When we first walked in the restaurant we got wonderful vibes. Small, cozy and clean. The menu can be overwhelming, so many items to choose from. We ended up with a set menu for 4. I'm not going to go into what we got because everything we had was amazing. They gave us the appropriate amount of time to look over the menu and once we ordered the food started coming out very quickly. As soon as it was ready it arrived piping hot at the table. The only downside was that we felt the tea was a bit watered down. Overall would go back and definitely recommend for anyone seeking great food! read more

3.5 rounded to 4 Came for the lunch special which I think is a great deal and composition of different dishes. The hot and sour soup they give at first was kind of bland and the fried rice was tasty but quite standard. The bbq pork is amazing and I would come back for more. It's the right amount of sweetness and cooked so be so tender. The roasted duck was a huge letdown though. I got really boney pieces that were hard to separate the meat from and the greasy parts were extremely greasy and almost bitter. Service is standard and the restaurant has a homey feel which wasn't too busy for seating options during a weekday lunch. The front is busier for takeouts though read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - Lunch special with roasted duck - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

2nd time is the charm! I specified "less fat" and got excellent crispy roast pork. Still not the best relative to L.A.'s Chinese BBQ shops, but I'm happy for what I can get in Seattle. read more

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I always get take fo Their cha shu pork. This time I also ordered egg rolls. They were really delicious! They had cha shu and shrimp in it. I'll remember to add this to my order from now. read more

We had a big takeout order here last week - enjoyed the BBQ duck, crispy pork, char siu, eggplant, and green beans. The eggplant is one of my favorites read more

New ownership, down grade quality. I probably won't return anymore. The lunch promotion says 3 chicken wings but was given 1 and quater cut up wing. No flavor and cold chicken, also before the vegetables was great steam cabbage & bok choy with good flavor, but now 2 broccoli and carrot. Cheap. I was a regular loyal customer, but i won't be returning to this establishment anymore. read more

The $10 lunchbox was not worth it. 3 pieces of vegetable, 5 pieces of roast pork with missing skin, 4 pieces of BBQ pork. The fried rice was dry like maybe it was kept overnight?? I would only come for the pay by the pound meats. The roast pork is delicious. The BBQ pork was dry. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Came on a Saturday night for dinner and surprisingly the tables were almost empty. We were able to get our table and order fast because of it. Free hot tea and they serve it as soon as you are seated. Menu has a lot of items to choose from and the prices are well worth the amount you're getting. I got the the BBQ Pork Chow Foon ($11.90) and my friend got the BBQ Combination Rice Plate ($12.00). My friend loved her dish and I liked mine as well. My dish was packing with flavor and filling but there was a lot of oil. BUT If I were to close my eyes and ignore the amount of oil, I would honestly say it was the best chow fan I've had a restaurant. I also got to try one of my friends meat pieces (I think it was a roasted pork?) and the piece was so juicy. I'm not the biggest fan of meat bc I think most meat are too dry but definitely cant say that about this place. That was really good. We were even thinking of sharing a vegetable dish but I'm glad we didn't because we were both really full with the just the 2 dishes we ordered. read more

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I personally feel like this place is overhyped! I got half pound of cha siu and roasted pork. The roasted pork is too greasy and did not feel like I can swallow it. It is like swallowing oil. But the top part is crispy so that's good! I won't able to eat half of the meat. The cha siu is pretty decent, nothing to complain about and I would go back for more if I crave for cha siu. For the soup that they offer for lunch special, there were some little bead things inside and it always stuck on the top of my mouth and it's so hard to take it out. Overall, it is okay read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This spot is affordable and delicious. Service is quick. Order and pay at counter. Pork belly 5/5 Juicy thick. Good ratio of fat version meat. The skin was crispy. Soy sauce chicken 5/5 So tender and good. read more

Well, this place has been around for 100 years. I've never eaten inside, but I do get the barbecue pork to go. It's awesome. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - 1 pound of barbecued pork to go - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Great food, the barbecue is amazing. Had two other entrées. I can't say enough good things about this place. Service was great. read more

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Great food here ! We ordered a few dishes and the meat platter were all delicious. Staff here fast and friendly. I would definitely recommend their bbq pork. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

our family has been going to Kau Kau for 30 years and I can honestly tell you this was the most gross and disgusting food we've had in Chinatown. we got to go pork and it was burnt dry and solid cold fat. It was absolutely awful. We've noticed the food has been getting worse and worse, but this was absolutely not even edible. We also ordered egg foo young, which tasted and looked like somebody vomited it up. It was horrible. We'll never go back here again. read more

I got takeout from Kau Kau bbq on a Tuesday night on a friends recommendation. The restaurant was mostly empty upon walking in, which made me doubt the restaurant a bit, but thankfully, I didn't let that deter me from trying the bbq here. The staff spoke mainly Chinese, which may pose an issue for non-chinese speakers seeking to order here. I ended up ordering the crispy pork, grilled pork, and crispy duck. Unfortunately, they didn't have any carbs to pair with the meat (rice, etc). The crispy pork was super fatty and tasty, and the pork was bursting with flavor. I was a bit disappointed by the duck he duck, however, as while skin was crispy, it was lacking a bit in flavor. Overall, Kau Kau offers some solid Chinese bbq at an affordable price, as long as the language barrier doesn't deter you from coming here. I would probably come back here again! read more

TLDR: 4 stars for the meat alone but -1 star for value. We ordered the BBQ combo which comes with bbq pork, pork spareribs, and roasted pork. Our fav was the roasted pork but all the meats were pretty good. The spareribs use the same bbq sauce, just with a different cut of meat (obviously). Roasted pork had a nice crunchy skin. Downside was I thought the portion was small for $13. It was a lot of rice with soy sauce on the bottom and not that much meat. I would recommend just buying meat by the pound. PS: Credit cards have a $0.50 charge for orders less than $20. read more

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Ordered1pound of BBQ pork. It was VERY fatty. Hunks of fat chopped up fat with no meat was included in my order in addition to a large amount of fat on meat that should be pulled off. We had to pull it off in ordder to eat it!!!!! Additionally there were old, dry and hard piece! It appeared as though they dump crap on carry out cstomers. I shared the order with my bridge club. One women said she had the same experience with a to-go order from Kau Kau. If you shop there do not order to go!!!!!!!! read more

Amazing canto-style BBQ in Seattle Chinatown! I have never had such tender and crispy and smokey cha-siu before! They cut it up per 1/4 or 1/2 lb orders and goes perfectly with a bowl of rice. The meat is super smokey and the cha-siu is the item you definitely have to get. The roast pork also had really nice bubbly skin however it was too salty for me. The skin was good, but to get good pork skin requires a lot of salt and this meat was too salty for me. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - Pork - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Best fair priced real Chinese food in the CD. Served ce is adequate, tea with meal, normal portions, a little dirty. But CHEAP is why you come and Roast Duck is why you come back. Across street is Tai Tung, Bruce Lee's restaurant of choice. That is a real gem of Chinese cuisine that is also good and has been enjoyed by many locals. It is Seattle's Oldest Chinese restaurant. Jay JSU is cheap dirty Chinese restaurant. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - Just sat down. Excited to try roasted duck. - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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I've come here several times to get a version of their lunch special. For just $11, you get hot tea, fried rice, Chinese BBQ pork, and another choice of an entree. Last time I got the shrimp. You get a decent portion of food, in addition to a bowl of soup. This is some amazing value for lunch. Not many places I can get a robust lunch for under $20. The fried rice is very flavorful! The shrimp was wonderfully breaded and fried to perfection. But the greatest item in this meal is the BBQ pork. Such delicious flavor! read more

I used to love this place. So many changes, none for the good. BBQ pork fried rice had almost no pork. There used to be big juicy bites. Now it's just tiny bits scraped from the chopping block including a piece of gristle/bone! Big tv screen in the west room. No! Just no! Waitress was new and very edgy. She was short with us and almost snappy. She wasn't interested in waiting on us. The food has always been really fast. We waited twice the usual time. The almond chicken was tasteless with a thin kind of gravy and an orange tinted breading. Half did not get eaten. Singapore noodles were just ok. Noticeably less pork and shrimp. I have eaten here regularly for 30+ years. I really want to support the new owners but am having a hard time wanting to go back. Please think about the cost cutting measures that have been made. They are hurting your business. read more

Good quantity for what you pay. For $13 I got the roasted duck rice with almost enough food to feed me for two meals. Service was fast and friendly, but the food itself was lackluster. They gave me pretty bone-y pieces of duck, and it was hard to pick off the meat. Also, the texture of the rice wasn't great and the rice was overly salty with all the soy sauce they put on. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - Roasted Duck Rice - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Service was good but food is way too salty. Would not recommend for people with high blood pressure. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - The roasted pork and roast duck was way too salty. - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Service is usually quick with easy in and out of the restaurant.love their barbecue pork. We even take it to Boise for our adult son who lives there . Only one time we had an issue with them telling us they were open until 8:00 pm . We arrived at 7:40 pm and they had put everything away. Very disappointed since we drove from Bellevue. read more

Omg, for $10, you get a generous amount of bbq pork and a second meat. I chose duck and second dish I chose roast pork. Both had such good flavor!!! I couldn't believe the $10, in Arizona, we would nevvvvver and the flavor....yummy. Not to mention they already give bbq pork fried rice. I forgot to ask for sauce but would totally recommend! read more

Found this place after going to HK Bbq Master in Canada. It was so good for such a good price! It comes with egg drop soup, fried rice, and two kinds of meat. The two ladies working there were so nice and attentive. The takeout line was surprisingly long at 3pm on a Sunday but service was quick while dining in! I'm not from Seattle, but I will definitely come back when visiting!! read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - lunch combo with bbq pork & roasted pork - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Love the BBQ here. Stick to that though. We ordered the Kau Kau for 2 and it was greasy and bland. The BBQ pork, roast pork and Duck are outstanding though. read more

I had 0 expectations when a friend brought me here and I was even confused why brought me here. The interior and exterior was unamusing and I barely looked at the menu. We settled on one of the lunch specials with roasted pork and char sui which came with fried rice. It looked extremely appetizing when I opened the togo box. The fried rice had a lot of flavors and smelled and tasted like it was freshly fried with a lot wok hay scent. If the rice was already that good, my expectations for the meat was even higher. The roasted pork was still warm and the skin was perfectly crisp and crunchy without being chewy. One of the best roasted pork skins I've ever had. It had a lot more fat than what I wanted, but the perfection of the skin overshadowed the fattiness. The flavors of the char sui was also very well balanced and not too sweet. It was tender and well cooked with a good ratio of meat to fat. I was blown away from this simple meal. Top 5 Chinese BBQ I've ever had. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Hole in the wall Cantonese restaurant that serves large portions and has really friendly service! Being Chinese, I've been to quite a few Chinese restaurants and I have to admit that the service isn't always the best, but everyone here was super friendly, the service was attentive, and the food came out really quickly. I also think that the portions are pretty big for the price. This place is known for their Cantonese BBQ meats so I tried both the BBQ combo and the duck. The meats were all ok but nothing outstanding. The roasted pork was my favorite out of the meats. It was tender and fatty with an extremely crispy skin. It had a strong Chinese five spice flavor and was a bit on the saltier side. The char siu was also quite nice and had a good balance of sweetness and saltiness, but it was a bit less tender. Surprisingly, my favorite thing was the stir fry eggplant. You could tell it was cooked freshly because it came out piping hot and had an amazing wok hei (smokiness from high heat wok cooking). The eggplant was soft and tender and it was flavored with an amazing spicy chili oil. The onions added a freshness and crunchiness and together it was delicious. read more

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You already know it's the classic kau kau need to say more. Place is fire serving up the good eats for a low price. Food itself was great and it's impossible to find a place to get full for about $10. This place will outlive me and still be around for generations to come! Roast pork is a must no cap read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - Sweet Hot and Sour Soup - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Ok that settles it as good deal as the lunch special is I get better cuts of bbq meat ordering off of it. Got the roasted duck noodle soup today generous portion enough for lunch for a couple of days the the duck was much more succulent than what I got in the lunc lh special. in like that the noodle soup comes with baby bok choy. Definitely would order this dish again. The weather was calling for a soup noodle. More affordable than some of the other places in the ID for duck noodle soup. Lots of green onions, broth piping hot and they put the soup container in a take out box so it isn't too hot to carry. The noodles and duck come in a separate container so you can put it together when you get to your destination and the noodles don't lose their texture read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - roast duck lunch box - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Every thing we had was delicious and trust me we ordered a lot of food. The bbq pork is perfect in every way. The service is attentive and I have never seen people working so hard. We now have a new favorite spot even though it's a 40 min drive. read more

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A must try! My friends and I were hoping to get in on the infamous pork bbq and roasted pork belly. Kau Kau did not disappoint! We came in just in time for the lunch special on a Monday. Not so busy, which was perf for us. We ordered the lunch special to go. The lunch special comes w bbq pork, veggies, bbq pork fried rice and your choice of entree. Our choice of entree was the roasted pork belly. This is heavy so we ordered one lunch special and split it between two people. V v filling! Must try when you're in the area :) read more

Decided to come here on a date night with high expectations as the Yelp reviews seemed quite promising and excited because some have claimed this place to have the best Chinese BBQ in Seattle. My partner and I decided to go for the Kau Kau for two meal set ($27.95) which came with wonton soup, 2 egg rolls, almond chicken, BBQ pork, sweet and sour prawn, Chinese broccoli beef chow mein, and pork fried rice. Out of all the dishes, the ones we were able to finish were the BBQ pork and fried rice. Every other dish drenched in sauce and oil, in addition to being very bland in taste. The BBQ pork had good flavor, but the meat was quite chewy and fatty. My partner didn't care for the rice, but I thought the fried rice was good as it had a smokey, nice flavor, although it did lean towards the soggier side of fried rices. The stars of the meal were actually the complimentary chili oil (great flavor and helped me get through as much as the food as I could) and hot tea. Both these items helped cut through the grease of the heavy food which I greatly appreciated. After this experience, I read through the reviews again and noticed that a majority of the individuals came here for lunch and really only have ordered the BBQ meats. My partner thought we may have had more fattier cuts of pork because we came later in the day compared to fresher cuts during peak lunch times. I would be open to coming here during lunch to try the roast pork and duck and other meats, but my recommendation is to stay away from the other dishes as I feel like this place is highly Americanized for Cantonese food. Hoping to have a better experience next time. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - BBQ Pork - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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The order process is no nonsense, you give your order at the window in the entrance and it comes out quickly. It was a hot day and I was by myself, when I was getting my take away order I asked if I could just sit in the dining area (there was only one couple in there and they were leaving). She said "No, you can't". I said politely "I just changed my mind, I can't just sit at a table". She says "No, your order is to go. My manager would not like it". She was very polite, no complaints at all about that. Not a big deal, but it was a bit odd. I ordered the bbq pork and duck for lunch. It comes with pork fried rice. The pork was awesome, it was juicy and flavorful. The duck was OK, the skin wasn't crispy and it was a bit dry. The fried rice was very good, easily the best part of the meal. The portions of the pork and duck were not big, but the portion of rice was. It all kind of ate with a similar flavor across everything. I really wish I had gotten the little tub of chili-crisp along with the meal. That would have been amazing.....next time.... The food was good, not OMG I have to go back soon good, but good. For the price, I think it was $12, it was an amazing value. read more

This restaurant was recommended by folks on the Seattle foodies fb group. Although we spent many years in nyc and sf and know good Chinese food, we hadn't been to the CID for a long time so decided to try this restaurant. However, we were very very disappointed. We ordered the bbq pork rice as a baseline. They put so much soy sauce on the rice that accompanied the bbq pork that it was way too salty to eat. The bbq pork itself was Lena but dry. The bbq pork chow fun was flat, bland and flavorless. It seems the cook literally dropped the rice noodles in the wok to heat it up with a splash of soy sauce and no other seasoning. I could have just bought rice noodles up the street, toss in 6 pieces of bbq pork and cook it at home - and it wouldn't have cost $12.99. The honey walnut shrimp was mealy, stale and overly battered. It said prawn on menu but they were shrimp. Finally it was $12.95 for the bitter melon dish and the bitter melon very crunchy, bland and not bitter at all. Overall, For the price, the portions was very small - definitely more lunch size than dinner size. and the quality of food could be vastly improved. Definitely don't recommend. read more

Soooo good and so cheap!! Best bang for your buck. The duck was roasted perfectly. The skin was nice and crunchy read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - 1/4 duck - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Wow! I really enjoyed this place. We ordered a LOT for 5 people and all left feeling satisfied. Some of the MUST orders are the Roast Pork, roast duck, and the green beans. The roast pork skin was incredibly crispy and the meat was juicy and flavorful. I think the roast crispy pork was the highlight of this place!! Some other things we ordered were the duck noodles and egg drop soup. Would love to come here again if I revisit Seattle! read more

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Love the food especially when I get a rare chance to dine in during lunch! The service is always so friendly, this place is an institution/anchor in Chinatown/International District. Remember they are closed on Tuesdays. read more

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Hands down one of the best bbq spots in the area and that's saying something, seeing as how there are quite a few bbq shops in Chinatown. The pork here is so juicy yet tender, no matter what type you order. They even offer whole pigs for a hefty price, but maybe something for a special occasion! There's nothing to comment on regarding the ambiance or service as it's straightforward, you get your meats and bring it home or find a spot to enjoy. The lack of eating in is a bummer but it's not to be expected. I appreciate that they have the option to get "less fatty" pieces for those who are considering their fat intake or watching their calories. They have a disclaimer that they will try their best to get leaner pieces but cannot guarantee no fat because the fat is pretty distributed regardless. I'd say it's pricier than some of the other bbq locations though, but you get higher quality content. Ranking the pork options taste wise: roast pork over spare ribs over bbq pork. read more

Kau Kau Barbeque - $4 Roasted Pork sampler during the Chinatown food festival. - Barbeque Near Me - Seattle, Washington