Wally’s Chowder House & Broiler

Had the chowder with the blackened Halibut tacos. They were awesome. They could have dialed the sauce down a bit but overall it was awesome. My dad got the all you can eat Prawn and chowder. He loved it.

I had the lobster dish with pasta and vegetable. Very delicious and great price. Also had the clam platter… Love the fries… Ordered the berry pie (would not recommend)
Tried some of my friends crab cake. also bomb
Tried some of the coconut pie (would not recommend)
Service was great…

Came in again today! The chowder is pure heaven! Everything is so good. I could eat here every day, and just be fat and happy!

The best chowder around, red or traditional! Fun atmosphere and nicely located on the main drag in Des Moines. I recommend the all-​you-​can-​eat cod, the breading is always perfect and the size of the fish is perfectly proportioned to easily eat, just be careful you might not stop! !

This is the place to get fish and chips.
The fish is fresh and juicy and deep fried perfectly.
Service is good and the waitress was attentive.
Clam chowder is also really good, creamy and big chunks of clams.
Nice seasonal craft beer to drink!
Will be back.

Better than Ivars, that’s for sure. The 1-​piece cod I got was super humongous, fresh and juicy! I also love their fries! It’s mind blowing fries I tell ya! Thick and yummy. It’s between steak fries and shoes strings fries. I would proudly say that’s the best fries I’ve ever had!
As far as pricing goes, it is a little more pricey compared to Ivars, but all worth it. You really get what you pay for. And I’m glad I made a decision to eat here!
I would come back again if I’m in the area!

If your are in Seattle and looking for a good place to eat you need look no further.
I was on a day trip to Seattle and wanted seafood for lunch when a colleague mentioned this please. So I stopped by on my way back to SeaTac. The service was fantastic. The Salmon Fish and Chips were great and they serve a good clam chowder.
Overall I can say I will definitely be back my next time through Seattle.

Never fails to succeeded in providing amazing seafood selections. From their award winning clam chowder & Arctic Cod to their Salmon dinners. As a long time customer of Wally’s Chowder House, they have the recipe for success! So if you happen to drive through downtown Des Moines, put Wally’s Chowder House on your stop for lunch or dinner. If in a hurry, call ahead & order out– treat yourself!
Harriet M.

Generous portion size, friendly service and quality seafoods. Best fish and chips I ever had!!!

Unlimited fish & chips plus chowder? Woohoo! I couldn’t eat the white chowder b/​c it had bacon but the Manhattan chowder was fantastic. They truly gave us all we could eat fish to the point of bringing over a basket with 20+ fried fillets for 3 people. However, the fish was a little flavorless and needed LOTS of vinegar.
The restaurant is warm and welcoming, great bar area with good beer selection and the staff is FANTASTIC. I’d never been there before but felt like a welcomed regular when I walked in.

Great food at a good price. They have options for everyone. Nice bar with 6 television screens. Great place to watch sport games especially the Seahawks!

Wow. What a great place! My first time and won’t be my last.
From generous portions to amazing smoky, rich chowder and perfectly prepared fish, you will be pleased coming here.
Everything we ate was simply superb and my Mannys was served ice cold with little icebergs floating on top.
Cheers.

We stopped by Wally’s Chowder House because my friend wanted to have some fish and chips before leaving Seattle. So we picked this place based on its reviews and proximity to SeaTac before dropping my friend off at the airport.
Overall, this is definitely a popular place! We stopped by a bit after lunch time and it was crowded that we had to wait a bit before getting a table (parking lot had limited space, especially during peak service hours, too… but we lucked out as we were able to claim a spot from the one car leaving a parking lot).
The fish and chips were good. My friend was definitely satisfied. The portion was actually quite large that we didn’t even finish our food. I had just a cup of chowder, and even when I wasn’t hungry. I thought it was good! The prices were fair.
Overall, a good place (and friendly service) to bring someone who’s craving for fish/​chips and chowder. I don’t get a chance to go to Des Moines often, so it was also a nice change from other typical seafood places we have been to in Seattle/​Bellevue.

Outstanding food. Amazing service. Cheesy, fun and cheerful atmosphere.
I heard about Wally’s via a Seattle foodie Facebook group and had it bookmarked to check out. When my band mate offered to buy me lunch after practice, I thought of Wally’s and we went out of our way to check it out yesterday.
We showed up for a late lunch and were surprised to find the parking lot packed. The restaurant doesn’t look like much from the outside, resembling a rambler house more than a restaurant.
As soon as we walked inside, the smell of fresh seafood hit us. The kitschy seaside décor with framed sailor knots, flea market fish mobiles in bright colors, real seashells tossed about and beach knick knacks lining the window sills all fit the bright, happy faces of the young employees who greeted us. We were seated quickly at a table by a window. We realized that Wally’s is much bigger than it appears from outside, with another dining room with a full bar and large color flatscreens playing sports.
Our waitress was a delight. The staff doesn’t wear name tags and since my friend paid and I was in a food coma, I didn’t catch her name to give her props. She had a great attitude and did an excellent job. She offered to help with the menu and brought our drinks out right away. She kept them filled without being asked, was fast and even gave us little bowls to sample the chowder on the house without us asking when I mentioned we hadn’t been there before.
My friend and I wanted to order many different things but I finally settled on the small order of coconut shrimp and he got the chicken sandwich.
My small order came with 5 large shrimp that were so big, two of them were falling off the tails when I picked them up. It came with coleslaw and fries, which the menu mentioned was all-​you-​could-​eat fries. The sauces that were added were honey mustard and a sweet chili sauce for the shrimp. I tried both, and they were delicious. It was clear the shrimp was fresh, and the coconut was as well. The smell alone was filling my nose with love and I just breathed it in for awhile before eating anything. The coleslaw was definitely housemade and while not the best I’ve had, it was good. The fries were thick, not steak fries, but a great cubed size with a nice fried-​in seasoning. I dipped them in tartar sauce and holy cannoli, it was heaven. My raspberry lemonade came with lemon wedge and was also delish. I was stuffed to the brim, but I wanted to keep eating, it was so damn good.
My friend snacked on the small bottle of chowder crackers that the waitress gave us with the complimentary chowder. Then he dug into his gigantic chicken sandwich which was a grilled chicken breast that was fresh, not frozen, with lettuce, tomato and a great sauce. It dripped everywhere but he didn’t care. He could barely finish the sandwich, it was so big. It came with a generous portion of fries which he kept trying to eat because again, the food was freaking amazing and you want to just keep eating even though your stomach is stuffed.
The check was dropped off promptly and the total before tip was $ 33. I think that was quite reasonable.
We are both planning on returning and trying out more dishes and definitely going to come back just for the pie, if we have to, because it looked divine.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Parking: 4
Ambiance: 5

I really wanted chowder on this hot day for some reason. So glad we came by! the chowder is thick with pieces of clam and potato. I really like the thick soup so I don’t mind. Served with oyster crackers, I was eating oyster crackers with chowder. Haha. The crab cocktail had big pieces of claw meat. Husband had the AYCE fish n chips. I would be surprised if we could share one and make it to the second basket ever. They don’t skimp on thick pieces of cod with a perfect crunchy coating. The fries have a nice seasoning on it. It’s somewhat on the waterfront so it was cool inside the restaurant when we went. Can’t wait to come back!

Wow! Great Customer Service, Friendly Staff. The Chowder is on point (hubby ordered one cup and then another!) & I’m a big fan of the Coleslaw. Hubby and I shared Cod Fish & Chips (enough to feed 2 people). Super yummy, but next time I would opt for coleslaw or another other side (I’m not much of a fries fan).
Bathrooms were clean according to the hubby. The view is nice wherever you are seated, and the décor adds a nice touch.
Definitely come for some yummy chowder!

OMG!!! I love this place! When I’m craving for Fish and Chips, I better find a way to fly up to Wally’s Chowder House. The workers are so nice and the food was fantastic! I ordered the following:
Alaskan Summer Ale — I need to find this beer at my local BevMo. It was cool, crisp and light.
I got the Monday Night special, so it was the All You Can Eat Fish, Chips & Chowder for $ 15 :) :)
The Chowder was full of clams and potatoes, it was not watery so it had the perfect texture. It was definitely filling so you have to pace yourself.
Then I got the fish medallions and chips. The medallions were small pieces of cod but it was still good. The breading was thinner than a penny so you had all fish and dipping it in their homemade tartar sauce was fantastic!
I don’t think I can ever order Fish N Chips anywhere else ever again unless it’s from Wally’s.

We came in today for lunch to celebrate my brother-in-law’s birthday!
I shared the combo platter with my fiancé and also ordered the New England style clam chowder.
Clam chowder was pretty good! It was nice and thick with lots of clams! The price is a little high for the clam chowder but it was worth it!
The combo platter was great too! I’ve never had fried salmon before but wow was it good! It was very juicy and perfectly cooked! I wish I had more of it! There was also fried scallops, prawns, clam strips, and more! Their french fries were pretty amazing too! So crispy, perfectly seasoned and had a light batter to it.
My brother ordered the manhattan style chowder which was okay. It taste more like a chili.
My brother-​in-​law and sister ordered the all you can eat fish and chips and they seemed very happy with their meal.
Our service was great and we will definitely be back!

Wally’s chowder was a great Unilocal find. I wanted to eat some chowder and fish and chips as soon as I landed, and Unilocal revealed Wally’s as being one of the closest and very good reviews.
Getting there from the airport was simple, and only took a few minutes (less than 15).
I had read about the long waits at times, but we lucked out and were seated right away. We had just beat the lunch rush hour, which was in full effect when we were leaving.
Looking through Unilocal reviews, I opted for their most popular dishes– the clam chowder and the fish and chips.
I paid an extra $ 2 to have fresh halibut as opposed to frozen.
The clam chowder was really good. I don’t know if I would claim it to be the best in Seattle, but I had no complaints. Chowder is tricky because some people like theirs really watery and others thick. Wally’s chowder is definitely thick. It was very rich, thick and creamy.
They don’t cheat like a lot of other places, and throw in more potatoes to mask the small amount of clams. This chowder had plenty of clams, and was very tasty. The oyster crackers came in a little glass milk bottle. I thought that was great, as other places often only bring one small packet.
The fish and chips were great. The halibut was definitely fresh, really thick, meaty and flaky. Big chunks of meat, and perfect juiciness. I haven’t had the frozen, so cannot compare, but the $ 2 fresh upgrade seems to be well worth it.
If I am in this part of town again (Des Moines, near the airport), I wouldn’t hesitate coming back. If I were in downtown Seattle, I wouldn’t justify the drive, as would probably look for something closer.

Almond crusted Halibut. I cannot recommend this highly enough, that simple.
Wow. I dot even know what to say. Let’s start with the chowder. Holy wow! Great flavor, full of goodies and perfect thickness. New England’s got nothing on this place.
Prawns…big and meaty with a light cornmeal breading. Probably some of the best I have eaten, not sure where these are coming from but a great meal.