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Plain Vietnamese eatery dishing up pho in a small, light-filled building shaped like a boat.
Address and Contact Information
Address: 1314 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98144
Phone: (206) 323-4387
Website: http://thephobac.com/
Menu Photos
Order and Reservations
Order: Order online
Photo Gallery
Related Web Results
The Boat Is Our Restaurant of the Year – Seattle Met
With garlic chicken rice, waffles, and cocktails in Little Saigon, Quynh and Yenvy Pham kept things simple, but created something great.
The Boat: cơm gà shop (@theboatseattle) · Seattle, WA – Instagram
chỉ có gà, không gì ngoài gà. serving việt chicken and only chicken. 11-9pm closed WEDS (T4) Siblings: @phobacseattle @pst.seattle @helloem.seattle …
Home – Phở Bắc
Pho Bac Seattle. Pho restaurant. Best phở in Seattle … Seattle, WA 98108. (206) 538-0191. Monday-Saturday 10-9pm. Closed Sundays. Order Online · The Boat: …
Reviews
James
The eating experience here is not for the faint of heart.
Initially, that may sound like hyperbole, but it starts even before you get to the restaurant. Walking along the depravity of the nearby streets incites some justified concern before you finally spot the boat-shaped place around a corner. (side note: they missed on some cool nautical theming aspects)
They serve essentially one thing, with several customizations making up the different versions of the main dish. That dish? A garlic fried half Cornish hen, which you can have with either noodles or rice. I opted for the noodles, with an extra fried egg on top. It also comes with pho broth.
The second reason this eating experience isn’t easy is how much stuff you have to manage on your plate. Fried chicken is a pretty difficult food to eat in a restaurant, but this is doubly true when it’s not broken up into pieces. The chicken here is a single large half-hen, and it leaves the separation of thigh, breast, and leg up to the consumer. If that wasn’t enough, the (too small) plate also contains your noodle dish, and a bowl of pho broth. It’s pretty challenging to manage everything while keeping it all separate (I failed at this last part).
For the most part, the food is solid
The fried chicken is pretty moist, has a ton of garlic, and occasionally crunchy bits. My issue is that it didn’t really have any batter at all – so the crispiness just comes from the skin. The skin is good, but that leaves you with a very thin layer with a very thick piece of meat underneath. This means that each bite you’re getting like 90% meat and 10% of the crispy outer side. This gets a bit old after a while. I noticed this becoming a problem especially on the breast side.
The noodles are solid. The fried egg on top of them is incredible – I’ve never seen one that crispy ever. The dish is coated with a ton of peanut sauce, and it’s got a slightly sweet taste from the pork and pineapple pate. The pho broth is also fine.
If that was it, I would’ve been pretty disappointed in this restaurant, but I actually lied earlier when I said they just serve one thing. They also serve one dessert item – a set of waffles with dip, which I ordered. And it made my experience of coming here worthwhile.
There’s no question in my mind that these are the best waffles I’ve ever had. I opted for the pandan variety, and these were so astoundingly soft and fluffy it was unreal. They look a bit like Belgian waffles, but in contrast to the thick nature of those, eaten with a fork and knife after drowning in syrup, these function completely differently. The way to eat these is tear them apart and dip them in the egg, coconut, and salted peanut dip that it comes with. The flavor is also so good – the gentle, nutty, and earthy pandan is amazing. I could eat these waffles just plain without any dip – and they’re so light as well – and somehow still have a crunch when you bite into them. It’s unreal.
The egg-white based dip mostly does its job in providing moisture, and maintaining the lightness of the overall dish. Despite the fact I was so full after the main meal, I easily finished all four of these waffle pieces because I couldn’t stop.
My meal came out to $40 including tax and tip. The amount of food you get is a ton. It’s not a very fancy place, but the chicken and noodles/rice being just $20 is a good deal, and so is the $8 for the waffles.
Overall, a decent main course with an all-time good dessert ultimately makes it a restaurant I don’t know if I would come back to, but certainly appreciated my experience. 8.5/10
… moreInitially, that may sound like hyperbole, but it starts even before you get to the restaurant. Walking along the depravity of the nearby streets incites some justified concern before you finally spot the boat-shaped place around a corner. (side note: they missed on some cool nautical theming aspects)
They serve essentially one thing, with several customizations making up the different versions of the main dish. That dish? A garlic fried half Cornish hen, which you can have with either noodles or rice. I opted for the noodles, with an extra fried egg on top. It also comes with pho broth.
The second reason this eating experience isn’t easy is how much stuff you have to manage on your plate. Fried chicken is a pretty difficult food to eat in a restaurant, but this is doubly true when it’s not broken up into pieces. The chicken here is a single large half-hen, and it leaves the separation of thigh, breast, and leg up to the consumer. If that wasn’t enough, the (too small) plate also contains your noodle dish, and a bowl of pho broth. It’s pretty challenging to manage everything while keeping it all separate (I failed at this last part).
For the most part, the food is solid
The fried chicken is pretty moist, has a ton of garlic, and occasionally crunchy bits. My issue is that it didn’t really have any batter at all – so the crispiness just comes from the skin. The skin is good, but that leaves you with a very thin layer with a very thick piece of meat underneath. This means that each bite you’re getting like 90% meat and 10% of the crispy outer side. This gets a bit old after a while. I noticed this becoming a problem especially on the breast side.
The noodles are solid. The fried egg on top of them is incredible – I’ve never seen one that crispy ever. The dish is coated with a ton of peanut sauce, and it’s got a slightly sweet taste from the pork and pineapple pate. The pho broth is also fine.
If that was it, I would’ve been pretty disappointed in this restaurant, but I actually lied earlier when I said they just serve one thing. They also serve one dessert item – a set of waffles with dip, which I ordered. And it made my experience of coming here worthwhile.
There’s no question in my mind that these are the best waffles I’ve ever had. I opted for the pandan variety, and these were so astoundingly soft and fluffy it was unreal. They look a bit like Belgian waffles, but in contrast to the thick nature of those, eaten with a fork and knife after drowning in syrup, these function completely differently. The way to eat these is tear them apart and dip them in the egg, coconut, and salted peanut dip that it comes with. The flavor is also so good – the gentle, nutty, and earthy pandan is amazing. I could eat these waffles just plain without any dip – and they’re so light as well – and somehow still have a crunch when you bite into them. It’s unreal.
The egg-white based dip mostly does its job in providing moisture, and maintaining the lightness of the overall dish. Despite the fact I was so full after the main meal, I easily finished all four of these waffle pieces because I couldn’t stop.
My meal came out to $40 including tax and tip. The amount of food you get is a ton. It’s not a very fancy place, but the chicken and noodles/rice being just $20 is a good deal, and so is the $8 for the waffles.
Overall, a decent main course with an all-time good dessert ultimately makes it a restaurant I don’t know if I would come back to, but certainly appreciated my experience. 8.5/10
James ST
If you’re craving cơm gà mắm tỏi, The Boat absolutely delivers. The chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and packed with garlicky flavor! The fragrant yellow rice paired beautifully with the chicken, and the side broth was light, savory, and very comforting.
Pro tip: don’t skip the chili sauce on the table! It takes everything to the next level.
The space is small and cozy, so expect a bit of a wait during peak hours, but it’s well worth it. Simple, focused menu done right.
I’d 100% come back and happily wait again for this plate.
… morePro tip: don’t skip the chili sauce on the table! It takes everything to the next level.
The space is small and cozy, so expect a bit of a wait during peak hours, but it’s well worth it. Simple, focused menu done right.
I’d 100% come back and happily wait again for this plate.
Jimmy Si
Went here on a cold and rainy night and it was a great choice to come and eat here. This place specializes in chicken mostly. I got the Com Ga Mam Toi – Chicken And Rice. The chicken was very tender and flavorful. The skin was caramelized and fried with garlic and sweet n tangy texture. It was excellent especially with the copious amounts of garlic cooked with it. The rice was also excellent along with the salad it came with for a refreshing crunch. The broth was also very homely and nostalgic.
The staff was super nice and attentive. There’s cocktails and alcohol served here also. The parking is a bit of a shitshow cause they share a lot with their sister restsurant and the spaces are limited and sometimes chaotic with the weird tandem parking that I don’t recommend getting into if you are in a hurry to leave just to get blocked in.
The space is nice. Casual but also neon lights and bar seating which gives it a bit of a bar vibe too.
… moreThe staff was super nice and attentive. There’s cocktails and alcohol served here also. The parking is a bit of a shitshow cause they share a lot with their sister restsurant and the spaces are limited and sometimes chaotic with the weird tandem parking that I don’t recommend getting into if you are in a hurry to leave just to get blocked in.
The space is nice. Casual but also neon lights and bar seating which gives it a bit of a bar vibe too.
Jason Lin
Garlic quail is sooo crunchy and juicy. Garlicky and covered in sticky, sweet, funky fish sauce. The smaller bones were light and crunchy and ate those up like little chips. Their chili sauce on the table is also perfect to create the perfect rice, chicken, salad, chili bite. Cash discount is no added sales tax!!! So hard to come around in Seattle. Will definitely be back to try their waffles (sat at the bar and they looked AND smelled phenomenal). Very trendy, cute diner interior with modern vietpop music to match. Highly recommend to come!
… moreVicky
The food was great!! The chicken was delicious and flavorful. We ordered the noodle soup, dry noodles and the rice. The dry noodles were the best. But the wait was a little long with just two other groups in front of us. We came on Sunday for lunch and it took more than 20 mins for the food to arrive. The parking lot was full, so we needed to pay for parking nearby.
… moreNadia S
I had been curious about The Boat for a while and finally stopped by for dinner on a Friday night. The experience was a bit mixed for me.
We ordered the Com Ga Mom Toi, which came with garlic Cornish hen, yellow rice, chrysanthemum salad, and chicken broth. The portion was generous and the presentation was nice, but the flavors didn’t really land for me. The hen was cooked well but was on the sweeter side, which just isn’t my preference. My partner liked it though, so it might come down to personal taste i guess. The chicken broth was decent, and the turmeric rice was fine as well.
We also got a side of noodles with fried egg, but the noodles were a little tough. I ended up adding some broth to soften them, which helped.
Somethings to consider from my experience – My water glass had something in it, and the server didn’t seem to notice or offer a replacement. The space is also pretty noisy with limited seating, so it’s not the most relaxing place to sit and eat.
Overall, I’d say the vibe is very casual, but the attention to detail just wasn’t quite there for me.
… moreWe ordered the Com Ga Mom Toi, which came with garlic Cornish hen, yellow rice, chrysanthemum salad, and chicken broth. The portion was generous and the presentation was nice, but the flavors didn’t really land for me. The hen was cooked well but was on the sweeter side, which just isn’t my preference. My partner liked it though, so it might come down to personal taste i guess. The chicken broth was decent, and the turmeric rice was fine as well.
We also got a side of noodles with fried egg, but the noodles were a little tough. I ended up adding some broth to soften them, which helped.
Somethings to consider from my experience – My water glass had something in it, and the server didn’t seem to notice or offer a replacement. The space is also pretty noisy with limited seating, so it’s not the most relaxing place to sit and eat.
Overall, I’d say the vibe is very casual, but the attention to detail just wasn’t quite there for me.
jamie Nguyen
Many people love eating here, so we finally went to this restaurant. If someone said it was their favorite restaurant I would go, but no one in my family would choose to go here again for themselves.
The food looks delicious, but the garlic tasted burnt on the chicken and it really needed some salt. The dessert had such potential, but the sugar tasted burnt and it was extremely salty and the pandan waffle had no flavor and tasted like burnt oil on the outside while not done in the middle. I think a different waffle maker style would help. I’ve never seen a Belgium waffle maker used for this before.
The service was friendly and I really appreciated the EXCELLENT food safety rating from King County!
… moreThe food looks delicious, but the garlic tasted burnt on the chicken and it really needed some salt. The dessert had such potential, but the sugar tasted burnt and it was extremely salty and the pandan waffle had no flavor and tasted like burnt oil on the outside while not done in the middle. I think a different waffle maker style would help. I’ve never seen a Belgium waffle maker used for this before.
The service was friendly and I really appreciated the EXCELLENT food safety rating from King County!
Jo Li
My family and I visited on a Saturday around 12:30 p.m., and we were seated right away. Within about fifteen minutes, the restaurant quickly filled up, becoming lively and loud.
Our food arrived in about 20 minutes. The portions were generous and the flavors were well-balanced. This restaurant specializes in chicken, so the menu is limited.
A sign on the door states, “No pho served here.”
… moreOur food arrived in about 20 minutes. The portions were generous and the flavors were well-balanced. This restaurant specializes in chicken, so the menu is limited.
A sign on the door states, “No pho served here.”
Trina C.
This place is a local gem. Their chicken and noodles / rice dish is one of the best foods you can eat in Seattle. Worth traveling for, or bringing out of town visitors. If you order the rice dish, get the noodles on the side. Broth, chicken, rice, noodles, all flavorful and excellent. Like, “lick the plate clean” GOOD. Service is meh but who cares when the food is the destination. Go before 8pm for the fluffy dessert waffles. Always worth it.
… moreHeather Ace
Why do you need to serve anything else when your garlic chicken is so dang good? We are over ordered and it was the best thing we ever did. We had enough food for two meals for two people. The garlic chicken and rice was fabulous but I think we like the dry noodles even better. The soup noodles had such a delicious rich broth, but I would not have put the garlic chicken in that broth less the flavor be washed off into the suit. The biggest surprise was how incredible the pond on waffles were with their coconut dipping. That was so rich. It tasted like straight up butter. Wow!!
We called in for takeout because their pick up ordering online wasn’t working. Parking was a little bit of a situation, but since The Food was ready to go, we were able to double park just long enough.
… moreWe called in for takeout because their pick up ordering online wasn’t working. Parking was a little bit of a situation, but since The Food was ready to go, we were able to double park just long enough.