Natalie's on Alki — Restaurant in Seattle

The mango papaya salad with shrimp and chopped vegetables was really a revelation. Maybe it had sautéed scallops. It definitely had peanuts. The way it all came together was just a taste experience! We're not sure what we're in those egg rolls, but they were really among the most tasty I've ever had. Was it crab meat? The brown sugar latte was also unique. In my experience. The espresso was roasted really super dark for a bitter flavor that offset the sweetness. The large tapioca balls are always a treat.

We returned on Labor Day for the mango salad. This time the extra shrimp cost $5.00, unlike $3.00 last time when we really didn't request it. It's still a wonderful salad and it had A LOT of shrimp. The clear, orange-hued sauce continues to be a delicious mystery. I spooned the sauces for both of these dishes onto my tongue and really could not analyze them.

I took a chance on the pork belly fried rice because in the picture it looks like chassiu, the lean barbecue pork that you can buy in just about any grocery store. I was wrong and glad of it. This meat was the fatty pork belly that we know. OMG once again the sauce! It had a sweetness and a spicy hotness and was as salty as a brine. But that all came together when the pork was dipped in it to make a yummy palate pleaser. The fried rice was enriched with bits of scrambled egg and elevated with black pepper into my favorite so far. We had Din Tai Fung shrimp fried rice Saturday and we love that same dish at P.F. Chang's, our erstwhile favorite. My wife exclaimed, "OH! You're finishing the rice. I'm so glad to see that!" I'm a Midwesterner who prefers pasta or potato to rice and I usually have her finish it. This rice was scrumptious!

Menchie ordered the Taro Milk Tea, delicious. I think they charged extra for the tapioca, which is a fist among all of the tea bars that we used around Seattle, Tukwila and Alderwood. you can check the picture of the ticket.

This time the staff members were more friendly than the last. They are quick and efficient.

The last time we ate at an outside table: they have a half-dozen or so. This time the music was blasting so excessively that on second thought, we got our food in a bag and found a table far away on the beach.

Well, Natalie's is the dining discovery highlight of our summer this year. The sun was warm on our backs, but the marine breeze was chilly. What a perfectly sensuous day, wrapped up with a pour-over brew from Starbucks...

As boba fanatics marooned on our beloved island of West Seattle, far from good boba, we had to try out Natalie's.

The good: the boba is pretty solid. I'd give it 4 stars. It's sweet and has a satisfying chewiness to it. We got taro fresh milk tea at 100% sweet and jasmine green fresh milk tea at 50%, both with boba. Is it the best boba I have had? No. Is it above average? Absolutely. The employees are nice, too.

The bad: holy guacamole, the prices. I get Alki is not a cheap location, but this is not Natalie's first location, and their website literally lists their prices at $2 less a drink than what they charge. $6.55 for a boba tea is highway robbery, and salt in the wound to be charged for toppings on top of that, AND those toppings cost $0.75 a pop! So you will spend $8 getting a boba tea here.

In the end, you have to ask yourself if this boba is eight-dollars-good, and for me, the answer is no. I'm sure I'll be back as it's convenient for my regular Alki bike ride, but it won't be a regular stop for me. Homefront ice cream a block away sells boba tea too and it's way cheaper, and the boba there is solid even if I don't love whatever powder they use for their taro flavoring. So I'll probably choose there over Natalie's which is a shame. If Natalie's kept their pricing from their website, I'd...

My family and I had always loved this place, well until yesterday. It was a little busier than normal but I expected it since Seattle all of a sudden had a sunny day in late April. We ordered 2 kumquat sugar cane drinks and a tamarind roll. The drinks came pretty fast but the food didn’t come at the same time with those drinks. Then after 15 mins I patently asked one of the servers if she knew when my food was going to come and got a slightly annoyed attitude from her that I should be patiently wait and it will arrive. Then another 30 mins had passed, I now came back inside to sit on the bench across from the cashier after seeing all those folks who ordered their food after me finished their meal and long left. There is a window that connects the kitchen area to the cashier area and I just sat there on the bench to watch the chefs who were chillin and waiting for the next order and unexpectedly met the server who told me to patently waiting for my food earlier’s eyes. I could tell that she realized that they totally forgot my order. I was about to leave to get back to the line in hope to get refund and suddenly my number was announced very loud by the friendly cashier. I’m 100% sure that my food was there for 40 mins, waiting to be picked but was forgotten. I will never come back...