Blind Pig At Eastlake Teriyaki

*I am torn, the chicken was bone in, tasty, but two small portions, rice was standard, Kale was good if not a little soggy
*The place was empty, really cold and still kinda Seattle Yaki vibe but they are more gourmet yaki so not sure what to make of it
*Had the broccoli too for $ 3, all in all I feel like the food is quality and tasty but the price point isn’t what I like for what you get, thinking of going back for some different things, 3 stars which is «A-​OK»

I love kimchi. Therefore, by the transitive property of Kimchi love, I love this place. I really liked Blind Pig Bistro, so to have a cheaper option that also offers creative items with a lot of flavor is a really nice thing to have in Eastlake.
So far I’ve tried the pork belly fried rice, and fried fish sandwich. I’m not real big into ciabatta bread or bread in general (not sure what I was thinking, but I have no regrets), but the innards of the fried fish sandwich are quite nice — green apple, kimchi, fried fish, some kind of tartar sauce, and a few small strips of carrot.
Also got the charred broccoli — lots of flavor there as well. The smokiness from the grill combined with the sauce is really good.
I’m looking forward to trying some other things on the menu.
Also curious to see if they do any renovations, and if they have any plans to add beer?
Price is borderline $ — $$.

The Blind Pig Bistro next door bought this teriyaki joint formerly called «Eastlake Teriyaki», but now it gets its big brother’s top billing and gourmet flare. This place is awesome!
It’s a bit on the expensive side, but worth it for the quality, in my opinion! Their menu changes, but they always seem to have a couple of teriyaki options and a couple of either Mexican or Asian inspired sandwiches. As their name suggests, they love their pork!
Lots of pulled pork and/​or pork belly dishes are offered on the menu. I bet their chicken teriyaki with grilled kale salad is great, but get the pork belly version if you are feeling indulgent. The best things I have had here are the chicharron kimchee fried rice and the watermelon panzanella.
They used to only take cash when they first opened, but they take credits cards now, too!

What a fabulous idea! The vibe is basically «come next door to Blind Pig, plop down some cash, and get in on family/​staff meal».
Had the collard greens and the teriyaki pork belly. Greens were absolutely the best I have ever had, though the teriyaki was very salty and tasted like it was made with low-​grade shoyu. Otherwise enjoyable, though, especially with copious rice. Side salad of charred kale was quite tasty, considering I don’t normally like kale!
Zero line at all at 3pm on a weekday. Perhaps a tad pricey for the level of service, but the food nearly makes up for it.

I’ve tried Blind Pig next door for dinner, but today had the opportunity to stop in Blind Pig at Eastlake Teriyaki around 1pm today after the supposed lunch rush. Been seeing some recent write ups in local blogs, so I decided to check it out for myself.
Tight parking, but scored a spot. No frills, walk up and order. Interesting that there are no posted prices. I suppose one could ask, I only saw the cost of the soup out front. Also, they do take cards but with a surcharge if below $ 10 though.
Individual who took my order was pleasant and kindly brought my order on a tray. Saw two people working the hot line. A few tables were occupied and some orders were takeout. Music at the time would have had some metal heads rocking!
Ordered the kimchi fried rice with pork and broccoli cheese soup — altogether with tax and tip was under $ 15. The broccoli cheese soup ($ 2) hit the spot — flavorful and smooth with a swirl of olive oil on top.
The kimchi fried rice with pork was a large serving, very aromatic, garnished with sliced green onion, and served piping hot. I ate a third and boxed up the rest. Some pork pieces were a bit too charred, but some were a bit more tender. It looked more like cut up pork steak, not pork belly, with kimchi, pickled daikon (?), and diced carrots.
It was just okay and could have had other lunch options for $ 15. Their spin on the kimchi fried rice with pork didn’t meet my expectation. I was hoping for something similar like Marination (hotter and with an egg on top), an Imperial Mix Up (from former Cool Hand Luke’s, now St. Clouds in Madrona), or better yet gone to a Korean place and got bi bim bop. I plan to doctor my leftovers and ramp it up with some sriracha sauce.

So happy to see a delicious, casual, takeout friendly neighborhood joint like this on Eastlake. Got the fish sandwich with macaroni salad. DELICIOUS!
It’s not fast food prices by any means, but reasonable for the kind of sandwich you get. I’m happy to pay a little more to keep this kind of place around the hood. Perfect for when you are getting home late and don’t have time to cook, but still want something delicious without going out to a restaurant.
Great service too!

I’m torn on my feelings about this place so I decided to go with 3 stars. I stopped by here on my lunch once because I live just up the road and had previous good experiences at the actual Blind Pig.
Pros:
–Everyone was really friendly.
–Incredibly tasty food. Everything had great flavor.
Cons:
–Very small portions. The sandwich and side were small enough to need another sandwich to get full.
–The price. Especially considering that you’ll probably want more food when your done eating.
–The wait. I was the only one in there and it took 25 minutes for two sandwiches. It honestly seemed like they didn’t do any prep.
I really do want this place to do well, especially since it’s in the neighborhood and they all seem like great people. However based on what I got for what I paid, it wasn’t worth it and I won’t be back. There are other places where you’ll pay the same price, wait 10 minutes and get a giant, delicious sandwich.

The Pork Belly Cemita Blind Pig At Eastlake Teriyaki and it’s the best sandwich that I’ve had in a while. I flashed back to my travels in Central Mexico, where cemitas, sometimes called hamburguesas are pretty common and a great cheap, filling meal — especially when you’ve had a few too many cervezas! The cemita is basically a toasted sesame bun, which closely resembles a hamburger bun with a smear of mashed avocado on top and a spicy salsa roja on the bottom. The fillings can vary, but are usually a coated and fried beef or chicken cutlet called milanesa, carnitas or ham. I had one memorable cemita that had ham and egg. It was so good that I still remember it with great fondness — it was a cold night and I got it from a street vendor… Oh, never mind, I won’t bore you with that. Everything was just perfect on this one from the crispy pork belly to the spiciness of the salsa roja. I loved it! My fondness for the guys at Blind Pig is well documented in an earlier post. And the story of how they came to operate an ancillary business out of a teriyaki place is an interesting. Rush down there and get this sandwich!

I ate dinner here at 5:30 and was, mysteriously, the only customer. I had the posole special with a random side of collard greens (I grew up between Atlanta, GA, and the Texas Gulf coast — couldn’t pass up two of my favorite comfort foods at once). It was delicious. Like, highlight of my entire day delicious.
So for $ 10, I got a big-​ass bowl of rich, delicious, spicy posole (perfect for a cold fall evening) AND a side of tender, vinegar-​y, bacon-​y greens. The cook was sweet and personable, I had the whole place to myself, and we listened to Journey’s Greatest Hits while I read my book and savored my supper in peace.
I will definitely be back.

I’m so confused about my experience here that I will write about it in an attempt to understand it. The only reason I am giving it two stars instead of one is because the Blind Pig Bistro gave me the best dining experience I have ever had in Seattle, and this place — since it is part of the BPB (is it really, truly?) — has GOT to get better.
I have tried pork belly only twice: both times it was crisp, fatty and melt-​in-​my mouth good. But one bite into their pork belly cemita made me gag. The pork was thick, fatty, tough, with very little meat and completely un-​chewable — the whole piece came out of the sandwich because I couldn’t bite through it. I thought, «Oh, I must have just gotten a bad piece,» then proceeded to have the same experience with the rest.
I’m not sure who it was that asked me how my sandwich was — maybe the manager? — because I had set it aside. I was really embarrassed to tell him that it wasn’t edible because I can usually make the best of what’s before me. He said, «Oh, yeah, it is a combination of fat and pork» — as if what was on my plate was exactly what it was supposed to be. I would be impressed to see someone actually swallow the «pork» in that sandwich.
Anyway, he had the kitchen make me a pork cutlet sandwich to replace it.
I heard the cook yell, «I TOLD you so!» to the guy at the counter when they were told to make me another sandwich. Told him what? That they were serving me a terribly tough piece of fat? And that he decided to serve it to me anyway?
The cutlet, sadly, was fatty and tough as well. I cut out a few pieces, wrapped them in oaxaca cheese and grilled onions (which were good) and ate some of the sauce on part of the (not all-​the-​way toasted) bun. The cook came out to ask if it was OK (he was sweet) and — what could I say — I said, «yes.» I lied. I was embarrassed, again. It was better than the pork belly, but… um…well, you get the picture. I wrapped up 75% of it and threw away $ 7.50 worth of sandwich.
Then I stopped at Dick’s on the way home.
Dang, I was so excited about this place. Like I said, It HAS GOT to get better! I believe! Two stars represents the positive intention vibes I am sending their way…

This is the best place for a tasty lunch in Eastlake. I’d give it 5 stars if it came out a little faster. Sometimes you need to be quick and on those days I can’t go to blind pig!
I usually get the fish sandwich, or one of the lunch specials if they catch my eye. They’re always delicious and I’ve never had a bad meal here. The quinoa salads are fantastic too!

Here are the problems with Blind Pig at Eastlake Teriyaki:
1. Long wait
For a casual dining spot when it is not busy, I should not have to wait 40 minutes. Four customers, who ordered after me, got their food first.
2. Taste
I got their Pork Belly Kimchi Fried Rice and it was okay at best. It wasn’t particularly amazing nor awful. It was just fine. I would like to see more pork belly, as I got mostly kimchi and assorted veggies.
3. Prices
While everything here is under $ 10, but still more than its competitors. The Pork Belly Fried Rice is $ 9.50 (taxes are included). Teriyaki also runs at $ 9.50 (2 thigh pieces and fried rice, bowl of salad).
Overall, I strongly recommend going to Marination Station over Blind Pig at Eastlake Teriyaki — both are casual dining, but food comes out faster, food is tastier and cheaper at Marination. Plus, Marination does a kick ass Kimchi Fried Rice.

Delicious is an understatement. Mere moments ago I completely annihilated the pulled pork sandwich I ordered despite that nagging feeling that I should slow down. I’ve never been too interested in sandwiches save for a select few, but I decided to give this place a try since it’s in my neighbourhood. I walked in hoping for some of the kim chi fried rice, but I was informed that they had sold out for the night already. After careful deliberation I decided to try the pulled pork sandwich with house made slaw and roasted tomato crema. As soon as I got back into the sanctity of my apartment (where nobody would judge me for getting pork juice and slaw all over my face and hands) I pulled out the glorious sandwich, bottom bun already soaked through with delicious juice from the meat and sauce. First bite? Heaven. Halfway through the sandwich I started feeling pretty full, but couldn’t stop myself from eating it. Even as chunks of pork fell out, I held and finished up the soggy, delicious bread in one hand and the meat and slaw in the other. I was a monster. And it was worth it.
I can’t wait to go back and try the fish sandwich and pork belly kim chi fried rice! This place is dangerously close to my apartment… I’ll definitely be a regular.

It’s new, the neighborhood needs a good quick place to eat at reasonable prices but this fell short on delivery. You could not ask for nicer people behind the counter. They just don’t seem to have their act together when producing food at a quick pace.
It certainly was not inexpensive for what it is. I am not a lover of catfish so perhaps that is why it did not fly with me. I much prefer cod or halibut. The sandwich had way too much sauce on it.
I didn’t taste the pulled pork, again I am not a pulled pork fan.
They do offer specials, the only problem is that one never knows what the special is and there are only 3 or 4 items on the menu.
In conclusion, if you like catfish or pulled pork, perhaps give it a try. I would like to see them offer some additional selections to choose from. Maybe given time, they will get it right.

Hell. to. the. yes.
This spot just opened and I’ve managed to get in here 2x in the last few weeks. Not that there’s a line (though there should be!) but this new project that comes from the team behind the Blind Pig Bistro right next door, just launched a kick ass experimental, casual and fun menu of lunch items in this unassuming formerly closed teriyaki spot. You’ll miss it if you’re not paying attention!
On the first trip my boyfriend and I rolled through and were absolutely starving. Working the counter was one of the owners who very happily talked up the menu and suggested what he said were some of the best items being served that day. I landed on the pork belly cemita while my boyfriend opted for the fish and kimchee sandwich. We make a great eating team/​couple because when we eat out we always split. So without even asking we each handed over our sandwiches to swap once we were half way through. If you asked me to pick a favorite I simply couldn’t. Both were awesome!
We also tried the elotes (Mexican street corn) and gobbled it up. Another highlight was that they had one of my all time favorite drinks, Agua De Jamaica! There’s no super strong theme here but for the most part it’s a mix of some Mexican and Asian style cuisine. All casual, some focus on street foot, and things that are quick and easy.
The set up here is simply. Friendly, fast cash-​only service, seating for about 15 people, and a TV set. We sat back and watched Rick Flair kick some ass on TV. (They were playing old VHS or DVDs of WWF from the early 80s).
Oh! And yeah — tonight I came back and got fried rice with pork belly, chicken skin, and a fried egg on top. Just awesome. I have a whole new found love for Eastlake!

I don’t want to crap on this place early in its run, but I felt there were value issues with what we got. My buddy got the «teriyaki chicken» which was priced at $ 9. In Seattle, that usually means you get quite a lot of chicken over rice. Instead, this was two small drumsticks, a small bowl of rice and a (very tasty) salad. For my part, I got the pulled pork sandwich and the potato salad for a total of $ 10.50. Both tasted fine and the tangy sauce in the sandwich was good, but they were very small portions for the money.
We actually ended up going to another teriyaki place afterward and splitting a $ 7 plate of chicken over rice because we were still hungry.
I’m sure they’ll hit their stride in time, but for the money, it just wasn’t very much food.

Pulled pork sandwich is okay, not spectacular by any means. There wasn’t really a discernible sauce. The meat was flavorful but if you’ve ever had real southern bbq you might find it lacking. Would be much improved by the presence of either coleslaw or a real mop sauce. Horchata was good though.
Edit: the pork banh mi is legit

I was super excited for this fun new casual option in Eastlake to open!
Today they had 4 sandwiches: pork belly banh mi, catfish, falafel and pulled pork. They also had a lot of fresh sides that came in two sizes including: quinoa, beets, potatoes, panzanella, greens, Mexican corn and two soups (gazpacho and beef broth).
I tried the catfish sandwich and thought it was awesome! It came on a nice roll that was nice and soft. The sandwich had a generous portion of fish on it as well as some delicious mayo based spread and lettuce.
I also had the panzanella which today included delicious tomatoes, arugula, watermelon and bread.
Lastly I had their auga fresca special of the day, watermelon which I enjoyed.
My friend had the bahn mi and really liked all the fresh pickles and peppers that it had on it.
Blind Pig at Eastlake Teriyaki is CASH ONLY so be mindful of that (sounds like there is a cash machine just down. They also will only be open on weekdays.
I cant wait to go back and try more of their awesome fresh sides and what sounds like will be an ever changing assortment of sandwiches!