This was my first time here, and the food is amazing. It was happy hour and my wife and I tried there wings and there amazing. My wife and I was the only customers there at the time and our order was prepared really fast. The people are really cool there and it's a laid back atmosphere. I definitely want to go back and try every on there menu. Super good Hawaiian food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
EC
I’ve loved Marination since I was young. The station on Capitol Hill was just an excellent place with great staff and fresh food.This time around at Columbia City I had a mediocre experience. Kimchi Fried Rice was almost totally lacking in kimchi. The egg was very undercooked, this did not really bother me as it cooked when mixed in but others would send it back. Rice itself was also not properly prepared. Mac Salad was fine but needed a bit more OOOMF.Hesitant to recommend after this experience even though I love Marination’s flavors usually.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Andrew Morrison
Marination CC's food has been hit and miss for us but we recently gave it another try. The miso edamame was super delicious and I'd order that again any time. The kale salad is essentially a plastic box of baby leaf kale with a small container of dressing inside. I kind of thought the kale might have been shredded, or pre-dressed, or... anything? It sort of reminded me of something you'd buy when you're trapped in an airport, but to their credit the kale seemed super fresh so we just took most of it home and made it into another meal for the following day's lunch. Pork katsu sliders were pretty good though the outside of the bun was cool and kind of soggy to the touch, like it'd been microwaved and then sat out for a bit or maybe just not fully defrosted? The fried pork was tasty on its own though. The spam sliders we ordered actually showed up as spam musubi but we didn't mind the mixup and those were good. They even gave us a couple extra musubi for free to take home as it was near the end of the evening and the server mentioned they had too many on hand, which was an unexpected and very nice offer.The service is always pleasant here and the bar is a great place to sit. It's a very cool old building and they've obviously worked hard to transform it into an inviting space. I do think the restaurant is really best suited as a place to grab a drink and a small bite rather than a full meal. It always seems busy around brunch so maybe that's more of their sweet spot? Still glad to have it in the neighborhood and I'm sure I'll meet up with friends for a drink and a snack at the bar again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
David Long Jr
This was another, “let’s meet here for lunch” meeting place.And it is Awesome!It is right in the middle of the city, and offers a Great range of unique and delicious foods!And, the space and the staff are Awesome ?Parking: Columbia city is a great walk around neighborhood ??
Menu may just not be my cup of tea but wanted to try it out. Was aiming for healthy so I got the baby kale salad with added tofu.Baby kale is the only edible way to eat kale but the salad, at the very least the kale was young adult. They had spines. Kale ruins everything, tbh. Salad came in a plastic tub like I got it at the airport. Service was so friendly and fast that I feel bad for even writing this. If you like Hawaiian Fusion or kale then you'll probably love this place because they're the nicest people I interacted with all day.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
Shelly B
From the moment we walked in we could tell that they didn’t want us there. To be fair it was an hour before close on a Saturday evening but an hour is plenty of time to eat here. Our food was ok. There were vegan options for me so that was good. My husband ordered a kalua pork plate and they gave him a sandwich instead. When he told them he ordered a plate they basically said no he didn’t and refused to remake his order. So he ate his sandwich and was super disappointed about it. He’s from Hawaii and was really excited about eating here but there was ZERO aloha in this place. They proceeded to come and take things off our table while we were still eating and made it pretty clear they wanted us to leave so they could go home. Sadly we will most likely not return.Vegetarian options: There are a few vegetarian options. The tofu was pretty good.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Joe Crane
Food was delicious! Would agree with other reviewers who call this an upscale Hawaiian food truck. Alcohol beverage offerings were decent (something for just about everyone). Spam Musubi is excellent! Shredded pork could've used some sauce of some sort. Over all great! Fish and chips were yummy with the spicy tarter option.Kid-friendliness: Even with your typical kids who stick to mac n'cheese and chicken nugs....we were able to find something for our 3 small humans 12-10 years old.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Spam Musubi, Katsu, Fries
N S
Meh. This place was sadly pretty bad nothing is made fresh. The spicy pork was dry. The loco moco was really tough meat and also dry even with the gravy on top. Also, the Kalbi was dry again very little flavor.I will say the pulled pork with sauce was the only decent thing.
Delicious food. It's described as "hip Asian fusion" but it just seemed like upscale Hawaiian food truck food. I recommend getting a fried egg on top of whatever food you order.Note that while I said "upscale" I am talking about the quality. Honestly, the prices are shockingly reasonable for a place in Seattle.I had the Jalapeno fizz which is a smartly conceived year-round cocktail. The lychee margarita is also quite festive.The upstairs seating is very comfortable for small parties. Downstairs the bar area and big tables are good for large parties or solo acts.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mac Salad, Fries
Christine Noelle Tempongko
The Nutella cream malasadas were the bomb! I’ve never had malasadas before but I know I’ll be craving these now! The savory food item that I did like was pork tacos. We did gooble up the fries while waiting for the tofu tots which were okay. Sorry but the spam slider was just too salty for my taste. I’m not a fan of the kimchi rice either. It lacked a certain flavor cause I make them myself but with spam. I will try to put furikake on mine to see how that is. Again taste varies per person and that’s my opinion. They were really nice and service was amazing. The place was definitely cool and welcoming.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Marcus Chu
Price is fair for the amount, but food wasnt fantastic. Rice was a bit dry and some of the food lacked depth flavour. Great Mac salad though!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Chavi Hohm
We have been fans of marination since they were a truck on Capitol Hill. Over the years we have enjoyed this space. Some days it’s just a margarita and a fried rice. And others we are ordering catering for a birthday party. We love Marination!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spam Musubi
Andrew Z.
I've been to the Marination in downtown Seattle before, so I came to this Marination with high hopes of similarly tasty food. I was recommended the fish sando by an employee, so I ended up getting a fish sando, mac salad, and fries.The fish sandy was tasty and juicy, and the sauce pickles and slaw complimented the dish very well. I did think that the sando looked a bit underwhelming, but the flavor was good. The mac salad was a bit on the sour side for me, and the fries were good, but I wish the bigger pieces had a little more crunch.Overall, I would probably come back here again if I'm in the area
This was my first time here, and the food is amazing. It was happy hour and my wife and I tried there wings and there amazing. My wife and I was the only customers there at the time and our order was prepared really fast. The people are really cool there and it's a laid back atmosphere. I definitely want to go back and try every on there menu. Super good Hawaiian food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I’ve loved Marination since I was young. The station on Capitol Hill was just an excellent place with great staff and fresh food.This time around at Columbia City I had a mediocre experience. Kimchi Fried Rice was almost totally lacking in kimchi. The egg was very undercooked, this did not really bother me as it cooked when mixed in but others would send it back. Rice itself was also not properly prepared. Mac Salad was fine but needed a bit more OOOMF.Hesitant to recommend after this experience even though I love Marination’s flavors usually.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Marination CC's food has been hit and miss for us but we recently gave it another try. The miso edamame was super delicious and I'd order that again any time. The kale salad is essentially a plastic box of baby leaf kale with a small container of dressing inside. I kind of thought the kale might have been shredded, or pre-dressed, or... anything? It sort of reminded me of something you'd buy when you're trapped in an airport, but to their credit the kale seemed super fresh so we just took most of it home and made it into another meal for the following day's lunch. Pork katsu sliders were pretty good though the outside of the bun was cool and kind of soggy to the touch, like it'd been microwaved and then sat out for a bit or maybe just not fully defrosted? The fried pork was tasty on its own though. The spam sliders we ordered actually showed up as spam musubi but we didn't mind the mixup and those were good. They even gave us a couple extra musubi for free to take home as it was near the end of the evening and the server mentioned they had too many on hand, which was an unexpected and very nice offer.The service is always pleasant here and the bar is a great place to sit. It's a very cool old building and they've obviously worked hard to transform it into an inviting space. I do think the restaurant is really best suited as a place to grab a drink and a small bite rather than a full meal. It always seems busy around brunch so maybe that's more of their sweet spot? Still glad to have it in the neighborhood and I'm sure I'll meet up with friends for a drink and a snack at the bar again.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
This was another, “let’s meet here for lunch” meeting place.And it is Awesome!It is right in the middle of the city, and offers a Great range of unique and delicious foods!And, the space and the staff are Awesome ?Parking: Columbia city is a great walk around neighborhood ??
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spam Musubi, Hangover Fries, Fries, Lunch &
Best loco moco in the
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Menu may just not be my cup of tea but wanted to try it out. Was aiming for healthy so I got the baby kale salad with added tofu.Baby kale is the only edible way to eat kale but the salad, at the very least the kale was young adult. They had spines. Kale ruins everything, tbh. Salad came in a plastic tub like I got it at the airport. Service was so friendly and fast that I feel bad for even writing this. If you like Hawaiian Fusion or kale then you'll probably love this place because they're the nicest people I interacted with all day.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 5
From the moment we walked in we could tell that they didn’t want us there. To be fair it was an hour before close on a Saturday evening but an hour is plenty of time to eat here. Our food was ok. There were vegan options for me so that was good. My husband ordered a kalua pork plate and they gave him a sandwich instead. When he told them he ordered a plate they basically said no he didn’t and refused to remake his order. So he ate his sandwich and was super disappointed about it. He’s from Hawaii and was really excited about eating here but there was ZERO aloha in this place. They proceeded to come and take things off our table while we were still eating and made it pretty clear they wanted us to leave so they could go home. Sadly we will most likely not return.Vegetarian options: There are a few vegetarian options. The tofu was pretty good.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Food was delicious! Would agree with other reviewers who call this an upscale Hawaiian food truck. Alcohol beverage offerings were decent (something for just about everyone). Spam Musubi is excellent! Shredded pork could've used some sauce of some sort. Over all great! Fish and chips were yummy with the spicy tarter option.Kid-friendliness: Even with your typical kids who stick to mac n'cheese and chicken nugs....we were able to find something for our 3 small humans 12-10 years old.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Spam Musubi, Katsu, Fries
Meh. This place was sadly pretty bad nothing is made fresh. The spicy pork was dry. The loco moco was really tough meat and also dry even with the gravy on top. Also, the Kalbi was dry again very little flavor.I will say the pulled pork with sauce was the only decent thing.
Food: 1
Service: 5
Soo good, love the sliders.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious food. It's described as "hip Asian fusion" but it just seemed like upscale Hawaiian food truck food. I recommend getting a fried egg on top of whatever food you order.Note that while I said "upscale" I am talking about the quality. Honestly, the prices are shockingly reasonable for a place in Seattle.I had the Jalapeno fizz which is a smartly conceived year-round cocktail. The lychee margarita is also quite festive.The upstairs seating is very comfortable for small parties. Downstairs the bar area and big tables are good for large parties or solo acts.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mac Salad, Fries
The Nutella cream malasadas were the bomb! I’ve never had malasadas before but I know I’ll be craving these now! The savory food item that I did like was pork tacos. We did gooble up the fries while waiting for the tofu tots which were okay. Sorry but the spam slider was just too salty for my taste. I’m not a fan of the kimchi rice either. It lacked a certain flavor cause I make them myself but with spam. I will try to put furikake on mine to see how that is. Again taste varies per person and that’s my opinion. They were really nice and service was amazing. The place was definitely cool and welcoming.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Price is fair for the amount, but food wasnt fantastic. Rice was a bit dry and some of the food lacked depth flavour. Great Mac salad though!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
We have been fans of marination since they were a truck on Capitol Hill. Over the years we have enjoyed this space. Some days it’s just a margarita and a fried rice. And others we are ordering catering for a birthday party. We love Marination!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spam Musubi
I've been to the Marination in downtown Seattle before, so I came to this Marination with high hopes of similarly tasty food. I was recommended the fish sando by an employee, so I ended up getting a fish sando, mac salad, and fries.The fish sandy was tasty and juicy, and the sauce pickles and slaw complimented the dish very well. I did think that the sando looked a bit underwhelming, but the flavor was good. The mac salad was a bit on the sour side for me, and the fries were good, but I wish the bigger pieces had a little more crunch.Overall, I would probably come back here again if I'm in the area