Spice Orient

I’ve walked by this place before and always felt kind of bad because they don’t get a lot of business, and I’m sure the construction isn’t helping. Today I decided to give it a try.
As soon as I stepped in, I noticed it was dark and not the cleanest, but I decided to give it a shot anyways. As soon as I walked up to the counter, someone looked at me and barked «TOGO».
“What?”
“TOGO!”
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand…”
«Is. Your. Food. To. Go.»
I almost walked back out, but decided to stick with it and order. I chalked it up to cultural differences, even though the guy clearly spoke fluent English.
I ordered the Vietnamese coffee, which is a personal favorite of mine, and seafood chow mien.
The Vietnamese coffee here is made from powder and water. They make 3 – 4 oz of extremely strong mix, and then pour it over ice. I was still hopeful it would be good until I tasted it. It was super gritty and bitter, and had a weird menthol flavor. I didn’t finish the 3 oz of coffee.
The seafood chow mein was inedible. The shrimp were visibly spoiled, and it stank horribly as soon as I opened the box. I definitely won’t be back, I’m surprised the health department hasn’t shut this place down.

Took a co-​worker here and we really enjoyed the lunch! She got the cashew chicken dish and I got prawn chow mein with a chicken sandwich to go. All of the dishes are chock full of fresh, crunchy vegetables and wonderful flavor. I live in Chinatown, and this is the best chow mein I have ever had in Seattle because it is not greasy, it is full of a wide variety of veggies and a surprisingly large quantity of prawns. There is nothing bland about the food! Portions are large, and prices are cheap! Great service! Everything was beautiful on the plate, and such a quiet intimate place for a fast meal, I will be coming back! Thank you Spice Orient!

Really so-​so with the food here. Spring rolls were bland and felt like I was biting into a ball of lettuce. Not a whole lot of flavor or taste for that matter. It came in a plastic wrap, so I think they have them pre-​made, rather than made on-​the-​spot upon ordering. Probably wouldn’t matter though. Also ordered the egg roll grilled pork rice vermicelli noodle bowl and I found that to be lacking in flavor too. Service is really slow, as the open kitchen has one cook working all the orders. If you come here during the office lunch rush, be mindful of the slowness here if you need to be back in the office within an hour because I inadvertently took an hour and half lunch here. I came here because it was convenient for a friend who works in the area, but I probably won’t be coming back anytime soon even if the food is cheap.

Cheap eats right in the center of Seattle. My cousin was coming down with a cold and I thought a big bowl of phở would help ease her ailment during our recent vacation. A lot of the spots in the area were closed on a Sunday, so we decided on this one based on walking distance and because they were open!
It’s a little hidden, but it’s right across the street from Target near a lot of construction. I thought we had missed it, but the signs mostly scream happy hour prices and other specials rather than the business name.
For a Sunday night, we were the only ones in the entire restaurant. There was a flurry of activity going on in the city including a football game, so we thought it might have just been an off night. The guy at the counter greeted us and let us choose wherever we wanted to sit. We chose a table next to a window so we could people watch while we ate.
The business itself is a little run down, and you can tell it’s old. There’s a slight musty smell inside, sort of like an old basement. I think we noticed it more since they weren’t cooking anything, but once they started firing off the food, it seemed to go away a bit.
For food we each got a bowl of phở and a beef banh mi. The bowls of soup were large for the $ 6.95 price tag and included a good ratio of noodles to meat. I got mine with won tons and they were pretty big and good amount of them as well. The banh mi was just okay and there wasn’t a ton of beef inside. They used a larger, thicker bread that still had that nice crunch, but it wasn’t anything spectacular and would probably not order it again.
Once everything was said and done, our bill was around $ 18. Not too shabby. We were full and the soup did the trick to relieve some of the symptoms of her sickness.

This place has great food. I’ve worked by here for a while and decided that based off of Unilocal reviews I would give it a shot. I was not disappointed at all. I got the egg rolls — cold but still very tasty, and the beef bahn mi. The beef was flavorful and delicious and the veggies were crisp. Glad I came by. I wouldn’t really recommend this place as a sit down restaurant, but for take out… It’s my new spot!

Really solid Phở from this place. I got chicken Phở and added a bunch of Thai chili to it, perhaps too much with 4 spoons but that supposedly a good thing right?
The phở itself was very good and it came with all the fixings including basil which was a nice fresh twist.
Overall I was very happy with the Phở and will definitely be back.

I like this place. they make great sandwiches. I love the egg rolls. My favorite dish is the Won Ton Noodle. It is very tasty. You can also call an order in to go. This is one of my go to places.

I ate Beef Phở. It was really awesome and there is happy hour and almost meals would be $ 5.99 weekday night! Additionally, I ordered Egg rolls and rice paper roll. These were also really good. Reasonable and at home atmosphere!

I really do like this place. Don’t let the interior or the exterior or the decoration or the menu’s or bathrooms… or pretty much anything you can actually see fool you. It’s pretty legit food. Great price for a banh mi or bowl of phở.
I would rate this place higher, if it was a little cleaner. The staff is friendly and quick. Same people every day. Don’t let my 3 star review detour you. If you want good, inexpensive lunch it’s perfect. Just know your walking into a 3 star décor establishment with 4 star food.

Went there for lunch asked about lunch special on sign, they said they don’t do that anymore and only now offer a happy hour which started at 2. Ordered fried rice. It had big bits of black crunchy burnt rice all through out making it not pleasant to eat. I started making a pile on my plate to show the waitress so to see if they might offer to make another order but she never once came to check in on me during lunch. Not even once. Never brought a check so I went up front to pay and my waitress was there to cash me out. I told her the dish was burnt she said «oh» and proceeded to ring my card. I would not come back.

I had Seafood Tom Yum, it turned out to be the creamy version (tom yum goong nam khon) not the clear one. I think for the most part the broth tasted good.
However I was disappointed with the seafood, both the shrimp and the mussels seemed previously frozen. I think I would have enjoyed much more if they got rid of the mussels and used fresh shrimp with head on. I also feel like the floating white mushrooms (which seemed like they were added right before the soup came out) did not fit well in the soup. String or Oyster mushrooms would have been a better choice.
Seems like phở is their specialty, I will try it next time.

Okay, I started out for another Phó restaurant and got stopped in front of this restaurant because of construction and thought hmmmmm, it looks a little run down and tired, but I was surprised at how clean and quiet it is inside. Spice Orient is no frills dining, but the beef phó was tasty and had well-​developed flavor. They bring a very generous side serving of fresh basil, jalapeño, lime and bean sprouts! I was pleasantly surprised and I’m going to try to go back before heading home to Atlanta.
I give Spice Orient 5 stars because the phó is that tasty. I didn’t try anything else, but reading the other reviews tells me they know what they’re doing in the kitchen. Plus, there was a steady stream of local customers, so they must be doing something right.

Ordered a pork Bahn mi sandwich for lunch. Meat was completely burnt which I had to remove before attempting to eat it. Didn’t expect much from a $ 4 sandwich, but serving black crusted meat is terrible. Will never eat here again.

As you take a giant step up, and in to this little restaurant, the xmas décor will bring you back in time. Some say it’s old, some say it’s a classic. But there is a flat screen TV and an iPad as a cash register. The service is great and fast. Prices are reasonable. Portions are huge. Taste is pretty good, a lot of options to choose from. If you don’t pick on the interior and the exterior designs, this place is actually pretty good. During the lunch hours, lots of people are going in and out. Overall, this is a good spot for Vietnamese lunch during the work week.

Tried this place out again, pretty good and now Im a fan. Yea, the place could use a renovation but I dont mind it. Going into my lunch rotation!!!
Tried the beef chow mein/mane/main/mang…huge portion, good amount of meat & veg and noodles were nicely wok fried and totally hit the spot!
Good portions and good prices! Definitely coming back!

You know how you go to a restaurant knowing that the food isn’t going to be great but you go anyway because where else are you going to go? This is that place. I am battling a cold and wanted some warm wonton noodle soup to make me feel better. The highlight is that they have happy hour prices after 2:00 p.m. for $ 5.99 (I believe all the entrees on the menu). I haven’t been to Spice Orient in a while so I was shocked and appalled that they have went up on their prices. The wonton soup use to be $ 6.50 and now it is $ 7.30, the same price as their phở. Don’t eat the phở unless you like sad pieces of beef and a total lack of flavor in the broth. i didn’t peruse the entire menu because I knew what I came for.
The hot tea is always a step cooler than lukewarm so I don’t drink it. The service is always fine so no complaints there but the soup is literally just ok. Downtown should really step it up with the wonton soup and phở.

Spice Orient is my go-​to place for lunch. They have pretty good Phở and delicious Bahn Mi sandwiches. The pork bahn mi sandwiches are well worth the four dollars they’re charging. I feel like what makes or breaks a bahn mi sandwich is the bread and this place has soft bread (not the kind that scratches the top of your mouth and cuts you!). In my opinion the pork is the best! I’ve also tried the beef and chicken. The pork is marinated well and tender (yum!). The veggies in the sandwich are fresh and very crispy — adding great texture.
If you are ordering to-​go I suggest calling your order in. Their ‘waiting area’ is very cramped and you always kind of feel like you’re in the way. If you call ahead, your order will be ready by the time you arrive.
Lastly, this spot is great for groups because they have a large downstairs area.

First of all… any place that still has their christmas lights up must be a good authentic restaurant. We were right. It’s a small restaurant, dirty but cute. Right in the heart of downtown and near the Public Market. We had parked near the restaurant to go to market. Decided to stop there as it was getting windy, cold and rainy. Our first experience eating in seattle. And it was a great one. Hubby and I both got phở. It was flavored right and was so warm in our tummy. It’s hard to find phở we really enjoyed but we found it. Sat near a window with Xmas lights and just took in the view of the passerby on the street. Staff was friendly and even in the rain they had a steady flow of to go orders. Would go back.

This place gets a 3.5 STARS
The GOOD:
Service was good, and our food came out fast! Also, the waitresses there are really nice, and I got to use my broken Vietnamese with some of them :)
Another thing is that the prices of the dishes were fairly reasonable. Less than $ 8 including tax for a giant ass thing of phở in downtown Seattle?! That’s pretty good.
The BAD:
The quality of the food was meh. So my friend and I both got the beef noodle soup and a side of shrimp spring rolls to share. The noodles and the broth of the phở were really good — enough flavor and not that salty. Unfortunately, whenever I eat phở I always expect the extra stuff in there, such as tripe, meatballs, tendon, etc. I want all of that crap in my phở. However, Spice Orient’s phở only had the round eye steak… poo. Second, the shrimp spring rolls were lacking. The shrimp spring rolls that I make at home are much better… why? Because I put more crap in it, simple as that. In addition, the dipping sauce was weird… like I couldn’t really describe what was in the sauce. I just knew I didn’t like it.
The UGLY:
Well, there really isn’t an ugly. I wish I could bump this rating up to a 4, but I can’t. The quality of the food is just that important (as it should be). But on the bright side, if you are on your lunch break around 12:30pm in downtown Seattle and you want something quick and cheap but not necessarily great, this might be the right place for you.
Side note: at first I thought this place didn’t have a bottle of hoisin sauce at my table (as every Vietnamese phở place SHOULD have), it was actually inside the red bottle. Weird, right? And then there’s a separate bottle for the Sriracha that has the cock sauce label on the front :) whoops!

For the food and service, this place is more like a 3. However, for the price of a restaurant located in the heart of downtown Seattle, it deserves a 4.
First, I love their Vietnamese sandwiches. It’s flavorful, filling and cheap! For $ 5 (tax included), you get a large sandwich filled with a large portion of meat, veggies and a fried egg! It’s one of my go to lunch options as I never get tired of eating it each time. The wait can be awhile so I generally call in ahead and the ladies are super nice, they do their best to make sure that your order will be ready by the time you drop by.
The only other dish I’ve had here is their chicken phở. Good, but nothing extraordinary. Though again, for $ 7, you get a 12in diameter bowl of phở — can we say cheap, cheap, cheap?!
My friends have been here as well and like their food so no complaints so far!