Seward - Seward Brewing Company and Dinner at The Cookery

We loved the town of Seward. Tucked in the Kenai Peninsula; this town of about 3,000 had character and charm. Instead of staying at one of the hotels near the boat harbor; we decided to stay at a B&B in the historic downtown area. And driving down Ballaine Boulevard to the B&B indicated I'd made the right decision.

This was the view across the street from our unit.

When we checked-in we found that there were some severe storms at sea and our whole day wildlife tour was cancelled. After travelling for a while you understand that no one controls Mother Nature and you have to go with the flow. We were given some Resurrection Bay alternatives. Major Marine was given as the company to use. We decided to wait until the next morning to book our tour. And headed off to explore Seward.

We were steps from the Alaska Sealife Center, but our schedule didn't allow us time to visit. Though there were some musicians and this really interesting vendor there as we walked past.

Now there must be a story here...….

Downtown Seward had the feel of a touristy-kitschy-artsy-"wild frontier" kind of vibe. It is also "framed" by some wonderful views.

Things were quite mellow when we arrived. We were told that the first cruise ship of the season had just left, so things were quiet until the next one came in.

It was still too early to head to the spot I wanted for dinner, so we wandered around a bit.

It was a bit too early for our dinner destination; so we decided to grab a drink at the Seward Brewing Company.

We enjoyed the vibe of the bar area. The Missus had a white while I had a red ale. Folks here just start talking to you...….

Our bartender was from...….San Diego! Encinitas if I recall. She was here for the summer, working, like many folks we ran into, several jobs during the busy season. Her other job? Well, working at Major Marine. Go figure......

We really enjoyed the Seward Brewing Company and returned the following evening.

Seward Brewing Company
139 4th Ave
Seward, AK 99664

Our dinner reservations was at a place called The Cookery. I'd looked over their menu online, and the small plates seemed like just the thing we'd enjoy.

First off, this place gets really busy, really fast. The crew is quite nice, though they seemed a bit harried. We enjoyed the menu....perhaps a bit hipster, but quite interesting and perfect for folks who don't want to stuff their face.

The Amuse was a ceviche of sorts.

This was quite nice. A good acidity; meaty fish......

I love my oysters so we started with a half dozen.

The Halibut Cove were really briny reminding me of Atlantic/French oysters. The Jakalof Bay oysters were still a bit too briny for my taste, but had an interesting, almost sweet finish. It had been too long since I'd had good oysters, so I really enjoyed these.

The fish of the day was Halibut Cheeks...….how could we not order this?

I actually enjoyed what the light curry sauce and the mango added to the dish. The Halibut Cheeks would have been amazing, except it was over-cooked, therefore losing that rich fattiness that would take this to the "delici-yoso" level.

The Roasted Brussel Sprouts had been cooked well, as in not mushy, still crunchy.

The Missus, who loves Brussel Sprouts simply said; "not savory enough and not enough flavor" in Her assessment.

The "Wild & Tame Mushroom Toast" was a nice dish; nice earthiness, but a bit too sweet for our palate.

I told the Missus to order dessert......but knowing how much I missed oysters...….

We enjoyed our meal at the Cookery. In fact, if hey had not been closed on the following evening, we'd have eaten there.

As is; this was the second best meal we had during our trip to Alaska.

The Cookery
209 5th Ave
Seward, AK 99664

Hours
Tues - Sun 5pm - 10pm

Comments

[Junichi]

Looks good! Seems like there's a brewery in every town nowadays.

[kat]

everything looked great!

[Kirk]

It sure seems that way Junichi.

It was pretty good Kat.

[caninecologne]

Great meal and lovely views.

[Kirk]

The views were indeed quite lovely CC!

[Soo]

Seward is very lovely.

[Kirk]

Very lovely Soo!