were so glad that it tasted good and it was worth the long walk from pike's market. they bring the oysters to you. just remember to pay them. i would highly recommend taylor shellfish farms to folks that are living in seattle or to who are visiting seattle to come here. you totally would not be disappointed. this yelper is definitely a fan! tips: *pretty far from pikes market just FYI. my boyfriend and i walked from pike's market and it was pretty tiring. *cash and credit card accepted. *limited seating. that are indoor only. first come, first serve. self seating. *free street parking. *for the bathroom you gotta go to the little market a few doors down. *you can purchase live seafood to take home. *very simple and short menu. if you're looking for something extensive with lots of options this is not the right place for you. *oyster happy hour: monday-friday 2-4pm $4.00 off per dozen *they serve alcohol [beer/wine]. *you can ask for glasses of water.

    (4)

  • Tma Y.

    The biggest oyster supplier owns this sweet oyster bar. We always come here in morning. Quiet,bright, modern style bar seats. Oyster man is knowledgable if you are new to oysters. I usually pick favorite oysters, a beer and geoduck sashimi. Their seafood is always fresh and clean.

    (5)

  • Nancy C.

    It probably doesn't help that I hate oysters......However, they were sold out of all their soups/chowders that day I was there. Hubby (who loves oysters said they were just ok - price was reasonable)

    (2)

  • Cindy L.

    Opens at 10am and has delicious fresh oysters that you can pick yourself to bring home or eat there! On the wall they have a poster showing the extensive list of restaurants in Seattle that serve their oysters! It was my first time having Totten Virginica oysters and they were huge, sweet, and not briny! I was excited for the geoduck chowder but was slightly disappointed the potatoes and carrots in the chowder weren't cooked until they were soft. It was a little weird to having crunchy pieces in my soup, but overall the flavor was good and it definitely had a kick to it. Would recommend coming for fresh oysters!

    (4)

  • May B.

    So while on vacation in Seattle, my husband had to get his fill of oysters. He found this place and what a treat! First off, very cool part of town. Then you walk into this place and you can just smell the fresh scent of the sea. We got a sampler and got to try 4 different kinds of oysters. The guy was super nice and really took the time to talk to us about the oysters, where they're from, the flavor, etc. Love the look and feel of this place - I would totally go to this place all the time if I live in Seattle!

    (5)

  • Kent H.

    Dungeness crab was cold, it said it in the menu, but rather tasteless. Crab was pre-cracked with just the legs and joints, body removed. I guess the must here is to be able try oysters of all types and sizes, with a great selection. The setup was nice at the restaurant, but there was no way to telling where the crab came from even though there was a tank in the front of the market/restaurant. The oyster chowder had whole chunks of oyster but lacked everything else, kinda watery and wasn't thick.

    (2)

  • Marci M.

    Instantly in love! The freshest seafood, great atmosphere! It's tiny but perfect! If you love fresh oysters this is the spot!

    (5)

  • Chad Y.

    Jonathan Swift once said "He was a bold man that first ate an oyster," and I have to say I would concur with that sentiment. We are talking about a raw piece of meat that looks like a loogie that came out of a 5 year old and actually is a filter feeder which means it is probably filled with the "bad stuff." Oh wait...it is considered an aphrodisiac and that right there might be a reason for its popularity. When it comes to shellfish, Taylor Shellfish Farms has come synonymous with producing some of the best in Washington state. Needless to say you have to try it once. A couple of friends and I opted to share a couple dozen Kumamoto, Olympia, Pacific and Shigoku oysters to satiate our hunger till dinner, while trying a variety to see the differences. All were phenomenal and nicely presented over a bed of ice with the traditional accoutrements of lemon and cocktail sauce. The high stools and wooden tables near the tanks make you feel as if you are on the farm picking the oysters and other shellfish items yourself. Needless to say, you taste the freshness and experience the seafood in a cool, hip environment. Prices are rather reasonable considering the product and its a great place for a nice appetizer before heading to a nearby restaurant. Oysters and shellfish? Why not right? and if you have no other reason to go there....it's an aphrodisiac! p.s. legal disclaimer: don't go if you're allergic to shellfish or oysters.

    (4)

  • Lisa T.

    Great men who seem to love their job and know their seafood. Home of the Shigoku oyster; grown by TSF but shipped nationwide. Wayy cheaper to buy it whole and shuck it at home. If I lived in Seattle, you KNOW I'll be doing this! Skip on the geoduck sashimi. I got a SUPER thinly sliced small mound that I couldn't even taste the flavor of the geoduck. For $12, skip this and get the geoduck chowder which has bigger pieces of geoduck. Anyways, on to the oysters. There's a good selection of oysters. They aren't cheap, but they are fresh. My favorite, hands down, is the Shigoku. The meat was SO thick- thick as in girth and it was not even hard to chew. It had the same consistency of any raw oyster- slurpable. Its size made it hard to slurp though, haha. Look out for my photo of it. You will not believe your eyes!! And it was NOT photoshopped too!

    (5)

  • Steve L.

    Great place to get the flavor of the Pacific Northwest! It doesn't get any fresher than this! Being Asian, I grew up with fresh seafood. And by fresh, I mean it was swimming less than an hour before it hit the plate. There is a incredible richness in the flavor of fresh seafood. Taylor's delivers the same experience. We stopped by for lunch and surprisingly, it wasn't packed. Lucky for us! I would recommend you stop by for a snack. The limited menu and prices make it prohibitive to have an entire meal here.

    (4)

  • Chris D.

    I hate Taylor Shellfish Farms. No, hate is too weak. I loathe them. Yes, that's it. I well and truly loathe Taylor Shellfish Farms. Why? They've ruined me. No matter how hard I try, I am simply unable to convince myself to eat oysters anywhere in Seattle other than TSF. Given the plethora of offerings around this city, you can see how that imparts a serious bit of internal conflict within my internals. Good thing I have heaps of briny, irony, silky oysters served sans frills at great prices to cram in there and sort things out. I am both saddened and delighted they are in a part of the city I rarely find myself. P.S. - 100th Taylor review. I rock almost as much as the oysters there!

    (5)

  • Amber N.

    I went to the location down town and I want to shoot out Lance he was incredible. My boyfriend and I were drenched from standing in a huge line at the Lodge before the NFC Championship game against the Packers and we finally gave up and were looking for any place with an awning and stumbled into this restaurant. We were warmly welcomed by Lance even though he was insanely busy and had no place for us to sit and nothing for us to drink at the time he let us stand in the front. He could have been irritated or rude...in fact many people would have been but his hospitality really made our experience. The food was amazing too! These were the best oysters at a restaurant that I've ever had. We stayed here for the whole game and I could not give a more positive review about the staff, food and overall experience!

    (5)

  • Matthew M.

    Fresh bomb oysters and seafood Truly the freshest, greatest and nicest place to eat oysters! The seating is a little weird and crazy and makes it hard to get around and share food as well as pick food from the tanks when there are people eating almost on top of it. The geo duck chowder was too runny for my taste...i prefer chowders hearty and thick with butter. The geo duck sashimi was WOW though. As were the scallops...little soy sauce and some wasabi and you're good. Very good! Try going to early lunch or early dinner for your best experience...once the rush is in it will compromise the quality of your experience.

    (4)

  • Chrysteen B.

    I gave it another try, like I said I would. The service was much faster than last time. As I expected, the oysters were great. I definitely recommend trying this place.

    (4)

  • Robert S.

    I've been craving oysters for months...wanting some real fresh outta the bay ones. I waited for nearly a week before I was able to get up to Taylor Shellfish Farms in Seattle. I went in about 40 minutes before close. The guys behind the counter hooked me up and I spent WAY more money that I had planned. But it was worth every single solitary cent that I did spend. I just regret that I wasn't able to try the daily soup selection. This is a great place to get your fresh oyster fix and a good beer. And yes I am totally glad I don't live close to here. But this will be a place I will seek out in the future. Getting to put down two fresh that day oysters shucked 4 minutes before is a total treat. And not only did they give me good service but they suggested a bunch of great places to eat in the area for my wife and daughter.

    (5)

  • Matthew L.

    I had two goals while visiting Seattle. First try the geoduck clam. I was able to check that off here. The other was to eat as man kushi oysters as possible. Unfortunately they were out of them that day. I also had some of the dungeness crab. The place is small and quaint. Everything is fresh and the ingredients are the star. If you are looking for fresh this is the place.

    (3)

  • Sherwin L.

    I came in here for a quick snack of oysters before getting real dinner, but didn't realize how much freshness these oysters had had in them. I eat oysters like chewing bubble gum, so I went ahead and chewed on these oysters until all their seafood-y goodness was gone. But damn, that took an awfully long time. These Shigoku oysters were no joke. What I had planned to be a ten-minute snack ended up to be a half-hour seafood nirvana. If oysters weren't so expensive, I would have just stayed there and eaten oysters for dinner that night!

    (4)

  • Ryan P.

    Tom is the most informative, knowledgeable, and laidback shucker I have ever met. The entire staff here seem to like their job, and that makes for an enjoyable dining experience! They have fun and put you at ease within minutes. Sit at the bar, join in the fun, and slurp 'em down. Also, eat the pickled veggies. There was a young lady there who prided herself on experimenting with pickling, and her inventiveness and creativity shine through with each veggie I tried (sorry, didn't catch her name). TSF...you do good things!!! Edit: This was for the oyster bar...I messed up!

    (5)

  • George M.

    My first review was deleted from yelp so I will write one more. The food was very good. Its oysters from nearby farms so it would be really hard for them to screw that up. But the people that work there are horrible. They managed to take forever, yell at each other, and play music incredibly loud. RECAP: GOOD FOOD, ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE SERVICE. Which is a shame because I love the concept. My advice would be to skip this place until they get serious about customer service.

    (1)

  • Cara S.

    Aloha, I have had the pleasure of working at Taylor. I delivered to restaraunts throughout The Seattle metro areas and further North. I have great respect for the work in preserving the waters of the Puget sound to continue sustainability.

    (5)

  • Jeremy P.

    My whole life, I've been looking for the holy grail of oysters, if by "whole life" I mean "the last year or two," and by "looking for the holy grail of" I mean "eating." But I feel like I have finally found it. When you walk into this place, the first thing you see is a few tables. And a tank of oysters. And then you see a tank of live lobster and dungeness crab, at a very reasonable price. And then you see the floor. And then you see some chilled dungeness crabs waiting to be eaten. And then you see the counter, with the staff behind it working. And then you see the refrigerators with various beverages. Finally, you look out the window because that's really all that's left, besides maybe the ceiling. Then you walk up to the counter, and tell them you want a dozen oysters, and make it a sampler, a dungeness crab, and how about some DRY juniper berry soda as well? And you go sit down at one of the tables and wait for your food. You then overhear the staff bragging to one of the customers that they won some nationwide shucking competition, and you see their award, and know they're legit. Then one of the guys working there brings you your oysters, while the girl working there begins washing and cracking your crab. And you taste the oysters, and find them to be the absolute most delicious oysters you have ever had. They are all plump, fresh, and packed with wonderful oceanic overtones, undertones, sidetones, middletones, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and any other tones you can think of. Then they bring you your crab, and they bring you your geoduck sashimi, at which point you remember you also ordered the geoduck sashimi. You absolutely love the geoduck, even though the guy working there is disappointed they don't have any live geoduck left to actually show you. But it's OK, really, the important thing is that it's fresh and delicious. And the crab is easy to eat because they've already cracked it for you. While you're eating, you overhear two guys who walked in a little after you, and they're talking about oysters throughout their entire meal. You know this place is legit when there are people eating here who know enough about oysters to talk about them for a solid 30 minutes, and have a bottomless supply of oyster-related anecdotes. Then you get your bill, and it seems very reasonable, at like 60 bucks or something, you don't remember really, considering you had a dozen oysters, geoduck, and a whole dungeness crab. And a soda, don't forget your soda. You ask the guy where they farm all these delicious oysters, and he shows you their map of the puget sound with pins where each farm is located. And then you see their list on the wall with all the Seattle area restaurants that get their oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farms, and you see that some of them are even famous for their oysters. And you're like, "This is awesome, I'm getting them right from the source!" You even ask the guy what time they open, because maybe you might want to make one last oyster run before flying home to Phoenix. And the next morning you show up, a little after 10AM, for some morning oysters, with your camera this time. And the guy charges you happy hour prices just because they're so cool and friendly there. OK, this may not be your *exact* experience, but it was mine. And it was phenomenal. I'm still thinking about those oysters. This is the place to get oysters in Seattle; nay, in the United States of America. Don't expect a real traditional dining experience; there aren't really cooks, there isn't really a menu, just people running the place, selling shellfish, and shucking oysters as needed.

    (5)

  • Lauren K.

    Whole chilled Dungeness with a squeeze of lemon - perfection!

    (5)

  • Jeremy W.

    Oysters, prawns and seaweed salad was good. Actually they were all pretty damn good and fresh. But the waiter really blew. He loitered endlessly at the line and waited 20 minutes to wipe down our table. Even after being asked to do so, he still waited a good 10 minutes. Finally we sat at the bar facing outside instead. Then he took forever to come over and take our order. He had inescapably awful breath and seemed to think himself cool and worldly, but he came off as blase and cynical. He didn't explain the oysters at all, which kinda sucked 'cause the ones I got were pretty large. A customer next to us was nice enough to tell us that the Olympics ($20/dozen) and the other ones for $23 / dozen were smaller & better. Ooops. Seaweed salad was super yummy though. I think if I went back here I'd order to go. Or I'd just come when I had a shit ton of time to kill and not a care in the world. That will happen never. So actually, I won't go back. There are plenty of awesome seafood counters and bars in Seattle.

    (2)

  • Allie M.

    Amazing food. The shellfish is all alive minutes before it makes it to your table, so I don't think there is any question that this is the freshest you can get, and I don't think you'll find many reviews here contesting that. I do want to say something about the service that everyone is complaining about. I scoured these reviews before going to Taylor Shellfish Farms, and was a little scared to go after reading about the "atrocious" service. However, if you haven't been here before, please do not be put off by these reviews! The service is seriously just fine. Here is how to handle the seating: walk in and sit your ass down. If there is a line, make note of where you are at in the line and then proceed to sit your ass down once 1) it's your turn and 2) there is a table open that can fit your party. It's not that difficult, I swear. Just try it. Servers were friendly. Also make note that water is self-serve, so don't sit there like a dimwit waiting for a server to bring your water then proceed to make a review on here about how it took 20 minutes for you to be served a self-serve water. One more thing: if you are looking for geoduck, EAT HERE. The geoduck sashimi was perfect - thinly sliced, non-rubbery, and sweet. You'll love it.

    (5)

  • Jenn N.

    Stellar shellfish. The staff are helpful and knowledgeable when answering questions. It's a great place to start the night with a couple dozen shigoku oysters and a cup of geoduck chowder to share. Oysters are always expertly shucked! Also a great place to buy your fresh shellfish to cook at home. Good place to get a live geoduck if you are up for the challenge. They also sell decent baguettes now to eat there or to bring home and enjoyed with your culinary creation.

    (5)

  • Dorene S.

    Geoduck sashimi..all the way!! The oysters were of course great with Kumamoto being my favorite. Also tried the scallop sashimi - thought it was on a smaller side but sweet and delectable, just like what fresh scallop should taste like! KPI (Key Performance Indicator) ratings (1-5, 5 - best): Quality: 4 Delivery/Service: 3 Cost: 3

    (4)

  • Irene P.

    Oysters and geoduck were delicious! Got the dry cucumber soda which was nice and refreshing to finish it off : )

    (5)

  • Stan L.

    come for the geoduck sashimi... the oysters are also top notch.. but they are pretty pricy when there are plenty of other cheaper yet delicious options throughout the city..

    (4)

  • Logan P.

    5 different type of raw oyster to choose from and decent pricing. Not much is really need to be said. Customer service is pretty good and the only reason why I gave this place 5 stars is because tobasco sauce and raw oyster is one of my favorites. Can't compare to anything in Cali but now this place makes me want to go explore areas like this in Cali.

    (5)

  • Lisa H.

    Interesting place! We got the red chowder and a couple of oysters. The oysters were really fresh, and the red chowder was good, different. We loved the sourdough bread that come unlimited with the soup.

    (4)

  • S C.

    OMG do I love this place! I want to move to Seattle so I can eat here all the time. The service is a little slow but the oysters are the best and such a great selection of so many kinds with reasonable prices. Loved the Shogiku and kumomoto and enjoyed the geoduck too. I really enjoyed everything I had but those 2 oysters were my favorites. This is a place I will be recommending to everyone I know and I am for sure making it a stop in all future trips to Seattle.

    (5)

  • Sharon C.

    This was the first restaurant I have ever been to in Seattle, and I was very impressed. TSF is hip and clean, and they offer a wide variety of oysters on site. Among me and my two other travel companions, we had a total of 4 dozens oysters. Being huge fans of oysters, we have our shares of oysters over the years, we were very excited to try something that we haven't before with a freshness that is superb. TSF has limited seating, so do go at odd hours, which brings to the benefits of their happy hour. If I remember correctly, it starts at 2pm for two hours. They waive the shucking fees, I believe. Best to call ahead and confirm. I would definitely come back again and had plan to, but Seattle just had too much to offer! Enjoy!

    (5)

  • Renee L.

    Ordered: - Oysters on a half shell, geoduck ceviche (w mango, pineapple, chili), dungeness crab, oyster chowder (soooo good!), Service: Was EXCELLENT!!! attentive and friendly! Price: On avg $25/pp Overall experience: A must to visit when in Seattle!!! Great quality for a great price!

    (5)

  • Supriya P.

    I've been to Taylor's 4 times now, and all other times were great experiences, the last time was not. We arrived on a busy Friday evening. We approached the counter to put in an order and grab a seat. There were several people milling around so it was a bit confusing. The waitress literally yelled us saying that she was busy and would help us when she could. It was abrasive and off putting, unfortunate because the food is delicious. It really put a damper on our evening.

    (3)

  • Ellen L.

    We need something like this in Vancouver. Stat. It's like eating inside a Chinatown live seafood market, but way more hip of course. A few high tables. Beer and wine available. You pick what kind of oysters you want, and it's shucked and served in front of you. Prices are incredible - $12-$19 per dozen + $4 shucking fee. Also received a bit of education on the types of raw oysters. Too cool. If you want to sample Seattle's seafood offerings, why not come here for a shuckirific appy and then saunter over to the fancier seafood restaurants. It's located just on the outskirts of Downtown.

    (5)

  • P C.

    This place is a market that sells seafood as well as serving oysters and other food items. This place has the best geoduck clams. The oysters were also very fresh and delicious. The price is great for the quality that you get.

    (5)

  • Leeanna L.

    Wandered into this place for a bite before heading over to wait in the queue for Shiro's. Such a cool little oyster bar. Love the open kitchen concept and that the oysters are displayed out in the middle of the room. The selection was fresh and the wine list fantastic. The oysters were shucked with plenty of briny liquor left in the shell and served with a mignonette and lemon slices. Perfection.

    (5)

  • Ade A.

    Utterly brilliant. I can't recommend this place enough. One could taste the ocean; that is how fresh the oysters were. By far the best oysters I've had.

    (5)

  • A. B.

    The freshest Oysters you'll ever have!

    (5)

  • Cville D.

    I've never encountered such rude service in Seattle. We were greeted with a sign saying to "grab a menu and a seat". After waiting in line, enough seats opened at the bar and given that the host didn't come by for a while, we sat down and wiped the dirty counter on the bar. After 10 minutes of sitting there, we asked for our order to be taken. The rude waiter responded "I'll take your order when I get to it". After being ignored and snubbed by multiple staff members for about 15 minutes, we left. We have all been in the service industry and that kind of attitude is not just irritating, it's bad business practice. Ignoring paying customers is the dumbest thing a restaurant could do. Look out for the rude waiter who wears braids on his hair like he just got back from the renaissance fair where he impersonated legolas from lord if the rings

    (1)

  • Brian W.

    Yelp loves this place. I was not impressed. 5 friends came with me. We got the geoduck sashimi, prawn cocktail, oyster stew, and 3 dozen oysters. The geoduck was interesting. The stew was bland. Really bland. Think school cafeteria. The prawns were shrimp. Small shrimp. The guy who brought our oysters had no idea which one was which. When we asked he said, "they are all there" and walked away. The oysters were alright but for a place with 4 things on your menu it is pathetic he couldn't distinguish them. Maybe this place has traits I overlooked but I was disappointed and will never return or recommend this place.

    (2)

  • Chris M.

    Stopped in for my first time in sept 2013. Pretty disappointing. Chowder was greasy and gross. Oysters were fresh and good but too pricey. Dungy crab was waterlogged and mushy. Service was some of the worst I've had in town in a really long time. Had this been a food truck with some oysters for sale i'd be cool with it but the fact i spent 90 bucks+ on this is a complete travesty! Total bummer and I won't be coming back.

    (1)

  • Jen H.

    I wish we had this place in San Francisco. Awesomely fresh selection of oysters, like a live carry-out or take-home buffet. I love the Pacific NW for that amazing foodiness opportunity! I also tried the geoduck chowder, but wasn't in love. It was really oily buttery, not the nice, rich, creamy emulsion you'd otherwise crave in a seafood chowder. Pass.

    (4)

  • Janet T.

    Oh to live in Seattle where Mirugai(Giant Clam or Geoduck) is plenty! Sure, oysters are fabulous but the thinly sliced mirugai.... Hope business brings me back this way.

    (5)

  • Julie P.

    We walked in here anticipating just to browse their selection for the future and didn't walk away empty handed! The shellfish guy (shall I call him a monger or not?) was awesome and gave us so much information on where they farm their shellfish and what the different names and regions meant. We decided that we wanted to make belgian mussels for dinner and bought some great fat juicy mussels. What made this even more awesome was they carried Bakery Nouvea baguettes for sale at the counter!! Our shellfish man even packed the mussels in an insulated bag, with an ice pack when he heard that we weren't returning home for a few hours. These guys really know their stuff and are very friendly. I'm looking forward to return here and having oysters on the halfshell which they offer in house!

    (4)

  • Enza P.

    The oysters here are good and they tasted pretty fresh too. I ate so many oysters that I felt sick at the end! What I don't like was the service. They had about 5 people working and they were so casual that we had to walk up to them to ask if we could eat, if we could see a menu, if we could order more, and if we could pay. The place is really loud, especially when the employees were constantly dragging the stools around or spraying/shaking out mats. I guess I was expecting sit down service. This place is more - order, keep to yourselves, eat, and leave. Overall: Food: Good Service - Needs improvement. Ambiance - casual. watch your step because the floor is often wet

    (3)

  • Katrina L.

    Casual place to eat fresh oysters. Kumamoto oysters are my fave as they are small and sweet. Reasonably priced compared to ordering the same oysters in a restaurant. We also tried their geoduck chowder which was ok. We also bought clams to take home and cook. The Manila clams were big compared to what you get from grocery stores. Definitely recommend going here instead of fancy restaurants if you only want fresh oysters.

    (5)

  • Decaux L.

    Great place! Fresh, in-season, oysters (stored in open water tanks, not just on ice) at reasonable prices and the geoduck sashimi is a must. Paired with a nice Elysian IPA, you can't go wrong. The location is great (next to Fremont Market) and the ambiance is very relaxed. Their daily selection of soups is also quite good. Taylor SF is a nice change of pace if you want an alternative to Pike Place or the standard seafood restaurant.

    (4)

  • Kenneth N.

    Another Vancouver-feel reminder of the ones we have back home, but this one in a nicer, casual restaurant style. enjoyed seeing the fresh oysters and shrimp and the running water. came here for the seafood chowder, a bit spicy tomato base and lived up to its billing. Geoduck sashimi also fresh too. Didn't know we werent allowed to do takeout on the raw stuff, but we're tourists so we didn't know any better lol. this is definitely date-worthy material place to impress, in terms of a casual setting, provided not allergic lol. but heck, really tough to find parking here!

    (4)

  • Leslie P.

    Right before my flight home, my friend & I stopped at Taylor Shellfish Farms located inside Melrose Market. We ordered two dozens of oysters in a variety of Kumamoto, Olympia, Pacific, Shigoku, & Virginica. We also had geoduck sashimi. Everything was so fresh; we just slurped our way through the meal. Service was lacking though. We weren't sure if we were suppose to seat ourselves or wait to be seated, as there was no sign. We didn't want to be rude, so we wait for a few minutes. Both waiters saw us standing by the door, waiting to be seated. They looked at us a few times, but didn't bother to say that we can sit anywhere until I went up to ask.

    (4)

  • KT E.

    I LOVE THIS PLACE! I stopped by here after work and there was a wine special ... and just so happen the wine makers were there too! They chatted with my boyfriend and I. It was obvious they're very passionate about their business and that's always lovely to see. But back to Taylor ... the staff was super friendly, I got some fresh seafood! Wine! Oysters, geoduck and crab! Omg I couldn't have been more happy! =) sad I didn't get the scallops, I guess they sell out pretty fast! Bummer!

    (5)

  • Aaron P.

    A rare Yelp miss. I walked into this place off the street. It looks like a fish market. Behold, it is a fish market! I remember seeing geoduck on television, and this place is known for it. The heavily tattooed woman explained that geoduck is an overgrown clam. I tried the famed geoduck chowder. It was red, a tomato base, not a usual cream based white chowder. There was not much geoduck in the soup. There were plenty of vegetables: carrots, celery, onion. The box of rolls sitting next to the soups tasted a day old, but they were still soft and pliable enough for me to rip off chunks to dip in my chowder. The chowder was unsatisfying so I elected to try the geoduck sashimi. Looking at the geoduck, it's sort of an irregularly shaped specimen. I watched the woman slice it up on an extreme bias. On the plate, the pieces of sashimi were irregular and varied in thickness. One of the hallmarks of great sashimi is uniform thinness throughout each piece of fish, but I'm not sure if geoduck can be properly sliced given its natural shape and texture. The geoduck was served with a small bowl of soy sauce, a teeny rectangle of green wasabi, and two lemon spirals. The slices of Geoduck were a little crunchy, definitely fresh. There was a flavor reminiscent of sand and the beach which sounds unappetizing but there was no grittiness. I liked the geoduck, but this isn't my favorite variety of seafood by a longshot. I decided to go for the trifecta since neither the geoduck chowder nor geoduck sashimi were terrifically satisfying, and the table next to me exclaimed the greatness of the oyster stew. So I got a cup of stew. It was good, better than the chowder or the sashimi. I would appreciate more oyster and oyster flavor, but this was definitely an improvement on the chowder. I would order the oyster stew again, but overall I'm sort of disappointed on this place. Maybe the raw oysters are the real winners in this place?

    (3)

  • Trevor A.

    The seafood is really fresh. Had two dozen oysters, which were flavorful/briny, and an order of geoduck-which was white, crunchy, and super fresh. Washed everything down with Pikes IPA. The staff is super friendly, and very attentive. The place itself is really clean, and considering it is also a seafood market doesn't have the seafood smell. The only negative is they don't have a place in Hawaii, which could use a place with SUPER FRESH seafood.

    (4)

  • Michael C.

    A great spot to try some local oysters. They will let you mix several local varieties into a custom dozen - ask for shredded horseradish and cocktail sauce on the side. Vibe is extra casual.

    (5)

  • Felicia F.

    Great quality seafood! Such a great place that isn't too busy with awesome customer service. The manager talks to the guests and the servers know their stuff. Not too pricey either. Definitely recommend going here. A little far from everything else, but it's great. Not too many tourists come here. A good, accidental find!

    (5)

  • Anando S.

    5 stars just for the oysters. Both the totten inlet and totten pacificas are amazing. The kumamoto not that great. Considering oysters barely make an appetizer it can be a bit pricey but the quality is outstanding. The dungeness crab was really fresh and delicious though a bit of a hassle to eat despite being cracked.

    (5)

  • Jamal W.

    HH was great. I believe it was $.33 cents off each oyster.

    (5)

  • Sherri L.

    I really love this place, this is the best location IMO. It is small and can get crowded but it is worth it! They have tanks throughout the store of fresh oysters, crab and geoduck. You pick em and they will shuck em. Fast and friendly service with really fresh seafood, who could ask for more?!

    (5)

  • Kevin H.

    This is a must go when in Seattle! I talked to some locals in Olympic park that pointed me here and they did not lie. It is a small cozy place that gives a great feel. The food DID NOT disappoint! All the varieties of Oysters and Geoduck(local to the Puget Sound) are alive & kicking (if thats what oysters do) and on display! You can order them to go(fyi the Weston Downtown Seattle doesn't condone ruining towels and silverware shucking you own oysters in the room)or you can relax take a load off and be amazed by a self serve soupbar and educated employees to guide you to a to a perfect combo of seafood soup, whole dungeness crab and a few dozen of the best tasting oyster from the area. This place is what Seattles' local food is about! Thanks for making the dining memorable, informative and AWESOME!

    (5)

  • Michelle B.

    service sucks -- 2 stars. food is incredible -- 5 stars. the oysters are super fresh. four different kinds offered. for a person coming from the midwest, they taste divine.

    (3)

  • Rita H.

    We heard great things about the oysters at Taylor so we definitely had to stop in. We ordered a sampler plate of oysters with Kumamoto, kusshi, shigoku and Peale passage. I thought it was really interesting that the kusshi tasted like salty cucumbers and the shigoku tasted like edamame! They really did! The Peale passage was also sweet and delicious. All the oysters were super fresh. We also got a plate of raw geoduck that disappeared in no time at all. Every time I'm in the area now, I've got to stop in for some fresh shellfish!

    (4)

  • Amy P.

    Excellent place if your looking to sit down and have dozens of raw oysters. Wasn't impressed with chowder, it really wasn't even a chowder, but the oysters rocked!!!!

    (4)

  • Truc T.

    Great place for fresh seafood! We drop by Taylor's every time we are in Seattle so we could get our oyster fix! I have tried every single type of oysters they have there. My favorites are the Kumamoto and Olympia, they just have this refreshing taste every time it hits your tongue, can't describe it! You will just have to try it out and you will know what I mean! Also, we have tried the geoduck there, also in soup form. Both were okay but I like the soup form better, the raw geoduck didn't really taste like anything so I thought that was a waste of money. My boyfriend loves the crab there, they make it easy for you to open the shell up and get to the meat. It's served cold with some lemons and I think it's great!

    (5)

  • Craig N.

    Excellent oysters and a fun place for dinner. Wasn't very busy for a Saturday night and was pretty good for our three year old too (she likes seafood).

    (4)

  • Miss Y.

    we love getting our fresh shell fish here...however, the service from the employees are terrible (except one women who helped us few visits ago). its so convenient to stop in after we pick up our weekly meats from Rain Shadow Meats...but i rather inconvenience myself and go elsewhere for awhile

    (2)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Mon :10:00 am - 9:00pm

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : No
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Lunch
    Parking : Street
    Bike Parking : Yes
    Good for Kids : No
    Good for Groups : No
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Casual
    Noise Level : Average
    Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : No
    Has TV : No
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : No

Taylor Shellfish Farms

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