Cafe Hue

As of May 2012, appears to have finally died a lingering, well-​deserved death.

Where to start with this place.
1) The reason that I am actually even taking the time to give a review on this place is the absolutely horrible experience I had — both food and staff– wise. This place is close to where I work, so I used to come in here on rainy days for a quick lunch. Came in here one day with a co-​worker and there was a hair — at least 12 inches long — in my co-​workers soup! Well, I was immediately sick and couldn’t touch my soup (broth comes from the same pan — we ordered the same thing!!) We showed the hair to the owner and said we just wanted to go — didn’t want to make a scene. Well, owner said that I had to pay for mine anyway b/​c there was no hair in my soup (I had NOT EATEN a BITE). SERIOUSLY! He argued with us until I finally just paid him and left. HORRIBLE experience.
2) I used to get take-​out from here — again b/​c it was close. The soup is bland — but I didn’t mind since it was so close. I always had to pay an extra $ 0.50 due to the new law banning styrofoam. Guess what my to-​go soup was always put in??? Yep — styrofoam. So, basically this restaurant was just taking my money and lying about it and pocketing it.
3) Soup is bland and over-​priced.
Bottom line — I’ll never be going back. Hard to go back when all I can picture is a 12 inch black hair in my soup.

The food was okay. The bahn mi sandwich was good. The ambiance was a bit negative. There were many signs around talking about no substitutions and the sandwich cost more to eat there then it would have if we had gotten it to go. Which didn’t make sense because there were only 3 people in the place during the lunch hour.
I wouldn’t go back. There are many other places to check out.

I love this place — I’m a resident of Pioneer Square and there are not many places that stay open in the evening for residents, but this is one of them. I love the atmosphere inside and every time we have gone — I have never had a bad dish (usually order the tofu phở).
Fast service, good food, and they have been there in business for something like 32 years. Love when the businesses care about the neighborhood too!

The interior decoration was nice and the food came quickly. The phở was priced at $ 8 and the noodles came out slightly soggy. I was expecting a bit more noodle and meat for the price range. The broth was slightly oily but the flavor was good. I don’t think I would order the phở at my next visit but try something else.

I came here for lunch. I was walking around, and I saw Café Hue. Might as well try it. The place was quiet, and it is nicely decorated. Contemporary easy listening/​pop hits were playing through the speakers. The owner and his family were really kind.
I ordered the Vermicelli noodles with Pork (Bún Tht Nng). The food came quickly. The noodles were a bit soggier than I am used to, but it was edible. The meal cost about $ 8, which is $ 2 more than I am used to paying for it. The sauce it came with was ok.
Prices for a similar meal would probably be cheaper in the International District, but I haven’t visited that place… yet.
Definitely was not the best Vietnamese I’ve had, but I’ve only tried one of their dishes.

Not just your typical phở place — I usually get the lemongrass chicken or other similar dish when I get here. It’s come out to me quickly, I’ve never had to wait for a table and it’s always been pretty tasty. Nothing revelatory but it’s conveniently located next to the location I seem to come back to every other time I switch jobs and it’s better than most places that don’t involve a walk to the ID (walking, why is it so hard, tell me that!?).
When it’s all rainy and what not the phở here’s not bad.

Tried this out for the first time since just moving my office to Pioneer Square — first impression: they charged me .50 cents for using my credit card and .50 cents for a plastic to-​go container, which probably cost them .5 cents. Ewww. It bumped my phở price to more than $ 8 — high end price for phở. Then the phở was meh… overcooked, tough «rare beef» and only about five pieces in my soup. Basically I paid $ 8 for mediocre broth and rice noodles. If you’re going to nickle and dime me, my trip turns into once, not over and over again — which you would have made two fold on your to-​go containers.
Additionally, my coworkers egg rolls were burnt black. We won’t be going back, which is a bummer cause our entire office goes out to lunch every day, and are extremely loyal to our favorites. Not to mention, we work at a social networking mobile company, so we’re big online networkers, sharing our reviews and favs. This place missed out.
I’m giving it two stars just because the atmosphere was cute and homey. The food should live up to the atmosphere.

Uninterested service, willfully hateful food.
I was uneasy as soon as I set foot in the door, not a soul around at 1pm on a Saturday. The two (owners?) were sitting at a table. The man acknowledged me and told me to sit anywhere. That’s about as friendly as things got. The lady continued her cell phone conversation throughout my ordering and her presumed cooking. The remaining emptiness gave me plenty of time to contemplate just what genre of music this 90’s midi music was. Polka?
Then the food. Tofu Phở, I should have guessed — is just tofu in a light (read watery) broth. Almost nil seasonings, no vegetables, overcooked noodles. There is no reason for this place to sell phở. If it’s a weekday, do yourself a favor and go up to Viet My. On weekends, Julie’s makes a much better mediocre phở. Or, just deny the phở craving and hit medi-​mix.
Oh, and the menu prices out front are not the same as what you’re charged inside. Cool.

Party of seven very much enjoyed Café Hue. We tried phở, curried chicken soup and roasted beef, pork & chicken with rice dishes.
Everything was very good. Pleasantly surprised by how good the food is. Good flavors, fresh herbs, nice portion sizes & prompt, unobtrusive service.
Not sure how the workday lunch rush is, but our weekend meal was very nice.

Reasonable vietnemese in P-​Square.
Came here for lunch. Very clean, nice looking, modern interior. I went with the the mixed beef phở which has the mystery meat-​beef ball and brisket but was disappointed that they had no tripe and no tendon. I suspect they are trying to tailor to non-​vietnemese palates. Also went with the chao gio (fried spring roll) which was okay. Prices were slightly more expensive then say places in the International District (ID) but still very reasonable. Nice and prompt service, the place was a bit empty though. I suspect the lack of customers is due to Little Saigon in the ID not too far away. Not a bad option though if you are in the Pioneer Square.

I don’t really understand where the negative reviewers are coming from. My perspective is based on working in Pioneer Square for over five years and being very familiar with the woefully limited lunch options within quick walking distance. Sure, there are probably better Vietnamese places in the ID, but that’s pretty out of my range aside from trips for bubble tea or snacks at Uwajimaya. That leaves Julie’s Garden, Phở Hoa (now renamed Bubble Tea Express or something?) and Phở Fuchsia, and Café Hue is far and away the best.
That said, Café Hue is great! I have been twice and my co-​worker and I were both very pleased. I was disappointed that they didn’t have vegetarian phở broth, but their variety of vegetarian dishes made up for it. The vermicelli with lemongrass tofu is really, really good. The portion is the perfect size: the food is light enough that you can eat the whole thing and be conscious for the rest of the afternoon at the office. Really good use of different flavors (mint! cilantro!). The egg rolls are also really interesting — they have a very starchy texture from the taro, which I have never experienced before. Overall the food is very fresh and tasty!
The main thing that sets it apart from other Pioneer Square lunch places is the décor and ambiance. It is an oasis compared to no-​nonsense joints like Dome Burger or Quizno’s. There are live plants in the windows and the lighting is very soothing. My co-​worker wanted to transplant the bathroom to her house, and that’s a huge compliment in this neighborhood! Seems very clean and the staff are great. Go give it a shot.

Food SUCKS here!!! Don’t waste your money here!!!

MMmmmmmm the food is yummy! The Thai ice tea and the Thai coffee here are special. Best of all, I just adore the blended bubble tea. Who else has it blended? I have never experienced such goodness in bubble tea.
This has to be one of the best restaurants in the International District. Service is a little short though. But prices are low, and it is a causal establishment. I suppose you get what you pay for, and at least the food and drink quality are not sacrificed– just a little wait on the service. Waitstaff and owner are very friendly and non intrustive. I look forward to my next lunch visit.

Fans of being ripped-​off should visit Café Hue.
I recently went into the attractive seeming Café Hue on the way to a Sounders match for a Vietnamese coffee, to go.
They gave me one of the standard-​size (quite small) plastic cups that places all over the I.D. use for this kind of drink. It was so brimming with ice that the owner couldn’t put a straw into the cup — which left room for perhaps 6 tablespoons of coffee.
I was charged a few cents shy of $ 5.00 for this tiny offering — which all over the I.D. goes for $ 1.50-$ 2.00 — and when I complained was simply told ‘we use good coffee, you’ll like it.’
I did NOT like paying triple for a coffee that was actually smaller, and no better, than what I’ve enjoyed for years all over the city.
You’ll never see me in Café Hue again!

I work very close by and stopped in for lunch today. I love Phở and had never tried this place. The décor is nice and modern which i enjoyed. They also had some cool plant by the door that was climbing the wall.
The portions were on the smaller size and my soup was not as warm as I would have liked. It was also much saltier than I am used to… I can feel the instant dehydration coming on. I was also very disappointed to find that my shrimp and beef noodle soup contained 2 and only 2 shrimp!
On the upside they were friendly and relatively quick.
Soup content count:
shrimp 2
dumpling 3
beef 4 thin slices
total around $ 10.00
next time I might have to venture to the ID but i did enjoy it.

Contemporary Vietnamese Cuisine? I was game for something new.
The restaurant is simple and pretty. It’s actually quite spacious as well. The service was pretty good; the owners were very polite, patient and prompt.
I ordered the Vietnamese omelet, served crêpe style. My omelet was crispy (so good!) and filled with shrimp, a couple slices of beef and bean spouts. Very delicious.
Friends ordered the chow mein dish (didn’t look that great), and soup dishes. The soup dishes looked like they were a hit, so there’s another option to consider.

Beautiful setup, lots of open space, odd location, nice afternoon meal
Service = a bit slow considering the business was slow
Ambiance = odd location but nice setup
Food = bun bo hue, one of my favorite viet dish so i have to be strict (3 star)
Price = $
Favorite = Ambiance and location
Worst = none
Final Say = good place for warm soup if your around the neighborhood. Personally I perfer ID up the street

I go to Café Hue every year in September for Kim’s birthday party.
The owners of Café Hue are perhaps the nicest people on earth. The food is really tasty.
Don’t go the Phở route, but do certainly go for the more interesting dishes on the next page of the menu.
You’ll be happy with your choices. The place is gorgeous. And it seems to avoid the annoying patrons of most of the other Pioneer Square places. I’ve never seen anyone drunk or in a fight in Café Hue.

When I take my «Milk Run» bus to work I always see Café Hue painted on the side of the building and wonder if has good food. It in an interesting spot down in Pioneer Square on Second near Main Street. And the other day when it was rainy, ha it’s been rainy a lot lately I know, I came here for an early dinner. It’s much nicer inside than the outside looks, and much cleaner than you’d expect for the area.
They have a pretty extensive menu, lots of items to choose from, if you’re going for lunch please note only certain items are available on certain days, you can’t get everything everyday which I found interesting. Though they did have a full page of vegetarian items for the vegetarians in your life.
I decided to try the Banh Xeo with shrimp and pork; I’d never had a Vietnamese crêpe before but had been wanting to try one. Now I’m sure this isn’t the best Banh Xeo out there but for my first one it was good and I ate it like a white person because well I’m white, I didn’t bother using the lettuces to eat it just my fork but I did enjoy the fresh basil, cilantro and the sweet fish sauce. I did have to throw some hot sauce on it to kick it up a bit for me but I have to do that almost everywhere I go.
I did enjoy my meal and if I’m in the area again wanting Vietnamese food in a clean environment I’d surely go back here, it’s not the cheapest but it’s probably one of the cleanest Vietnamese places around.