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    Renton Bistro

    4.0 (566 reviews)
    ModerateVietnamese, Noodles
    Closed • 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Renton Bistro Photos

    Business Info

    RENTON BISTRO ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Reviews With Photos

    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.

    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.

    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

    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.

    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.

    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)
    Daniel C.

    Renton Bistro is a Vietnamese restaurant that's creating a buzz in my Seattle-based relatives. It looks like a big house with a huge deck as opposed to a traditional hole-in-wall. Its a pretty busy restaurant too, with 20-30 mins wait for lunch for groups of 7. Overall I like the variety of food here and quality-wise pretty darn good. I liked the pork chop over rice which also came with sausage and shredded pork along with a fried egg. Lemongrass chicken over rice noodles were also solid. Wife got the BBH and she seemed happy with it. Food definitely on par with Hoang Lan in Seattle, our previous favorite Vietnamese place. Only ding besides the long wait were that the wooden tables were really sticky.

    com doc biet
    Samantha V.

    cozy vibes especially during a rainy day! love that the restaurant exterior is a house like goes along with the homey vibes good variety of delicious vietnamese food!! with friendly service com dac biet - the meats were cooked well and tender!

    Rotten vegetable

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    27 days ago

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

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

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    Page 1 of 15

    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.

    View All 5 Questions

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    People searched for Vietnamese 36,956 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

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

    Hi Pho

    4.4(32 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.

    Photos
    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

    Photos
    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)

    Renton Bistro - vietnamese - Updated October 2026

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