this place has been shut down by the city more than once for health code violations (rats on premises, smoking in the kitchen, garbage on the floor, employees not washing hands, raw food and cooked food on the same cutting board, etc). you'll notice the rat traps near the rock wall outside and if you come at night you can see many rats under the dumpster. add an evil boss lady bitching out her minimum-wage staff, the crowded entryway, undercooked chicken, and the pushy upsells towards alcoholic beverages and giving the place one star is not a hard decision. ps yes, the decorations are nicer than most of the surrounding restaraunts. read more

Ok tamarind tree what happen you use to be the best place to get Vietnamese food in Seattle but then all the white people started showing up prices jumped food quality lowered I'm sorry to be this way but when you do not see Vietnamese people eating and the place is full of white people you start catering to there likens and tastes sorry not a fan anymore will not be going back read more

By far the best Vietnamese restaurant. Great compromise between good food, quality, nice atmosphere and yet not as expensive as it could be considering the high standard. read more

I eat here with local friends whenever i visit Seattle. As vegans, they are big fans of the faux shrimp bowl. I love the green mango salad and the cocktails: except the raspberry mojito, which tasted sadly like cough syrup. Though i must admit i was entirely seduced by how it looked rather than thinking, before ordering, what those combinations together might produce... read more

It may still look the same but this isn't the Tamarind Tree that I used to love. I never had a problem with the wait before, but on my last visit there seemed to be some issues dealing with walk-ins and groups with reservations. We managed to get a table because the other walk-ins decided to find somewhere else to eat, but unfortunately it was one of the small, cramped tables where the potted plant is in your face for the whole meal. Service seemed a little off for the evening, but it could have just been our section. We didn't receive any tea and our Tamarind Tree rolls arrived after our entrees. The table next to us got seated without any menus and had to wait until the waitress came to take their order to get some. The chili lemongrass beef had large pieces of gristle in it and proved to be too salty for my starving boyfriend. We weren't offered any water refills and had to resort to eating the pieces of ice leftover from my iced coffee. After we gave up on our entrees the waitress appeared to ask if we were ready for our check instead of offering dessert. The coconut ice cream they serve is a favorite of mine, but I can take a hint. The bad economy has made a lot of great restaurants more affordable, so save your money and go somewhere else. read more

great food, service is ok, sometimes kind of slow

Presention alone was impressive. I went for lunch with a group from work and we all ordered something different. I got the vegetarian crepes with a healthy dose of greens: fresh basil, cilantro, green leaf lettuce. The crepe itself had shitake shrooms, sprouts, mung beans, and tofu. Very good with the dipping sauce. It was a big enough portion that I had enough leftover for 2 that same night. The decor is elegantly minimal and the service is great. I'll be back. read more

Very hard to find. Service was awful. Food was good but overpriced compared to same dishes at Gardena, CA & Westminster, CA Vietnamese restaurants. Wait 30 min to seat. Wait 25 min to order - only main dishes. Wait 25 min for 1st dish then 35 min for last dish. Embarrassing - last dish was father-in-law's. He wasn't pleased. read more

Best vegan pho in the city IMO

Excellent Vietnamese food. A little pricey but portions are good and atmosphere is nice. Duck salad is delicious!!

Excellent food and ambience. They pretty much have everything on the menu and it tastes great!

Tamarind Tree, I love you. I have nothing but praise for you, from the tastefully decorated dining room, to my favorite drink in the world (Tamarind Martini......phwwwwwwerrrr!), to some of the best food Ive ever had - you have it all. If you havent already tasted the delights of this restaurant you should definatly make a plan to go - I recommend starting with the fresh rolls (vegetarian, shrimp or chicken they are all outstanding) and perhaps the steamed baguette (slices of thick french bread topped with a giant prawn, then battered and deep fried and served with brown sauce) then moving on to one of my favorites the steamed coconut cake with shrimp and jicima. Everything is served with tastebud tickling sauces that take the flavors (already exquisite) to another level. Also, QT, one of the waiters is a delicious little bubble, when Im having a blue day I need only think of him and im instantly happy - if you have a chance to have him be a part of your dining experience LUCKY YOU! read more

This place is vastly overrated. I've eaten there many times over the years, and my opinion has not changed. I keep going back because friends just loooooove Tamarind Tree, and I think well maybe I just consistently order the wrong thing. No. It's just not that good. Yesterday's experience was my last. The server was harried, and didn't take our order for 30 min. Just a beer took another 15-20 min. to get. The dishes did not arrive together, and they were mediocre at best. One of the party had a flight to catch, and the last dish was so late, we had to have it brought to the table as take out. One of us asked specifically about mushrooms in a dish, and was told, "no, no mushrooms in that". When it finally arrived and she cut into it and saw the mushrooms, she asked the server, "Aren't these mushrooms?" "Yes" "Well I asked specifically for a dish with no mushrooms." server: "There aren't that many." That was the friend who previously just looooooved Tamarind Tree. Over it. Zero out of the six in our party will return. I could put up the the clusterfuck of a parking lot, and even less that stellar service if the food were excellent, (some of the cocktails are very good and the fresh rolls are tasty), but really, with all the great places to eat in this city, why bother with this place? read more

This is a difficult review for me to write, as I feel that I've been able to see both sides of the coin on this restaurant. I was very happy when Tamarind Tree came about, as it gave me an opportunity to get some of my friends into eating Vietnamese food--food of which was prepared well and was delicious. I especially love the tamarind tree rolls and think about them often when I am not eating there. However, as it turns out, and old friend of mine had been working there as a server for some time. Because of her, I found that the way the waitstaff was being treated was very unfair. Including, but not limited to having percentages of their tips taken away for the fact that customers would use their charge cards. These weren't small percentages either. Later on, I dined with a server who shared similar stories with me. Sure, this may sound unprofessional, but it didn't come across that way at all. If anything, it sounded like a cry for help! It's difficult for me to dine in a place where I feel that workers are being treated fairly and are being taken care of. I hope that this, and the negative feedback I've read in other reviews sends a message to the management of Tamarind Tree that things need to be changed in this regard. The food is great, but the servers and staff need to be treated fairly. read more

Fancier Vietnamese restaurant than most. Average price menu. Love their decor. Went here with a friend and girlfriend,, the food here took extremely long to come out. I had to wave down a server to see what was the hold up. I understand a restaurant can be busy at times but waiting for more than a half hour for my next course is a little excessive. Same goes for when asking for my check. Ordered soup with no bowls. How am I suppose to share with people on the table? Everyone eat out of the same big bowl that its served in? Maybe its just an off day. Nothing memorable about the food. Will have to give it another shot. read more

one of my favorite restaurants in seattle. nice atmosphere, decent service. i'd suggest papaya salad, mango salad, banh cuon thap cam (it comes with fried sweet potatoes, yum..), and buon mang vit. my only drawback is the lemongrass chicken-it's okay, not my favorite, i've had better. read more

This restaurant is pretty tricky to find...it's in the "Asian Plaza" on the corner of Jackson & 12th, towards the back of the parking lot. Thankfully we took a wrong turn and found this place! They were booked for the night but told us they could seat us on their heated deck...which ended up being way cooler than inside the restaurant! Gorgeous waterfall, squished in between other diners so we could see what everyone else was eating, and maybe a little overheated with the heat lamps...if you had told me I was in Vietnam I almost would have believed you. We started with delicious martinis and the beef roll with lop leaf. I ordered the vermicelli with pork and an eggroll and my boyfriend ordered the tamarind tree crepe. My order came out about 15-20 minutes before his did and when his did come out it wasn't what he ordered, it was the other crepe on their menu....kind of a bummer, but he still enjoyed it. They were pretty busy so we were sort of understanding about the long waits in between courses but he delay in between our two entrees was kind of awkward...and it meant I had to share! The ambiance was unexpected for a Vietnamese restaurant, to say the least. We really enjoyed our dinner here and thought it was a fun change. The food is about on par with Green Leaf...maybe just a teensy bit of a downgrade, but the ambiance and full bar easily made up for it. We will definitely be returning here! Make a reservation or come early, because when we left the line was out the door! read more

God I love this place! There were 7 of us sitting outside Sunday night and the food rocked (again)! Since I was the one responsible for ordering for the group, I'm glad Tamarind Tree made me look like a super star! read more

great atmosphere, good drinks, and I'm going back tonight

Only downside is the dodgy parking lot (don't leave any valuables visible), aside from that, this is a diamond in the rough. Really great food, wonderful ambience and excellent service, all for very reasonable if not outright low prices. read more

WARNING: We frequent this restaurant many times in the past but NO MORE. Make sure you check your credit card bills!! This restaurants adds $1 or so to the final bill. That is FRAUD. While it is not the amount that bothers me, it is their practice and ethics that does. Warning to all. read more

I had the ginger-vodak infused chicken and it was not great. The restaurant charges extra for rice, which always annoys me because I feel like I'm being nickled-and-dimed. When I asked the waiter if the spring rolls were gluten-free he looked annoyed and told me that I can order them without the crispy wonton...didn't really answer my question and it wasn't a language barrier issue. I prefer that the waiter know I cannot have gluten instead of modifying my order without explanation. read more

One of my most favorite Thai restaurants ever since it opened. My favorites are the Saigon crepe and the ribs. The crepe is perfectly crisp and just the right amount of filling. If you one who likes to chew ribs then you will be delighted with the ones at Tamarind Tree. And get the sautéed green beans and morning glory greens. Don't let the downtrodden parking lot deter you - the restaurant is lovely and you can even sit outside. read more

Love the Tamarind Tree! You must try it at least once...great food, great staff and ambience (the strip mall is grungy, but once you get inside you forget all about it). Try eating on the outside deck if its nice. I suggest the Tamarind Tree Rolls and the coconut braised pork. Dont forget to try something from the bar...the pomegranate martinis are a hit. read more

Twice given food that wasnt my order. Not even remotely close to what I asked for either! The waitress seemed confused after I told her I hadn't ordered that dish. When I got my actual order it was fine, but service could be better. read more

Atmosphere was pleasant and suprising for the location. The Spring rolls were outstanding. they had an element of crunch that I had not had in other Spring rolls, very nice. However, that is where the accolades stop. Our entrees may have been good but they tasted as though they were cooked hours before and rewarmed. we shared the Tamarind Tree Rice. All the meats were dry and luke warm. The shrimp was dry and had the consistency of playdough. The flavors seemed as though they would have been good if served fresh and at the right temp. I won't go out of my way to return here. read more

Oh no, Tamarind Tree, how disappointing! I just learned that you are supporting the effort to repeal the $15 minimum wage in Seattle! You are one of the most delicious and inexpensive places we have ever been to in the city. Your food is truly amazing. I would suggest that if you are concerned about having to pay your employees more, you raise a bit your prices (you will still be competitive because you have such a good reputation) and abandon this effort. Are you not realizing that people who earn the current minimum wage can't afford to eat out in good restaurants like yours? You are shooting yourself in the foot... read more

They changed the amount of my tip (increased it, obviously), which I discovered when I looked at my credit card! Sorry Tamarind Tree, you won't be seeing me again. That is called stealing from your customers. read more

very hip interior, and a romantic place to go. the food we ordered was delicious, but we were dining with vegetarians.

Decent, not great, not bad. Wouldn't go out of my way to come here to eat, but if you in the neighborhood it's aiiight

Fabulous hidden gem of a restaurant. Fabulous ambience and a variety of specialty cocktails. Wait wasn't terrible but could be. Large menu, many choices. Overflowing plates of fresh herbs and plenty of dipping sauces. Yummy. Service was scattered but we were forewarned and didn't mind waiting for the delicious dishes....could get the drinks there quicker. Skip the pandan ice cream - go for the coconut. They could use teapots that keep the tea warm. Try it! read more

I had heard mixed reviews about this place, so I was excited to try it out when my neighbors suggested we go there for dinner last Saturday night. We made reservations for 7 pm, and we arrived pretty much right on time. I would have NEVER known where this place was because it is literally hidden at the back of an Asian strip mall. Anyways, we had some tasty lychee martinis while we waited to be seated, but we had to wait for about 25 minutes. It seems the hostess remembered talking to us about the reservations but never actually wrote our names down?or maybe it's like the nail places that "make you an appointment" at the same time as everyone else that called ahead, but they really don't understand the concept of reservations. Either way, the night didn't start out amazingly because the people in my party were pretty hungry. When we finally got seated, our waiter was great! We ordered pork/shrimp spring rolls, lemongrass beef, coconut curry prawns, beef short ribs (OMG!!), and a mixed vermicelli bowl with a bunch of different meats. Everyone loved the spring rolls and short ribs, and everything else was definitely good but not show-stopping. The waiter knew we waited awhile to be seated and did everything he could to redeem the restaurant. He brought out the wrong dish initially but then gave us a discount on our bill for the mistake and for the wait. I gotta say I was pretty impressed with Tamarind Tree. It's a little nicer atmosphere to eat in than Pho _________(take your pick!!), and it has a lot of dishes that traditional pho/Vietnamese restaurants don't (or shouldn't!!) serve. Apparently it gets pretty darn crowded on weekend nights, so keep that in mind. I'm looking forward to going back again to try the crepes because they looked delicious! read more

I visited here with a group of friends and I have to say it exceeded my expectations. Highly recommend the Chili Beef Lemongrass and any of the Rice Paper dishes. But we also had the Pho Special and Bun w/grilled pork which was delish along with some egg rolls and another special noodle dish which I can't remember now. What makes this place a cut above the rest is that besides the tasty food (btw, a very large extensive menu) and fair prices, the place has free, if limited parking and a great ambiance. Let's face it, most of my favorite ethnic places are not the best in the decor department. (Usually the only decor is an Asian calendar from a local grocery & the Maneki Neko sitting in a corner by the cash register), but Tamarind Tree is a great place to dine with a group as they have spacious large tables, but also great for a date with the modern interior and outdoor seating perfect for summers. It was actually kind of surprising given the dingy strip mall it's located in. Can't say anything about the cocktails...but the water tasted fresh out of the tap. read more

I always wondered where this place was in the international district. Until one day, me and my friend decided to try this Chinese place out and we were looking for a spot to park. We walked around the area and I saw this place. I'm like I've heard this place before and I had a gut feeling that this place is good. I decided to ditch the Chinese place and I went in. By the way, it's at the upper part of the international district that I don't know much about. The spot is by Viet Wah on Jackson's street, take a left into the parking lot and go to the upper right corner. The place is real nice when you walked in. So nice that I thought the dishes were easily going to be around $15-20 bucks for some pho or something, but apparently I was wrong. The prices are pretty reasonable, around $7-9 bucks for some pho and I didn't really bother to look at the other dishes because I had to get some bun bo hue! I had some pretty bad experiences with bun bo hue because sometimes they're too spicy for me and I usually don't like the extra stuff they put in it, such as the pork blood and pig feet. This bun bo hue is different though, it had everything I love, all the good meat, fish ball, flavorful soup, not too spicy though, but when you killed everything till the end, you can see and taste the chilli paste that I almost choked on. The servings can be kinda small, but it filled me up when I ate and drank everything. My friend's pho was good too, I had to steal some of his soup. Their egg rolls are real crispy with some different white texture that I haven't seen, but it's good. I thought my friend could've finish the last piece of the egg roll, so the waiter came and tried to steal the plate away, but as a savage that I am, I had to stop that man and finished it off. Tamarind tree...I'm glad I've found you in my life.. you had the best bun bo hue I've ever tried in my life, the beautiful view of the waterfall and fire place and a bar for future parties and a guys night out to come. read more

Many items on the menu. Do not order their bamboo soup. Meat dishes have more flavor. Serving sizes are reasonable. Service is good. Very busy place with mediocre lighting. I wouldn't suggest it. read more

I love their fresh spring rolls and vermicelli noodles here! Their crepes, BBQ pork, kalbi is delicious here too! Service is great and love the ambiance. They take reservations too, which is a plus! read more

this place was a surprise. i wasn't sure what to expect when we pulled into the parking lot and found that the restaurant was tucked all the way in the corner. when we entered the restaurant, i was pleasantly surprised with the tasteful decor and that was a big plus for a Vietnamese restaurant. the +'s are the food, ambiance and clean bathrooms. the wait and the service were not the best but passable. i would come back and try more. read more

I've yet to be disappointed with any meals or service here. Not much I can say that 200+ reviews already haven't. But if you're into getting a little messy, the wrap your own spring rolls is fun as hell. Try it for a slightly different twist on your meal, I think it changes the mood somewhat depending on what you're going for. read more

It's not easy to find this restaurant. You need to go through a grocery/market, parking lot and row of dumpsters. When you do find it, you'll find a decent size restaurant, clean and nicely decorated. Not sure if I would recommend the outdoor seating - it has a view of the parking lot. Now let's talk about the food. We started with the Prawn Spring Rolls - salad roll with fresh herbs and rice noodles, served with peanut sauce. I highly recommend the Green Mango Salad with grilled prawns - julienned green mango, freshly pickled jicama carrot, roasted peanuts, and fresh herbs served with tamarind sauce. Both were very good. The Grilled Beef Short Ribs served with mixed herbs had great flavor and so did the Chili Chicken Lemon Leaves - stir fried with fresh lemongrass, freshly chopped chili peppers, white onion, fresh lemon leaves and green onion. Service was good - our server was very helpful with the menu and gave recommendations. Would definitely return to try more dishes on the menu. read more

I LOVE their spring rolls!! Other than that, about average Vietnamese food. They have a huge selection on the menu and generally decent service, but the food (at least the ones I've had) weren't as flavoful as some others I have had. They're priced slightly higher than most other Vietnamese places in the neighborhood. Their pork egg roll smelled & tasted weird (tart... how can an egg roll taste tart??) 4 stars for their spring rolls and variety. Probably 3 stars just for food. read more