Make sure to call in and pre order if you want to get the fried catfish!! We were driving up from Portland to Rainer and they were able to accommodate our big group of 21 people with great service and our food came out fast too which was super impressive! We did call 3 hours ahead to let them our time of arriving and pre ordered the 2 large cat fish and paid over the phone ( it was about $400 roughly with tax for 2 Large catfish order) The food tasted amazing and received a lot of compliments from the elders in our group and that's saying a lot. Try to call them in advance because I think their hours are wrong, we thought they closed late on Saturday but it turned out they closed at 10PM! Theres a parking lot in the back which is nice. Highly recommend dining here the restaurant looks like a low key spot inside is very homey and their food is packed with flavors. I will be back!

The ambience was a little sketch. I'm not sure if there was AC in the upstairs room that we were in, so it was pretty warm. Despite this, you can get a reservation the day of and get amazing Asian food for a completely reasonable price. There's all kinds of stuff that if you are adventurous, you may not have eaten this kind of food before. I was a group of people so I tried things that I had before, and I was pleasantly surprised... Other than the pig feet. I didn't quite get that one! I would totally eat here again.

The fried catfish is good here. I recommend reserving it over the phone in advance, though be warned that it is ready upon arrival. So coming late to your reservation isn't advised. We got the 8lb split between 8 people. There's actually not as much meat on the fish as it looks. We also got the meat salad, crab asparagus soup, and another meat dish. The crab asparagus soup was sweeter than I would have liked.

I was craving traditional Vietnamese food so I decided to go to Rainier and I'm so glad I did. The dishes were all so delicious and the service was wonderful. Mimi was very attentive and provided great recommendations! Highly recommend!

**Visited 7/8/2024 We had visited Rainier Restaurant with a large group of 21 - we had called ahead and was able to reserve two large tables for dinner as well as two large fried catfish. Highly recommend calling ahead if you want a catfish! * The restaurant itself seemed a bit small, but I could be wrong as there were two different areas for dining in. Though the decor was a bit outdated, the food was pretty dang tasty. There's a private lot for parking and it's quite spacious. Our staff was seemed quite stressed with our large party, and seemed to be either upset or irritated while serving our orders (he had given an order for one table to the other table, and didn't inform us until 10 minutes later)- granted, it was a hot day and we did have a fairly large group. OKAY THE FOOD: * CALL AHEAD FOR FRIED CATFISH The food was pretty good, the catfish was perfectly cooked/ fried - it was still juicy yet had the crispiest outer layer. We had also ordered fried intestines, fried/ crispy noodle, and a salad. All of which were tasty and great portions. Their thai tea was good, though it was on the more basic and average side of the taste spectrum. Definitely give this spot a try if you're wanting a traditional family style meal with a fried fish, rice paper wraps with veggies, and different entrees.

I got the beef short ribs rice plate which was ~$18. Good Vietnamese restaurant. Short ribs were tasty and not too salty.

This is one of my go to restaurants as it is just down the hill from my house. We eat here at least once a week. They have so much variety, you can go family style with their famous Ong Choy Salad or whole fried catfish to name a few of my favorites or order a bowl of pho or any of their other noodle soups. My favorite is the bamboo noodle soup with a duck salad on the side, the dressing is so tasty, it will blow you away. We also like the pork & shrimp crepe...you get a ton of fresh veggies & herbs to wrap the crispy crepe up in. The servers are young but very friendly, they make us feel so welcome since we are regulars. The restaurant is like a hole in the wall but those are often where I find some of the best tasting food.

One of my favorite Vietnamese spots in Seattle! I love coming here for Viet dishes I can't get everywhere. I especially love the ong choy salad, crispy whole catfish (for special occasions), and deep fried quails. Tip: if you'd like a fried catfish, call ahead and let them know when your party will arrive. We called a day before and when we arrived everything was set up and the fish was still nice and hot!

My friends and I really wanted to try the fried catfish spring rolls, but when we got there we did not order it, as they only had a larger catfish meant to feed 6 people! They advised us to call ahead and reserve a smaller catfish in the future. I wish we knew! We ordered these items instead: 3A. Grilled Sweet Snails - they were overcooked and way too chewy 5a. Grilled Conch Scallion - these were a hit 8A. Coconut Milk Snails - delicious! Banh Hoi plater for 3 - I appreciated how fresh the veggies and herbs were Lemonade Plum Soda - my favorite! I enjoyed the food and I'd love to come back.