The thick, cream-based New England chowder that Larry Mellum reverse-engineered at his Pike Place Market counter in 2003. Eight national chowder cook-off wins and counting.
Pike Place Chowder is not a Seattle invention so much as a Seattle perfection. Larry Mellum opened the counter in Post Alley in 2003, then carried Pike Place Chowder's New England Clam Chowder to the Great Chowder Cook-Off in Newport, Rhode Island, where it won the people's pick in 2008. The kitchen has now collected eight national championships. The Pike Place Market location at 1530 Post Alley still trades on the cobblestoned chowder queue; the second shop opened at Pacific Place in 2008.
3 editor picks for Pike Place clam chowder in Seattle, ranked by editorial score. All Seattle signature dishes · Pike Place clam chowder across every city.
Pike Place Chowder ★ 4.7
1530 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101
Pike Place Chowder in Seattle is Larry Mellum's 2003 Post Alley counter: eight national chowder cook-off wins, the New England with manila clams.
Matt's in the Market ★ 4.4
pike-place-market · 94 Pike St, Seattle, WA 98101
Matt's in the Market in Seattle is the Pike Place Corner Market room with windows over the clock: a Pacific Northwest kitchen sourcing five floors down.
Ivar's Acres of Clams ★ 4.0
downtown · 1001 Alaskan Way, Pier 54, Seattle, WA 98104
Ivar's Acres of Clams in Seattle on Pier 54 is Ivar Haglund's 1946 waterfront fish house, a wood-walled dining room over Elliott Bay with pan-fried oysters.