Anchovies and Salt - Renton (WA)

5 /5 Jaynne Olivas: We came to anchovies and salt and met up with the co-owner Calvin. The interior was created with so much thoughtful and intention to reflect each region of Vietnam. The color concept of the darker color walls, the black fixtures, and the wood really created a relaxing environment with a bold statement. The Dungeness crab bun rieu was was grounding and peaceful to eat. It included a light tomato broth with the smell of fish sauce. There were meatballs and pieces of Dungeness crab with a side of banana blossom and herbs. The seafood platter consisted of grilled oysters topped with a generous amount of green onions, raw oysters, steamed clams, grilled shrimp with mươi ot, geoduck in a delicious, warm coconut butter sauce, fried smelt, and a variety of sauces. This platter completed my seafood dreams. The bo la lot had packed meat encased in crunchy lolot leaves with a side of mam tom. The tanginess and punget shrimp flavor really rounded out each piece. We also had banh mi bo ne was delicious and had so many different components. It included a large Vietnamese baguette, sunny side up eggs, pate, tender pieces of flat iron steak, cherry tomatoes, and marrow bone with sweet bbq sauce. It was so engaging to rip the bread and make a perfect bite with each component. And lastly, we ordered the banh flan nuoc mam. The flan was smooth and soft with a hint of caramel fish sauce and a topping of coffee cream. This whole experience was delicious, brought so much peace and took me back home. I will definitely be back to try more!

5 /5 Vladimir Zhukovskiy: Had a really nice lunch here, I’m wondering what differs on the dinner menu. Soup was tasty, steak and eggs were really good, broken rice was pretty good too. Only thing I think they should automatically give you is a knife and fork for the big meat plates, it’s a bit hard to work with chopsticks. But the space itself is really nice, food and staff were pleasant, and you get a water view!

4 /5 Cindy Y: First visit to Anchovies & Salt! I saw it on IG a lot. The place is cool with it being the largest and having great traditional decoration. The owner came by to chat while we were waiting for the food and even gave us a rice bowl to go with our Humble Set. The eggplant was good and I’m familiar with the salted fish / pork dish so we liked that and the anchovies were nice as well. We ordered the Pho and Bun Bo Hue. The broths were both a bit too sweet for us. And it wasn’t served that hot. We needed the BBH soup reheated because the beef wasn’t cooking in it. It came out steaming but quickly cooled down. Maybe they could warm the stone bowls before putting everything in to keep it all hot. I also found the deeply savory umami flavor to be missing in the broths, but I’m a bit spoiled because my mom makes both at home. The pho portion was quite small. I usually order less noodles at other places but this one wasn’t filling, and definitely wouldn’t be very filling for others that eat a lot. Cool spot to visit but I hope the noodle broths would be more flavorful and served hot.

5 /5 Kayla Thao Thai: My husband and I went here for dinner last night and loved it. The restaurant is beautiful and spacious — it really reminded me of different cities in Vietnam. We ordered the family-style combo and it was perfect. It had everything we needed and honestly reminded me of home, when my mom cooks and we all sit down to eat together. Super cozy and comforting. We also met the owner Quyen — he was so friendly and warm, which made the experience even better. Highly recommend if you’re craving Vietnamese food or want to introduce Vietnamese culture to friends and family.