Bangrak Market — Restaurant in Seattle

TLDR: I tried this place last night with my partner and, despite the mostly excellent service, have to say that it was mediocre at best. 2/5.

Environment/Experience Overall: The environment is reminiscent of a night market in Asia with a bustling atmosphere, decor, and loud music to match -- all of which we absolutely loved. The drinks and food came super fast after ordering, so big kudos there, as well. Our server was very nice and adequately attentive. We were seated at a bar top right on the street, which we normally don't mind, but this area was so close to the sidewalk that vape and cigarette smoke from people waiting or walking by kept blowing in our faces while we ate, which wasn't ideal. The restaurant also plays a super annoying birthday song over the entire sound system anytime anyone orders a drink or dessert for their birthday; we were there for two hours and heard it at least 5-6 times in that span. It's cute the first and second time, but after the third, it gets old really quick.

Food: We started our meal by ordering two cocktails -- One Night in Bangkok and the Ginger Lychee French 75. They both tasted nearly identical and neither was incredible. The flavors in both were flat and just tasted like lemonade and liquor. Additionally, the lemon flavor in both tasted like Countrytime Lemonade or some other lemon-flavored powder rather than fresh citrus. For the price, I would've expected actual fruit juice (or something that tastes more like it). I also found there to be a weird aftertaste after both. 2/5.

We then ordered the "salty" papaya salad with rock crab. I was trying to be a bit adventurous on this one and that might've been my fatal flaw. I assumed that this would be regular papaya salad with a bit more fish sauce and crab meat mixed in. Wrong. It was papaya salad basically steeped in fish sauce and one rock crab (shell on) cut into a few pieces. It did not come with utensils to open the crab and the taste of the salad overall is definitely an acquired one. I do not recommend this unless you have spent significant time living in Southeast Asia and know what to expect. 1/5.

Thankfully, our amazing server was willing to swap it out for regular papaya salad. That was really yummy and refreshing, although the green beans in particular tasted a bit funky. 4/5.

We then ordered the Moo Ping (skewers of grilled pork) and the Crying Tiger, based on other reviews. The sauces that came with both, though written on the menu differently, were identical. The pork was grilled nicely and had good taste, but didn't taste like anything I couldn't just make myself at home. 3/5. The Crying Tiger was cooked well and had really good flavor, although the cut was a bit tough in places. 4/5. The pieces of meat on both were also decently large and the dishes weren't served with steak knives. When we asked for a knife, we were provided with one butter knife. So I guess be specific with your cutlery requests.

Lastly, we ordered the Pad Kee Mao (aka Drunken Noodle) with chicken. We got this at spice level 1/5 (I've learned my lesson too many times at Thai restaurants). My assumption is that they must normally use the spice to cover up the fact that the dish has next to no flavor on its own. It was wholly unremarkable and was surprisingly sparse on the actual noodles themselves. Not impressed. 2/5.

When we initially sat down at the beginning of our meal, I'd expressed my excitement about ordering mango sticky rice for dessert. After all of the mostly-disappointing plates we'd already tried and knowing we'd already cracked $100 on a wholly sub-par meal (about $140 including tax and tip), I'd lost all of that excitement and did not end up ordering it.

Despite wanting to love Bangrak, it fell far short of expectations and we will not be going back.

For those who are interested, there is a restaurant in Fremont with a similar vibe and similar prices that knocks their food and bev out of the park. I don't want to be an asshole so I won't name it here, but just google and...

Want to be transported to the night markets of Thailand? You may not have to fly as far as you think because Bangrak Market delivers an extraordinary experience on the night market vibes. With bright colored rainbow pillars, colorful baskets cascading down from the ceiling, rainbow parasols abound, and with wooden booth and pergola topped seating areas, the restaurant is visual eye-candy.

As you meander through the pockets of seating areas, friendly servers greet you, and you will get drawn in by the high-vibe pop music. If you stay long enough, you may be lucky enough to hear a "bumping" techno-like version of "Happy Birthday". It played 5-6 times during our hour and a half visit, and I got tricked 3 times into thinking it was a trendy pop song that I wanted to dance to.

The menu is overwhelming and exciting. With easily close to one hundred options, it's hard to decide what's good here. The dishes I had the pleasure of trying are:

1. Fresh Coconut Drink - okay, this isn't a "dish", but I love Thai places with this drink. Nothing more tropical than drinking from a coconut! Unlike Young coconuts, the flesh is former (but still delicious) and the juice is not as sweet, but the drink is still refreshing and delightful. The drink is topped with a cute flower. They also have an incredible lychee-based alcoholic drink.

2. Pad Thai - the pad thai was quite flavorful and on the wetter, slightly sweeter end of pad thais. Tasty, but I tend to prefer more savory and tangy than sweeter tones in my pad thai.

3. Kao Kaprao Moo a medley of Thai holy basil, garlic chili, green beans with ground pork poured over jasmine rice. The meat was tender, which is hard to achieve with ground meat, and the garlic-basil combo took my taste buds for a delightful ride. Highlight of the entrees.

4. Crying Tiger - nice and tender meat. Hard to go wrong!

5. Som Tum Poo - spicy papaya salad with salty baby rock crabs. This is a unique dish you'd have a hard time finding at most common Thai places. It's salty, spicy, tangy, with a little of the sweetness from the crab meat (you suck out the juices/meat from the baby shell). If you love raw marinated crab or you haven't tried it but you are a little adventurous, it's actually quite delicious. It has the "good" pungent-ness but those with very delicate sensitivities may want to go for the standard papaya salad!

6. Desserts - the mango sticky rice as well as the black sticky rice with Thai coconut custard were delicious. There was one piece of slightly sour mango that threw off the final moments a bit, but the sticky rice was giving ooey, gooey and warm. Delicious. But the Thai coconut custard took our coconut-y flavors to new heights. The custards are like flan-textured slices of coconut that delicately melted in your mouth with the warm black sticky rice. A new favorite.

Tourists and locals alike can have an incredible adventure exploring a slice of Thailand in this pocket of Seattle. If not just for the incredible atmosphere, but also for some tasty bites and for some, to fulfill your late night munchie dreams, Bangrak Market is...

It's in a trendy neighborhood called Belltown. I just happened to see this pop up since it's somewhat near our hotel when searching for Thai. The whole street food menu was very intriguing. We had to try it.

It's located on 2nd Avenue. As a note to tourists (like us), be prepared to walk up a steep hill from 1st to 2nd Avenue. We walked up from Pike Place Market. Let's just say that the climb up would have been steeper near our hotel off of Bell Street. I can't remember how many blocks, but it was an easy walk from there. You can't miss the entrance. It's very colorful & clearly marked. There is a definite vibe here. The decor brings in that whole Bangkok market culture that you see on Food Network shows.

We arrived a little before opening time. They close for a couple of hours between lunch & dinner. The family that owns it was sharing dinner together. We were seated right away once they finished. It was all very timely. We received our drinks right away. The Thai Tea was so creamy & delicious!

We thought about ordering the Crying Tiger as an appetizer. I really wanted to try it. I'm so glad we didn't because the portion size of my entrée was huge. I loved everything in my bowl of Kao Soi Chiang Mai. There were spices in it that I've never tasted before. I could have eaten the leftovers for days. All I could do was eat as much as I could. I wouldn't be able to bring it with me on the cruise ship. Nevertheless, it was delicious & filling. I especially appreciated the crunchy fried noodle topping mixed in with the curry flavors. So tasty! My husband liked his pork belly entrée as well. It was too spicy hot for me to try it. The only thing he mentioned was that he would have liked more sauce with it (like a basil stir fry) for his rice. All I can say is that it smelled delicious.

We didn't have room for dessert, and that's a good thing. It was starting to get very busy as it seems to be very popular. I'd love to return one day to try other menu items. The cuisine here is unique. More so than any Thai restaurant we have ever visited, and that even includes the Buddhist temple in Tampa. Seek this place out if you happen to be in the area, and have a passion for Thai food. It's worth any effort it takes...