Rainier BBQ & Restaurant Reviews

This place is easily passed by but well worth the stop. Delicious food with true spices and seasonings of Vietnam. The parking lot gets full fast so get there early. Everything on the menu is good. We ordered the special for 2 and added a couple of separate dishes. The seafood is great especially the sea snail (conch?). Try the fried fish as well.

I've only had the banh hoi thap cam here. The meat is alright but its nice that they give you so many veggies and you wrap it together and it's quite tasty.

This restaurant is located in a three-story building. We ate on the second floor, which is a bar area. The first floor is for family dining. The beef shortribs, pork with vermicelli, cucumber, radish, and carrots, and the egg rolls are all great. We enjoyed the Vietnamese coffee and the passion fruit drink. The service is good.

I ate here during a business trip and it was very good. I am not into Vietnamese food, but I had the #11 and it was a lot of food. The portions were large. The building isn't much but the food was worth it.

The name doesn't say it but this is a Vietnamese BBQ restaurant that SHOULD NOT BE OVERLOOKED. Classic PHO and BUN dishese are available on the menu but we came for more authentic dishes. The M6 SƯỜN BÒ NƯỚNG Short ribs were fabulous !! The highly recommended Catfish takes 45 to 60 minutes to prepare so if you want that make sure you tell them ahead of time while you are waiting for a table. The C1 GỎI BÒ RAU MUỐNG (Beef on bok choy salad) was EXCELLENT. The N15 CÁ KHO TỘ Catfish in clay pot sauce was delicious (be careful of the many small bones). This restaurant serves AUTHENTIC CLASSIC Vietnamese entrees and you wouldn't know that from it's name.

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!

Anthony Bourdain might have put this restaurant on his hit show no reservation, but this restaurant has already been a hit in Seattle specially among the Vietnamese community. Where else can you get meats from almost any animal such as rabbit, goat, alligator, cobra... Yeah cobra... But if you are like me I stay on the safe side. Here are my recommendations: - Ong Choy salad - grilled oysters - 7 course deep fried catfish - grilled scallops Weird but oh so good and highly recommended in Seattle.

Don't let the pig face on the outside fool you. This is not a pulled pork and rib place. This is as authentic and exotic as you can get. You are not going here for Pho, but rather a wide range of food and meat. Alligator, quail, venison, snake, conch, and of course a whole host of seafood including whole fried fish. Reservations generally are not needed but at peak dinner times you may wait a bit for a table. Attire is very casual. The crowd ranges from families to Vietnamese men nursing their Heinekens after work. Most people get a few items and then share.

The Vietnamese food was excellent. The prices very reasonable. We shared lunch specials and relished both the quail and the mixed bbq and egg. It is hard to describe, since the elements are very straight forward. Well, the coconut quail may be a little exotic. What makes this special are the seasonings and the combinations. The combined favors were exquisite. We had gone in, with high expectations, since we have been here for dinner. I thought lunch was better. While the menu may take some time to comprehend, the effort is worth is. The people are nice and helpful. The only thing that keeps this from a 5 star is that the setting is a modest, nondescript Rainier Valley site and a sometimes slow service. They have been busy one way or the other, every time we have gone. It can be loud when crowded, with lively discussions going on throughout the room. Lunch was quieter. Go for the food and the nice people there. Maybe that is enough, or should be.

Absolutely blown away by the amount of food that we got with our order. We got a soup and then two entrees. The rabbit curry definitely needs to be tried, it has some little bones in it so if you don't mind picking those out of your mouth when you chew it's really worth your while. We also tried the lamb vermicelli rice soup, which was also very surprisingly big, could have been a meal onto itself. All in all you will find something that will blow you away on their menu, just be prepared to bring an appetite or take some home with you.

The new menus are unreadable and confusing. Seems geared to online delivery. The waitress couldn’t speak English. We were Three people. First one person’s dish came. Then way later another. Then later another. My dish was shrimp fried whole in the shell which I had to peel with my teeth. It was missing the sauce. The other dishes were mediocre. They overcharged us by $5. This place has gone way way down. Toilet was locked. Friday and half empty? People know.

Sunday night dinner with family was enjoyable and very affordable. Five people ate for under $50 with tip included. Dry chow fun was one of the best. Kids loved the fried rice.

Hands down the best Vietnamese food I have ever had. And reasonable prices. Wow. Seriously a great restaurant well-deserving of its now high-profile reputation. We tried 12 dishes and they were all out of this world, for real.

When you go to this restaurant, ask for both menus, or you will never know what they have there. They serve all kinds of meats and delicious salads. It's a little crazy getting there, but once you figure it out, enjoy.

While on vacation in Seattle our family of 5 went here for dinner. Overall food good. The bbq we had was run of the mill. The service was okay. The waitress forgot about us and we had to go find her but she was very apologetic. Staff was courteous. We were seated near a large, very noisy (drinking) group which took away from our experience. All this said, the Ong Choy Salad was a winner!

This restaurant is located right on MLK main street and it has its own parking lot. Finding a parking is not difficult even though the restaurant is constantly filled with people. The very one thing that I like is the choices that they offer. Their menu has to be one of the most comprehensive menu if not the most. There are many items on their menu cannot be found in most of the Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle area, e.g. frog legs and escargots. But I don't think they offer authentic escargots, most likely conch instead (for $8-9 only) There are quite a few dishes become the favorites of friends of mine. They must be doing the right thing. Many Asians other than Vietnamese visit frequently. You will be surprise to see many Hispanic customers too. Their prices are quite reasonable. They have 2 levels, the lower level is for non-smoking, the upper level is for smokers and Karaoke.

Agree with all the previous reviewers. No frills block building on a parking lot that rapidly fills. Been to many V N restaurants up and down the scale but never home cooking like this - never seen a menu with python, alligator, goat, quail, rabbit, frog legs, quail...Many dishes not explained, names only. Few non Asians, mostly large family groups. Told people come from all over, say it's just like Viet Nam. Arrived early Thursday evening, seated right away but filled up, got noisy, busy. Suggest as many as you can muster to share. Only four of us.Delicious beef salad delicately spiced; delicious sour seafood soup, spicy; minced clams, chewy, delicious; fried calamari substituted for out of stock quail. Heineken $3 bottle. Friendly, scurrying waitstaff. Will return.

If your looking for PHO or a wonderful Asian dish, this is a quick, hot delicious place to stop, yesteday was cold and rainy and the food his the spot

My only reason for visiting this restaurant was Anthony Bourdain. The restaurant is far out from the local tourist area, a car would be essential. There is plentiful parking behind the restaurant. At first when I got here, I was somewhat questioning my decision. Looking at the signage, I wasn't quite sure if I was at the right place, let alone a Vietnamese restaurant. The place was quiet & not at all busy like how it was on the show. Staff were polite & attentive. There is a large selection of food to choose from. They also served exotic food (cobra, alligator, deer, etc). We ordered the ong choy beef salad, Vietnamese shaking beef with leaves, crab soup, chow mein, & deep fried quail. Our food came in a timely manner. The ong choy beef salad was excellent. Great flavors. The Vietnamese shaking beef was phenomenal. The beef was so tender, very tasty (my favorite dish). The crab soup was good, it had fresh crab legs. The chow mein was great. Noodles were crunchy & the sauce was flavorful. Large portions. Lastly, we had the deep fried quail. These were good, but I ate better ones back home. My family is Vietnamese & we thoroughly enjoyed our meal here. I would recommend this place if you are able to make the trek.

From the outside, this place does not look like much, but you know its a legit Viet spot when: you see other Viet's, the place isn't exactly pristine clean (i.e. the floors feel somewhat slimy when you walk around- hey, it adds to the flavor and ambiance!), there's a small table of Viet gangster men just eating mountains of food and with a bucket (yes, a literal bucket) of Heineken's propped sitting on the floor next to the table (so they don't have to keep bothering the waitress' for more as they get sloshed and have a good time), and you just smell the food wafting everywhere. We came here on an early weekday evening and there was no wait (the place is pretty big fyi). We had their: Quail (sprinkled with fried garlic, hot, crispy & tasty), (2) Pho (meat was tender, pho came out hot, broth was good), Caramel Clay Pot Fish (tasty but had lots of little bones), Lemongrass Grilled Beef with Broken Rice and Shredded Pork, Grilled Beef Salad (appetizer), and Grilled Beef with Vermicelli and Spring Rolls Bowl. Their dessert drinks (Che Ba Mau to be specific) were actually fresh and not old tasting (as most Viet restaurants typically are). So everything in general was yum, yum, and more yum! I liked seeing a whole bunch of things on their menu that are (typical) Viet cuisine, but alot/most Viet restaurants just don't offer. For the smorgousbord we ordered, the price was reasonable. I was surprised at how quickly (and hot and tasty) everything came out. I was also surprised that the servers were friendly and attentive to our table needs. For Example: I asked for an extra small bowl for my 1-year old to eat. Usually waiters will say "ok" and poo-poo at you and/or forget to bring out the bowl and you'll be forced to pester them. Well, not only did our waitress bring out a small bowl Right after we placed our order, but she also brought out a plastic spoon, fork, AND little kid scissors so I could cut up the food. What?! Awesomeness! We were famished when we visited this place, but that doesn't mean this place didn't hit the spot). I didn't love this place because Anthony Bourdain came here, I loved this place because of everything. Next time I'm in Seattle, I will def be back. Thank you!

On an overnight trip to Seattle, we decided to try this place after step-son raved about it. Ate there at lunch on Thursday, September 17. We ordered the beef with beta nut leaves (the one the step son thought was good) and the honey walnut prawns (have had this before and really liked it somewhere else). The prawn dish was SMOTHERED in about 1/2 c or more of mayonnaise. First off, mayonnaise makes me violently ill, so that means I didn't try it-so my husband "tried" to eat it. All he could taste was mayonnaise. He tried wiping it off-you didn't know if you were eating a walnut or a prawn, there was so much of it. He ended up leaving a lot on his plate, and didn't feel too great after. The beef dish I had tasted fine, but the beef cubes were so grisly and fatty that after I chewed and chewed, I had to use my napkin to dispose of the gristle and fat. I ended up with two napkins with probably more than half of the beef inedible. Our waitress delivered our food and never came back to ask if things were all right until after we'd both given up on dishes. We did ask if the menu had specified what the sauce was on the prawn dish and she said no, but that it was mayonnaise. We told her it was not good, but she just left and returned with our bill. There was another employee who was sitting one table away from us putting chop sticks in the sleeves and I know he heard our conversations, but did not alert the waitress or come to our table. Not wanting to make a scene, we paid the $35 lunch bill and left. So, did we just come on an off-day and indifferent wait staff?

Fantastic vietnamese food. We stopped here on the way from the airport to downtown (30 min by LINK) and had our first meal here. It ended up being a great plan. It's in a small building on its own off of MLK. It's take out place is next door where you can get bahn mi sandwiches or roast duck or pork. We ordered the ong Choy beef salad, grilled beef with betel leaves and peanuts, grilled razor clams and salt and pepper shrimp. The shrimp and clams were from their tanks and super fresh. I felt like I just fished them out of the ocean. By far, my favorite was the beef with betel leaves. Eating it over rice with the salt and pepper dip was so heavenly. It hit all parts of my tastebuds. The staff was super helpful too in giving us recommendations. Definitely need to come back to try other things like their grilled Python

Felt like a family run business that was super authentic reminded me of my childhood growing up eating in little Saigon in California. It was also a surprise to know that Anthony Bourdain had eaten there (which is another reason this place is popular). Got the fried catfish which is their special and a sight to see! Service was quick and fast. Some of our other apps were so so but recommend the crepe!

Four of us had dinner at this small Vietnamese restaurant in the center of Seattle, their menu only offer real(authentic) Vietnamese dishes. Water spinach with beef salad was excellent great favor with tasty spices. Their leg of duck soup noodle had great favor & the meat was cook just tender enough and great texture.Their specialty rice consist of grilled pork, shrimp,baby beef ribs, a fried egg & pickle veg. Their spring roll had a lot of favor & the dipping sauce will bring out such good favor of each ingredients. Later we found out Antony Beaudoin had tried this place on his lay over show quite a few years back

We had dinner here last week with a group of friends. The food was authentic and surprisingly good in spite of the small portions. If you don't mind an aloof waitress (typical) and a zero atmosphere restaurant, then you'd be fine. I would have given this venue one more dot if the service was friendlier, but....

A friend told us to try this place. We came for lunch. The noodle is good and it has 3 to 4 good size shrimp, BBQ pork and fish balls for special noodle.

Visiting this place was on my to-do list because it was featured on Anthony Bourdain's "The Layover" And I was surprised to see that it was at the corner of my AirBnb. Regardless, It was amazing. The mixed beef BBQ was to die for. Not that it was anything special. I could have ordered that food anywhere but they made it so well. Don't skip on the smoothies. They were amazing too!

This is a Vietnamese restaurant with a Chinese influence. Without question it is more of a restaurant than a pho shop. The menu is pretty extensive with lots of items you won't find at smaller places. So if you want to try some more interesting asian cuisine than you won't find elsewhere this could be the place. The food is good and the service is friendly.