Spice Orient

The place looks dirty, grimy and greasy but whatever cuz their chicken pho is pretty tasty and portions are BIG.

They were not skimpy on chicken pieces which I'm thankful for AND the chicken pieces were not overly dry tasting.

I'll definitely come back here for my chicken pho craving.

The only bad part is that it's located near a construction site and its right across the street from Target.

Really nice staff.

You can order your food via Yelp Eat24 website/app. $8 for my favorite chicken pho.

They recently raised their happy hour prices from $5.99 to $6.99.

Tried this place out again, pretty good and now Im a fan. Yea, the place could use a renovation but I dont mind it. Going into my lunch rotation!!!

Tried the beef chow mein/mane/main/mang.......huge portion, good amount of meat & veg and noodles were nicely wok fried and totally hit the spot!

Good portions and good prices! Definitely coming back!

Cheap eats right in the center of Seattle. My cousin was coming down with a cold and I thought a big bowl of pho would help ease her ailment during our recent vacation. A lot of the spots in the area were closed on a Sunday, so we decided on this one based on walking distance and because they were open!

It's a little hidden, but it's right across the street from Target near a lot of construction. I thought we had missed it, but the signs mostly scream happy hour prices and other specials rather than the business name.

For a Sunday night, we were the only ones in the entire restaurant. There was a flurry of activity going on in the city including a football game, so we thought it might have just been an off night. The guy at the counter greeted us and let us choose wherever we wanted to sit. We chose a table next to a window so we could people watch while we ate.

The business itself is a little run down, and you can tell it's old. There's a slight musty smell inside, sort of like an old basement. I think we noticed it more since they weren't cooking anything, but once they started firing off the food, it seemed to go away a bit.

For food we each got a bowl of pho and a beef banh mi. The bowls of soup were large for the $6.95 price tag and included a good ratio of noodles to meat. I got mine with won tons and they were pretty big and good amount of them as well. The banh mi was just okay and there wasn't a ton of beef inside. They used a larger, thicker bread that still had that nice crunch, but it wasn't anything spectacular and would probably not order it again.

Once everything was said and done, our bill was around $18. Not too shabby. We were full and the soup did the trick to relieve some of the symptoms of her sickness.

I've always skipped this and never bothered entering because I was skeptical with the Mexican exterior (colorful arched windows). Well, the other day that changed and I'm glad. They have nice service and good food. Mine was the Guang Gai(sp?). A tasty curry dish with bamboo shoots aplenty. I like how it feels just spacious enough inside and modestly decorated walls with symmetry.

It was neat when I paid up front and asked about the fortune cookies:
"Here take 2!" and the lady (wife?) dropped them in my hand.

*Typed Then Deleted*

It took me three weeks to muster up the courage to enter this place for a meal. Spice Orient is located right across the street from my bus stop so for three weeks, I stared in utter disgust and interest at the literal hole in the wall. The optics of the place are not easy on the eyes. The exterior faded green, white, and red paint comes with a thick layer of dirt, a moderate sized neon sign that reads "open" hangs crookedly in the dirty window, and the entrance is awkward. Patrons have to set foot on a single large step to get to the door and it doesn't help that its located right, smack dab in the middle of a construction site. So after seeing this for three weeks why the hell would I want to eat at a place like that? Well, I was curious to see what kind of quality of food was coming out of this place so I yelped it. I expected crap, but the bowls of pho looked decent and a particular picture of their chow mein made me wanna take a chance. Growing tired of my usual downtown spots, I decided last week that I would give them a try. I walked in to the place and it instantly smelled like a pho place, the strong sent of the spices hit my nose first. I felt less apprehensive about eating there as I saw people pouring in to collect their call in orders or have a seat. I quickly realized that this dingy place was a hidden gem and reflected the real Seattle not like the touristy spots on pike near the market. I had the wonton soup and was impressed. The broth was clean, wontons were good and it also came with egg noodles. I enjoyed it and was able to get full for cheap. As I ate, I saw other people's orders coming out and everything looked good. I made mental checkpoints of what I was going to order the next time I returned.The staff wasn't bad either. I knew that I would be back. The place is little, has a horrible paint job, and could use a deep cleaning, but don't let that deter you because the food is good and the locals know it. Despite my rave review, there are a couple of things wrong with the place to me:

1) Both tea cups on my table were really chipped. Not interested in putting my mouth on a cracked cup that harbors bacteria.
2) The music. OMG I really wish they would turn the music down, or hell, just turn it off. It's loud and annoying. I'm not a fan of dub-step, electronic music and it shouldn't sound like I'm in Vegas while eating my lunch.
3) The first time I came in was on a Monday. They did not have eggrolls that day. I love eggrolls so I was sad.
4) Because of the construction and that portion of second being shut down, its actually easier to access the place starting from Union. If coming from where Target is on 2nd, you have to walk all the way down to Union and cross the street there to get to the restaurant. You're better off making a right on Union from 3rd then making a right on 2nd.
5) Their sandwiches suck. I got one on my second visit to go. They are large but a large disappointment. The bread is very hard and when you bite into it, on the other end is shards, yes shards of bread capable of cutting you mouth the hell up. Also, they put lettuce and mushy tomato on it. I've never had a Vietnamese sandwich with those two things on it before. The pickled veggies are barely pickled but very limp with no crunch. I don't think they were fresh to be honest. And lastly, the pork is crap. It was tough and the flavor was burnt. Unless you like all that kind of stuff, just stay away from this. I took three bites, prayed I wouldn't get food poising (I'm still ok!) and tossed it.

Despite my hatred of the sandwich, do come in and give them a try. I equate this place to people: don't judge it just because of the way it looks. You could be missing out.

Really solid Pho from this place. I got chicken Pho and added a bunch of Thai chili to it, perhaps too much with 4 spoons but that supposedly a good thing right?

The pho itself was very good and it came with all the fixings including basil which was a nice fresh twist.

Overall I was very happy with the Pho and will definitely be back.

My go-to spot for pho and other everyday Vietnamese dishes during the week. Honestly, it's pretty average and the interior of the place really freaks me out because it's dark and run-down, especially in the basement area, but it does the job! Huge portions, reasonable prices, friendly albeit slow service, and a happy hour from 2-7 pm (I think) where many items on the menu are discounted. I'll take it!

The pho is nothing special but good nevertheless. Always a generous serving of piping hot broth, perfect for a dreary day in Downtown Seattle. Decent vermicelli dishes, too. Two things I didn't like here in particular were the short ribs, which were waaaayyyy too fatty, and the chicken satay, which was a bit too charred (it's happened twice). Other than that, if you're not a Vietnamese food snob, this'll do!

This place gets a 3.5 STARS

The GOOD:

Service was good, and our food came out fast! Also, the waitresses there are really nice, and I got to use my broken Vietnamese with some of them :)

Another thing is that the prices of the dishes were fairly reasonable. Less than $8 including tax for a giant ass thing of pho in downtown Seattle?! That's pretty good.

The BAD:

The quality of the food was meh. So my friend and I both got the beef noodle soup and a side of shrimp spring rolls to share. The noodles and the broth of the pho were really good---enough flavor and not that salty. Unfortunately, whenever I eat pho I always expect the extra stuff in there, such as tripe, meatballs, tendon, etc. I want all of that crap in my pho. However, Spice Orient's pho only had the round eye steak...poo. Second, the shrimp spring rolls were lacking. The shrimp spring rolls that I make at home are much better...why? Because I put more crap in it, simple as that. In addition, the dipping sauce was weird...like I couldn't really describe what was in the sauce. I just knew I didn't like it.

The UGLY:

Well, there really isn't an ugly. I wish I could bump this rating up to a 4, but I can't. The quality of the food is just that important (as it should be). But on the bright side, if you are on your lunch break around 12:30pm in downtown Seattle and you want something quick and cheap but not necessarily great, this might be the right place for you.

Side note: at first I thought this place didn't have a bottle of hoisin sauce at my table (as every Vietnamese pho place SHOULD have), it was actually inside the red bottle. Weird, right? And then there's a separate bottle for the Sriracha that has the cock sauce label on the front :) whoops!

If I could give this place zero star, I would.
Please save yourself by not eating here.
It is a filthy and unethical business.
My friend who worked for this restaurant briefly told me that the cooking process was just immoral. Raw meat, poultry, seafood is THAWED on the KITCHEN FLOOR, at room temperature which is against Food safety rule and regulation.
The owner REUSE the left over/thrown-away food (i.e. vegetable side dishes) from previous customer for the next customer. Imagine if one customer has a contagious disease, this is a set-up for successful transmission of public disease.
Not forget to mention, the owner - also the one and only cook, pick up the thrown-away food in the trash can and sink to cook for the next customer. SAVE yourself! There are ways many better, more ethical restaurants in the area.

I had Seafood Tom Yum, it turned out to be the creamy version (tom yum goong nam khon) not the clear one. I think for the most part the broth tasted good.
However I was disappointed with the seafood, both the shrimp and the mussels seemed previously frozen. I think I would have enjoyed much more if they got rid of the mussels and used fresh shrimp with head on. I also feel like the floating white mushrooms (which seemed like they were added right before the soup came out) did not fit well in the soup. String or Oyster mushrooms would have been a better choice.
Seems like pho is their specialty, I will try it next time.