Seattle Underground
Favorite Asian Restaurants
Seattle has a diverse ethnic mix that means GREAT restaurants, especially in the International District area. Cuisines from the Pacific Rim include Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and fusion. Try a few of our favorites. We don’t recommend just any place…
Monsoon
Monsoon on Capitol Hill is an excellent upscale Vietnamese restaurant. Don’t expect to find soupy bowls of noodles here like you might expect at many Vietnamese restaurants. Located in a quiet neighborhood, the small restaurant has an elegant, classy atmosphere without going overboard. The front of the restaurant is a clean, open kitchen where you can see the cooks make your food. During my meal, the chef visited with several diners and suggested some great food alternatives. This was a very nice, personal touch for a restaurant. My meal was a delicious organic house salad with very unusual onions and other vegetables. The salad’s presentation was beautiful, with shaved strings of crisp orange carrots contrasting the lettuce and white baby onions. For a main course, I tried gulf white shrimp with yams and fresh asparagus in a curry sauce. Again, the presentation was beautiful in a purple cabbage leaf. The vegetables were deliciously fresh and perfectly cooked. Other diners were really enjoying their meals as many Monsoon dishes are seafood based—including a special full Dungeness Crab cooked in 10 spices. The crab was very popular as were other seafood dishes such as seared tuna. My meal’s total cost, including a pot of tea and two dishes of rice with tip was $30. Monsoon also has a surprisingly extensive wine list with many great choices. The menu includes many vegetarian entrees as an accompaniment to your meal or as a meal in themselves. Monsoon’s Underground Rating = “A” and is highly recommended in our November 2000 review.
615 19th Avenue East @ East Roy 206-325-2111
Lunch: Tue-Fri 1130-200 Dinner: Tue-Sun 530-1000
Wild Ginger
Wild Ginger is an excellent restaurant. Elegant atmosphere, delicious, fresh food, and comfortable surroundings make this restaurant a top Seattle choice. Wild Ginger is located in the downtown district and recently significantly expanded because of its success. Cuisine blends many Asian specialties, including Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese. You will get spicy, delicious food fusing noodle dishes, to satay, to fresh fish. The restaurant is stylish and a place to “be seen”. Don’t miss Wild Ginger! The menu blends pan-Asian cuisines: Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian. The fragrant crispy duck is wildly popular, as are many satay offerings. Expect to spend around $25 for an average dinner. Underground Rating = A
1401 Third Avenue @ Union Street – Downtown 206-623-4550
Monday-Saturday 1130am – 2am / Sunday 430pm – 2am
Bangkok House
This Thai restaurant in the International District is recommended by many travel guidebooks. However, our visit was quite disappointing. The lunch menu consisted of only six items. The entrees were served to the wrong people, with spicy food going to people requesting mild food. The curry chicken was more like curry soup. The decor is beyond basic and has almost no ambience — even a few travel posters would improve the atmosphere. Bangkok House was decent Thai food, but only average at best. Expect to spend around $12 for an average dinner. Underground Rating = B-
606 South Weller @ Sixth Avenue – International District 206-382-9888
Noodle Ranch
A casual restaurant in the heart of Belltown makes the Noodle Ranch a great, fun choice for dinner or lunch. Imagine a much smaller Wild Ginger in a more basic atmosphere. Same kind of food– Asian everything from Vietnamese to Chinese to Thai in a party atmosphere. Noodle Ranch is a great choice for Americanized Asian food in the trendy Belltown neighborhood. Asian beers and spicy noodles make the Ranch a great choice for around $12 for dinner. Vietnamese soups are healthy, spicy, and flavorful, but never heavy. Chef Nga Bui has combined the noodle dishes of Vietnam, Japan, and China and created a pan-Asian menu. The food is adventuresome and true to the basics. The Noodle Ranch is popular, with lines for both the great food and trendy Belltown scene. Cha cha, a combination of grilled fish with rice noodles, vegetables, and herbs, is the most popular dish. The green curry is another great choice. Underground Rating = B+
2228 Second Avenue near Bell – Belltown 206-728-0463
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