Moonlight Cafe is a run down looking restaurant that was once a smoky, karaoke palace with a surprising second menu that is entirely vegan. Now that the non-smoking laws are well established, I found the place to be completely tolerable inside, and was ab
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Moonlight Cafe feels right for meat-eaters and vegans alike. If you want to see evidence of gentrification in Seattle's Jackson Place neighborhood you need not go further than the Moonlight Cafe on South Jackson Street.
There was a time when many non-minorities dared not to venture in the Jackson Place neighborhood north of the Central District, west of Leschi and south of the International District. Admittedly, there was little to lure these individuals beyond the Wonder Bread bakery discount store.
The Moonlight Cafe was the game changer. The restaurant offers menus for meat-eaters and vegans alike. An omnivore, I like the pho (beef and chicken breast) and cold vermicelli noodle dish with lemon grass chicken or beef.
I've never tried the vegan menu that draws many customers including the young hipster crowd. If I'm going to eat sweet-and-sour spareribs, lobster with tomato sauce or Kung Pao chicken, I want the real deal. But the Moonlight Cafe draws repeat vegan customers happy with the mock-meat dishes.
I don't see many Vietnamese restaurants that draw a mix of customers... young and old, English and non-English speaking, minorities and caucasians, pierced and nonpierced, hipsters and squares. Sometimes when I'm at the Moonlight, I hear the lyrics of that old Friends and Lovers' song from the 1960s ("I think it's so groovy now... that people are finally getting together"). If only the rest of the world could realize the type of harmony that the Moonlight achieves.
Great for Take Out. The service is great and the food is too! Can't go wrong! The dishes can be a little sauce laden so I order light sauce but the flavors are great and the eggplant is wonderful! Very solid portions as well! Eating in is a fun experience since it's not usually packed and the staff is very attentive but my favorite is to call and order to go for a movie night! Great price!
Vegan delight. I think that what moonlight may lack in ambiance, it certainly makes up for int heir vegan meat dishes~ dee-lish! the appetizer sampler plate on the vegan menu is a dream.
Not aging so gracefully, but nice enough. The interior could stand some work, especially now that similarly-priced options like the comparatively elegant Tamarind Tree are only a stone's throw away, but this was one of the first decent Vietnamese restaurants I learned about in Seattle. I actually feel happiest with the vegetarian dishes that don't try so hard to be meatlike, but the restaurant has a number of respectable entrees.
Unfortunately, even when I'm accompanied by (non-Vietnamese) Asian friends, the wait-staff has a tendency to steer people to dishes they think Americans will like, so I tend to fare better following my own sense of balance.
Great atmosphere, good food with plenty of options to choose from. Healthy portions for each meal. Vegan menu included if you care for that kind of thing.
There's open karaoke as well, but we weren't there late enough for it. Give it a chance if you're looking for tender meat or drinks and a song!
Feasted on 7 dishes that were all delicious 😋. They were cooked perfectly with authentic flavors. Favorite dish is hands down the salt and pepper shrimp!! Must try. Fried expertly so that you can eat the shell too. We also had the vegan orange chicken and I think moonlight has one of the best vegan menus (who knew you could eat good vegan Asian food). Staff was super friendly and on top of things. This has become one of my favorite hidden gems.
They have an entire vegan menu! Like pages and pages long! Delicious. The vegan pho was great and the banh mi was everything. Finally a Thai iced tea that’s vegan!!
Holy wow what an incredible spontaneous dinner tonight! We have driven by this no frills Vietnamese cafe for many months and finally parked in the lot and ventured in for dinner. Crispy chow mein, spicy hot noodle soup, and egg rolls did not disappoint. They have an incredible vegetarian and vegan menu 😉. While they no longer do karaoke, we highly recommend Moonlight Cafe. Yum!!
Being Vietnamese, I can be pretty picky with Vietnamese foods because I'm used to my moms home cooked meals, but Moonlight really knows what they're doing with their warm, comfort dishes. They're located just a few blocks away from the temple, so we and many others visit here for their large Vegetarian menu as well. Every meal I've had so far were cooked to perfection and extremely authentic.
A few of our favorite dishes are:
Fried shrimp, claypot eggplant, garlic green beans, shaken beef...
Everything is priced well, especially for the generous portion they give. Ordering family style is the way to go to share and have a taste of everything.
Moonlight is truly a hidden gem!
Love the vegan dishes here! I tried the Canh Chua, Bun Bo Hue, and Bun Mam Chay - all are good. Will come back to try more food here 😊
5/21/2023 Came back for Mi Xao Don (not vegan) and the taste was spectacular with big portion - highly recommend this
6/23/2023 Had the Bun Rieu - tasty but not as good as other dishes
It’s awesome that they do their entire menu vegan. Love the options. It feels like they have something for various moods. It’s a nice portion and tastes good. Flavorful and just easy.
My husband after finishing a meal - “yummy dinner”.
It reminds me of comfort food but does not leave me feeling heavy and weighted.
Order from them often for delivery and have not been disappointed.
Thank you for the service to our community.
05/12/23: it was one of the best veg places in Seattle. Could not ask for a better veg menu. The staff was great and hospitable. They checked on our table several times in case we needed something else. Very professional waitresses. We tried their Canh Chua, Bun Mam, Banh Canh, and Bun Rieu (all veg options) and they were all great and delicious. We will be back to try more. Stay tuned!!!
Vegan Food could’ve been better if cutting down the amount of salt in the soups, They are a little too salty even after adding herbs, fresh bean sprouts an a few pieces of limes; I had to discard most of the broth. The vegan fish sauce for spring and egg rolls is too sweet. The amount of sugar should have been greatly decreased.
At the suggestion of one of the staff, we tried their new dish, the vegan orange shrimp and grilled pork & eggroll vermicelli. It was delicious and we highly recommend. Will definitely be back to explore other items on their menu!
Prenota un tavolo
Ordina online
Trova il miglior ristorante di Seattle
Si è verificato un errore! Riprova tra qualche minuto