Thoa’s Restaurant & Lounge

Big Disappointment.
It was the weekend, and I was looking forward to trying one of the Asian per pound/​buffet restaurants. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open on the weekend. I am very picky about my Asian food coming from Northern California where our Asian restaurants are outstanding. Basically, by the time we found Thoa I was pretty much starving. So when I saw eggplant, one of my favorite foods, on the menu I immediately said okay. Mistake number one.
Menu Options: There are not many vegetarian options. The ones that are clearly marked, but they don’t even have stir fried veggies (an option you would think almost any Asian/​Vietnamese restaurant would serve.) My mom ordered the pad thai with veggies so they can make some menu items vegetarian. I got the eggplant with a side salad instead of rice.
Food: The paid thai was not paid thai. We were not impressed by the thin noodles. The paid thai didn’t have enough flavor. I hate when my eggplant is swimming in sauce. I don’t find it appetizing. Usually I ask for light sauce, but since this restaurant sold itself as being especially «healthy,» I figured they would sauce it nicely. Boy was I wrong. Basically, my mom ended up eating my meal which she liked more than I did. I ended up hungry and grumpy. The soups people ordered looked pretty good, but no vegetarian soup was offered.
Location: We had a beautiful view of the water. The restaurant was large and very nicely decorated.
Service: The service was polite, but didn’t seem genuine. We stayed at the restaurant for a while and ended up staying until in between lunch and dinner. We basically got kicked out… awk. The server’s dog was waiting outside. I like dogs as much as the next person, but
Not impressed. I might as well have just gone to Whole Foods.

I can’t believe that it took my cousin having a Groupon she couldn’t use for me to learn about Thoa’s.
When my friend and I arrived at the restaurant, we quickly got seated by a window that has a view of the Seattle Great Wheel (or whatever the new (ish) Ferris wheel is called). The server was friendly and very familiar with the menu.
We had a hard time picking two items from the menu, but eventually decided to share the Vietnamese Steak Frites and Spicy Glazed Eggplant. Both dishes were delicious and servings were big. We definitely didn’t need the rice to get full! The voucher also included a seasonal dessert, which was good… but we were so full that we couldn’t quite finish it. I believe the dessert that evening was black sticky rice.
I don’t know if Thoa’s is a good restaurant to visit on your own, but it definitely seems good for a group of 2+ people.

Came in yesterday with a groupon, met some friends there at the restaurant by coicidence. After ordering we found out that both parties came in with the groupon and ask the server, his name is Mark, to seperate the bills for us realizing it was one groupon per table. He said he can’t do it, one bill per table. I’m a server myself, i told him to transfer the bill to another table so both groupon can be used, but he refused and told us that he can move us physically to a different table, separating us from our friends. I refused.
Let’s talk about the food. I’m Vietnamese, i know the Vietnamese cuisine inside and out. What they served to us were a watered down version of what our dishes were supposed to be. We had the vermicelli, Mi saigon, Vietnamese pad thai. Any of the Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown taste 10 times better than what we had for half the price and much better portion. The only thing that going for them is the décor and the view. Do yourself a favor and go to Green Leaf on 1^st instead.

Meh
No real flavor in the phở. I think the bean sprouts were previously frozen.
The lettuce wraps were pretty good though.

I’ve only been to Thoa’s for happy hour twice but both times really enjoyed myself. The view they have over the Sound is top notch and they have a nice patio to enjoy the view in the summer months. The last time I went the service was a bit slow and unfriendly but there was also only one apparent waiter for the whole dining room. My group ordered:
Sweet potato fries with spicy aioli
Jicama summer rolls X2
Potstickers X2
Calamari
Honey Walnut Shrimp
Spicy Squid
I could eat plates of those jicama rolls they are so fresh and tasty. Their fries were good too. The rest of the plates were good but can be found at many Seattle restaurants during happy hour. All plates are $ 5 I think at happy hour. They have great drink specials during happy hour too.

Nice venue, convenient location, friendly staff. The food was quite delicious — though the standard Vietnamese menu actually did NOT have any chicken phở (which is my fave!!). The beef phở was really good though — I would order it again.
I also ordered the fresh spring rolls, which I think had papaya or mango in it (and some pork or other meat). They were delicious (and a very good portion — I ordered it as an appetizer and was stuffed before finishing my phở entrée).
Came here on a Saturday at noon for lunch, and oddly enough, my friend and I were 2 of the 5 people in the entire restaurant! Not sure why though, the food was pretty good and not too pricey. I would eat here again.

I would give this place 2 ½ stars, but not inclined to round up to 3 for this place.
I’ve been here twice, once for happy hour and once for dinner. Both times, the atmosphere there is sad. For a restaurant in the middle of downtown Seattle, both times I went the place was quiet and dark, except for the random «food tour» stopping by.
The service was good, although one server seemed more interested in watching the t.v. by the bar than serving. The food there is ok, but if you consider the quality and quantity, it doesn’t fit the pricepoint. I found the shrimp/​scallop dish I had to be a little too salty. The black rice pudding I had for dessert was watered down.

This little diamond is hiding just across from the four seasons. I love the Jicima rolls. They have many vegan options — just ask the server. Creative cocktails, too. Everyone I’ve brought here has loved it. There’s a peekaboo view of the water — I am always surprised there are not more people here.

I came here with the fam before a show at Benaroya and it was A-​OK. We arrived at the tail end of happy hour so it was nice that we were able to partake. We ordered a bunch of apps — pork salad spring rolls with the clear wrappers, chicken lettuce wraps, potstickers, and crispy spring rolls. The salad spring rolls were probably my favorite, then the potstickers. They were both tasty but the others were unremarkable and didn’t stand out.
By the time happy hour was done, I was pretty stuffed but we managed to trek on and ordered a few main dishes. We had the nutty chicken, the vietnamese steak frites, and the ha noi egg noodles. The steak frites stood out because it was so unusual — there were french fries covered in sauce IN the dish. It was surprisingly good although an unusual combination. The others were fine — again, nothing that really stood out.
The service was very attentive and friendly — and with the happy hour, the meal was pretty reasonable. I think that my Dad said it was around $ 80 with tax and tip?
A decent spot in a fun area by Pike Place.

Decided to try this place one day since I had some time before meeting up with my coffee group and I always pass by this place when I get off the ferry and into the city.
It was a chilly day so I went for the phở… what kind of bothered me was there was only a beef option — don’t get me wrong, I LOVE beef! But it would’ve been nice if they had chicken too, which I usually go for. I also ordered some sweet potato fries as a starter. They were a bit on the soft and limp side but I did like their aioli sauce they served with it. Then came the phở, I was expecting it to be rather bad since this was at a bar/​lounge type of place but I was surprised at how tasty and full of flavor it was and the beef was tender. My only complaint is that the soup was very oily but other than that it was better than I thought. If I ever get off the ferry and want phở, I might drop in again but for now, I’ll just stick to my favorite which is just a 3 min drive from my house.

Oh Tho-​a, how I wished I liked you mo-​a…
…but unfortunately, there’s nothing particularly outstanding about this place. Been here once when it was Islander Grill (from a coupon book saver), and it was likewise memorably forgettable.
The HH prices were good, which is why there are two instead of one star. We had the potstickers, deep-​fried spring rolls, calamari from the HH menu, and then the Spicy Lemongrass Beef Noodle Bowl salad. Granted, it would take a moron of epic proportions to screw up the kind of food we ordered — Yeah, potstickers and spring rolls? Both were good, but something we could easily duplicate at home, as they weren’t anything to write home about.
The calamari, or whatever the deep-​fried squid concoction was, was bizarre. They were like balls of deep fried weirdness accompanied with Aioli sauce.
The noodle bowl salad — again, decent, but nothing to write home about. The ones at Five Seasons Grill (another review I have up here) are wayy better (and cheaper).
The service wasn’t terrible, but I could see what everyone else was lamenting about — our server was also mixing drinks at the bar (?!), which probably explains why it took her 10 minutes to get back to us, after we told her we were ready to order. I’ve yet to see a restaurant (downtown, with views, with purportedly the «ambience» Thoa’s is trying to achieve), which has the server mixing drinks. Not. Classy.
Thoa’s occupies a great space, with expansive views of the water. I can imagine it gets quite busy, especially with tourists — but I wish there was something more to entice me to return. Even with the good prices, there are far better (and more expensive) options for HH in the area.

Had a Groupon and went on a Thursday night at 7 for dinner and half the tables were empty and service was still SLOW and not that attentive. The waitress never asked how our food was or refilled our empty water glasses or asked if we wanted more drinks. If it wasn’t for that think maybe 3.5 or 4 stars. Much better places in the ID but if you want a more upscale Vietnamese dining experience near the market not a bad choice, but I wouldn’t go back.
My wife and I had the Potstickers, which were decent with good dipping sauce. Entrees were the Honey Walnut Prawns and Vietnamese Steak Frites. The steak was really good! My wife also liked that the sauce was not the typical heavy brown gravy but flavorful and light. The prawns were fresh but the sauce a bit to heavy and sweet for my taste.

Thoa’s (pronounced «twa») is a newly discovered gem! My Vietnamese bouillabaise was delicious and interesting. It was served in a tomato broth with lemongrass. And the seafood portions were more than generous! Lots of yummy bits of shrimp, squid, and I forget what else. ;)
My friend’s eggplant stirfry was quite delicious as well! This place is A-​OK!

Not very happy with the service here. We ordered before the influx of customers, yet a few people got their meals before us. The waiter actually forgot about us… I am not impressed with the service here. Very disappointed.
Also, $ 10 for spring rolls… seriously? You are better off going elsewhere for traditional Vietnamese cuisine. The environment was clean, ambiance was nice, but the service was beyond terrible. My first and last time lunching here.

Vietnamese/​Fusion — Great lunch experience: I was visiting Seattle and checking out Pike’s market when I stumbled on this restaurant looking for a bite for lunch.
I had the rice noodle salad that comes with crispy vietnamese spring rolls. It was delicious. Had an ice tea too and total was $ 8.75 — pretty good for the amount of food and the ambiance.
I sat in the bar area which was cozy and at the time it was not too crowded.
There was a walking tour that stopped by and the waiter gave them a history of the restaurant, owner and food. I ease dropped for a very interesting story to go with my lunch :)

Came here out of convenience (literally right across from the Four Seasons hotel) and being tired from a long day out.
Food was NOT fresh. None of it.
And the most horrible phở I’ve ever had and was luke warm. Barf.
The food is more along the lines of a bad mom and pop restaurant that just doesn’t care, which doesn’t really fit the vibe of the place since it’s a fully established restaurant.
Service was attentive and nice.

We arrived here while walking 1^st Ave last week. I’d really love to come here for happy hour outside. The inside of this restaurant is very very appealing. Wicker furniture fills the bar area making for an intimate evening for drinks and lettuce wraps.
The lettuce wraps, by the way, are very yummy.
They put us in a kind of hidden area because we have a baby, which is cool, but feels really alienating when you and the other family with a ton of loud kids realize what this little area exactly is. The thai iced tea is delicious. I wish they had larger water glasses because for how little they checked on us, I was running low on water. The tofu pad thai was awesome although I wasn’t given a choice on spice level. We also got Imperial chicken, yum yum! Basically sweet and sour chicken with a different name. The staff should be better at checking on customers, especially when it’s 3 in the afternoon and it’s so dead. But I will be back, probably to explore their specialty drinks [cucumber basil martini anyone?].

We had time to kill since we were waiting for our reservations at Japonessa so we came here.
It was very crowded because of a party in the back and another party in the room next to the main entrance. We ended sitting at the bar till a table open up for us. I really like the décor of the whole place with a huge glass window displaying all the wine selection and a budda in the middle. I thought they need more seating to accommodate more patrons looking to eat food.
The service was kind of strange since a waitress was behind the bar taking our orders for drinks but she wasn’t the bartender so everything I said to her, she was repeating/​asking the bartender that was running around taking food orders at tables? We miss happy hour so we end up ordering on the regular menu. Once we order drinks and food, we were able to move to a table party of four.
We order three strawberry lemon drops and three appetizers: gyoza, spicy squid, and softcrab roll. The food was excellent, I enjoy the meaty filling in the gyoza, the tangy spicy sauce but nicely pan fried squid, and the favor combination, nice crunch to the softcrab roll dipped in a refreshing basil aioli sauce. I would give them four stars but I found SEEDS in my strawberry lemon drops and the price total up little over $ 60+ not including tip so little pricey for not so special customer service.
Overall, I would give them another chance because the food has potential and would love to try more delicious food on the menu but it will have to be during happy hour while seating in the back with a view.

I was here with a friend of mine, sort of a belated birthday (for him), my #18 marathon completion celebration, and just having dinner while on vacation type of gathering. Kinda went all out with this one and ended up spending just over $ 100, including tip.
Thoa’s was suggested by my friend, so I decided to try it. Didn’t consult Unilocal though, as it was on the fly. Glad he did. The food was not that great, but it was taste and the portions were not as big, but I guess he’s right. It’s not how big the portions is, it’s how it tastes. But $ 20 for a few pieces? Gimme a break!
For appetizers, we had 3 oyster shooters and fried calamari. For entrees, I had the spicy shrimp and scallops with jasmine rice. I asked for brown rice, which they had. I forgot what my friend had. We also had a few drinks. Had a Tokyo tea, upon my friend’s recommendation, and a Heineken. Lastly, we had dessert. The chocolate cake was so good. I thought it was worth the $ 8. Creamy and delicious. Too bad it wasn’t homemade though.
Lastly, not sure I should be saying this, but I had a crush on the server who waited on us. She was über cute, but I noticed more than a few rings on her finger, along with a white bracelet. Her smile was nice and she was really nice to us. My friend told me to ask for her number, but me living in Hawaii, it would be very hard for a long distance relationship — if she liked me at all that way. In the end, I didn’t get the nerve to. Too shy that way. She had nice everything. lol.
Her name is Elizabeth.

We rented out this entire venue and they did a fabulous job for us! I’ve been to this place back when it was The Islander and it basically looks about the same. I really liked the décor both then and now. They catered food for us, and it was fabulous! Especially the fresh spring rolls and potstickers.
Quite a few people tried to walk into our private event, so it seems they have a lot of regulars. And even though we had the place from 9p.m. to close, there were people in the restaurant/​bar from earlier & most of them stayed until 10:30p.m. so they really liked the place as they were not about to leave.
They worked really well with out team and did a great job for the party we hosted. We would definitely use the venue again for another party!
One more thing — the name of the venue is pronounced «Twah» which we found out, and everyone was pretty horrified with the name. I think that was the only complaint I heard all night long.