Ballard Annex Oyster House

My boyfriend and I wandered over here when The Walrus and the Carpenter turned out to be closed for a private work event. Since my boyfriend craving oysters we thought we give it a try. It was honestly one of the best seafood meals that we ever had. My boyfriend got some raw oysters and we also shared a calamari appetizer which was delicious. I went with a bowl of clam chowder and it was so amazing, maybe only rivaled by clam chowder I’ve had in Boston. We both loved everything and we’d definitely be back.

Oystergasm is a thing and if you want it, it’s here. I was never really into oysters until I started visiting Seattle almost three years ago. Fried or the Jay Z version was my usual go to in NY and I mostly have only had east coast oysters, which are good. However, once you’ve had oysters, or seafood in general in the PNW, the difference in it’s beauty is as wide as Paula Patton vs. Paula Dean.
What I like most about this spot, is it’s chill and very casual. Other reasons include a very good hh and quality in product and lastly, friendly and efficient service.
The must:
Whole grilled trout, which they will debone at the table for you. This is the best trout I’ve ever had, but keep in mind I’ve had it less then a half dozen times in life. Drizzled with lemons and cooked with minimal spices, the taste was
level.
Fried oysters. Its fried. They’re oysters. The last marriage this perfect was never, so this is it.
Annexation caesar. I felt like I needed some greens. They put pickled anchovies on top, as it should be. A must.
Mussels. Steamed to perfection and heaven in my mouth. That’s what she said.
Oysters. duh. Like sex and pizza, there’s no such thing as a bad oysters. That said, the tiny Treasure Coves are briny/​sweet, like me and are my go to joints.
Note: There IS one TV here, that’s hidden and it’s very small. I made the mistake originally passing on this joint during hh because we wanted to watch a game. It’s at the bar Felecia, on the left.
Lastly, while sitting at the bar, which is the spot you want to be, a big box of shellfish from Taylor Shelfish Farms was delivered. Seems that is one of their suppliers and those guys have great product, as well as two great brick and mortar joints.
This oyster house is a basic place, but not for basic bitches. Simple is hard to do, because you can’t behind bells and whistles. If the product is no good, it’s a shit show. They use quality seafood here and are smart enough to get out of the way. It’s not a place to go to wow a friend or date, it’s a joint to go on a basic Tuesday to celebrate living through Monday after a hard day of dressing mannequins. Yeah, I said it.

I haven’t tried most of the menu, so I can’t judge based on that.
Let’s face it, I’m cheap so I pretty much come here exclusively for the awesome Steamer Mussels at happy hour.
The clams aren’t bad, but mussels are better.
Tasty chowder.
The 1pc fish and chips is pretty cool too. I tried the fried clams once, but they don’t stand out in my mind.

New England Clam Chowder was a little thinner than I anticipated. Calamari wasn’t breaded. Not sure if that’s the difference between the lunch and dinner menu.

Been here once today with some friends. I really loved their happy hour prices. We came for dinner, and I got the crab gnochi which I thought was sort of just okay. My husband got an amazing piece of trout. However, my friend’s boyfriend got a really got lobster roll, but he said it really pricey.
I loved this place with happy hour and drinks, but not sure if I’d come back for dinner. I did really love our server though. He was a blast.

Came here for date night and it was super good. We had the sautéed calamari for starters and everything from the sauce to the calamari and little octopus were super yummy. Actually, we dipped everything into the sauce including the mashed potatoes from our main dish (the trout special).
The servers were really attentive. They must have filled our water ten million times. But they weren’t evasive. Our waiter was so skillful at entering the sweet little bubble we were in that I invited him to have some of our food. I never do that. It just felt so natural.
We left happy.

New favorite spot in Ballard! Great maritime theme, friendly staff, and the best happy hour dark and stormy I’ve tasted. They have an upper bar as well which is a great option if the main bar is busy. Enjoyed the happy hour mussels and oysters.

Not such a bad place. The server wasn’t as attentive as i would’ve liked considering it wasn’t super busy that night. We had originally planned on going somewhere else but stumbled in on my last night prior to flying back to Texas. The oysters were good and they had a good variety but this place wasn’t the most memorable place i’ve been to in my travels.

If you’re in to fresh oysters, clams and other NW seafood, you can’t go wrong here. A stop by the bar at happy hour is a wonderful thing; $ 6 clams gives you a small bowl, but the clams themselves are large, luscious, tender and flavorful. Drinks are generous and the calamari was big and tender, fried in a delicate natter with a very light aoli sauce. on a Saturday afternoon, we watched Taylor Shellfish deliver at the door – Hallelujah! At the bar, they shuck the oysters right in front of you and have a steamer machine you’d love to have in your home. Happy Hour Hoarders Unite – this is your place for a fresh good cheap slurp and brew.

I’ve been here twice now. The first time was great! We came in for dinner and got the clam linguini and Willy’s bucket which was great. I had a glass of wine and one of the $ 1.50 special oysters (I’m slowly getting into oysters so I only ordered one… don’t judge me). We also got some bread with the bucket and service was great!
We came in again the day after Thanksgiving and either service was slow, or they were understaffed. It took a long time to get our orders taken, and food was slow to come out. We just got chowder and Willy’s bucket again. Our server forgot about the bread that he offered us, so we had to remind him. We also had to remind him of a refill that we asked for. After, he checked on us a bunch to make sure we were OK, but it just seemed slow. The flavor of the Willy’s bucket was great but it seemed overcooked. The oysters had the consistency of jello they were so over cooked. $ 14 for the bucket. Also the chowder seemed like it was lacking. It was $ 6 for a cup, the flavor was OK but it wasn’t quite thick or that meaty. Not that much in there except for some small clams, a few cubes of pork belly and a couple pieces of potato.
It’s a really nice place. I like the atmosphere and ambience, but the service and quality of food did not make me feel like I got what I paid for. Might be a nice place for a beer or wine and oysters though!

Solid, but not memorable. The raw oysters were really good were the stars of the show, but their other happy hour offerings (all $ 6) were decent as well. Bar wasn’t busy at all when I stopped in, but I still found the service a little slow (if not distracted).
While, they don’t open until 3:30, they make up for it by keeping happy hour active until 6:30. Too often, businesses will hard stop happy hour at 5, (or 6) no matter what time they actually open. Kudos to you Ballard Annex Oyster House, for not continuing that trend.

Definitely worth coming for the happy hour. Good selection of oysters and the ones they have on special have been solid both times I’ve gone.
I also tried the (New Jersey?) chowder, which is between a Manhattan and a New England style. I was trying to go for something lighter than New England, but honestly there’s a reason everyone rips on Jersey. Still though, the soup was good, just not as good as Manhattan or New England by itself.

I hate to give this place such a poor rating. I am all for supporting local businesses but first impressions are everything and my experience was not a pleasant one. If I were to rate this establishment based on food alone, it would be 3.5−4 stars. However, I took off a star for the poor service and another star for food poisoning that one of my friend and I got afterwards.
PROS:
Location: Wonderfully located. One of my many eateries around Ballard.
Ambiance: Very cute, cozy and inviting atmosphere. The wooden interior and wall décor are simple but very unique. The tables and booths are comfortable.
Happy hour: Daily happy hour from 3−6pm. Everything on the HH menu are $ 6.
Food: A group of 5 ordered a few things off the happy hour menu as appetizers: steamed clams, calamari, caesar salad, clam chowder and smoked white fish spread. For the main course I had the lobster roll.
The clams were nice in size and very fresh. The garlic butter broth was refreshing and tasty.
I didn’t try the clam chowder but my friend stated that was delicious. Good portion.
The calamari were good. Not overlooked or chewy with a decent batter. Small portion.
The white fish spread was also very good. The herb butter bread balance nicely with the creaminess of the spread.
My lobster roll was a decent size! It came with lobster claws and seasoned fries. There were chunks of fresh lobster meat between the buttery soft bread. The mayo was a little on be heavy side.
CONS:
Service: The service from beginning to end was very disappointing. Our waitress was far from friendly. She seemed very forgetful and very rushed. Three of us had ordered soda and that should have been the first thing that came out right? Some of our appetizers had came out but we still did not receive our drinks. Since our waitress was nowhere to be found, we asked three different people about our drinks and they just nodded. After 20 minutes, we finally got our drinks (we all just ordered cokes).
Our food came out pretty quickly. The 25 minute lobster roll actually came out on time. Before ordering, we had asked our waitress on the market pricing of the lobster roll. She stated that it was $ 28 per pound and each lobster roll was about 1.5 pounds. When my husband ordered the lobster roll, she asked him if he wanted the bigger portion or smaller portion. He chose the bigger one not knowing how much more of a weight and price difference it made. (It’s common sense to know that the bigger portion was going to cost more. We figured it was maybe half a pound difference, not over a pound of difference). I felt like our waitress should have better informed us since she offered him the different portion sizes. Besides the claws, our lobster rolls didn’t look much different. His dish was not worth $ 77!
We had also ordered half a dozen of oysters along with our main course but by the time that we were done eating we still haven’t received our oysters. When we asked for the bill, we told our waitress to cancel the oysters since it never came out. She had a blank stare on her face, stated that she never even put that order in because she forgot. Very inattentive!
Waiting 20 minutes for soda (we had to ask three other staff members for it) and forgetting about one of our dishes without an apology was disappointing. Our group felt like we were being ignored and that we had to constantly waved someone down to get their attention.
Price: Decent happy hour prices. The lobster rolls were very expensive. $ 42 for the smaller portion (1.5 pounds) and $ 77 (2.75 pounds) for the bigger portion! It was not worth $ 77!
Food: Very overpriced. I would not order the lobster roll again.
My Caesar salad was very watery… it seemed like they had just washed it and added dressing before drying the lettuce.
FOOD POISONING! An hour after dinner, a friend and I were feeling horrible! My friend had also ordered the lobster roll. We ended up throwing up everything that we ate. I don’t know it it was a bad batch of lobster or another dish that we shared that was poorly prepared but it did not settle well with our stomach. I also ended up having to go the bathroom multiple times throughout the night.
Giving this experience, the cons outweigh the pros. I will not come back.

One of my favorite spots in Ballard, especially for happy hour. Today, we had the happy hour steamer clams with crusty bread, the happy hour oysters (Totten smalls) and splurged on the lobster roll.
Thumbs Up:
— Clams were deliciously cooked in a buttery, parsley speckled broth and a good portion for the $ 6 price. Admittedly after dipping all the bread in the broth, I straight up slurped the liquid from the shell.
— Oysters were quickly shucked and came with lots of great accompaniments: fresh horseradish, lemon, cocktail sauces, shallot mignonette and worcheshire sauce.
— Lobster roll is made from the entire lobster and comes with two claws for cracking and dipping into melted butter. It was pretty delicious and simply made with mayo and Bibb lettuce, though I’ve had better (and much cheaper) on the east coast.
— Service was great. Our server was bubbly, fast and accessible when we needed her without hovering.
Thumbs Down:
— The fries that came with the lobster roll were a tad salty and overcooked. Still pretty good though.
Looking forward to trying more things on the menu next time.

I’m really surprised that this place only has 3.5 stars. I have heard that their food and service can be inconsistent, but I’ve never had any issues.
The Grub.
6 dozen different oysters. All served on ice with a spicy cocktail, champagne migonette, horseradish and lemon. Cleanly shucked and all delicious!
Whole Trout. Super moist and thin crispy salty skin. You can have it deboned tables idea if you like.
Poutine. It’s mainly fries mixed in with some small chunks of potato. The gravy is thick and rich. Bonus is the large buts of bacon!
Fried Oysters. Large oysters in a thick crispy batter. So good.
Octopus. Comes with cherry tomatoes. It’s very light and perfectly cooked. The octopus melts in your mouth and not chewy at all.
Fish & Chips. Large chunks of flaky cod battered in the same batter as the fried oysters. Comes with a small side of fries.
Willy’s Basket. A small. bucket mixed with oysters, clams and mussels. In a very light butter her bed sauce. It was so good we ordered a second one.
Pesto Clam Linguini. Noodles cooked to perfection and drenched with pesto sauce. Good portion of clams as well.

Came here for Happy Hour and immediately felt the happiness coming on upside my head. Sat at the bar with a friend and it was on! Happy Hour menu looked delicious and super affordable so we tried as much as we could. They had $ 1.50 Treasure Cove oysters going on, so we had to get a dozen. Freshly shucked to order and comes with a half lemon and some shaved horseradish, its not shredded cheese, but it looks like it. I like the cocktail sauce selections as well, especially the shallot mignonette.
We also ordered:
Fried Calamari and Popcorn Shrimp: Calamari was good, nicely fried and tasty dijon dipping sauce too. Nice huge chunks and perfect size for HH. Popcorn shrimp was fantastic, nice & crunchy and easily, I mean easily could’ve eaten 2 baskets of these.
Steamed Mussels: very delicious, steamed perfectly, drowned in garlic butter and perfect for dipping their delicious bread in to sop up that goodness. I believe drinking the broth is highly recommended.
Jersey Chowder: we found out, there is no such thing as «jersey» chowder, they just mix the Manhattan Chowder with the New England Chowder and call it Jersey. No need to get offended people, relax! It was very delicious, nice chunks of potato, smoked bacon chunks. I actually like this better because you get the best of both classic chowders.
All the food was very good, HH menu is awesome, staff was super cool (esp the fellas behind the bar), friendly and made the HH even that more happy!
Great place, love the décor, very inviting and relaxing, clean, large space with plenty of tables, good sized bar area with some side counters to sit while looking out, also I believe there is a private room too. Love that they make the chowders and steamed clams/​mussels up front at the bar.
Great place to come by when in Ballard!

Is there such a thing as oyster cravings? Apparently, my belly tells me so! There’s nothing like fresh, raw oysters on a half shell to make my stomach go «Yum!» You know you have it bad when you start dreaming about raw oysters… and I looked to Ballard Annex to fulfill these dreams.
Overall, I give Ballard Annex a 3.5 rating.
I definitely liked the modern décor, with its high ceilings and open spaces. The seafood was pretty tasty and the raw oysters weren’t bad at $ 2-​$ 3 /​each. I tried 5 different types of raw oysters. Though they were generally good, there were a couple of oysters that were a little too small in size for my liking. I’m still in search of the perfect raw oyster: briney, fresh, and substantial.
The grilled seafood medley (~$ 14) was reasonably priced with decent flavoring that went amazing with toasty, warm bread. I’m also a fan of the oyster shooter with vodka for $ 10.50 (Apparently, oyster + vodka = happy me).
Our waiter was nice and very attentive in the beginning. However, the restaurant became busier and our waiter essentially disappeared, leaving another person to help out who wasn’t as customer-​oriented.
Overall, I would probably come back to try out their happy hour when they’re less busy.

We came here on Sunday around 6:30, and the place was pretty empty. I thought the service was great! Our server was very attentive, nice, and knowledgeable about the menu. The restaurant was pretty cute inside with its décor.
We had the poutine, trout, and grilled medley. The poutine was interesting being topped off with clam chowder. However, I kind of prefer my fries to be thinner. I would still recommend it though! The portion was pretty large for an appetizer as well. The trout was huge! It smelled wonderful, tasted great, and I liked that the server deboned the fish for me. The arugula salad that came with it complemented the dish pretty well. Lastly, I though that the sauce in the grilled medley had a nice aroma to it.

The oysters were so fresh and delicious! I usually don’t like them, but after I tried some here I’ve finally acquired a taste for them now. They have the different oysters set outside on ice with their labels and prepare the oysters for you on the spot. Definitely recommend this place if you want fresh oysters/​seafood or decent happy hour. The other food is not as great, especially for their prices. The service wasn’t that great and we didn’t get our appetizers or food for an hour. Our server apologized and gave us our soups for free.
Other than oysters my family and I ordered:
Crab mac & cheese ($ 13): Better than I thought, perfect amount of cheese and the crab topped it off. Kind of on the small side for the price
Lobster bisque clam chowder: Creamy with a nice about of kick to it and had a lot of lobster bits.
Clam chowder: The chowder was okay, a little too salty. There were a lot of big chunks of bacon so I couldn’t really tell which ones were clams.
Seared scallops ($ 26): Came with 4 big scallops and the risotto/​butternut squash complimented it pretty well.
Salmon steak ($ 21): The salmon was a little dry and barely came with any other vegetables or anything. Kind of disappointed.
Veggie gnocchi ($ 16): Probably one of the only vegetarian dishes and was a little on the oily side. It was just okay.
25 minute lobster roll: Took 1 hour… They do make it from a fresh live lobster though. The sandwich was actually really good and the lobster had so much juicy flavor. I forgot the exact price but it was pretty expensive.

My husband and I started out our anniversary date night at the Ballard Annex Oyster House for their happy hour. We were heading to The Walrus & Carpenter later in the evening but wanted to get our raw oyster fix at happy hour prices. Well, let’s just say it’s a good thing we had the opportunity to have raw oysters again later, as the ones we had here were just okay.
Off the bat, I noticed the oysters were not that chilled, I was tempted to take them off the shell and lay them on the ice. If I ate the oysters with the mignonette, they tasted a bit fishy, so I stuck with the cocktail sauce. The freshly grated horseradish was fantastic, by the way. Considering they have «oyster» in the business name, I would think the oysters would be shucked well. Unfortunately, I kept running across grit and bits of shell. I proceeded with caution and ate them very carefully.
The fried calamari was overly battered, and some of the pieces with too much batter were gummy in the center. The steamed clams were good — served in a butter garlic broth. Just wish we had some bread to sop up the yummy broth.
Service was efficient but not the friendliest, and I found myself envious of the neighboring table’s super friendly and chatty server.