The Monkey Bridge

Syrupy sweet — everything from the phở, to the beef in the banh mi, to the rice porridge, is sickeningly sweet. Not recommended.

Cool name but average food. It was a bummer they were out of rice paper so the fresh rolls were off the menu. The menu is limited and my go-​to Vietnamese meal wasn’t listed. The noodle bowl was decent when sauce was added. Service was friendly but a bit inept. Nothing real special here.

Can’t get enough. Favorite place to eat in Ballard.

I came for phở– but got the dumpling noodle soup. It is my new favorite! I even ordered one to go so I can have it for lunch tomorrow. The cabbage and bok choy were so fresh, and had the perfect consistency. The broth was amazing, and the dumplings and noodles were on point as well.
I’ll be back– and it might be a while before I have phở again.

Food is good.
Service is spotty.
Your mileage may vary.

This is my girlfriend and I’s favorite place to go for phó. They have amazing curry too. The service here is great and I have never had a bad meal in the handful of times we have visited. Will keep coming back.

Came here with my wife for date night. With a toddler having a night off is a big deal and something to look forward to. We were very dissapointed with the food and the service at Monkey Bridge.
I hate feeling like I’m being rushed through a meal by my wait staff at a restaurant. That happened to us here and it was annoying. We had taken one bite if our appetizer when our main dishes showed up. They sat while we finished our spring rolls but before I was finished with my meal the waitress was clearing my wifes plate and bringing the check. the restaurant was almost empty so it was confusing and rude.
To top it off the Bun noodle bowl was bland and got soggy within a few minutes. Not very goot at all.
Definitely better options for dinner in the Ballard area

Cute little place. Love the vibes and setting here. I haven’t tried anything but the banh mi, and it was delicious! Decent size and it comes with soup on the side which is porridge like. I recommend this place to all the banh mi lovers!

Seeing all of the reviews for The Monkey Bridge that reference them being vegan friendly was such a relief. Except when I arrived and asked which options are vegan and the server immediately pointed to the EGG noodle dish on the menu. It’s hard not to get that «uh-​oh» feeling when this happens.
After a couple minutes of going through other options, I opted for the clay pot dish, which is fried tofu in a wonderful glaze sauce, served hot in a clay pot surrounded by miniature bowls of rice, vegetables, and other goodies. This dish was wonderful.
It was SO good, I questioned if it was vegan. The next night, I brought my boyfriend raving about it, and just felt pressed to ask our new waiter if he could check on the ingredients. Fortunately, he was a young, energetic, get-​it-​right kinda guy, and he went to ask the chef. Unfortunately, the glaze sauce has a seafood oil base that’s used and pre-​mixed so you can’t ask for customizing.
Oh well… next time we’ll stick with curry dishes probably.

Tried Monkey Bridge to see if there was any good Vietnamese food in Ballard. Overall, not bad. We ordered the vermicelli noodle bowl and the pork stew. The noodle bowl was what you would expect, juicy pork, fresh veggies, and a crispy egg roll. The fish sauce wasn’t too sweet and had a good spice to it. The pork stew however left you wanting more. The «stew» part didn’t have the layers or depth of flavors you’d expect from a slow cooked stew. It was pretty much just soy sauce. Will come back next time to try the phở.

I was at Swedish Hospital, My Son and daughter in law just had a tragedy and we were there in support, At the end of an emotional day My wife and I just wanted diner to go and bring it home. When I was waiting for my take out the waiter asked me why I was so sad, I told him the circumstances. When it came time to pay he said it was on the house.
What a wonderful restaurant with community in mind.
BTW the food was fantastic I would recommend Monkey bridge to every one I know and meet.

In our first visit, I found that the phở was delicious and oh so satisfying.
My second time there, I was excited to return, knowing that the phở would hit spot. This however, was not the case.
The restaurant was mainly full, but we did not mind waiting for a table. We probably only waited about 5 minutes to be seated, and then waited another 5 minutes for our drinks. When the server returned to take our order, after another 5 minutes of waiting, she informed us they were out of the rice noodles for phở, would we be ok with egg noodles? I felt that they had plenty of time to tell us this before all the waiting around we did.
Really having a craving for phở, we decided to find another place for our bowl of comfort. (Which really wasn’t anywhere near as good, sigh)

Went here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon, and boy was it crowded. We had to wait for around 15 mins before we were seated, even though they have a reasonably big seating area. Just looking at the crowd makes you feel this place is good.
We only got the bahn mi and the fresh rolls. The bahn mi was the best I’ve had so far in Seattle, and the rolls were pretty good too. I was pleasantly surprised that they had wooden chopsticks, instead of the cheap plastic ones at most phở places. I was almost tempted to ask if I could take a pair to use at home.
The place is well decorated with the traditional vietnamese/​asian statues and paintings. I loved a chess set they had on display at the bar counter. However, the service was a bit slow, and our server was very hasty to take our orders, because of which I’m taking off a star.
The food is reasonably priced, and very delicious and flavorful. I will be back here to try the phở and the noodle & rice entrees. Will recommend this place to anyone who wants a light asian lunch.

Cool little place, great location in Ballard! Didn’t know what to expect, but was very curious about the Vietnamese Rhubarb and Beef. Service was quick and the food was absolutely delicious. If you like beef dishes, this was excellent!
Nothing bad at all to say about the place. Nice atmosphere, good service and tasty food. What else could you want?

The Monkey Bridge is my go-​to when I am in the mood for phở: particularly, on warm and rainy Seattle nights. And I can walk here from where I live. How perfect!
I always go with the large size of the beef phở (fllank). Comes with sprouts, lime, and peppers. Douse it with tons of hoisin sauce and some touches of sriracha. Even though this is a generous portion, I somehow seem to be able to eat the entire thing every single time.
This is one of the places in Seattle that I feel comfortable dining alone. They have plenty of quaint tables to sit inside where it’s nice and warm. Plus, there is a lot of street parking nearby, so it doesn’t cause me too much panic when I actually drive here.

Forgot to bring a lunch, and was having a hankering for something tasty. I was waffling between Thai and Vietnamese, but the reviews on their phở roped me into walking there for lunch.
Restaurant was 80% full when I arrived around 1:10pm as a solo diner. I was relieved that they had a table tucked away in the back corner that I could sit at, aside from the two-​top at the very front. Prices for phở here are definitely more than the other phở joints along NW Market street, but after having eaten at Monkey Bridge today, I can say that their version is well worth the extra pennies.
I selected the beef phở with meatballs and thinly sliced semi-​rare beef. The fresh side dish of bean sprouts, lime, Thai basil, and jalapeño came seconds before the piping hot bowl of phở. The aromas wafting from the medium bowl (which I couldn’t even finish) were mesmerizing. I opted to tackle the noodles first, which were flecked with scallions, white onions and cilantro. The semi rare beef was well done by the time the piping hot broth was poured and bowl brought to my table. The broth was sweet, salty, and flavorful. By the time I got through the bowl, I couldn’t finish the rest of the broth.
Service was friendly and prompt, and my water glass was always full-​ish. Never got a quality check, which I like to have at least one during a meal, so it was a little disappointing.
Will I be back? Absolutely. It was phở-​nomenal!

Monkey Bridge is good!
Prices seem okay but not cheap for Vietnamese food. The quality is good. We got the beef phở and lemongrass chicken. $ 21 total.
The chicken tasted fresh and light, not too heavy. The veggies were cooked nicely. The phở was rich and flavorful.
Nice staff. One improvement is I think it would be nice if they offered you water or tea while you’re waiting for your take out order. I really like when places do this and many Asian restaurants do offer this hospitable extra. Just an idea if any employee or owner reads this review!

Very nice. A short phrase to describe the many high points of this restaurant, which would include top service from Tony, the décor and clean presentation of the food, and the vibrant flavors in them. Not only was Tony very helpful in menu selection, he gladly obliged my request for a side baguette to the Hue City noodles I ordered because the soup was so good I could not waste one drop. Also aside, I thought that I had forgotten my wallet at home and explained my difficult situation and although I found it as soon as I stepped out the door– they were willing to trust me in good faith that I would return to pay without giving me a hard time. The fun k-​pop and j-​pop music they played at lunch added some nostalgia and cheer to my lunch hour as well! Free parking– 4 spots– are around the back of the building. I will return!

This was my first time eating here. I was meeting some friends for lunch and they chose this place. Two of us had the Pork Ban Mi sandwich. Someone else in our party had the Monkey Bridge Noodle. I asked the waiter if he would recommend the pork or tofu Ban Mi sandwich and he said that he preferred the pork, so I went with his recommendation.
I like that they not only serve you a sandwich but they give you a small bowl of a type of chicken and rice congee with it as well. It had a great taste and I thought it was very filling, so much so that I was only able to eat half of my Ban Mi sandwich and brought the other half home.
The wait staff was a young man who was very professional and came back a few times to check on us.
I think it’s a nice place with good food and excellent service. I will be back to try other items from the menu.

I’m a big fan of this spot in Ballard. I think they have great food. I enjoy the atmosphere, very cute looking restaurant. The food is great from what I remember. Very good Vietnamese food :)
My Personal Restaurant Rating Key
One star: the food was bad and I had a negative experience.
Two star: I had a more negative experience and would not come here again but the food was good so I may.
Three store: Everything is good except one thing. Example-​the food is good, the price is more reasonable but the atmosphere is lacking class. Or the food is good, the atmosphere is good, but they over charged us. These three stars are actually my favorite types of restaurants to go eat at if the reason is due to the atmosphere because they are usually delicious and reasonably priced.
Four stars: Everything is great, food and experience. However the price is definitely on the upper end. I would not recommend this first to Obama unless he didn’t like my five stars. These are restaurants you can take your boss or your mother-​in-​laws to impress them, however they still don’t fit into the five star category. A bit fancier than my three stars, hence I don’t often eat here unless there is an occasion for it or there is a groupon that gives me a bit of a discount!
Five stars: I would recommend this to Obama. The price may be on the upper end but the experience and the taste is so exquisite, it is actually worth every nickel and dime.

Bahn mi tofu baguette — really good.