Broadway Cafe

There was a time back in the 90s when I would spend my very last $ 5 on a bahn mi sammiches here. Times sure have changed, except for the part about me only having $ 5! Special place in my heart for this family run shop… I wish it would still be open!

After 18 years on Capitol Hill, Nicole Toyama, 73 years old, is shutting down her little vietnamese café, which made the best phở and vietnamese sandwiches in Seattle. Her husband passed away a few months ago and she decided it was time for retirement. My sister and I were the very last customers to visit the café before it closed. We gave her a hug, a big 100% we’ll-miss-you tip and took some photos with her to remember her by. Her lovely little shop will be missed on the Hill.

I have been there many times and have always had great food and good conversation. Nicole can cook! Love her food and service.

So the storefront needs some fixing, but the food and the owners are off the hook. What’s on the menu (phở, fried rice etc) are delicious but they’re also willing to go out of their way to make special dishes! They once made me & my bf curried crabs and gave us some beet soup that were among the best soups I’ve ever had. Go and judge for yourself! If they like you they may offer you free persimmon. :)

way awesome phở. more complex tasting broth than Than bros or cyclo. heard they boil down more bones and marrow for a more cloudy flavor. it was hard to understand the lady but i think she said that they don’t use msg in their broth either
been walking by this place for years and hadn’t tried it. glad i did. you should too, or they will probably go out of business
gonna try their chili dogs next time. so awesome they sell chili dogs

Rugged! Hair in my food, dirty silverware, and unedible food. Will not return.

If only Broadway Café made good phở, it would be bomb. I felt like I was at home eating in the kitchen and watching football. I like my dimly lit, recovered materials, organic/​local/​no slave labor involved kind of restaurant too but sometimes you just want to eat and not feel like you’re on a romantic date in western Europe.
The phở was weird and milky is the right description. Maybe it’s a variety of phở that is supposed to taste like that? Nevertheless I missed the tangy beef taste of normal phở and had to pour a ton of plum sauce to make it good. Portion size is good which is a definite plus.
On the other hand, I got a free banana! Have you ever gotten a free banana at a restaurant??? That pretty much balances the mediocre phở. I bet the other food is good though, from the looks of the reviews.
Someone who speaks Vietnamese should tell them to improve their phở and I will make this place a part of my week, every week.

Phở heaven, a little hole in the wall that saved my life one day when I was sick at work. Run by a super sweet older couple. I got my food to go. It was a huge meal that I had to split into two, and it was absolutely delicious.

Contrary to some of the other reviews here, I would not recommend this place for phở. The soup is way too bland and the meat arrives fully cooked. The meat was not thinly sliced; they were tiny chunks of beef that were a little too tender and tasted like meat loaf. Also, don’t expect variety of meat here (brisket, flank, tendons, tripe, etc.) — you’ll just get chunks of who-​knows-​what kind of beef.
Although they have big portions, the taste/​quality of phở made it very difficult for me to finish my bowl.
I came here with a Vietnamese friend, and he did not like the phở either. He ordered the lemongrass pork bun (rice noodle dish), which the cook/​server claimed to be «a very good choice», but it turned out to be mediocre and he’s had better elsewhere.
In all honesty, I would give this place one-​star for the food, but I liked the elderly cook/​server lady. She provided a warm, homey environment and I felt like I was eating a homemade meal from my grandma. The elderly man/​owner there was also very friendly and provided great service.

Did stop by to try their sandwich with beef during lunch. The meat was cooked to order freshly in wok pan with lots of other ingredients… at $ 5.50 …Worth to try it!
Still think they need a face lift badly. They will have more business if they do.

DELICiOUS. I will go a couple more times, and if they’re as good as today was (which I fully expect) I will switch the stars from 4 to 5. Great cheap eats.
Tasty fresh rolls w. a nice amount of coriander, flavorful tofu ‘teriyaki,’ vegetarian phở with lots of floating greens (bok choy?). Wow. The owner is sweet, eager to please, and has broken English that just adds to the charming experience. Exposed quirky kitchen, half a dozen little glass-​top tables, all in a tiny café. This little hole-​in-​the-​wall is a cool find.

the phở is a way too plain for me, but i could tell it’s pretty dam healthy. the soup is different, it has a more milky taste to it, perhaps they put more bones for the flavor of the soup. the beef were way too steam for me, the noodles we’re okay. sorry for my high expectations, but i’ve been treated like a king @ papaya at renton so i would give it 1 star for the phở.
2 stars for the sweet owners and i would be happy to try out their sammiches and all, but i’m tired of them not working on schedule at 11A.M. and i have class at 12P.M.

BEST PHO EVER!!!
This little hole in the wall on Broadway make the best Phở in Seattle, and it is all in the broth. The broth is rich and complex yet still easy on the palate. Speaking with the owners after finishing my bowl-​o-​phở, they told me that they use a lot more bones and bone marrow in their broth then other restaurants and I can believe it. That broth was heavenly. Everything else about the Phở was excellent including very good quality beef.
One of the great things about eating at Broadway Café (besides the amazing food) is eating and talking to the people who made your food as they tell you how they made it. Eating there, you won’t feel like you are at a restaurant, but sitting in someone’s kitchen eating their homemade food.
Ever since eating there a week ago, their Phở is all I can think about. I wake up and the first thing I think is: I want Broadway Café Phở. If you love Phở, do yourself a favor and go to Broadway Café.

This Vietnamese mom & pop shop makes a mean Tofu sandwich.

This little hole in the wall restaurant is a hidden gem for sure. The star of the show: shrimp spring rolls.
Having been born and raised in Westminster, California, home of the largest Vietnamese American population and by far the highest density of Vietnamese restaurants in the US (Little Saigon), I know a little about Vietnamese food. The spring rolls here are some of the freshest most clear cut spring rolls I’ve had in ages.
The only place that beats them is Brodard in Westminster, where the pork spring roll is the undisputed heavyweight of spring rolls.
My parents owned and ran a phở restaurant for 10 years in Westminster so I know good phở when I have it. Ballet, the restaurant down the street on Pike, has good phở. It is a no non-​sense typical phở that your mom would make… MSG and all. But Broadway café does something different — it uses no MSG and instead focuses on other aspects of making a good phở broth. In this regard, I think it was successful. The owners have made a distinct and uniquely differentiated phở broth unlike any I’ve ever had before. I enjoyed it in spite of the fact that my undying love for classic phở behoves me to get Ballet more often.
So if you want a unique Vietnamese dining experience in a mom and pop’s shop, come here, get the shrimp spring rolls and a bowl of beef phở and you will not be disappointed. If you are however, hop on a flight to Orange County, CA, contact me, and I’ll take you to some other delicious eats in Westminster that will definitely satisfy you.

This is my favorite place in Seattle hands down.
I’ve been customer for about 9 years. I go for their vegetarian entrees:
veggie noodle soup made with ginger, their salad rolls with their homemade bean sauce, and their Vietnamese sandwiches. YUM.
It’s a very simple place and the the owners are just lovely and friendly.

Went here the other day to meet a friend.
There was nobody else in the place, but the friendly owners showed no qualms that i had to wait 10 minutes for my friend before ordering. It was the end of the day, and they looked tired — it’s hot out, and business was slow right then, can’t blame them.
This must be the homiest place i’ve been for food on Capitol Hill. Hands down. I felt immediately comfortable, and the thinning paint reminds me of the Capitol Hill i experienced as a child. That’s the way i like it. The place is definitely clean.
Ordered a spicy veggie sandwich, and it was spicy and veggie just as i ordered it! This could very well be the Asian fusion version of a Torta… It even had broccoli.
Not super gourmet or anything; i didn’t expect that anyway! Why didn’t i know about this place before.

Ordered tofu teriyaki, a special on their bulletin board. Good but nothing special… Seemed like some off-​the-​shelf teriyaki sauce from the grocery store, i.e. something I could make quite easily at home. Large portion of tofu.

This place is ideal lunch spot: fast, cheap, healthy, and good — no, great.
The vietnamese pork sandwich is simply the best I’ve ever had. And not even five bucks!
The proprietors are also as nice as can be. Living close to a café like theirs makes me feel downright blessed. No kidding.
Oh, and the fresh rolls are gigantic, like huge translucent alien larvae, only, you know, way more appetizing.

Ok, get over the hole-​in-​the-​wall setting and you have some of the best Asian food in town! The food (plenty of veggie and vegan choices) is great, inexpensive, and made with love the woman who owns the café (with her husband). The owners know their customers well, remember what you liked last time and, as was in my case, will notice if you didn’t like something and offer to alter the ingredients. The nicest couple I’ve met in years.
Don’t forget to order the iced tea… amazing.