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Renton Bistro

4.0 (568 reviews)
ModerateVietnamese, Noodles
Closed • Closed
Updated over 3 months ago

Renton Bistro Photos

Business Info

RENTON BISTRO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - Renton Bistro

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Shrimp not deveined
Catherine T.

This is a fairly small restaurant right behind safeway with a limited number of seating. I came with a party of 5 during around 6pm and needed to wait 1 hour for seats since they needed to push some tables together. The waiter was kind enough to let us sit at a table meant for 4 people since we were hungry though! We heard the banh xeo was really good here, so everyone ordered it at the table! It was huge!!! We really liked it! One small thing I noticed was the shrimp was not deveined which was w little gross -- I wish I didn't notice it. Other than that, the cleanliness of the restaurant is what you'd expect at a typical vietnamese restaurant.

Com tam
Sally N.

I come here a lot for banh beo. The flavor is really authentic and savory. We came here on Sunday morning and the wait gets really out of control, we came at 11 and waited 45' to be seated. Super packed and this place does not let you reserve either...

Jessilyn C.

So many Yelpers, and a friend told me about this place. So I told my business partners to go here during our meeting. Where the hostess/server sat us the wall had food splash stains. It was off putting but we didn't complain we just decided to have our meeting and eat our meals. Food was good, but we all felt it wasn't fantastic like everyone told me. Place was busy after a while, which is a good sign. There's so many Vietnamese places to dine in king county, but my favorite is in Hilo, Hawaii. I was more disappointed that they didn't have what I wanted. They ran out of fried trout. Also, they don't offer any bun/glass noodles dishes. That's what the server told me at least. Will I be back, not sure.

Charlyn I.

Nephew's favorite Vietnamese restaurant, he decided to take all 6 of us and it did not disappoint. We are visitors from Hawaii and was very impressed with the flavors. Luckily we scored a table perfect for us to sit together. They are known for a mochi dish which was delicious.

Oxtail pho
Calista C.

Small busy Vietnamese restaurant! The food was good and came out relatively quickly. The restaurant was pretty busy on a Sunday night. They have a few tables they can push together. This night, it was pretty busy and we waited around 20 minutes for a table for 6. They had asked if we wanted to sit separately or wait an additional 20-30 min for sitting together. We sat at 2 4 tops next to each other. After sitting down for 10 minutes where no table settings were touched, a large table opened up and we asked if we could sit at the large table. Waitress said no, which we understood if there was a larger party coming. However, they ended up splitting the table into two for 2 small parties of less than 4. This left a sour taste in our mouth... If you have larger parties, expect to wait. They are very understaffed so service is poor. The food here is pretty good, but we will not be coming back. They have a good variety of more niche Vietnamese food. However, some of the soups seem to be mixed, we tasted some Bo Kho in our other soups. Parking was full in their lot that night, but there was ample street parking nearby as well.

Uyen Thanh L.

Bún mắm is my favorite dish at this restaurant , the quality is excellent and so so yummy .

Vietnamese Crepe (Banh Xeo)
Kimmy L.

Renton Bistro is located in downtown Renton and is one of the most authentic Vietnamese restaurants around, offering a large variety of Vietnamese dishes that you might not be able to find at other restaurants. It is also one of the restaurants that several of my Vietnamese colleagues in Renton highly recommend. The building is a house-converted restaurant. They have a gravel parking lot, but it is often quite cramp and crowded and so I recommend parking on the street instead as there are plenty of parking stalls nearby. As aforementioned, Renton Bistro has a large and extensive menu with everything from your typical pho and spring rolls to more rare gems like steamed rice cakes (banh beo), deep fried chicken wings with fish sauce and chili (canh ga nuoc man), five spice chicken noodle soup (ga ngu vi huong), and Vietnamese crepe (banh xeo). I've been to Renton Bistro twice and these are dishes I've tried: - STEAMED RICE CAKES (BANH BEO CHEN) ($15.95) - glutinous rice cakes with shrimp, green onion, and crispy onions served with fish sauce. This dish is one of their house specials and something I've only seen and tried at Renton Bistro. The set comes with 10 beautifully presented cakes in individual saucers, which makes it easy to share, and definitely recommend sharing as the rice cakes are very filling. This is truly an umami-centric dish that you will need a breath mint or two after as the fish sauce and onions will leave your mouth quite smelly. With that said, it is a unique dish with plenty of flavors and textures going on at once. - HUE SPICY BEEF NOODLE SOUP (BUN BO HUE) ($16.95) - round rice noodles in spicy beef broth with pork slices, beef slices, meatballs, and fresh bean sprouts and banana blossom on the side. If you want a change from your usual pho and like a little heat, I highly recommend giving bun bo hue a try! The heat was maybe 3 stars, if not on the lighter side of spicy, but my friend and I got Thai chili peppers on the side to add to the broth (or you can use the jalapeños they provide with the sprouts and basil) to add an extra kick! The broth was very flavorful. I wish the meat was a little more tender and meaty (as I had a lot of cartilage and fat on the pieces I had), but overall one of the better bun bo hues I've had in a while (if you're looking for the best bun bo hue, I recommend Rose Pho in Des Moines). - VIETNAMESE CREPE (BANH XEO) ($16.95) - prawns, pork slices, and bean sprouts in pan fried batter mixed with coconut milk served with fresh green vegetables, mixed herbs, and fish sauce. Another one of their house specials, this crepe is huge and super crispy. I will say that they could use a more filling in the crepe and so not sure if it was really worth the price. Also, most of the filling was concentrated in the middle of the crepe and so when splitting the crepe into four pieces, the end pieces had very little filling. They did a good job browning both sides of the crepe to golden and it comes with lots of greens so you definitely get your fill of veggies with this dish. - PORK SATAY (HEO LUI) ($10.50) - pork slices, onion, garlic topped with crushed peanuts and scallion, served with peanut or fish sauce. Out of the dishes I've tried here, this was my favorite. The pork is tender, moist, and very well-marinated with a good balance of sweet and savory flavors. The peanut sauce is nice to have on the side, but honestly not necessary as the pork is plenty flavorful as is. It's obviously protein-packed and so it could definitely be a meal on its own with a side of rice. I would say the biggest downside of this restaurant, is that their service is quite slow and you often have to be proactive to track a server down. As many other Yelpers have stated, they just don't have enough workers to accommodate and so you really can't be in a rush here, especially during high-peak dinner time hours. Overall: 4/5 for food, 3/5 for atmosphere, 3/5 for service

Grilled Pork chops rice plate
Emily N.

Came here on a weekday around 5:30pm, and was not busy initially - around 6pm, that's when the dinner crowd started filling in. We were seated quickly. The place inside is small- but do not let the exterior fool you, it serves delicious food! I've been here a couple times and it does not disappoint. If you were to come on a weekend, there will be a wait for sure. There is outside seating when the weather is nicer. This time around, I had ordered the pork chops rice plate. The protein is flavorful and the nice char on the chops give is a good crunch flavor. Also at our table was the banh xeo- it is huge! But filling, and you won't stop eating it because it is yummy! We did request some rice paper on the side to make it into a spring roll. The banh beo was not ordered this time, but have ordered it in the past, and is a MUST!

Banh xeo
Katrina C.

Small authentic Vietnamese bistro! They have about 10 tables inside so wait could be long especially during dinner time. They don't take reservations so call ahead same day if you have a big group to see if they can fit you in. Food was delicious! We got a few apps to try and would recommend banh beo (steamed rice cakes) and banh xeo (fried crepes). The soups like pho and bun rieu were so flavorful and had pretty good portions. The vermicelli rice plates were also good with a lot of veggie toppings.

Spring Rolls
Kyle T.

TLDR: Small and authentic Vietnamese restaurant in Renton. Large menu with a large menu, but service is a big challenge Food: We had an order of the spring rolls and the hu tieu noodles. The spring rolls were pretty standard with a good amount of filling and a side of peanut sauce. The hu tieu with great with a light but flavorful broth and lots of toppings. They have the option for either pho noodles or egg noodles on the menu, but allowed me to split half and half for each noodle. Service: We came a few minutes before they opened and by the time we sat down/started ordering the restaurant was already full. As other reviews mention, the service here is quite slow. It took a while to have our order taken and to get our check. For that I'll subtract 1 star Price: I think prices are pretty standard. The spring rolls were ~8 and the hu tieu was ~18

Bun mam
Aaron Y.

I would give this place a 3.5 stars with service being the thing that brings it down a full point. Food wise, it's honestly pretty dang good. We got the Bun Mam which is the anchovy seafood soup and I got the chicken spring roll platter. The flavor of the broth and the chicken was great. Good portion size too! Service wise was rough, it wasn't that busy at all. There were probably only a few tables, and there were at least two servers. We put our names down, and we just stood there. No one acknowledged us for at least 15-20 minutes. The restaurant was not that big at all, both of the servers walked past us multiple times without saying anything at all. There were a good amount of tables open too. The service just seemed very slow. Ambiance wise, it looks like a decent size house from the outside. Inside it's small but seems cozy. But nothing spectacular. Overall, the food is good. We would most likely go back for that but we really hope that the service would improve. Because they would be close to a 5 star.

Kim T.

Super cute little cottage style restaurant in the heart of DT Renton. I think it's a small family owned restaurant. Service was good. Food was good. I took down one star bcuz I kinda had to be stern to get the bottle of Siracha.

Combo Bun
Netta M.

Y'all. Go here. Menu might overwhelm if you're not well versed in Vietnamese food - ask for recommendations! Coffee also great. 10/10 will return

grilled pork chop rice plate (4 stars)

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2 months ago

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1 month ago

Terrible rude service with mediocre food. Will never go back. Save yourself the trip and go elsewhere better.

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2 months ago

Pho had no flavor and the mint was mold. Restaurant looked quite dirty inside. Would not recommend

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Ask the Community - Renton Bistro

Do they use MSG?

They don't have to because most Vietnamese restaurant use fish sauce which is more health and natural.

Are there gluten free options?

Yes, although they maybe limited.

Are they open for dine in yet?

As of February 1, 2021, 25 percent capacity.

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Anchovies and Salt - Bún chả Hà Nội (Hanoi-style vermicelli with grilled pork patties)

Anchovies and Salt

3.7(587 reviews)
1.7 mi
•$$$

Holy WOW--the Matcha Martini at Anchovies & Salt is incredible! It's made with ceremonial-grade…read morematcha and was SO creamy and smooth, but what I loved most was that it wasn't overly sweet or dessert-like. It still tasted like a proper cocktail, and you can tell the mixologist really knows what he's doing. The drinks, food, and overall atmosphere are such a vibe. The location is a 10/10, and this is definitely a spot I'd recommend for drinks, good food, and happy hour oysters. I already know I'll be back for that Matcha Martini!

Been seeing and hearing about this place on social media for a very long time -- finally had the…read moreopportunity to try. Drop by on a Saturday around 11am and the place was almost empty with only one table of customers. We did walk-in; did not make reservations. You order through a tablet. Only time you see a server is when food is served or paying the bill. summarized impression/experience: + Nicely designed and decorated l + Huge restaurant (claims to be the biggest Viet restaurant with 441 max capacity) + Nice outdoor patio view with the waterfront - Slow/minimal customer service - Bun bo hue is hella over-seasoned for the noodle soup. If you are only drinking one spoon of the soup, tasted great. If you are eating the bowl of soup, by the third spoon, it's like drinking fish soup salty. - Food is on the pricier side, not the most authentic but fusion, smaller size than competitors Unfortunately, if you read at the reviews, 9.5 out of 10 reviews are about their cocktail but not the food -- should give you some insights about the restaurant. Still a solid experience, but nothing to hype about.

Photos
Anchovies and Salt
Anchovies and Salt - Bo ne (Steak and egg)

Bo ne (Steak and egg)

Anchovies and Salt - Pre-opening pop up dinner!!

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Pre-opening pop up dinner!!

Hi Pho - This was on their tv! Duck ME!

Hi Pho

4.4(33 reviews)
0.9 mi

On a warm Friday evening around 6pm I drove my two foodie friends here to have dinner, though we…read moredid get confused with parking here; we settled on easy-to-find street parking after wondering why there was a one-way driveway around this place. The inside has a good number of tables for groups of anywhere between 2-8 people, though our table was a little sticky when we sat down. Some patrons filled the tables and it was always half-full throughout our time eating here. You get a menu with the dishes they offer, with most being chef's specials with a smaller section of Thai dishes as this place does serve both Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. I split an order of fish sauce party wings (cánh gà chiên nước mắm) with my friends, and got the Hanoi kebab rice noodles (bún chả Hà Nội) for myself. My other friends got variations of their rice plates though I did not get to try them. Fish sauce wings came out so hot I burned my fingers grabbing them but that's how you know you're getting the fresh stuff, and fish sauce slaps with friend chicken wings! There's not a lot of meat for the kebab rice noodles but the vermicelli and veggies compensate for that, and you can easily get full from the smoky and richly flavored grilled pork and grounded pork patty. Cabbage, cucumber, mint leaves, bean sprouts and julienned carrots come on the side. Overall, a nice overlooked gem in Renton that's on a street without too many people from a first glance. I'd come back to try some of their more interesting dishes here!

My friend and I had the grilled pork and egg roll vermicelli bowls…read more It was very good. Service was excellent. The server was very nice. The restaurant is located on a very busy street that does not allow on-street parking. There are a few parking spots in the back.

Photos
Hi Pho - Not sure if it is real but right in the enter at its best, looking gorgeous.

Not sure if it is real but right in the enter at its best, looking gorgeous.

Hi Pho - Red pho

Red pho

Hi Pho - Plen,ty of seating inside Hi Pho!

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Plen,ty of seating inside Hi Pho!

Pho T & L - Bun Rieu   $17.50

Pho T & L

4.1(137 reviews)
3.0 mi
•$$

I love the food here, literally some of the best pho I've ever had. The service is great, the…read moresetting is warm and comforting, and my food comes out so fast! I also love their extensive hours, especially on a late night where you don't feel like leaving the house and want to order in something; Pho T & L is one of my go to's. I couldn't recommend this place enough, it's a must try!

First off this was my second time here so keep that in mind…read more Second I want to say the service was decent. She was very attentive and the portions were big. My issue was the sanitary aspect or shall I say the lack there of. I mean it's one thing to see a couple hairs on the floor ya know but wow the amount of hair and debris in the floor looked like they hadn't cleaned in weeks. There was a a whole clump of hair under our table and hair hanging from the chairs. I dropped my daughter's blanket on the floor and my husband picked it up and he it had a pubic hair on it. The tables were not wiped off and the bathroom was a disaster zone. I mean if this is what they think their customers should deal with can you imagine what the kitchen looks like. The food was ok but I'm gonna be honest it's not something I would pay for again when there are other options that at least care enough about their customers that they actually keep the place clean and sanitize. I won't come back but if you don't mind eating in those conditions then it's your choice.

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Pho T & L - Interior from front door

Interior from front door

Pho T & L
Pho T & L - Beef Short Rib, Pork Skin and Meat Cake and Egg Rice Plate  $19.90

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Beef Short Rib, Pork Skin and Meat Cake and Egg Rice Plate $19.90

The Lemongrass - Rare beef and vinegar salad / goi bo dau dam (Insta: @badtothebite)

The Lemongrass

3.7(411 reviews)
0.7 mi
•$$

Nice place near where we are staying. Super fast service and everyone is friendly. Food was good. I…read morejust didn't like how they pour the sauce all over my fried fish.

I was pretty conflicted as there are such good items here but for each dish I felt like there were…read morebig negatives. Overall it's a nice spot with a good parking lot and the service is nice. We ordered the canh chua and the soup/ broth itself was so good, very sweet and well balanced however we got it with catfish and the fish itself was too fishy and tasted overcooked. The soup was good enough I'd try it again , maybe with a different choice than catfish tho. For the spring rolls, I just thought it was okay it was 10 dollars for 4 rolls (that are half rolls) and each mini roll had 1/2 shrimps so it playing like over a dollar for each shrimp. It's crazy to me that some of the rolls had 1 piece of shrimp not even 2 -- it was mainly noodles and lettuce and a little crispy thing and like 1 piece of shrimp. Overall it was fine I just felt it was expensive. The banh xeo was so disappointing, everything about it was fine but the meat was terrible. Bites with shrimp was good, but bites with meat were terrible - unseasoned little meat clumps. We also noticied the banh xeo was mainly meat and I checked and we only had 2 shrimps in the whole thing which is so little. We even opened it up and ate things individually to figure out what was so bad about it. overall every dish had something missing but everything could be easily fixed I feel

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The Lemongrass - Inside

Inside

The Lemongrass - Siusiu chicken rice pot / com ga siu siu (Insta: @badtothebite)

Siusiu chicken rice pot / com ga siu siu (Insta: @badtothebite)

The Lemongrass - Bun cha (Insta: @badtothebite)

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Bun cha (Insta: @badtothebite)

Viet'S Phoody - A4. Pate Toasties

Viet'S Phoody

4.2(126 reviews)
3.7 mi
•$$

Incredible food and the portion sizes were great, especially the hot stone pho. I came mainly for…read morethe viral banh it ram which is basically a mochi ball snack filled with shrimp and pork, really good and worth the $10! Also, the banh mi chao is really solid and they give you so much pate. Their coffees are also so good! I loved the peanut latte and the Ube latte, would recommend both! They were really busy for the weekend lunch rush but I would 100% come back!!

Out of two choices I provided for my bestie and me, this was the only place neither of us have been…read moreto. Plus I really wanted to try their bánh ít ram that's been making the rounds online and seem reliably obtainable only through Facebook Marketplace if your scope is limited to Washington State. I drove the two of us here on a Sunday around 1pm after a slight delay and a bunch of long, empty roads from Beacon Hill to down here. Their parking is limited and is shared with other nearby businesses but I snagged a spot near the front. Getting inside, we did have to wait about 5 minutes or so before staff showed us a seat; it was a full house inside with people filling the two- and four-tops here and there. The seats we sat in at first weren't wiped properly, so we moved to an adjacent table nearby and sat closer to each other to avoid the natural sunlight that definitely brightens this otherwise dark but humble area up. Menu has dishes that are typical of Vietnamese restaurants including pho, banh mi, rice dishes, bun, coffee and kids menu items. We ordered the following for this visit: - Bánh ít ram: this is a combination of a chewy, rice glutinous mochi-like dumpling followed by a small fried rice cake on the bottom. The dumpling itself mostly had pork in it with hints of shrimp, and the fried rice cake might have had some too. Each is sprinkled with green onions and shrimp flakes on top of the dumpling, and the dish comes with nước mắm (fish sauce) on the side. There's a satisfying contrast between the soft mochi-like dumpling and the crunchy fried rice cake base, and it tastes more meaty than what it looks like. For 4 pieces for $10, this is up there in price and small in size too but something you definitely should get here if it's your first time eating it! Put sriracha inside the nước mắm for extra spice and best results. - Spicy lemongrass pho: your average pho with brisket, beef back ribs, beef meatballs and rice noodles followed by some sort of spicy sauce spread on top of the soup. No need to add hoisin sauce here since the beef broth already has a thick, rich taste from all that beef, but you should still add the mint leaves, jalapeños, bean sprouts and lime as usual. Hearty, warm, not too spicy and a good amount of protein especially from the back ribs. A knife should be provided for this dish as the rib was hard to eat without one. Extra steak is $4 more as my friend added into his bowl. This place is farther than what we'd like to travel for food, but I thought it was worth it, and there's many other dishes - both classic and unique ones - that I wanna give a try the next time I drive here!

Photos
Viet'S Phoody - Inside near front

Inside near front

Viet'S Phoody - C1. Viet's Phoody Pan Bread (Banh Mi Chao)

C1. Viet's Phoody Pan Bread (Banh Mi Chao)

Viet'S Phoody - Spring rolls

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Spring rolls

Renton Bistro - vietnamese - Updated October 2026

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