It's Going Swimmingly At Anthony's Pier 66

----------------------------------------------------------------- Restaurant review

XXX Anthony's Pier 66, 2201 Alaskan Way. Fish and seafood specialities. Open 5 to 10 p.m. daily. Entries $17-$24. Full bar. Wheelchair accessible. Major credit cards accepted. Reservations recommended: 448-6688. -----------------------------------------------------------------

The Anthony's restaurant empire has been serving up seafood to an appreciative clientele in suburban settings for decades. Two months ago it made the leap into downtown Seattle, with a three-in-one spot on the new Bell Street Pier. The first and most visible part is a walk-up sidewalk Fish Bar offering char-grilled mahi mahi, fresh tacos with tortilla chips and Alaska ling cod and chips, along with good beer and ice cream.

At the side, facing a plaza and the new Pier 66 convention center, the Bell Street Diner offers an expanded menu in an informal setting overlooking the water. The place is so busy that diners waiting to be seated are given pagers so they can explore the pier and watch the water while they wait.

Up one short flight of stairs from the diner (or up the elevator if you prefer), Anthony's Pier 66 offers some of the finely tuned seafood dishes the Northwest is becoming famous for. I recommend taking the stairs, and taking them leisurely, keeping a firm grip on the handrail so you can look overhead as you climb. The glass ceiling is inset with that other Northwest speciality: hand-blown glass. It's ubiquitous. Restrooms are fitted with blown-glass wash basins. Paperweight-size crystal blobs affixed to the bar are subtle light sources.

It's easier, in fact, to see Northwest glass than Northwest fish at Anthony's Pier 66. The fresh sheet listed Chinook salmon and Petrale sole from the Oregon coast, halibut and ling cod from Southeast Alaska, mahi mahi from Costa Rican waters and yellowfin Ahi (tuna) from Hawaii. All fine by me but possibly disappointing to a traveler visiting the Seattle waterfront in the hope of sampling what's best from the waters outside the window. The disappointment would evaporate, however, at first bite.

"We like to get our fish from wherever it's best," executive chef Sally McArthur says. "Halibut and ling cod from colder waters tend to be firmer."

For Northwest fare, the traveler would have to fall back on Penn Cove mussels or Dungeness crab served in salad, in chowder, over pasta or straight-up cracked. Who could be disappointed?

We wandered into Anthony's Pier 66 without a reservation about 7 p.m. one recent day. The place was swarming. Some customers wore suits and ties; others were in T-shirts. No dress code applies. It would be a half-hour wait, the hostess said.

We went into the bar to watch the sunset, and were shown to our table 28 minutes later. Being good to their word gives me a friendly feeling abut a restaurant; a sense that I can trust them. If they say a salmon was troll-caught, it doubtless was.

The waiter filled our water glasses, noted that we had what we wanted from the bar and vanished for 20 minutes to allow us to settle in and study the menu. It's good reading.

Two special appetizers are big in both size and price, made to share. The Potlatch ($19.95) lays out steamed clams, Penn Cover mussels and singing scallops in a feast designed to be reminiscent of Northwest Native American ceremonial dinners. Mindful that it was intended to be a first course and not an entire evening's occupation, we ordered instead the Poke Trio. A three-tiered stand was delivered to the table bearing Hawaiian specialities: sashimi-grade Ahi dipped in chili and soy, flash-seared mahi mahi with a spicy sauce and Ahi marinated in miso-pear juice, with deep-fried tofu and asparagus. It was an inspired beginning.

The alder-planked halibut with sour cream, red onion and dill does honor to a fine fish. Much of the menu follows a similar philosophy: use the best fish that can be found, cook it simply and add a slightly unusual glaze or salsa to enhance it. It's a winning formula.

Can a vegetarian find happiness here? Only if he or she can endure the hardship of garlic mashed potatoes layered with grilled Japanese eggplant, Portobello mushrooms, Yakima Valley asparagus, fresh corn and caramelized Walla Walla onions. The menu appropriately calls it "Vegetarian Sensation."

We had only one quibble with what we were served. It may seem churlish to order tempura prawns, then complain that the dish was oily. But if the oil is sufficiently hot, and the batter properly chilled, the batter crisps to perfection without soaking up oil. In that respect, Anthony's otherwise fine tempura could be improved.