Sound View Cafe
1501 Pike Pl., Suite 501
Seattle, Washington
(206) 623-5700

For some tourists, dining at Pike Place Market is a must. It’s a mecca for fresh seafood, vegetables and luxuries all over the world. Almost every culinary region is represented but as far as I’m concerned, this place is still part of a wharf. I was ready to wolf down the more exotic than traditional foods I saw here.

The place is a bit of a maze too, and it really takes a weekend to explore it. Unlike the early days where it wasn’t as famous or on the working days where this place isn’t as heavily trafficked, I’d enjoy wandering around and trying a few cafes and hitting Golden Age Collectables downstairs.

Tucked deep inside is Sound View Cafe, and that’s where I dined with my friends from WSPIR. We were catching up on the latest in our paranormal lifestyles and visiting the original Starbucks too, but the die hard foodie in me just couldn’t resist. I can spend days wandering this market and exploring every nook and cranny just to find what kind of buried secrets can lurk within. Each day can vary, as there’s a space for artisans to sell their crafts. Yes, I can go broke here.

Even the Market Ghost Tour couldn’t distract me long enough when I passed by a pastry shop with delights to send my taste buds a-fluttering.

But in this cafe, I found the view fantastic and the food a step above the average. The dungeness crab cake was the highlight of my Sea Platter ($19.43), with a nice sweet and delicious crisp that I loved, and while my friend Jill was dissecting all the ingredients in her’s so she can make it at home, I just reminisced on the days before, when I was at the Crab Pot.

The rest of the meal had its highs and lows. I enjoyed the fresh juicy King Salmon and this was a sizable chunk. But after Laredo’s, all other kinds of shrimp and prawns just can’t compare anymore. Local shrimp is nice if it can be done right, but not even the lemon pepper was enough in this dish to make me say olé!

I did enjoy the carrots, zucchinis and broccoli. It was undercooked, but I love ’em raw. The harder they are, the better they taste, plus I think it’s more much healthier when uncooked. Just flash fry ’em please.

And if I was to try this place again, I’d go for a more crispier option. Good ol’ fish n’ chips, but it’s not on their menu. So I’d settle for more Dungeness crab cakes. At Pike Place Market, this location is ripe for it!

3½ Blokes out of 5