Spring Bistro-晓春舍 — Restaurant in Bothell

Happy soft opening Spring Bistro! Arrived for our reservation and were seated promptly. There is a parking garage as well as ample street parking.

Friendly service but took some time which I can understand with soft openings. At the end, they asked if we wanted anything before the kitchen closed and we asked if we could take 30 seconds. They never returned and then when another staff came, the kitchen was closed. The other poor user experience was food being served at warm temperatures, but most were still delicious. I just think all of the items would level up multiple times if served hot.

They ran out of the matcha martini so I was pretty bummed. Then the backup of the phoenix flight was also out. Luckily we were able to try the jasmine green flight! I saw it served on a nice wooden tray but we unfortunately didn’t get that aesthetic, so bear with the pictures. Would love to come back for other items.

Coldbrew Jasmine Green (from flight) - a very solid green tea. Super pure, rich, and clean. Cold brewing made it smooth, aromatic, and thus not overly strong.

Coconut Foam Jasmin (from flight) - a hit in our group, the cheese foam was rich and abundant while the tea was light. They contrasted well to bring out the flavors. This tea wasn’t as rich as the cold brew but was just as smooth.

Temptress (from flight) - the alcoholic drink in the flight! As expected, the gin was strong and thus the presence of tea was muted. Hint of citrus through the lemon juice worked with the tea to reduce the alcoholic taste, so a great way to ease in.

Crispy Popcorn Chicken 脆脆鸡米花 - solid shareable item just to snack on while waiting. Lots of peppercorns below, but the chicken wasn’t spicy. Meat was tender but could’ve been juicier. A little more doughy and fried than preferred, but overall solid.

Slow Roasted Beef Tongue 慢卤牛舌 - extremely tender beef and not too spicy (chili sauce is very mild). Instead, the savory beef with the chili sauce led to a strong yet balanced flavor. I don’t quite know what the nachos part was, as there wasn’t anything crunchy, but would recommend.

Miso Mushroom 味增觧味菇 - while the mushrooms were tasty, the scallion pancakes were a bit doughy and bland. Obviously pair the two together, but if the pancakes had more love and flavor, the dish would level up.

Braised Pork Belly with Taro 芋头扣肉 - may have been my personal favorite, but also a comfort meal to me. Gua bao is a popular Taiwanese snack (pork belly buns, but duck is lovely too). This comes with more meat and taro than buns, for example six buns with one piece of meat and taro each still left leftovers. Both the meat and taro were soft, tender, and flavorful. Great item to share too!

Waterless Braised Beef Rib 无水慢炖牛肋排 - four tender ribs where beef fell off the bones smoothly, swimming in a rich tomato broth. Comes with one bowl of rice which could use some help soaking up all the tasty broth (would recommend another bowl of rice).

Hong Shao Rou 红烧肉 - a classic, comfort meal. My friends loved this the most and it was up there for me. Fatty, tender, and rich, the pork belly was a perfect balance of sweet and savory. Comes with a bowl of fried rice but similar to the beef rib, an extra bowl wouldn’t hurt.

Beef Rib Volcano Bowl 盐葱牛条饭 - this might have been the worst entree item we snagged, but not terrible. Beef was off the bone and rougher than the entree option. With it being grilled, I can only assume it was cooked too long on top of being grilled, becoming extra chewy. Does not come with a soft boiled egg despite the menu saying so—egg was in...

This was my first time coming to Spring Bistro (Aug 2025), and let me tell you it was such a beautiful experience! One of my best friends and I met up there for the Spring Bistro special soft opening menu tasting, and were greeted by such warmth and kindness by Chelsea and her staff as soon as we stepped into the front door, which was very welcoming and the decor was very peaceful and comforting!

Let me tell you…there were so many yummy items from the menu to choose from-so exciting! Folks-this is an affordable-priced menu for quality food…sometimes in Washington things are over priced with skimpy portions but I assure you this is not the case here. We were so full we couldn’t even order the Black Sugar Rice Cake (which I’m definitely getting next time)!

Anyway, to start, we each ordered the Miso Mushroom with scallion pancake. I loved this selection from the tapas menu-the shallot/miso/wine sauce was velvety smooth and so delicious and the mushroom texture was perfect with scallion cakes made how they’re supposed to be! Not overpowering, chewy and layered, flaky, just good stuff!

My friend had the Spring Salad as her main, and liked it very much as well! Ordered the Balsamic Pork Rib entree, and it was quite flavorful and tender with a slight sweetness to it.

The rice mochi served with this stewed meat was delicious as well, topped off with perfectly toasted sesame seeds. Winery thing was beautifully presented which as a foodie, always satisfies me because we eat with our eyes first! ;)

I really, really can’t wait to go back to try other items from the menu since the Waterless Braided Beef Rib entree was so popular it had already sold out! With the way our food was prepared, I can only imagine how that beef dish will be when I go back to partake!

Chelsea, the owner, was very charming, and really helped us have a great experience. She appeared to personally check on everyone who had showed up as a guest, and to me, that is what makes a difference-you can actually see that she cares about others having a great experience!

She even took the time to explain the dishes we asked about and told us the story of their very special Honey Red tea! Ask about it-how very special because this is a legacy tea! That and their Jasmine tea had an intoxicating bouquet and flavor, and we truly enjoyed the ambience. I got the vibe that everyone there was having a wonderful time; lots of smiling and conversation, and families showing up together as well as couples and groups of people young and old. A nice spot so make time to go, for sure! Will definitely be...

I had the opportunity to attend their soft opening, where my meal was graciously comped. It was a great chance to preview what this new spot has to offer, and I’m excited to share my honest impressions.

✅ Atmosphere & parking Great vibe for date nights or groups. Chelsea was so friendly and the service was great, just small details missing such as offering napkins and dessert forks.

Plenty of free parking in the building garage, on the street, and across at the park.

🍹 Drinks The temptress cocktail was dangerously good! I loved the shiso gin with the jasmine green tea and citrus notes. We did notice an inconsistency in taste when we ordered another one.

The jasmine green tea flight was amazing! The cold brew strong and aromatic, just how I like it. The foam was less strong and leaned more like sweet foam rather than coconut but still tasty. I would come back for this flight any time 🤤

🍽️ Food highlight The beef tongue had a unique flavor with the house smoked chili sauce. One of my group’s favorite!

The braised beef ribs were great for the value ($26) and fed four people perfectly! Tender, well-seasoned meat.

The shrimp cigar was similar to a har gow (shrimp dumpling) in egg roll form, solid appetizer.

The Kung pao chicken lettuce wraps were crispy with good flavor, but a bit tricky to wrap.

The cheese waygu mapo tofu rice bowl was average, lacked standout flavor and we didn’t notice any meat.

The black sugar rice cake for dessert was freshly made (takes time) and tasted similar to a fried kinako mochi without the roasted soybean powder.

We really loved the overall concept of tapas, sharing small plates and eating together! I will definitely want to try the matcha martini, grilled squid and egg tofu next time. A wonderful addition to downtown Bothell and excited to come back for the expanded menu during their grand opening...