Rainier Restaurant & BBQ was truly authentic Vietnamese Asian Cuisine. They have a special menu with many kinds of foods. I tried this place several times. The first time I tried dinner with my friend. We ate Beef Onchoy salad (appetizer). The price for this item is valued is "Market Price" so it can fluctuate depending when you go. We also had the Charcoal Broiled Pork. It came with broken rice. It is just $11.50. That's so amazing. We also got the free mango pudding for checking in there on Yelp. The mango pudding was bland. Recently, I ordered the Clay Pot Catfish. It was delicious, dark sauce. The Chinese Kale is stir fried with shrimp and chicken with light sauce. The shrimp tasted fresh. Some highlights for restaurant: The parking lot is large, the restaurant opens late and it has a wide variety of food. I tried this place with some friends and I had introduced this place for them. I'm happy when I visited there. Even though the waitresses were super busy, they still did a great job keeping calm and got to the customers. Overall the staff was friendly, the food came out not too slowly and it was a good experience. It was Authentic and did not disappoint. They were always refilling my water which is a nice and simple thing to do. I'd give them 4 stars. read more

My favorite place for Vietnamese! It's a little far from Lynnwood but worth the drive. Always have to have the stir fried beef cubes with ketchup fried rice. Bun hoi is great too. It's so hard to decide every time I come. Their com tam is delicious. Doesn't matter what combination you pick. I always claim the free mango pudding as well. Just the perfect amount to sweeten the palate! read more

One of my favorite restaurants in town. closes thing to authentic vietnamese food. highly recommend.

This place seems to be two restaurants right by side. On the right side is the BBQ side and the left side is the Vietnamese side. The BBQ side deserves 2 stars for their BBQ. It's okay, but most of their BBQ food are rock hard to eat, especially their wieners. Their five spices duck are pretty good though, but it's only served on the weekends. Now for the Vietnamese side, I would give this place a 3.5 stars + the previous 2 stars = 5.5 stars / 2 = 2.75 stars rounded up to 3 overall stars. When I came here for the first time I asked them if they had some exotic stuff to eat and they had no clue, so I tried their pho and it was okay, but I loved their noodles... too much noodles though. I checked on yelp again to see if this was the right spot that had exotic stuff and it did, so one reviewer say, "ASK FOR THE OTHER MENU" I'm like ohh, so I came back the other day and asked for the other menu. The waitress was like shocked and gave me the other menu and I saw all the exotic poor creatures that they had in stock. I tried out their rabbit lemon grass, which was okay, but rabbits had too much little bones for me! I will never eat cute rabbits anymore! Then I tried their cobra dish and it made my stomach queasy which doesn't ever happen to me before. I thought maybe this is what it feels like to get poison, but eventually I turned out fine in a couple days. The cobra dish came with some huge rice cracker, which I didn't know what to do with so I ate it by it self kinda. The cobra dish? It was an all right experience, aside from the queasy stomach feeling. Next on the menu.. maybe some deer cubes and round 2 of alligators. read more

We were there for lunch. The food is not bad, this is my 3rd time going there. But the entire experience is ruined because of the waitress. The most bitchy and obnoxious waitress I have ever met for quite awhile or probably ever. When we got there, my friend who's an older woman asked me for a specific Vietnamese dish which I told this waitress. She didn't bring her reading glasses. And she yelled at us "You have to read it on the menu. Read!!". She treated us like idiots. We asked for waters, she didn't bring it after we waited 10 minutes, we're quite thirsty, so I asked her colleague nicely, we didn't even complain. But she overheard it and yelled back at us "Yes, I know you asked for water, I'll bring you your water!". Like we're such inconvenience for her. We tried to deal with it without complaining and she has the decency to act that way. Then food arrive. the fish sauce is tiny bowl is standard amount, wasn't extra. I asked for more after I used quite a bit of it, she gave some more to me in super tiny amount. I was surprised but didn't say anything. Needless to say, this is really not enough so I asked for more, this is at the same time I asked for more water because my glass is empty and nobody brings more water. Then she said angrily "I have to charge you $1 more because you asked me for more fish sauce. The first time I gave it to you, I already gave a lot of it. Now you asked more, I will charge you $1 more". And she ignored my request for more water after lashing out like that. I just looked at her flabbergasted. I realized I have never been treated like that in any restaurant by any waiter/waitress. She's probably 5 feet, tiny slight built with pony tail, in her 20s. Whew! Despite previous great experience and memorable food in that restaurant, I think I'll think twice before ever going back! read more

When people claim that they "keep it real", they mean they've experienced Rainier BBQ. This place is so Bourdain that you really expect to see him sitting in the corner drinking a beer, smoking a cigarette and toothpicking a snail out of its shell. On my visit, I tried the alligator, rabbit and extra large river shrimp. The alligator was pretty nice, diced into small bits for easy spooning onto a rice cracker. The rabbit was okay. It was fried and served with a sweet chili sauce. The shrimp was awesome. Large, cut in half and grilled right in the shell. This place takes me back to my summer trips to southeast asia. It'll be interesting what happens to this area when Light Rail starts rolling through, but that thought's for another day because we should focus on the now, which is Nhau, which is paaaartaaay. read more

Service was horrible! I arrived at 4pm on Easter and I was seated in a corner, sat ther for 20 minutes and no one came by, no water, no utensils. I finally waived a guy down and he seemed visibly irritated that I asked to order. Food came and he dropped off the dishes and walked off (still no utensils). I had to ask another woman for utensils. After I finished, I asked for a take out box and asked to pay. The boxes came, but when I offered to pay, the woman said "not now," walked away and never came back. I waited 15 minutes and finally walked to the cash register to pay. The woman at the register asked if I ordered a smoothie, which was almost a joke, because no one ever bothered to ask me if I wanted to order a drink! The sai fun noodle soup broth was bland and the dish really lacked flavor overall. The clam dish was dry and just so-so. I didn't finish my soup and packed the clams "to-go." Not sure what Anthony Bourdain saw in this place. Maybe there's a different level of service and food for celebs. I won't be returning. Too many other places to go! read more

this is a good food place but they got my order wrong and wouldn't let me change it so for that they only get 1 star

Food is good. If you're adventurous, ask for the "advance menu". Place is a little dirty and run down looking, but those types of places serve the tastiest foods right? read more

Great Vietnamese food! I come here almost weekly with my friends since it's close to my church, but they also have decent service and very friendly staff. There's been a few times when they've mixed up our orders (so specify if you want a small or large pho!). Otherwise everything's been great, and plus they're Hawks fans too :) read more

I really love foods in Rainier BBQ! I usually go to here with my friends during weekend . Although the restaurant is really busy during weekend, waitresses still do their best to serve every customer. If you are usually go there (just like me), they even can remember your favorite food! read more

I have to say the food is very good, but the only complain that makes me write a review and give just one star is that they charge 20 bucks for their famous ong choy beef salad, but with just a few slices of beef. It's like you pay $20 for a few slices of beef and ong choy. If the restaurant is clean and comfortable, I wouldn't complain and have to pay for the atmosphere. But, it's not the case. I go there for food; not for a comfortable seat and table. If it keeps balance between reasonable price and the amount of food, I would rate it a five star restaurant for good taste of food. read more

I loved the chicken curry and the sweet and sour chicken. The sauces were spectacular in both dishes. There was a wait when I went, but it was really busy, and the waiters/waitresses seemed in a rush. I would recommend to others to enjoy and I would come back again. read more

One of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants in Seattle. Deep menu that goes far beyond the typical dishes. Always something exciting and special to try, like the quails cooked in coconut milk on my last visit. Or the baby clams with mint and peanuts served with a giant sesame cracker. read more

Vietnamese food are alway good reasonable prices and fill my belly. Customer services here are not consistent. Good to so so, at least I haven't experience bad service. Food here are sometime salty. I think restroom need to be upgrade tho, I don't see hygiene and afraid to enter the restroom, not comfortable. I went there to eat but it could kill someone appertize for entering the restroom. It you come for family dinner with different dishes then I think they have lot of choices. I wouldn't order Pho, pho should be at pho restaurant. read more

On a trip to Seattle I had to check whether Anthony Bourdain knows his Viet food. He does! Very authentic flavors and some of the best I've had outside Vietnam and Orange County, CA (another enclave of Viet American immigrants and Viet food mecca). We had the clams in black bean sauce, banh xeo, and broken rice. Everything was good, and the mixed fish sauces were perfect - something a lot of Viet American restaurants miss. read more

Pork chops on rice! Very good. Their ketchup fried rice is also really good. Service is sometimes slow, but can be good.

My partner and I just celebrated our anniversary and his birthday. Hong is the best chef in the area - the lobster was outstanding, the oysters were exceptional and the people were fantastic. This is probably the 100th time I have come to this place, and the first time that I have reviewed it. I have eaten here alone for pho and have brought friends and family for celebrations, even my boss when he came up from SFO. The food is always exceptional, inexpensive, and abundant. The place is nothing fancy but the food, now that is exceptional. Sure you have to go downstairs, and sometimes the noise level is high, but I drive from First Hill through the traffic to come to what I consider to be one of the best undiscovered restaurants in the city. Hong is French and Chinese trained and it shows in his presentation and preparation of food. There are lots of great places in this city to experience, but bar none, this place is truly the pinnacle. read more

I love this place! Even though I live waaaay up north in Mukilteo, when I am in the area (which is rarely), I make sure I get something to eat here! It's kind of located in a sketchy area of South Seattle, I personally also think the restaurant is a tad bit on the dirty side. Just make sure you don't go the use their bathroom before you eat (might lose your appettite) or after you eat (you might throw it all up). WIth all of that aside, I think out of all the Vietnamese restaurants in Seattle, this is BY FAR the most authentic with plenty of selections you rarely see elsewhere. The flavors there are classic and homestyle like how your parents would cook them. Love their sweet & sour fish soup, bbq pork vermicilli, baby clams and rice crackers, and their beef salad! They also have exotic dishes of scary looking animals I don't have the balls to try like cobra snake or alligator... um yeah. read more

No matter how good the food is, it could not make up for the awful service we experienced. Our server happened to be the manager, and she could barely spend a minute to accommodate us. We had to call her attention to get our order and when I asked for recommendation she said "I could not stay here if you still need to take your time." If I was by myself, I would have walked out right there and then. I know she was busy but that was just plain wrong. She did not even bother ask us how we were, or how the food was. In addition, it took forever before I got my roast duck pho, which is the only reason why I am still giving this place a few stars. The noodle soup was good, but I am just too disappointed to even describe the food. The entire experience was awful. The bathroom floor was dirty and filled with paper towel, and this just added more insult to everything. The food was the only bright thing for this place, but I would not go back still. read more

I love this place. Nothing fancy but the food is great! Check out Food Network's review Anthony's Bourdain

favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle. best be thui dish. best place for cuon (fresh rolls) anything there --fish, Vietnamese bbq (nuong vi), beef hotpot in vinegar, etc. have yet to try their snails dishes but they always seem to be unavailable. best ong choy beef salad. and best mam nem sauce! it's so stinky but sooooo good. big menu but i only get the usual.. don't get the typical chinese-vietnamese dishes. get something from their specialty menu especially! slow service, though. even when it's not busy they hardly come to your table often... just huddle together and talk to each other. i try not to come later at night cuz its most busy then. read more

Wow! Honey walnut shrimp, pho and fried rice all excellent. They were also allergy conscious. My oldest son is allergic to nuts and fish. They were careful. My youngest son--I have never seen him eat so much fried rice. He loved it. Anthony Bourdain ate here too, and that guy is epic. Must go! read more

Extremely good for a wide-variety of authentic Vietnamese food.

Wide variety of Vietnamese food, fair price, and really delicious! I've had the razor clams, duck noodle soup, and a flash fry beef. All great read more

Best hole in the wall in SEATTLE!!!!! No. 61 crispy is Da Bomb!

It was honestly disappointing. I ordered the salt and pepper squid, a dish that I've been craving since I first had it in Sydney, Australia, and it was battered and deep fried in a way that it tasted like cheap carnival food. read more

This place is really good. I want to try that bomb mango pudding. yum yum

Ended up stumbling here as a result our primary destination being closed but this should have been our first choice. Upon our arrival we parked in back and were a bit confused as where to go in as there was a small building for quick pick ups next door. Once common sense kicked in we found the entrance to the quaint setting found below. The staff was quick and courteous to show us to our table and set us down with two sets of menus. The first consisted of typical dishes found in most of the International District's usual establishments but it was the second menu that caught our eye. That menu consisted of dishes that you simply just don't come across in Seattle with entrées containing meat selections such as deer, eel, alligator, and even cobra. Unfortunately the cobra was out for the evening so we settled with deer and alligator instead. We started with the spring rolls prior to our meals arriving and both agreed that they were among the best in the city. Fresh ingredients with the appropriate amount of crunch and a side of some of the best peanut sauce I've ever encountered in the area. The deer meal came next with absolutely succulent cubes of venison that literally fell apart with each bite. The sweet and tangy sauce the pieces were cooked in were a perfect compliment to the quality of the meat. The alligator, if you've never tried before, is much like chicken but much more gamey than your typical poultry or even in comparison to other reptiles/amphibians. It is not for everyone's tastes but was quite tasty. The deer was the better pick between the two, in our opinion, but is still worth trying out for the adventurous foodies out there. Upon finishing our dinner the waitress was quick to point out the Yelp check in deal for the free mango dessert which we had forgotten about but we were happy for the reminder as the mango flavored flan was a magnificent way to top everything off. It's rare that I ever find myself in this area but this place has made it a future destination to return to in the near future. Absolutely worth your time and money to step in and try some of the best food within the greater Seattle area. read more

Awesome menu with hard-to-find dishes else where. We went there twice, and with friends, they all loved it!

This was a great find. I love unique menu items and this pace had amazing variety. We had the shark fin soup, the lemon grass frog legs, quail and alligator. Delicious! read more

The interior of the restaurant may not be good, but the foods are really nice. Had their 7 courses beef, my friend and I both think it's better than green leaf. And there is free mango pudding if you check in with yelp. One of the downside is we went on a weekdays and there is only one waitress working. So the food came out kind of slow. read more

I been dining here for last 10 years. It has been always a solid 4 star. I recommend their number 10 special it is combination com tam, banh xeo, and chicken curry. read more

Terrible name....tremendous food. We tried 4 items....all were spectacular. The tastes were unique and popping and the service was great. Ambiance...not so much...but we weren't there for that. read more

The service really depends on your luck and who your waitress is that day. My biggest complaint is this place is filthy! A spider came crawling out of my bed of lettuce. I ordered a vermicelli bowl to go and found a used napkin in my noodle. If you have a business, please take pride in that and keep it clean. It's too bad because the food is usually pretty tasty. read more

I got seafood Hot Pot and I got FOOD POISONED! i was throwing up all night! and that was the only thing i ate that day... never again =(

This restaurant was recommended as the best in town for authentic Vietnamese cooking. It is a further than the restaurant we dine at frequently in the I.D., but well worth the travel time. We had a great server named Oanh, who helped us with our selections. The menu is huge so we had plenty of questions. As for the food...we are going again tomorrow! read more

I have never been so disappointed with a restaurant that I heard so much about. The service was beyond bad. Worst we've had in Seattle in a decade. We had to leave after an hour only having had two appetizers. The servers were terrible. I don't get the rave reviews of the ong choy salad. Not worth $18. The salt and pepper squid was served without sauce and cold by the time we could get her attention to bring us sauce. Our server wiped off the table across from us three times while ignoring us. No reason to travel past the international district to get treated without care. I'm sure this place used to be great, but looks like they don't care anymore. read more

Best Asian food in Seattle. Customer service wasn't the best, but it's understandable since it's always so packed. Excellent prices, big portions, and suuuch tasty food. read more

Every time I come here, it is a gamble. Days, the food is good, days the food are bad. Days the waitress are "OK", days, when I do not feel like I want to leave a tip. I do think the food here is awfully greasy. However, I have gotten the pho which is pretty good. I can only stick to getting pho here because it seems as though that is the only consistent thing about this place. Their Vietnamese spring rolls have very little contents inside of it. Their meat is sliced thinly, so when I bite into it, I taste mouth watering "mints and bean sprouts." For 4+ dollar spring rolls, I'd expect to get a lot more! Secondly, whenever I order entrees other than pho, it seems as though the chef spilled the whole jar of salt in my food and went oopsie daisy and just went with it. Or sometimes, it seems as though I can whip up this fried rice at home myself, or my grandmother can by looking at an online beginners asian food recipe. Sometimes, instead of pouring oil into the pan first, it seems as though they washed the rice with corn oil and began cooking it that way. Then making the fried rice. This place has got me really scratching my head....sometimes.. it can be good...sometimes...I feel my grandma can make these dishes even half assedly and my grandmother has never made an asian dish before. You heard me. Also, if you like men smoking, laughing, and talking really loud, this is your place. If you enjoy using sign language to communicate because you gave up on trying to talk over the groupies across the room, this is also your place. In the end, I certainly I do not like the inconsistency. Service is also less than great. I have to call couple times to get my water refilled, and the waitress looked annoyed when I wanted to change my daughters fork because it was dirty...I would only come here for pho...but even so... crappy service...This place and its inconsistency...I definitely do not like gambling hoping I can come in on a good night. So if your a gambler, and like gambling on overall quality come here. Keep in mind however, you have better chances in losing. read more