11/06/09

Dancing tastebuds

by Tastebud

On our last trip to Seattle my wife and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant called Bambuza on the corner of 9th and Pike. This is one of the best establishments we have had the pleasure of dining at in quite some time. Not only were the staff a pleasure, but the atmosphere was very pleasing, the prices were more than reasonable, but the food was impecable!! The service was amazingly fast, and they made you feel like you were the only customer, though there were several tables full. The establishment was very clean, including the restrooms. They are open for lunch and dinner and serve an array of mouth watering foods cooked to a perfection hence no condiments provided on the tables. Their web page can be found at www.bambuza~ Take a look and take a taste, you will not be dissapointed!!

David Dammann

Port Orchard Wa.

• Pros: Great food at a great price

06/09/09

Bright, Refreshing Asian Cuisine for a Broad Audience

by financial_foodie

Let's get the negative out of the way first. The service was a little slow but I'm willing to attribute that to being understaffed and a bit busier than they probably expected on a Monday night.

Now for the good stuff! Start with the lobster wontons. I was expecting decent lobster given this is Seattle but overloaded with cream cheese as is common in wontons and rangoons. We were delighted by juicy lobster encased in fried wontons with flavorful veggies, no cream cheese to be found anywhere! The cocktails were top notch and potent too! If you're a mint fan like me, go for their version of a mojito, it'll knock your socks off!

Dinner was brought out and my partner had the ginger pork over jasmine rice. While he raved about it I indulged in their Saigon Combination bowl over perfectly cooked vermicelli noodles. I'm no pasta expert, but these were done well and carried the flavors and spices of the various meats, veggies and special house fish sauce surprisingly well. The spices were mild but blended for a unique flavor. Now I'm a guy who likes really spicy food and I certainly wouldn't rank this particular entree with even one star but I wouldn't have had it any other way. It was the perfect balance.

I wish we had had the room for desert. Next time we'll be trying the coconut ginger flan!

• Pros: central location, reasonably priced, not kid-friendly
• Cons: not kid-friendly

03/01/08

Great decor

by rusche

Delicious vegetable lettuce wraps are very tasty and a good appetizer.The coconut shrimp curry with rice was just the right portion for lunch, service was quick and friendly.

• Pros: Fresh well prepared food!
• Cons: Cheapest parking lot nearby is $7.00 for 2 hours, otherwise park on the street

05/31/07

Superior Culinary Creations

by zotmama

Bambuza is one of our favorite Seattle restaurants; a performance at the Paramount isn't nearly as good if we haven't dined at Bambuza first. The menu has so many gems it's hard to pick just one. My favorites are the traditional dishes like claypot catfish, my husband loves the wok specialties like cognac luc lac beef, the chicken salad and fresh mango salads are exquisite or try the honey glazed chicken over rice.

We have been coming to Bambuza for several years and the service can vary - while always friendly it can at times be slow, however the owner is usually on site on the weekends and you can always ask to speak with him. The chairs are a bit uncomfortable; it would be nice if there were seat cushions and carpeting would lessen the noise. However, the interior is attractive and the food is absolutely wonderful.

• Pros: The Food, The Food, The Food
• Cons: Uncomfortable seating

02/11/07

Fresh, smart, tasty Vietnamese

by jc425

I was surprised to discover this place--and glad I did. Everything we had was tasty, well-prepared, and full of flavor. It was a pleasant break from the usual retreaded northwest cuisine or thai food that seems to be everywhere. Service was prompt and very friendly. Will definitely be back soon.

12/05/06

Great Food Menu, Excellent Martini Menu

by tamlenguy

My co-workers and I stopped by for a dinner after a long day of work and we all had a wonderful time. This place is romantic and menu was very impressive. We shared our food and some of my favorite items was: Lemongrass Beef Skewer, Mango Salad, Cognac Luc Lac Beef, and the Vietnamese Crepe. We each ordered a martini and that was very good. Oh, don't forget to order their fried banana for dessert, this is the best dessert I ever had! The staff was very friendly and funny! We were in and out within approximately 1hour and 15 minutes. We had a wonderful time!

• Pros: Romantic, Friendly Staff, Quality Food
• Cons: Parking

11/19/06

Tries to be trendy, but fails, food is unflavorful

by outeverynite

Major disappointment set in about 5 seconds after my first bite of the appetizer we ordered. My first impressions of the restaurant without eating the food was ?ehh? the decoration was nice but felt like it missed the mark- it was Saturday night and no one was there, and it was on the outskirts of the main ?people? part of the city.

The food was bland, the service was mediocre, and I felt like I was wasting my time. This wasn?t authentic nor was it unique. I felt like they thought their food was good and that this was a trendy cool place to be? but don?t be fooled- it wasn?t. I was disappointed.

• Pros: The table was clean
• Cons: Not cool, not good, no flavor

09/15/06

Never again

by hbombdiggity

Not only was the service painfully slow and the food cold, but when we asked for the manager he didn't bother to appear for nearly 10 minutes and even then didnt seem to care. In cities with more competition, this is exactly the kind of thing that puts you out of business in no time.

If you're wanting a decent, timely, warm, dinner, look elsewhere!

• Pros: Good location
• Cons: Everything else

09/15/06

Slooooow service, cold food?

by kellylwolf

Just because this spot has a built in customer base with the Convention Center and Paramount nearby, does not excuse the horribly slow, service. It took forever to get drinks and order. When the food arrived, several of the dishes were cold. When I asked about this, they were promptly taken away, microwaved (fork marks and all) and returned to our table. When we spoke with the manager, he seemed extremely unconcerned.

The sad thing is that with so little competition in Seattle, businesses with service like this thrive....

• Pros: good food and drink menue
• Cons: unbelievably bad service

09/14/06

Great Vietnamese

by lilibeth

I am from the Bay Area and eat all sorts of Asian foods practically everyday and Vietnamese at least once a week. This is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle and make a point to go here at least once when I visit my parents in Seattle. Great mango salad, bol ak lak (sp?), lemongrass chicken, curry chicken, vegetable pho and much more. Finally, for the topper, I absolutely adore their banana cake dessert. Even if I'm already full, I order it to take home. YUMMMMM!