The Pastry Panda: The Walrus and the Carpenter

Photo courtesy of the Walrus and the Carpenter

Located in the newly renovated Kolstrand building in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, The Walrus and the Carpenter is a seafood restaurant that primarily focuses on regional oysters. It's a bit of a hidden gem. Literally. Tucked away in the back corner of the building, The Walrus and the Carpenter is only accessible through a hallway entrance or the parking lot in the back. Lone for a small sign (pictured above), the restaurant space is hidden from view. Being a rustic and cozy space, seating is very limited; but when the weather cooperates, the number of seatings practically doubles with the open patio space. Windows looking out to the patio section and a shared wall of windows with the neighboring Staple and Fancy Mercantile help keep the small space bright and open.

After being featured in several major press publications (GQ, Bon Appetit, NY Times) as one of the top ten new restaurants in the nation, Walrus has been near the top of my list of restaurants to visit, especially since I went to New Orleans in May, where I got hooked on oysters. After three failed attempts due to long waits (reservations are not taken), I finally succeeded in tasting the gastronomical wonders of this elusive restaurant. During the peak of oyster season in the winter, they feature roughly two dozen varieties of oysters. On the night that I went, they only had 6 to choose from. I didn't get a chance to jot down all the varieties they had that night, but the ones I did get to taste were: Penn Cove Select, Baywater Sweet, and Barron Point. Each of these oysters is from a different region of the NW and each had its own distinct flavor. The Penn Cove Select oysters were my favorite out of the three with its sweet flavor. The Barron Point oysters were good, but my least favorite due to its musky aftertaste. In addition to oysters, I also had a scallop crudo, smoked trout, bruléed peaches with crème, and bay leaf panna cotta with wild blackberries. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the scallop dish (we were too hungry and the food looked to good), but below are pics of everything else that we ate.