Chew Chews & Eatery

This is a good spot when you are indecisive on lunch. A pretty wide selection of items to choose from. If you want it fresh get here earlier, I came at 1:30 and was satisfied with the selection.
Friendly, good seating, and a little view of the port. Price is great too, less than $ 7/​lb. You can get a decent downtown lunch and drink for under $ 10.

I really like the salad bar and the variety of toppings. It’s a great alternative to Market Fresh. They have wild salmon, not farmed. I mainly go here for the salad bar and love that they have both red and green shredded cabbage. Plus, they have plain avocado slices! This is the closest salad bar to my office but it is now my first choice thanks to the wild salmon and avocado. They typically have the same items but they do have at least one different dish every day.

I’ve been working next door to Chew Chews for a couple of years, but will usually head over to Columbia Center for the Market Fresh salad bar. Well, on this day I felt like coming to the SMT. This salad bar was nice. Decent selection. I came at around 1pm and a lot of the items were running low. I’m sure at this time of day they’re not going to replenish everything, so it was understandable.
Friendly staff, pretty clean. I missed the lunch rush, so I didn’t have to wait for anything. I’d come back, but maybe earlier in the day when everything is fresh and stocked.

I, for one, love Chew Chews! The food selection is diverse (from chicken katsu to lasagna) and staff are very friendly. They close at 3, so if you tend to sneak in right before then, the food won’t be as fresh as it was during the lunch rush (I’m sure this place is busiest at that time, anyway). I’ve never spent more than $ 7 for a filling lunch — usually consisting of rice, jap chae, several slices of chicken katsu, potstickers, sushi, etc.
I know many compare this place to Market Fresh, but in my opinion, the only similarities are the salad bar concept and paying by the pound. Besides, Chew Chews is much quieter if you want to get away from the bustle of a busy workday.

I really love Chew Chew’s!!! People need to stop comparing it to Market Fresh… because it’s NOT Market Fresh. I love how it’s buffet style and they weight it by the lb, about $ 6.25/lb? I can’t remember… I just know it’s about that price range. I once spent only $ 2 on a delightful lunch.
Let’s see… their salads are fresh, very tasteful. They have several salad dressings for options as well as delicious grilled chicken breast that isn’t dry. However, their kimchi was very, OVERLY salty. I didn’t like that – their other flavor components were tasty though. Their pork katsu was okay, but very crusty and freshly made.
I like this place because you can always find a spot to sit, the food is fresh, and very clean. I love how friendly they are, and how welcoming they are. I’m not gonna complain and compare this place to another place. This place has good, cheap food. They have Asian food and American which I enjoy. Hope you do too!

This place has been around for awhile and I used to be a frequent customer before Market Fresh came along. Needing a lunch post-​gym, I stopped in at 1:30. The pickings were pretty slim: I ended up with a couple chicken wings, pile of salad, chap chae, string beans, and one potsticker, $ 6.27. Hmmmm… seems like I could have done better walking over to Columbia Center and going down to Market Fresh. The stuff here was a little tired looking and oddly set up. Only in desperation will I be back.

I was getting tired of Market Fresh since there’s no rotation whatsoever in the buffet so I noticed (from 15 floors up in a neighboring tower) the terrace-​like plaza of Municipal Tower had a few neon signs that pierced through the gray sky. I headed over to give it a try and was happy for the partial view, quietness and place to sit down that other buffets don’t have.
However, the food was sorely lacking in options and quality and is nowhere near competitor Market Fresh. The hot entrees looked sad except for the lasagna and noodles other Unilocalers mention but that I do not eat. Hot dogs and chicken wings along with what I generally put in my drinks (little cornichon pickles, olives, etc.).
If you were one of the Unilocalers that rated this above 3 stars I propose you voluntarily resign your elite status.

Tres bon buffet varie pour 5,99 dollars, vous composez votre assiette et vous la pesez à la caisse, il y a des sushis, des plats chauds, c’est tres bon et l’accueil est sympa, tres bien pour une pause repas rapide et cela change de la friture des plats americains

WTH!!! I thought I would get at least half way decent food from a place that had 3.5 stars but I guess I should have realized that since it had so few reviews that the results were off…
I went there thinking I would get a mélange of items but ended up walking away with 3 different things, only 1 of which was edible. The salad bar was standard but nothing special and the hot food area was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTING! there were only 8 different things all of which looked like it had been sitting out for too long. I ended up selecting some noodles, pot stickers, and mac and cheese (I know… wierd combo but I didn’t have much of a choice). The noodles were overcooked and way TOO peppery, the pot stickers were so crunchy that I couldn’t get my teeth through the wrapper and the mac & cheese was bland as can be.
I can’t believe how many people were waiting in line with me to get the food there. Not coming back ever… plus why would you when you could go to Market Fresh and get a better selection for the same price.
Yuck!!!

The fact that it’s ridiculously affordable and decent food at a minimum should be enough to entice you in! :P ‘Nuff said. —-OH, and it’s at the base colony of the Key Tower with cool outdoor seating which also happens to provide sweet views of downtown architecture (like the angular base structure of the tower itself). Nice lady, too.

Chew Chew’s offers a more affordable alternative to the typical salad bars that charge you and arm and a leg for a pound of mediocre food. I’m in love with their spicy noodles on the cold side of the salad bar. I also LOVE their lasagna, which is only offered on Thursdays.
They also have pretty good udon starting at $ 5. Try it!

In search of new places to eat, we stumbled upon this place. Great lay out and quiet. The salad bar was more extensive than most places downtown and at a good price. The food was «good» overall, but salty. The egg rolls were basically left over noodles from another dish, but their fried chicken and potstickers were delicious. The noodles were too salty and sweet. Ranch dressing on my salad was kind of «off».
This resembled the buffet inside Columbia tower…

I often end up eating here for lunch; I work in the Seattle Municipal Tower, and even though there are FOUR places nearby that offer chicken teriyaki, they all suck except for Chew Chews. And if you’re going to eat there, go early, before 2 pm. It’s a steam table setup and when food is gone, it’s gone; if you still want something that’s ALMOST gone, it will be there, but the sauce will be thick and maybe too sweet and the food itself has been sitting around for a while.
My friend swears by their lasagna which is only available on Thursdays. They have good breakfast selections too.
Everything is the same price per pound, hot food, salad bar, fruit salad, the whole range. That definitely makes it easier to pay quickly when there’s a long line… put your box onto the scale, pay, and that’s it. Everything is cheaper after 3 pm and you get a free soda if you eat late as well.
They don’t care what you get. I often come downstairs just to get some hot steamed rice to have with the leftovers I brought from home.
The staff is efficient and friendly in an understated way. The restaurant seems clean and the views of Elliot Bay and the Panamax cranes are great.