Duke’s Chowder House

EXCELLENT selection of Seattle style fare — chowders and salmon galore! Delicious drinks, great service, gorgeous atmosphere in a yacht marina on the water & amazing food! Highly recommend.

I ate at the South Lake Union Duke’s last night and really enjoyed myself. Unfortunately my date turned out to be one of those embarrassing pathological narcissists that felt the need to condescend to the waiter at every turn. (Sorry) But I wanted to say, that I thought the service was excellent and my meal was absolutely delicious. The macadamia nut halibut was just… WOW. The only suggestion I would make would be to put up more signage at that location. Even though I knew basically where the restaurant was, I still had a difficult time finding it. I was really unsure about entering a pay parking lot that only had prominent signs for Chandler’s Bay. I wasn’t sure I was in the right spot until I got out of my car and walked around the building.

Came here just to try the chowders. Got the full fleet of samplers. The only one that tasted good was the clam chowder. The others, some of them I couldn’t even finish… and these samplers are TINY!!! Maybe 4 spoonfuls! …Can’t speak for the rest of the food, but definitely wouldn’t go here for the chowder.

Excellent happy hour. Their clam chowder and coconut shrimp dishes are very tasty and worth the visit! Their moscow mule is one of my go-​to drinks there.

Very fun ambiance on the lake. Nice view and very good service but food was just ok. I got the Pacific Northwest chowder and I didn’t love it. Honestly chowders from the market are way better. Also I thought the chowder price was pretty high. My husband got the fish and chips and they were too greasy.
They don’t validate parking and there’s no free parking nearby. Overall I was disappointed and I don’t think I will be coming back.

We went for happy hour… Awesome. Their clam chowder is really good. I also got crab cakes and what I love about these is its all crab. Most crab cakes are part crab part a lot of bread crumbs and other stuff. These are all crab! We also got the fried calamari which were really tender. I got grilled shrimp with avocado salad. The shrimp were fantastic. Clam strips are fried and huge. Everything was great. I haven’t ordered regular dinner but the items on the happy hour menu were great.

Setting: 4.5÷5
Think classy bar without the noise.
Pricing: ⁴⁄₅
A bit on the pricey side, but I suppose you pay that for the setting or something.
Service: ⁵⁄₅
Extremely prompt and bartender was friendly. Food came out within 10 minutes, before I finished the sourdough bread.
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Complementary sourdough bread was crisp on the outside and very sourdough-​y (the way it should be). Definitely made fresh! For the dinner, I ended up getting the Stuffed and Pumped Prawns. Prawns were fresh, but the amount of asiago cheese, and pesto were a little too heavy for me. Redskin potatoes didn’t have quite the crispiness I preferred. (Overall food was good. I’m just a nitpicker.)

now I’ve tried Dukes, the crab cakes r to die 4, local crab 2 miles away, not like any Ive had, the best.

The clam chowder and the gnocchi were good, but they were both a little too salty. Been here at least four times, and I always left here complaining about their saltiness! (Why did I go back there?)
Service is okay. It would be nice if there were more space between the tables.

Came here on a Monday night and sat right down. View over the lake is very nice.
Service was friendly and prompt throughout the meal. Menu is broad and focused on seafood. A little pricey but competitive for the market.
I had the fish and chips and my friend had the fish tacos, both were very good.
This place is a definite stop if you are in the area and looking for good seafood.

I only eat the same thing here every time. Two baskets of the yummy bread. The Caesar salad. The Lobster Chowder. Both the chowder and the salad are usually off my list of food items, but I make a special exception here when I have out-​of-​towners. It’s near my place, so it’s a quick walk, and the parking isn’t too bad. The service is probably some of the best I’ve had in Seattle, which is saying something. Nice, pleasant atmosphere. Oh, and I usually get some infused vodka to go with the meal. I’d recommend that too.
It is slightly hidden from the road and can be tricky to find. It’s like walking through a bad mini-​mall maze, and is right next door to another restaurant. Be sure to pick the right door. It’s on Lake Union, so you will see some snazzy yachts.
I haven’t ordered anything else from the menu but based on my companions’ facial expressions of food joy, I assume the rest of their menu is pretty dang tasty.

Had some doubts that I would be walking into a seafood-​themed Applebees, but Duke’s serves up quality food and has an extensive menu. The combos located halfway though the menu are a great way to get acquainted with the offerings: fish & chips, chowders, sandwiches, and a few other things.
Service is great, and liberal with dishing out sourdough. The first serving was perfect, but the next was a bit under-​cooked and chewier than I would have liked. At least you know its made fresh on site…
Prices are a tad higher than you would expect. Seeking tourist dollars right next to the museum, perhaps? Overall, though, it is worth digging a bit deeper in your pocket for what you get at Duke’s.
Recommend and will return.

Just below the steak house.
Seafood spot facing the water– great view of the needle! Outside seating available, better during the day for the water view. Nice fireplace inside for a warm cozy dinner in the evening. I consider this place comfort food.
Crab cake appetizer is delicious.
Clam chowder ok crab bisque not a fan.
Crab stuffed shrimp fantastic.
Cioppino my favorite.
The berry pie with ice cream I loved :-)
I would return.

The short version: buy crab cakes here. Everything else we tried was ok. But the crab cakes give a religious experience.
Longer version: you walk by some crazy yachts and get to Dukes Chowder house. The menu is a bit overwhelming at first but when you get there at 8:00 local time (10:00 my time) your so hungry you almost don’t care what you eat. After pondering a while we asked the waiter what is mind blowingly good. He said crab cakes and made a couple other recommendations but came back to the crab cakes. So I ordered one for appetizer. Probably the best crab cake I’ve ever had. Before this I would of said Salty’s on Alki Beach was best. But Dukes trumped it.
Ordered the walk the plank special which had a small piece of halibut and small piece of salmon with potatoes and zucchini. This dish was plenty of food but the fish compared to the crab cake wasn’t great. Wasn’t bad either but you get the point. I regretted not ordering the crab cake dinner.

I went to this place with friends and we had a great time! We seat on the patio and enjoyed the nice view of the water.
The food was also very tasty! I tried the famous lobster chowder and stuffed prawns with crab. This second dish was just delicious! I know it was very deeply fried and full of butter and oil, but I was really enjoying it!
Besides that, staff was very friendly and location is great — easy to park the car on weekends.

Had a great lunch here out on the patio! Enjoyed a beautiful view of the water, a bottle of wine, clam chowder, and stuffed prawns.
My only complaint was that the chowder was a little thinner that I like and lacking a bit in flavor (disclaimer: I’m picky with my chowder!) but the stuffed prawns were delicious. They were crispy, cheesy, and perfect with the creamy pesto sauce it came with. Super rich and heavy, but if that’s what you’re looking for I would recommend it!
Perfect spot for lunch on a sunny summer day!

Standard Pacific Northwest food. I came here with visitors from out of town. We had a party of 8 and were able to make reservations by calling the restaurant even though Open Table showed no tables available at our preferred time. The children in our party loved the bread and fries. The coloring activities are great.
A number of options that are reasonably priced and good portion sizes of salmon and other seafood dishes. There was only one chicken option — chicken sandwich — and one beef option — filet mignon. The family member who ordered filet mignon liked it very much. I had stuffed salmon and it was good as well. I’ve heard that the chowders can be salty but I don’t think it was a problem when ordered with the bread bowl.
The servers were great, coming back often, filling up our glasses and providing us with boxes and the check in a timely manner.
Tip: Sign up for the VIP club. I got a coupon for buy one get one free.

I’m going to preface this by saying that I’ve only been here once, but judging by the quality of the chefs, and the food that we received, I’m going to go ahead and make a rare «first time visiting» judgment, since I was here with family and we all mostly agreed on the food quality.
The sourdough bread was quite pleasant, as was the butter that came with it. We got almost three baskets full of bread, since we liked it so much.
I had the fish. It was a tad overcooked, and the wedges were not nearly as good as I had hoped (I got all default things because I wanted to be safe, since I was told I might have to be careful with an allergy).
My cousin had the filet. She asked for «rare», but she received an almost severely undercooked steak (think blue, but worse cooked). Some areas were seared, but nowhere close to being «rare». The sweet potato fries seemed decent, from what she told me.
My aunt had the skewers and the crab cakes. She mentioned that the crab cakes were pretty awesome, and that the shrimps were of a relatively decent size, but wasn’t sure about the food proportions for value. Considering how expensive the meal was, we tried to use a coupon, but that was entirely negated; the server «tried to help us», «and was able to get the table free desserts» (but my aunt and cousin were too full from eating, and I was only able to safely eat the sorbet, which I ended up getting).
Eeh, the sorbet was way too sweet, I didn’t even finish it despite it being free (as a recent college grad, I took nothing for granted — free things always seemed to taste the best — not this time!).
All in all, «meh». I likely will not return because the food-​for-​value principle is pretty badly disproportionate towards the «expensive and not worth it for the quality», making it feel as if the price you’re paying is really for the ability to look at the vast waters in the background, or the massive 85″ yacht that blocks out most of the harbour in front of the restaurant dock.

Dukes has to have the best Chowder I’ve ever tasted. I’ve been all over the U.S. In search of great chowder and I now found it. You could probably tell by my three check-in’s in two days.
The service is great and the people are extremely friendly.
I recommend the Bloody Mary or the Moscow Mule… Both are excellent when you are sitting outside enjoying the view.
My wife had the stuffed halibut and I had the halibut taco. They were both incredible. I look forward to going back soon.

Great friendly service and a delicious meal!
To start I had the blue cheese Caesar salad! It was a delightful surprise! For my entrée I had the wild Alaskan salmon with pesto, roared red potatoes and zucchini!
After such a delicious meal there was no room for dessert! I love this place and will be back soon

Duke’s ist ein echt feiner Laden am Lake Union in Seattle.
Man hat einen Blick auf die Space Needle, wahrscheinlich sind die Speisen deswegen ein paar Dollar über dem Durchschnitt. (Burger 15 $, Fisch ab 20 $)
Aber der Preis ist absolut gerechtfertigt!
Als Appetizer gab es eine kleine Clam Chowder:
Die Beste, die ich in Seattle gegessen hab!
Sehr delikat und dazu gibt es gleich das Rezept dazu :-)
(Siehe Fotos von einem anderen Unilocaler)
Als Hauptspeise dann eine richtig geilen dicken «Blue Cheese Bacon Burger» mit Kartoffel-​Ecken. Saulecker !
Absolute Empfehlung für Duke’s feine Küche!