Skip to content
Example site by DIGIMASON DESIGNS · Calder & Brine is a fictional restaurant
Calder & Brine

Ballard, Seattle · Wood-fire kitchen & raw bar

Dinner from the fire, oysters from the Sound.

Everything on the menu passes over alder and oak, or comes off the ice from Hood Canal and Totten Inlet. Dinner Tuesday to Sunday from five; twelve seats wrap the hearth.

Alder and oak logs burning in an open hearth
No. 00 The hearth at a quarter to five, before first seating

This week

Tonight, from the fire

The menu moves with the boats at Fishermen’s Terminal and three farms up the Skagit. These five are on it this week.

Freshly shucked oysters on crushed ice with a small dish of sauce
No. 01Hama Hama oystersHood Canal, on the ice at four · $4 each
Purple and orange heirloom carrots with their green tops on a dark dish
No. 02Heirloom carrotsRoasted in the embers, whipped feta, sorrel · $17
A thick steak searing on a grill with smoke rising
No. 03Ribeye for two32 days dry-aged, rested by the fire · $96
Rows of small whole fish cooking on a grill over glowing coals
No. 04Grilled sardinesStraight over the coals, charred lemon · $19
A dark chocolate dessert with cream on a black plate
No. 05Dark chocolateSmoked cherries, cocoa nib · $14

Dinner menu · changes daily

The menu

Tell your server about any allergy; the kitchen can adjust most dishes. Marks: V vegetarian, GF gluten-free, DF dairy-free.

All 24 dishes

Raw bar

Shucked to order from the ice. Oysters come with rhubarb mignonette and grilled lemon.

  • Hama Hama oysters$4 each

    Hood Canal, briny and clean; rhubarb mignonette

    GFDFShellfish

  • Totten Inlet Virginicas$4.50 each

    Deep cup, sweet finish; grilled lemon

    GFDFShellfish

  • Geoduck crudo$22

    Green strawberry, shiso, cold-pressed rapeseed oil

    GFDFShellfish

  • Albacore tartare$19

    Smoked egg yolk, pickled shallot, rye crisp

    DF

  • Kohlrabi crudo$14

    Buttermilk, dill oil, toasted sunflower seeds

    VGF

Small plates

For the table, while the fire comes up.

  • Hearth bread$7

    Baked in the embers each afternoon; cultured butter, alder salt

    V

  • Grilled sardines$19

    Charred lemon, parsley, a little chili

    GFDF

  • Ember-roasted heirloom carrots$17

    Whipped feta, sorrel, carrot-top salsa verde

    VGF

  • Smoked mussels on toast$18

    Penn Cove mussels, saffron aioli

    DFShellfish

  • Charred leeks$15

    Hazelnut romesco, crisp shallots

    VGFDF

  • Chicken liver mousse$16

    Pickled huckleberries, grilled sourdough

From the hearth

Cooked over alder and oak, rested, carved at the pass.

  • Whole grilled rockfish$44

    Brown butter, capers, burnt lemon; for one or two

    GF

  • Dry-aged ribeye for two$96

    32 days, Skagit Valley beef; bone marrow jus

    GFDF

  • Half chicken$34

    Alder smoke, schmaltz potatoes, pan juices

    GFDF

  • King oyster mushrooms$28

    Black garlic, toasted barley, charred spring onion

    VDF

  • Sablefish$41

    Miso glaze, ember-roasted turnips

    GFDF

  • Dungeness crab$62

    Roasted in the shell, seaweed butter; ask for tonight's size

    GFShellfish

Sides

Each one enough for two.

  • Coal-roasted potatoes$11

    Crème fraîche, chives

    VGF

  • Charred greens$12

    Anchovy, chili, garlic

    GFDF

  • Grilled chicories$12

    Honey, walnut, orange

    VGF

Dessert

Mostly finished in the embers.

  • Burnt honey custard$13

    Sea-salt shortbread

    V

  • Ember-baked apple$12

    Oat crumble, cold cream

    V

  • Dark chocolate$14

    Smoked cherries, cocoa nib

    VGF

  • Sorbet of the day$9

    Three scoops; made without dairy or eggs

    VGFDF

Seen enough? Tables go fastest on Fridays and Saturdays.

Reserve a table
A chef in a red apron flames a pan on the stove
No. 06 Anders Vik on the line

The hearth · Chef and owner

Anders Vik cooks with whatever the fire gives him.

“Fire is the only cook in the room that never does the same thing twice. We just keep up with it.”

Anders spent eight years on a wood grill in Bergen before coming home to Ballard. He buys whole fish off the boats in the morning, writes the menu at three, and lights the hearth at four with alder from the Olympic Peninsula and oak for the long, slow heat.

The counter menu

Seven courses at the hearth · $135 a guest · wine pairing $85 · Tuesday to Sunday

The room

Low light, long tables, the fire in view from every seat.

A dim dining room with set tables and candles
The dining room, 7:40 pm
A glass of sparkling wine on a marble bar top against a dark teal wall
The bar opens at four
Friends gathered close around a candlelit table
The long table, booked for a birthday
Flames leaping from a pan on a busy kitchen line
The line, mid-service

Reservations

Book a table

We take bookings two weeks ahead and keep the bar for walk-ins. Free to cancel until 3 pm on the day.

A candle on a dark restaurant table
  1. 1Party & date
  2. 2Time
  3. 3Your details
  4. 4Confirmed

Who’s coming, and when?

Party size

2 guests

Nine or more? The back room seats up to 18; see private dining under Visit.

Date · Saturday, September 26

Where would you like to sit?

Visit

5412 NW Leary Way, a block up from Salmon Bay.

The 40 bus stops at the corner of Leary and 17th. Street parking is free after six; there’s a bike rack by the door.

Private dining

The back room seats up to 18 at one table, with its own view of the hearth. Write to events@calderandbrine.example with a date and a head count.

Hours
Tuesday – Thursday5 – 10 pm
Friday – Saturday5 – 11 pm
Sunday4 – 9 pm
MondayClosed
Bar, Tuesday – SundayFrom 4 pm
NW LEARY WAY17TH AVE NWSALMON BAYCalder & Brine