The Tamarind Tree is - by far - my favorite restaurant in Seattle. The food and drinks are exquisite, and the atmosphere inside is peaceful and intimate, even though it's a pretty large space. I especially recommend the Hến Xúc bánh đa ~ Baby clams rice cracker....WOW!!!!! The area surrounding Tamarind Tree continues to get more rundown, closed shops, etc....yet this place is a GEM.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Parnisia The Recess Guide
A Somatic Portal Disguised as a Restaurant — With One Human Flaw
Review by a nervous system architect, spiritual strategist, and founder of Brain and Body Recess™
There are restaurants—and then there are sensory sanctuaries that recalibrate your entire frequency. Tamarind Tree belongs to the latter. But not for the reasons you might think.
Tucked behind buildings that look like forgotten dreams on Jackson Street, the exterior says nothing. And yet, that’s where the metaphor begins. Healing rarely announces itself with flash. Real nourishment, like real transformation, arrives softly… and asks if your body is ready to receive.
From the moment I entered, I felt the shift:
Not in the menu. In the field.
The lighting, the layout, the sacred pacing of time—this wasn’t dining. This was digestive ceremony. My nervous system took its first exhale of the day.
We were beyond hungry. Spiritually depleted. But the turmeric rice cakes? Resurrected us. The tofu rolls held a kind of ancestral memory. The fish sauce whispered intention. My cognac sparkler? Liquid elegance. I’ve trained with top chefs, therapists, and somatic researchers—this place understands the alchemy of taste.
And yet… the human flaw.
Our waitress.
She vanished when presence was needed most. Ignored eye contact. Dodged subtle cues. We flagged her down three times—for basic things. The food may have fed our soul, but the service broke the spell. And that matters.
Because in both restaurants and life, it’s not just the dish. It’s the energetic handoff. The unseen layer of care. I left full, but unfinished.
Which is exactly why I created Brain and Body Recess™—to bring completion to the healing experience. Not just taste—but touch, tempo, tone. We don’t just feed the body. We hold the human.
So yes, visit Tamarind Tree. Let your senses remember something sacred.
But if you’re still hungry afterward—for consistency, reverence, or regulated presence—
They are always right about their food. They never disappoint us with their food. If you don't know where to eat, try this one.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Diem-Trang Pham
The food was salty to me. Outside of the restaurant wad scary.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Chaffee Cline
One of favorite restaurants in Seattle, have been here many times AAA+++
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
KUN HU
Nice deco, Great service and good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Sophie N
We ordered the 7 courses of beef and that was quite an experience! Everything was very good, special mention for the grilled beef with pork belly and the congee that were my favorites. The big meatball didn't taste fresh though and I couldn't eat it. The atmosphere is very nice and the staff as well!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
dave watson
It was to go and I had a Burma chili bowl with grilled pork.
Food: 5
Thanh-Tung Ho
My family’s favorite spot for over 15 years! We even ordered food for our wedding reception. Best Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tommy Hurst
Beautiful ambiance with authentic and tasty food. We tried the spring rolls, pho, and bun bo hue!
Top-notch! The drinks were perfectly crafted, the food was even more impressive, ad the staff couldn’t have been friendlier.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Leialoha Roberson
Food was really good, portions are huge and service was exceptional! Starts off with complimentary tea and cocktails were made to perfection. Highly recommend the lychee martini, short ribs, fried pork chop, grilled beef vermicelli bowl, spicy pho and the guava or pineapple juice. We will definitely be back! Our server Lee was great and made the experience even better!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jack Miller
It was packed only a few empty tables. The wait staff is always super nice, very accommodating and professional. I love the lemongrass pepper chicken. The portions are large and just the right amount of spice — I’m sure you can ask for hotter, but I’m on the mild side of the spice island.
The other day I reached one of those milestones in life. To celebrate, B took me out to dinner. We found one of those lists - 10 best Asian restaurants in Seattle. Readers of my reviews will know that I am always on the lookout for a good Chinese place, but for the celebration, Tamarind Tree popped out of the list as a place to try. We made reservations on their website the day before. Google maps told us when to leave the house and took us straight to their parking lot. Having parking downtown is a great feature. There is a bunch of construction going on near the restaurant. In fact, the building that includes Tamarind Tree looks like it is being rebuilt. We didn't have any trouble figuring out how to get to the place through the temporary fences, though and found an easy parking space. Once inside, the disruption of the outside world goes away. The dining room is clean and nicely decorated. We waited a moment for someone to notice us and lead us to our table. There were plenty of empty tables, but the place filled up while we were there. You can decide if you're the type who likes the certainty of reservations or likes to take a chance. The menu is huge. There are drinks (I ordered a Dead Rabbit just for the name), appetizers, soups, vegetarian dishes, seafood, noodles… I was impressed when our waitress came over at how well she knew all the items we asked about on the long list. We each had special requirements on the dishes we ordered and she assured us that it was no problem. We toasted my milestone and enjoyed our cocktails for a few minutes until the food came. B had a beef soup that featured a broth that was rich and delicious. I had a rice noodle bowl with all sorts of tasty things on skewers. The portions were enormous, so we skipped dessert. The bill was around $85 - normal for a restaurant of this quality. We lingered at the table for a bit until it was time to head home. We were happy and full.
The Tamarind Tree is - by far - my favorite restaurant in Seattle. The food and drinks are exquisite, and the atmosphere inside is peaceful and intimate, even though it's a pretty large space. I especially recommend the Hến Xúc bánh đa ~ Baby clams rice cracker....WOW!!!!! The area surrounding Tamarind Tree continues to get more rundown, closed shops, etc....yet this place is a GEM.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A Somatic Portal Disguised as a Restaurant — With One Human Flaw
Review by a nervous system architect, spiritual strategist, and founder of Brain and Body Recess™
There are restaurants—and then there are sensory sanctuaries that recalibrate your entire frequency. Tamarind Tree belongs to the latter. But not for the reasons you might think.
Tucked behind buildings that look like forgotten dreams on Jackson Street, the exterior says nothing. And yet, that’s where the metaphor begins. Healing rarely announces itself with flash. Real nourishment, like real transformation, arrives softly… and asks if your body is ready to receive.
From the moment I entered, I felt the shift:
Not in the menu. In the field.
The lighting, the layout, the sacred pacing of time—this wasn’t dining. This was digestive ceremony. My nervous system took its first exhale of the day.
We were beyond hungry. Spiritually depleted. But the turmeric rice cakes? Resurrected us. The tofu rolls held a kind of ancestral memory. The fish sauce whispered intention. My cognac sparkler? Liquid elegance. I’ve trained with top chefs, therapists, and somatic researchers—this place understands the alchemy of taste.
And yet… the human flaw.
Our waitress.
She vanished when presence was needed most. Ignored eye contact. Dodged subtle cues. We flagged her down three times—for basic things. The food may have fed our soul, but the service broke the spell. And that matters.
Because in both restaurants and life, it’s not just the dish. It’s the energetic handoff. The unseen layer of care. I left full, but unfinished.
Which is exactly why I created Brain and Body Recess™—to bring completion to the healing experience. Not just taste—but touch, tempo, tone. We don’t just feed the body. We hold the human.
So yes, visit Tamarind Tree. Let your senses remember something sacred.
But if you’re still hungry afterward—for consistency, reverence, or regulated presence—
you’ll find me nearby.
We turn nourishment into leadership.
One nervous system at a time.
#BrainAndBodyRecess #HealingIsRevolutionary #RecessRequired
#SomaticLuxury #EatFeelLead #ServiceIsSacred
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 2
They are always right about their food. They never disappoint us with their food. If you don't know where to eat, try this one.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was salty to me. Outside of the restaurant wad scary.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
One of favorite restaurants in Seattle, have been here many times AAA+++
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice deco, Great service and good food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
We ordered the 7 courses of beef and that was quite an experience! Everything was very good, special mention for the grilled beef with pork belly and the congee that were my favorites. The big meatball didn't taste fresh though and I couldn't eat it. The atmosphere is very nice and the staff as well!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It was to go and I had a Burma chili bowl with grilled pork.
Food: 5
My family’s favorite spot for over 15 years! We even ordered food for our wedding reception. Best Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Beautiful ambiance with authentic and tasty food. We tried the spring rolls, pho, and bun bo hue!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Top-notch! The drinks were perfectly crafted, the food was even more impressive, ad the staff couldn’t have been friendlier.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was really good, portions are huge and service was exceptional! Starts off with complimentary tea and cocktails were made to perfection. Highly recommend the lychee martini, short ribs, fried pork chop, grilled beef vermicelli bowl, spicy pho and the guava or pineapple juice. We will definitely be back! Our server Lee was great and made the experience even better!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It was packed only a few empty tables. The wait staff is always super nice, very accommodating and professional. I love the lemongrass pepper chicken. The portions are large and just the right amount of spice — I’m sure you can ask for hotter, but I’m on the mild side of the spice island.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Satay, Tumeric Coconut Rice Cake, Tamarind Tree Rolls
The other day I reached one of those milestones in life. To celebrate, B took me out to dinner. We found one of those lists - 10 best Asian restaurants in Seattle. Readers of my reviews will know that I am always on the lookout for a good Chinese place, but for the celebration, Tamarind Tree popped out of the list as a place to try. We made reservations on their website the day before. Google maps told us when to leave the house and took us straight to their parking lot. Having parking downtown is a great feature.
There is a bunch of construction going on near the restaurant. In fact, the building that includes Tamarind Tree looks like it is being rebuilt. We didn't have any trouble figuring out how to get to the place through the temporary fences, though and found an easy parking space.
Once inside, the disruption of the outside world goes away. The dining room is clean and nicely decorated. We waited a moment for someone to notice us and lead us to our table. There were plenty of empty tables, but the place filled up while we were there. You can decide if you're the type who likes the certainty of reservations or likes to take a chance.
The menu is huge. There are drinks (I ordered a Dead Rabbit just for the name), appetizers, soups, vegetarian dishes, seafood, noodles… I was impressed when our waitress came over at how well she knew all the items we asked about on the long list. We each had special requirements on the dishes we ordered and she assured us that it was no problem.
We toasted my milestone and enjoyed our cocktails for a few minutes until the food came. B had a beef soup that featured a broth that was rich and delicious. I had a rice noodle bowl with all sorts of tasty things on skewers.
The portions were enormous, so we skipped dessert. The bill was around $85 - normal for a restaurant of this quality. We lingered at the table for a bit until it was time to head home. We were happy and full.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
2025/03/01:
Great!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
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