Seattle, WA

Flying Fish
2234 1st Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 728-8595

After a long day spent walking all over downtown Seattle and an afternoon spent stuffing our faces with dozens of fresh oysters at Elliott’s Oyster House, I wasn’t terribly hungry for a big dinner. I was looking around for a place where we could get a light dinner when I stumbled across the website for the Flying Fish. Their menu sporting “small plates” sounded like just the ticket. We called ahead and were told we wouldn’t need reservations and so we left the hotel and walked to the restaurant.

The Flying Fish is located in an area of Seattle known as “Belltown”, a trendy neighborhood filled with nightclubs, restaurants, art galleries and boutiques. It was a lovely evening for a walk, which helped to invigorate our appetite.

The restaurant is painted in bright colors with interesting art and a view into the bustling kitchen. We were seated immediately at a cozy booth where we perused the menu while sipping a lovely glass of Cabernet Savignon from the Bonair Winery in the Yakima Valley. A winery I toured and reviewed nearly a year ago.

After much consideration we settled on two “small plates”, the Thai crab cakes and the calamari. In addition we chose a platter of sister-in-law mussels which came with a chili lime dipping sauce.

The calamari was perfectly prepared. It simply melted in our mouths and both the honey jalapeño mayonnaise and cilantro oil were excellent accompaniments. The Thai crab cakes came with a lemongrass mayonnaise and were delicious.

The real show stopper though, was the sister-in-law mussels. It was love at first bite. I’ve eaten many a bowl of mussels but none like these. These little babies had been steamed in a Thai ginger and lemongrass concoction and came with a chili lime dipping sauce that made me weak in the knees. It was that good. The waiter was kind enough to tell us what was in the dipping sauce and gave us an idea of what went into the steam. I shipped a few pounds of mussels back to Austin and when I got home I gave it a go. I was quite pleased with the results and if it’s not the exact same recipe it’s close enough!

If you’re local to Seattle, or visiting, don’t miss the Flying Fish. The service was excellent. The food was divine! If you’re not local, do try my recipe, you’ll love it!

Seattle, Belltown, restaurant, review, downtown, seafood, Thai, Asian, mussels, small plates