The deep fried catfish spring rolls. SO. FREAKING. GOOD. It's pricey, but it's worth it. The catfish is flavorful and crispy, plus the vegetables that come along with it are so fresh. The beef on choy salad is great too. If you don't know, now you know. read more

Rainier Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Went here for a huge family dinner when we were in town visiting from DC. Loved being able to have affordable and authentic Vietnamese food! Portions are huge and everything was delicious! read more

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This is the go to place for a gourmet lau meal (hot pot) and a great sit down meal with the whole family. I don't know where to begin with this place, because it is one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle. I will start by some of my favorite dishes... Rice with jumbo prawns - they use this sauce that I LOVE drizzling with my rice, along with their runny eggs that is perfectly cooked whenever I visit this place. I highly recommend. Banh Canh Tom Cua - has got to be one of my favorite in town due to their humble serving of crab in the soup itself, I highly recommend this too. Their egg noodle with seafood - if you are a seafood lover like myself I think you will love this dish, the broth is satisfying and not too salty. They fry their shrimp with a type of batter that is nice and crispy. Seafood Hot Pot - I normally get this if I'm there with a large group of people so we could share. It has a nice thai tangy taste with all of your favorite seafood meats. Raw oysters - Yummmm great dipped in fish sauce Snails with coconut sauce - thick and rich flavors of coconut sauce with a creamy texture, one of my favorite dishes here. Snails with lemon grass - more on the lighter side, goes great with fish sauce. I highly recommend Rainier BBQ. read more

The food here was so good and memorable. My mom was very impressed and said it was very authentic. My favorite thing here was the grilled garlic jumbo shrimp. I am definitely coming back for that and the broken rice. Everything here was delicious. 100% would recommend. read more

this place hands down is my go to vietnamese restaurant! the food is so good and the servers are great! if the server mimi is taking care of you she will take care! this place is a must go to! read more

Your mama always tell you "don't say nothing if you don't have anything nice to say" Well I am breaking the rule because I have high expectations Exotic food menu definitely catches attentions but hey that is merely ingredients. This place is taking the advantage being a Anthony Bourdain's joint; even though it's so raw that it really needs work as an restaurant: I parked at the back lot was trying to find the door. There were 5 doors visible to the building. I caught a restaurant staff who appear to be a cook and ask where the front gate it.... Unfortunately I got the snobbish answer which is no-answer... no manner at all to the house guest. That was unpleasant and I started to worry about if someone will spit on my food because I asked a stupid question of where the door is. I have to give credits to the server/host/only staff in the restaurant. Like all other Asian restaurants, it's very understaffed because the focus is more of the food, not the atmosphere. But they really set this girl up for failure. Background to the comments: I grew up in Asia and I know a restaurant can have good food and service without having to be dirty and nasty to the guests. I really like the fact that they serve snakes, gaters and conchs to give Seattle some experiences about "fear factor food".... but nuances is different than being desirable. read more

This is the best place to have a large group dinner because they have many dishes that are meant to be shared. Case in point: the freaking awesome fried catfish. This ain't your typical fried fish dish that you are probably used to. This is a whole event in and of itself! You MUST call in ahead about 45 minutes prior to your arrival to order this dish. The behemoth-sized fish is then accompanied by a huge tray consists of fresh veggies, herbs, rice noodles, rice paper, and dipping sauce. The process of tearing the fish apart and eating it requires great team work and is a lot of fun! Aside from this fantastic dish they also offer game and other exotic animals (gator, snakes, rabbits, etc...) for the adventurous eater. This place is truly one of a kind as they serve dishes that are not found in other Vietnamese restaurants. Typical or outlandish everything is seasoned well and tastes as authentic as you can get. read more

Rainier Restaurant - Fried catfish!! Soooo friggin' good! - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Great vietnamese bar food. But always end drinking more than eating. I can see why Anthony Bourdain like it.

For someone who's very particular about his Vietnamese food, this place definitely met my expectations! I came here for a graduation dinner with a party of 12+ and they were able to serve us all at a timely pace. My favorite of the night was the broiled beef and eggs. The meat is extra tender and the egg combination really balances out the sweet flavor. The spare ribs, short ribs, and chicken wings were average. Nothing special there. The deep fried fish however, was beyond amazing! It came out sizzling and each bite maintained a crunch that you normally can't get in fish. The inside was soft and warm and it goes really well with the fish sauce. I recommend going here whether you have a small or big party, because they're very accommodating and the food sets a great example of Vietnamese culture. read more

Rainier Restaurant - Stir Fry Noodles and Veggies - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Too busy eating!! Who hasn't been to this place by now!? Not gonna lie: I did come here because my favorite tv person came here way back in 2012! Oh Heyyy Bourdain! This was before the episode air so they didn't have the Bourdain menu just yet! There's two places. One next door for take out and this big restaurant. It's almost like dining in a basement but it's clean and bright, so not too bad! And the food!! This isn't your normal let's go get pho spot! They have a ton of amazing other things! So many other things I love! They have Vietnamese menu and English menu. They even have the Bourdain menu. Yep you read it right!! The things he ate during his visit!! Beef ongchoy salad, snake dish, sour seafood soup! Some alligator even! Pretty cool for Vietnamese spot!! Love Bo kho ~ beef stew is done so well here without fail. I've had it with both noodles and a baguette! Baguette ftw! You may need two! Bun mung vit ~ possibly my most favored dish! Vermicelli in sour-ish bamboo broth with a side of duck salad! Salad is the favorite part of course. Sour seafood soup: this has pineapples in it! I grew up eating pineapple but this wasn't my favorite at all. Sweet, sour and all kinds of stuff going on in one pot. The snake thing~ yea!! My friend I went with didn't eat snake for religious reason. Of course I didn't know so I ended up eating this whole damn dish myself. If I didn't order it, I would've thought this was an eel/chicken dish! Crazy!! Ongchoy salad with beef ~ quite tasty! I like how they use what they normally wouldn't as a main dish! Ong choy is super cheap! Pair it with spicy beef and viola! You have a very refreshing dish! I also tried their hot pot several times. It's good, not the greatest. Sea snails are always a win!!! Have yet to try their regular pho but when you come to a place like this, you really wouldn't need to! So many exotic, new dishes to choose from! You wouldn't know where to start! And free dessert with yelp check in? Totally awesome! Usually free desserts are never that great but this ones pretty good. Service can be painfully slow and very mechanical but they are almost always packed!! Have zero expectations!! :) Food however is the real winner here!!! read more

SHUT THE FREAKIN' FRONT DOOR. RAINIER BBQ WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!?! All my life I've only known Vietnamese food in the form of pho, pork chop rice, summer rolls, spring rolls, vermicelli noodle salad but man, I was wrong. I was totally wrong and I've missed authenticity by a mile. You see, my fellow yelpers, those are just the very basics of Vietnamese cuisine. You are nowhere near close to the heart and core of it. I've never been to Vietnam but if I did I'm 100% sure the food at Rainier BBQ would be the closest thing in America. The entire menu consists of a few pages and there are so many options and choices that I've never seen in my life, not only that hardly anything is in English. This is a good sign. After reading the descriptions I ended up going for Thit Heo Kho To which is Twice cooked pork and egg and Bun Mang Vit which is Rice Vermicelli in Duck soup with bamboo shoot, served with duck-salad and ginger sauce. The Thit Heo Kho To was DA BOMB. Imagine tender soft pork belly melting on your tongue the moment you take a bite. The savory juices oozing out its deliciousness on your taste buds. It was amazing and I had no idea a dish like this existed in Vietnamese culture. I recommend ordering a side of rice with this so you can pour the sauce over it and savor every drop. The Bun Mang Vit was interesting, it came in two parts a duck salad and a huge bowl of pho with bamboo shoot. The broth was something I've never had before, it was very different from your beef noodle soup but in a good way. A lot of flavors happening in this dish between the noodles, broth and duck. Definitely try this over getting the usual beef pho or vermicelli salad. The portions are very generous, so generous that I forgot to redeem my free check in offer of free dessert because I was so stuffed. I even went home with leftovers. I knew I could count on my homie, Bourdain. He always knows where the good food at. I can't wait to go back again when I'm near the area and hopefully next time I won't forget my free dessert! read more

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I've been here a few times now so I feel like I can give this place a proper review. Did you know Anthony Bourdain visited this restaurant when he was in town filming the Layover? He seemed to have put this restaurant on the map & the restaurant seems to milk it with their postings on the menu. From my observation this is the place where Vietnamese OG's come to drink beer and hang out. They've got lots of exotic types of meats including frog legs, cobra, and everything else that tastes like chicken, but I can't say I've tried any of it to be able to review. I've had the onchoy beef salad which was pleasantly delightful though a little potent if you aren't used to ethnic foods (fish sauce). This hand-shaved salad also comes with other meats. I really like the Vietnamese catfish sour soup and the catfish clay pot. You can get the soup with shrimp too. Their rice dishes are decent, but not the best in town. The black bean clams was standard from what I've had. Service can vary, but the ladies were very attentive and sweet. One time the guy misunderstood our order and brought me 3 of the same dish. I didn't bother to argue and just paid for it. It was a to go order. The only thing I dislike about the to go orders and take out of left overs is they charge for the containers. That's kind of tacky I think, but I guess if grocery stores are charging for plastic bags it shouldn't be a huge deal? Anyway, I still think it's tacky & maybe they could build this in to the food menu or something so it's not so obvious. They have a huge parking lot in the back. It's a little tricky to get to with the Lightrail in front. You have to be driving north to enter. read more

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I live close to here and this was my go to place for vietnamese. Under to old management their portions were good sized and prices were decently low. Now portions got smaller and prices were went up. For instance, we had the crepes all the time. We used to get 2 nicely portioned crepes. Now you get one. We asked why we only get one now and they actually looked me in the eye and stated that everyone wanted only one crepe instead of 2. Therefore now u get one slightly larger than one of the 2 we used to get for more $$. In my opinion, I rather make the trip down to the I district and hit up any of the other vietnamese food joints there. read more

So this is Saigon Bistros 'other' restaurant. After visiting Kubota Gardens I was hungry. I pulled out the business card, found the address and decided that's where we were headed. It's an interesting place next door is Rainier's Best BBQ which logo was on the card but I didn't want BBQ so we headed to the building that looked like it wasn't 100% finished and went downstairs. First off we are the only white people in there, this is good sign I think. We are seated at a table, provided menus and start looking. I don't see many options for the vegetarian I'm with so I ask the waitress and she starts rattling off a bunch of items we didn't see on the menu. One lemongrass tofu and one small Pho Ga please. While waiting for our food I went off to use the ladies room which was actually the men's and ladies room walking in to a urinal was interesting and that's all I'll say about that. I received my pho before the accessories but they soon arrived, unfortunately one branch of basil was brown but everything else was fine. My pho was good, the broth was flavorful, the noodles were fresh and there was lots of cilantro which is a favorite of mine. A small was more then enough for me and my lunch partner cleaned his plate, I tried a piece and it was very tasty with a subtle lemongrass flavor not an over powering taste and a nice spicy kick to it as well. Once you're done eating head to the register, because if you wait for you're check to arrive you could be waiting a really long time. The nice thing though is they will ring you up separate if you ask so no issues splitting the check here. The food was good but I'm not out in this 'hood very often so it's not likely I'll be going back anytime soon; that's not because of the food or service it because of it's location that's all. Oh and it's cheap, super cheap for sit-down, someone takes your order and delivers your food to you food. My meal was only $5.00!!! read more

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Very great service provided. Although the kitchen was a little backed up, the server, Ly kept checking in with me and trying to have the kitchen make my order. read more

Sunday after work, starving - light bulb! Rainier BBQ place! I pull in here late past 10 for some take-out. I'd called in my order when I saw someone's "beef satay" picture on here... ...I'm on the phone, her accent is so strong and it appears she doesn't understand beef satay. So, I improvise with beef noodle or beef rice something? "-Ok! Beef noodle to-go!-" I get there and asked her if she can show me what I got on the menu---rare beef noodle soup... 2 words I didn't expect: rare & soup... it's too late to change it so ok, whatever, I can try it. I wouldn't eating here as it was pretty alright with nice background music and fairly busy for a place in the middle of MLK on a late Sunday. I get home and start eating... nomslobbernomslurpnom... Dude, that rare beef wasn't too tough at all with a lil' chewing; rather soft for it. The noodles, toppings, broth... delicious! And that container makes it easy for portable eating - just pour the stuff from the to-go container into the broth container, close lid for several minutes and let the beef, noodles and toppings become merry with one another. *slurp* Bottom header: Really good to wash it down with a nice sake, btw. read more

I'll be honest. I came here, like so many tourists do, because I happened to see an old episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations that focused on Seattle. While there were numerous bars and late-night eats highlighted, it really was Vietnamese restaurant Ranier BBQ that caught my eye. Being from San Jose (largest population of Vietnamese in America), I'm no stranger to great Vietnamese eats. But I had never had the ong choy salad that Bourdain recommended and I know he's traveled enough in Asia to have legit taste buds. Rainier Restaurant & BBQ is located outside of Seattle and it's name isn't the best indication either that they serve Vietnamese food. The BBQ actually refers to their cooked BBQ meats that they also sell (think roast duck, pork, and BBQ pork) alongside their affordable banh mi (sandwiches). Supposedly, after the show, they expanded and at our visit, there were two separate buildings, one to-go and a larger two story sit down location. Business was brisk and constant during the lunch hour and service is efficient albeit not super smiley. Our order: Famous Ong Choy Salad (small) - $14. It's so typical Asian that they take the usually not eaten ends of ong choy (the ends that are not cooked) and have ingeniously used it for a salad. The salad consists of these ends curled and there's a table in the restaurant where someone is usually preparing the salad parts. Take perfectly cooked rare beef and place on top and add a nice helping of fish sauce and you have a salad that reminded me a lot of Thai salads I've had. It's both tangy and slightly sweet and is really quite good. The kicker is that I've heard that the prices have gradually been going up since the show and a small for $14 isn't that great a deal. Nonetheless, I was happy with the rare beef quality and did enjoy both the flavor and execution. Bourdain didn't let me down. Pho Dac Biet - everything else on the menu is almost a bargain compared to the salad. A large pho dac biet was only $5.95. Unfortunately, despite the bargain price, I found the soup broth to be very bland and the noodles and meat to be underwhelming. The noodles were in particular lackluster and the meat quality wasn't anything to write home about. Many places in SJ would beat this place easily for pho, but I guess that isn't Rainier's specialty. Herb Flavored Duck Egg Noodle Soup - this was listed as a Chef specialty and I've had several versions, including some great ones in SF at Hai Ky Mi Gia. I came out piping hot and had a large duck leg with egg noodles. The broth tasted a bit artificial (perhaps the herbs) and the duck leg was overcooked and dry. Overall, another disappointing dish. Seasoned and Deep Fried Quail with Lettuce and Tomato - people rave about this dish and two quail are nicely seasoned and deep fried. It was good, but I've had quail at many places and didn't find these that noteworthy. Again, good, but wouldn't stand out among the many places I've had. Lemonade and Lemon Soda - I saw several reviews tout the spectacular lemon soda and thought I'd be in for a special treat. But after having the first few sip, it pretty much tasted like every lemonade and lemon soda I've had at almost every Vietnamese restaurant I've been to. Lots of lemon, lots of sugar and soda or water. Perhaps the places in Seattle don't do it as well, but even chain Tung Kee has a similar lemon soda. Overall, I was sorry I wasn't able to order more exotic fare. I had heard that the razor clams, the wild game, and seafood are great options but I only had time to try their famous ong choy salad and several Vietnamese staples. True to reports the ong choy salad tasted great and had both a subtle savory and tanginess that I hopefully can replicate back home. As for the two noodle soups, I was pretty disappointed. Finally, the deep fried quail and drinks were standard, so I'd say this place was a 3.5 stars. Worthwhile to stop by for the salad, but I'll stick to the other items back home. Rainier Restaurants accepts credit cards, but not American Express. read more

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We returned for dinner and I have to give them credit for their excellent customer service and great food! We ordered the ong choy beef salad (Thanks to Anthony Bourdain, this dish is now $15.95), roasted duck noodle soup, and goat curry. The salad was a bed of crunchy ong choy spirals with cooked beef and fried onions, dressed with a light, tangy, and spicy dressing, served with some type of peanut /chili sauce on the side. Very refreshing....and I know it is a winner because even my veggie hating husband loved it. The roasted duck noodle soup was packed with goodies: huge, plentiful, and flavorful chunks of roasted duck, lettuce, and garlic chives hanging out on top of perfectly cooked wavy egg noodles. For $7.95, I can't think of a place that can beat the value or taste. Lastly, the goat curry was surprisingly delicious. I typically dislike curry, especially soupy drippy types (I'm looking at you, Indian curry), but this was more of a dry curry. Lots of spiced and marinated goat cubes with bell peppers and onions went well with a bowl of steaming white rice. Will definitely want to eat these dishes again! I also wanted to mention that we encountered a leak in the ceiling near our table, and the staff handled it like pros. They immediately found a creative solution to catch the water and quickly moved us to a different (and dry) table. Thank you for the care. :) read more

We came here with a large party (19 people), and were immediately seated. +1 star for prompt service. We also had a couple of Vietnamese folks with us, so they ordered everything on the menu, and the food was phenomenal! I've had Vietnamese food before, but this was top notch. +4 stars for food, quality and portions. Total bill came to 255$ with tax and that included several rounds of Tsingtao beer. That came out to about 58$ per family (5 checks+ tip), which was great deal. Minus one star, for slow check out service and the fact that the upstairs seating has 0 to no control over ambient temperature. It went from freezing to feeling like we were walking in a freaking jungle over the course of the meal. And the check was in Vietnamese, so we had those same folks proof read it... Lol. We'll definitely be returning for their beef dishes. I highly recommend this place if you want authentic Vietnamese food. read more

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I suppose to give just only 2 stars, but I just try to be nice to give 3 stars review. As I walked in, I didn't know where the main door was until we found the door in the basement. The staffs need to be more organized and friendly. I didn't see any smiles for the service at all. This place have the worst restroom ever! Both male and female customers have to use the one unisex restroom. It's that I saw all the pee on the floor n papers. I couldn't get that picture out of my mind after I sat down and waited for my order. The restaurant was not even busy. There were 2 waitress and a waiter. Had to cancel a couple orders, because they never came out! We ordered hot and sour soup, was a lil bit too salty for me. Clay fish too salty as well, and supper thin pieces. My husband not happy that his only one order that he suppose to eat was never coming out! Would not recommend this restaurant. read more

We've been coming here for years. The food is always good and the service is good most of the time. We came in on a Friday night and we had a large group. Even without reservations they were able to accommodate us. A few minutes later, the place was packed! We ordered a bunch of appetizers to share; egg rolls, young lotus salad, bo la lot and banh xeo. Then we each got a rice dish or noodle bowl. Highlights: bun bo hue, bun rieu and com rainier. Portions are good and they're not stingy with the veggies. They offer a free (mini) mango pudding dessert with check-in. read more

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literally my GO TO vietnamese food place. the foods are authentic, delicious n affordable, gotta try their famous fried catfish whenever u come here!!! the environment and the staffs r super nice n friendly, and shout-out to Lyly and Emma were able to squeeze me in for a last minute to-go order!!! read more

Great Vietnamese restaurant with a lot if authentic dishes on the menu. Some dishes are rarely listed in other restaurants. Has a parking lot in the side. read more

This place is legit, authentic Vietnamese, owned and operated by Vietnamese people. Probably one of the best Viet restaurant in larger Seattle area! The best item on their menu you should order is the whole fried catfish. The thing is, since it's so big, you need to order this in advance before dining in. They accommodate big groups, and definitely a good idea to call ahead and reserve a spot, since they seem to be pretty popular. We also ordered on choy beef salad, which was amazing! Highly recommend, along with the banh xeo. We ordered a dish that had snake in it (yes, snake), but it was all right... A little too chewy for my taste, but interesting to try if you're into weird foods like me. :P Definitely recommend this place if you're looking for authentic Vietnamese home-style type of foods your mom cooked for you growing up. P.S. - Anthony Bourdain approves of this restaurant. ;) read more

Ok, first things first. This is the LOUDEST place I've ever been to in my life. I'm not talking just about restaurants here, I really mean it was the loudest PLACE I've ever been to. Rock concerts, jackhammers, and jet engines cannot compete with the decibel levels in this place. I've concluded it is a combination of the crappy acoustics of the concrete walls and the drunk boisterous locals who eat here. My head was swimming after a few minutes of hearing 30 other people around me YELLING in their native language. It seemed like nobody could sit down, eat dinner, and have a nice quiet conversation. Perhaps a cultural thing, I don't know. I don't care. On to the food. Had chopped cobra and also the goat. The cobra was served with mint leaves and smothered in hot sauce. It could have been anything to tell you the truth. I think there were some reptile scales in there though. I also tried the goat dish: it was soggy and full of chewy fat. It was really bad. They also serve a bunch of other not so standard meats like rabbit, frog legs, venison, alligator, you get the idea. Like I said, the place was packed. Full of families yelling at the top of their lungs. The service was mediocre at best. I felt like were intruding on the local's hangout, with long wait times between water refills (a must!) and generally terse service from the waitresses. I don't anticipate coming back here. If you decide to go, bring earplugs. If you just gotta say you've eaten cobra before, go here. read more

Rainier Restaurant - chopped cobra @ Rainier BBQ - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

When I heard about this place, I excitedly told a friend and he said he already knew about it and that it was a favourite. Now that I've eaten there, I'm MAD he never told me about it! The food is soooo good, the menu is super unique, and the service was absolutely wonderful. I already can't wait to go back and try the fried cat fish!!! Also, Anthony Bourdain was supposedly a fan. 2 thumbs up! read more

When in doubt on where to find legit yummy Viet food, swing by Rainier BBQ. Here, you will find some typical dishes like pho, but you will also run into very local and unique dishes that are often not present on regular menus. Located in the MLK area, this place is fairly easy to find and has ample parking. When you enter, you would walk down the stairs and get seated there. With the recent updated menu, a lot of food items have pictures attached, so no worries on ordering something you don't know! My recommended favorites are: Ong choy salad, salty fish fried rice, honey walnut prawns, crispy rice cakes/bot chien, fried mini clams (hen), and the rice combo dishes. You reallllly cannot go wrong with any of these dishes (clams dish might be iffy since it's a fairly unique taste and texture). One of Rainier BBQ's most recognizable dish is the unique ong choy salad. It's an unique dish with its vast array of different flavors and simply, it's something one must try if feeling on the adventurous side. For other dishes, pairing honey walnut prawns & salty fried fish is a good combo. You get a nice sweet and crunchy bite of the prawns and balance it out with the slightly salted fish in fried rice. As for the other dishes like clams and rice cakes, these are often good appetizers and different from the usual spring rolls and egg rolls. If you have a large group, I highly recommend ordering in advance, the catfish. That thing is hugeeee! Other notable dishes that are tasty: Rice / vermicelli combo dishes = yum. Always filling dishes and with a variety of food in it. There are always rotating specials on the board, so make sure to check that out! Service here is prompt and when things get busy, just wave your hand about to get some attention. If you want a taste of Rainier BBQ on a smaller scale (like a quick lunch), you could always visit their deli next door that serves pretty solid lunch meals and Viet sandwiches. =] Prices in general are average and definitely worth the investment for a happy tummy. read more

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This restaurant is the place to go to if you want unusual things that you don't exactly find elsewhere. I admit, I never rly liked going here, because area wise and service... SERVICE. Goodness do the girls seem so bitchy and in a rush. The 4 times that I've been here, they've always given me the wrong order or they forget to bring in something I wanted, but I just let it slide, and let them know afterwards, because they seem to get irritated if you request for more things. I usually have the bun rieu and it's one of the best. They give you fish sauce separately to have it at your own taste. Their beef stew is pretty good, but I really love their fried quail. Not quail eggs, but the actual quail. Super yummy. As for their mango pudding that you get for free after checking in, it's super good. very smooth and tasty. For authentic Vietnamese food, I do come here. read more

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I come here all the time, usually downstairs. If you check-in on the Yelp app you get a free mango dessert. Lucky me. The place is nothing fancy, just really good and cheap food. Super cheap! I've been coming here since they were at their old location. Everything is good. The Bun Mang Vit, duck salad with soup on the side, the combo rice dish with everything, and their Pho is really good too. Price ranges from $5.50-$8. I want to try it all. You know it's good when Anthony Bourdain comes to your restaurant. Sad I wasn't there when he was there. read more

Rainier Restaurant - Free mango dessert when you check in on Yelp! Yum!! - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Sorry Anthony Bourdain - you have failed me on this recommendation. We called to have a table reserved and were told it was possible, but that it was very busy there. Upon arrival there was only 1 waitress- no wonder why it was so busy as she was the only one running the restaurant. They ran out of the snake dish which was a bummer. We ordered a number of different dishes and were not blown away by any of them. - Beef Pho - Hot & Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Ca) - Vegetable stir fry with rice (for our vegetarian friend) - Green mussels sauteed in scallions and onions - Rabbit Curry (Cari Tho) - Chicken & Pork Birdsnest (Mi Xao Don) We ordered the curry rabbit first and waited patiently for it. They forgot our order- made it and it was very dry. Eh I had so much expectations for rainier BBQ. read more

Rainier Restaurant - Rabbit curry - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I am so glad That I discovered rainier bbq! This small family friendly restaurant encourages big groups to get together and share beautiful Vietnamese cuisine. We ordered: Fish sauce chicken wings Ketchup fried rice with coconut chicken The whole fried catfish The chicken wings were crisp and delicious with a tangy flavor. Surprisingly the ketchup fried rice didn't taste like ketchup, only to add color and slight flavor. The coconut chicken that came with it was served in leg quarter portions and was fall off the bone delicious. After chowing down the starters the piece de resistance arrived; the catfish. It was like eating fried chicken, the crisp skin and tender meat were addictive. The meal was served with a side of veggies served with most Vietnamese dishes including rice paper to make your own wraps. Do yourself a favor and order the catfish, bring as many friends and family as you can to help eat it and knock back a couple Heinekens and you would forget you weren't in Vietnam. read more

Rainier Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Best fried cat fish a girl can ask for and it's in my hood! I highly recommend coming to Rainier BBQ and not just because Anthony Bourdain ate here - the food is bomb! Each time we come here, we order a whole cat fish and the last time we ordered two! Make sure you call ahead of time and tell them you want it so it'll be cooked and ready to eat when you get there. The whole fish is good for about 6-7 people to share but with other dishes. The fried cat fish was cooked to perfection, the skin crispy, the meat soft and seasoned well. You're suppose to make spring rolls but I didn't care to, I just ate it straight because it was sooo good. The banh xeo, beef salad, alligator salad and quail was all very tasty and delicious. If you're looking for some authentic Vietnamese food, come here. It looks hole-in-the-wall-ish on the outside and maybe a little bit in the inside, but don't let that deter you from great food. I also heard their hot pot was pretty decent. read more

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I really wanted to love this restaurant because of Anthony Bourdain, but why is everything too sweet? Everything from the ong choy salad, to the lemongrass alligator, to the venison curry. The flavor in the lemongrass alligator was overkill. You know when something is over-flavored, and it gets tiresome very fast? This dish was that. The venison curry had way too much pineapple flavoring in it for my liking. Is it me? Was it an off night? Did we order the wrong stuff? The only thing I didn't mind eating was the congee with blood cubes, but it's really hard to mess that one up, right? Portions were gigantic for the price, however, and service, though slow for a not-too-busy Friday evening, was very friendly. I don't mind the location and lack of ambience at all. They have a huge parking lot in the back. It's too bad it turned out to be that underwhelming, but just because of Anthony Bourdain, I will return to give it another chance someday soon. read more

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Best place for Vietnamese and Chinese food! I love the honey walnut prawns, shaking beef and beef onchoy salad! My favorite place in Seattle

I don't venture down to the Rainier Beach area very often, so when some friends and I had an event come up in SoDo we jumped on the opportunity to finally try this place - and I'm super glad we did! I ordered the pork chop and egg cake (my friends ordered similar items but I don't remember the exact dishes), but look forward to branching out of my Midwestern comfort zone on my next visit (really want to try alligator or cobra!). But seriously, freaking COBRA. Everything was excellent and the portions were so large we didn't even have room for dessert (another Yelp check in reward). Oh well, guess we'll have to come back :). Had to take one star off since service was on the slow side, but if you're not in a hurry and want to try something exotic and fantastic, definitely check it out. Prices are also super reasonable, so there's really no reason not to patronize this place more often! read more

Rainier Restaurant - Combo 66: Charbroiled pork and egg cake - amazing! - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This is the usual brunch place with my mom. She's not the type that likes to try new food and she prefers Asian cuisine. so EVERY time she comes here she'll order the same thing and the taste would always be the same, while other places fluctuates. It's a great place. Good food. Very clean. Decent service. Rush things but it's okay they're short on staff and it doesn't really matter since I'll get my food faster. Sometimes smells... but good food so it's all that matters, right?? read more

Rainier Restaurant - Rainer special: with pork, beef, and shrimp - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Didn't know what to expect! As I read the reviews I thought this place would be on the questionable list. I went here for my brothers bday and sure enough the food was good and very unique. Rainier BBQ has frog legs, deer, cobra, and alligator. We went for the cobra along with the other party foods. The cobra was spicy but really unique and good. No bones as I thought there would be. The restaurant is loud, with a bunch of drunk Vietnamese par tiers. If you can get over that, you will have a good time at Rainier BBQ. read more

Holy moly! This place really surprised me! My sister in law brought us here to try authentic Vietnamese food. Since we are from Miami, we don't get have authentic asian restaurants. My sis in law said that Anthony Bourdain had paid a visit to this establishment. She told us what he ordered and that is what we ordered as well--Ong Choy with Beef Salad. OMG!!!!! Delicious! I posted a picture of Yelp to show you what they salad looks like! The flavors are to die for. My husband and I ate this with such pleasure. We loved it so much, we cam back two more times before coming back home. I wish I could learn how to make it because it was darn good! read more

Rainier Restaurant - Ong choy with beef salad....amazing dish. What I love most about Seattle is the killer Vietnemese food. - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Food was amazing and our waitress Lisa is the best! We felt welcome the time we stepped into the restaurant. We definitely will be returning again! Thank you for taking care of us! read more

The service wasn't good enough, but not too bad to complain. However, the food tasted doesn't right like it used to be. I ordered short rib white rice, and there were more bones than meat. I talked to the waitress, and she said it was supposed to be like that. OMFG, there were only 3-4 small pieces of meat. Also, their Ong Choy Salad got worse, like half eat and half throw away. They didn't select the edible part of the ong choy like they used to be, they kept the old part there too, which is inedible to human. They also increased the price and reduced the size portion. What do you think? We order the salad and throw half of them away? Their cat fish was good. But their sister restaurant, Sago at Renton, make a better dipping sauce for the Fried Cat Fish; the tastes was similar with what I ate 3 years ago when I visited Seattle. The owner/ manager should pay more attention to their old branch at MLK. Dont just focus on expanding your business read more

Rainier Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Seattle, Washington