Seabird
Permanently Closed
Japanese-accented seafood mains, oysters, small plates, trendy
Japanese-accented seafood mains, oysters, small plates, trendy
"When Seabird opened back in 2022 (and won an Eater Award) it was a fancy-schmancy type place with very fussy plating. It’s since become a little more chilled out — it no longer takes reservations — and is more affordable than you probably think, with all the entrees save the steak clocking in at under $40. The food is still show-off-y though, incorporating the sea into everything from the seaweed focaccia with a briny algae butter (an acquired taste) to the Caesar salad with a creamy kelp dressing. And the seafood classics are given fun flourishes; on a recent visit the mussels were cooked with honey mead rather than the traditional white wine for a dose of sweetness. Must order: The menu rotates quite a lot but the kelp Caesar remains a constant, a great dose of greens amid a meal that will almost certainly be fish-focused." - Harry Cheadle
"On Bainbridge Island the space is not glamorous or overly stylized, but service was great and staff were happy to accommodate a baby and toddler. The food shows creative flourishes: oysters topped with koji butter and lime and a togarashi crumb that were a little sweet, unexpectedly, and a bit salty. The writer recommends: "If you aren’t sure you like oysters, get these and ease yourself into eating them raw on the half shell." Raw oysters also came with blood orange granita — the toddler was obsessed; as the writer imagines her column it would be "blood orange granita" five times with a lot of typos (she’s not very good at typing)." - Harry Cheadle
"A warm chocolate and coconut cookie topped with house vanilla ice cream; it felt like a celebratory reward for surviving the ferry schedule and a nice counterpoint to a seafood-laden dinner." - Dianne de Guzman
"Brendan McGill’s flagship is an inventive seafood and vegetable restaurant called Seabird on Bainbridge Island (in the former Hitchcock space). The space features a granite-covered raw bar where oysters are shucked and crab legs are displayed. Recent menu highlights include seaweed focaccia, roasted octopus with sunchokes and mushrooms, and mussels in leek pesto." - Harry Cheadle
"While Seabird wasn’t conceived as a fine dining restaurant per se, a bevy of early awards — including a nod from Bon Appetit as one of the country’s Best New Restaurants of 2023 — cast its ocean-to-table approach as exclusively special-occasion dining. For 2025, owner Brendan McGill shifted the menu to better convey the idea of conscientiously sourced and nuanced plates, yet with a drop-in-anytime ethos. It’s a fine needle to thread, but the aim is true: Dungeness crab toast with tonnato and grana padano mousse is refined (the grana padano mousse is nutty and creamy without overwhelming the delicate sweetness of the crab) while also as crowd-pleasing as a hit single. Weathervane scallop crudo is a deft weave of texture and flavor, dressed in vanilla bean-infused olive oil, with a spark of acidity from yuzu granita and pops of pickled sea buckthorn. Nothing on the menu is dumbed-down; the technique is as exacting as ever, it’s just more accessibly presented (and priced). Seabird is still a destination, but now it can be a destination on a regular Thursday." - Mark DeJoy
