Varly's Swiftwater Seafood Cafe

A quick, fun little spot for lunch. Clam Chowder is just delicious. The Calamari was well prepared as well and the Halibut Sandwich was fresh although not spectacular. The Fries were skinny and not my favorite. I would definitely recommend that you stop in for some Chowder!!

Nice refuge from the wind and rain, can't believe they stayed open in such bad weather. I was going to rate this place three stars, but they get an extra star for being open :) The interior was cozy and cute, with a nautical theme (obviously). The portion sizes were ok for the price. Not the best shrimp basket (shrimps were small and slightly over cooked), but the fish on the fish and chips plate was great, nice thick chunks of perfectly fried fresh cod. I would prefer thicker cut french fries with fish and chips, the fires here were thin. The lady running the place was very nice and served everyone with a smile. Mainly bar stool seating inside with only one table with actual chairs.

Had an excellent lunch here while waiting to board our cruise ship. The food was delicious! The outdoor space with tables was a perfect place to sit and eat. It was a beautiful day while we were there, but the outdoor space would even be nice on a rainy day, as it has a roof. There are also places inside to sit, and a restroom is available to customers. The picnic tables outside along the walkway also belong to Swiftwater, and we moved out there after finishing our food to sit (for 2-3 hours) while waiting for our boarding time. No one asked us to move (as all of the tables weren’t filled), and we had a really nice afternoon here.

Ridiculously expensive food and not that great. The halibut and chips was $24 and the fish was just okay (taste was fine, it was very thin and not much of it). Good beer selection. Some of the tables are 'family style' and elbow-to-elbow seating area. Limited covered-porch seating is available and a few bar-level counter seats that look out onto parking lot. Sort of a typical dockside fish place with high prices.

WORST fish & chips I've ever had in my life!! $24.99 for 2 pieces of "halibut" and 6 pieces of small shrimp. I say "halibut" because it was not halibut. I've cooked and eaten a lot of halibut in my life and this was definitely NOT halibut. It was small, thin, dry, stringy, and had some tiny rainbow oil colors in the white meat. I was disappointed with the shrimps too as they were small. After eating here I read some of the recent reviews and it seems that the restaurant changed owners and everything has changed for the worst. Totally riding the coat tails of the previous owners and reviews. I 100% recommend NOT to waste your money here. Even the French fries sucked. And for some dumb reason they HID the ketchup packets underneath the paper sheet with all the fries so we didn't find the ketchup till we ate all the fries. Same for my wife's food too. Terrible place.

Fantastic food and great views! This is about the only place in town but thank goodness it is delicious. The food was hot and fresh and it came out super fast. Patio is great for some views while chowing down.

Great little restaurant! Fresh catch, hand breaded and cooked when ordered. The halibut was delicious. Nice outside deck with a nice view.

Lovely food. Great quality and good quantity. Small restaurant with a good backside seating area.

Coming from Seward where we prices were absurd, the prices here were normal compared to Bay Area, CA prices

There was a lady standing by the front telling us it would be 40 minutes to order and another 40 minutes to get our food. Glad we weren’t discouraged by her. The calamari was fantastic and tender. The cocktail sauce was excellent. Heard the chowder was great and it did not disappoint. Had the halibut sandwich with fries and it was very fresh. If you are in Whittier this joint is a must. Even the mayor stops to eat here.

Fyi, pretty much everything on the menu here is fried (except the hamburger I guess), and is not terribly high quality. Three stars awarded for cool decor inside the restaurant and amazing views of the sound outside. Food was edible, nothing special. Reminded me of cafeteria food. Fine to pop in if you want something quick and want chicken strips or basic fish and chips. I got the fish sandwich and was not impressed. Two tiny fish filets which were mostly breading, one tomato, lettuce and a little sauce on a bun, not toasted or anything. It was edible but just a bit drab. I had some onion rings as well which again were mostly just a ring of breading with a tiny, translucent sliver of onion ring inside. My companion got fish and chips and described them as adequate. French fries were the best part and were just basic normal french fries. The fish sandwich was one of the less expensive items on the menu at $14, which I do not feel is good value. They do have Alaskan beers which is nice. And there is a sign saying all cod and halibut served is caught locally which is nice. Maybe if you get a different menu item you will enjoy it more.