Manu’s Bodega

I have a small business in Pioneer Square. Manu’s Bodega has catered 2 events for me, and I love them! The food is fresh and amazing, all of my clients just raved about it. I’m rather new at event planning– Manu made it so easy. He worked within my budget restraints, and delivered delicious Caribbean fare, piping hot.
I’m looking forward to working with Manu’s for years to come!

Good quality sandwiches but on the small side for the price. Friendly staff. Unfortunately, there are some awesome sandwiches within a block that are better and cost around the same.

Their posole is super flavorful! Also enjoyed the beef empanadas, and the guava cookies are out of this world. But my above and beyond favorite here is the morir soñando drink! You have to try it.

Wow… Had the pulled pork sandwich and it was fantastic. Great place to sit outside on a nice day too. A little pricey, but you get what you pay for here.

This place is a hidden gem! I walked past here once not knowing what it was and saw a ton of people and came back a few days later for dinner. I ordered the beet salad, the green tomato and a beer. The service was great, very helpful and explained the menu and the food was excellent!
It’s a small intimate and very colorful place. They have an outdoor patio and plenty of room inside too. I can’t wait to come back again. Yum!

Tiny, hard to find spot, with a delicious Puerco Asado sandwich. Excellent, fresh food, good size. The staff is very friendly and it’s just the type of small business that you feel like you want to support.

What if a sad and neglected little corner of the city was magically converted into a tropical paradise?
That’s what I felt when I ate here today. Years ago, I dropped into a funny little cave under the Yesler Way ramp, which at that was occupied by a simple take-​out sandwich shop. There was no reason to linger.
After my meeting at 700 5^th ended, my Chinook book showed this as the closest place with a coupon (a free empañada). I thought I’d give it a try.
To my surprise, this is now a charming sit-​down café, complete with a deck with bright yellow umbrellas. To top it all off, a pink cherrry tree is in magnificent bloom right over it. Not only is this heart-​meltingly pretty, it shades about 75% of the outdoor seating and the restaurant, even though the early afternoon sun is blazing straight into the western-​exposed windows.
The interior is triangular, which I love, and made cheerful with hot tropical colors and Dominican festival masks.
This is my first visit. The menu looks good. I had the refreshing lime-​and-​mint-​laden «No-​jito» (complete with paper parasol), the pork-​belly sandwich with crunchy bits, and the bacalo empañada. The food was prepared carefully and served promptly (you pick it up at the counter.)
I gave the restaurant four stars, but will probably kick it up a notch after future visits, if the other dishes are as good.
On a warm day in April, the deck.
On a cold, rainy night, it would be a great hideaway where one could forget grey skies with friends and a mojito or two.

This place is incredible. I ordered Puerco Asado sandwich with an empanada on the side. The bread was so fresh, the meat had so many flavors, and the cabbage and pickled onions to top it off were amazing.
I definitively would recommend this place.

Awesome… Best in town… No doubt! Cheers!

Is it ok to whisper «I love you» to your food? This place just hits the spot. The pork tastes like it was made in a miracle pot of unicorns and love. On top of all the great food they have a happy hour from 5 – 7 where you can eat drink and be merry. Space is small but it doesn’t bother me one bit because the food is so on point.

This is one of my favorite lunch places in Pioneer Square, but it can get a little pricey depending on what you order. All the food is made in-​house, so you definitely get the slow-​cooked taste on the meats and stews. It can get a little busy, especially at lunchtime, but you can order ahead and do pickups. The patio is open all year, and the windows are often open on sunny days (sometimes even on days I’d find too cold to have open windows but it’s a Seattle thing, yeah?). It’s a little hard to find — I nearly walked past it the first time because it’s behind a bus stop and tucked back from the street.
As for the food: their empanadas are awesome. A lot of places that make empanadas will skimp on the fillings, so you get more dough than filling. These were nicely stuffed. I’ve eaten the Cuban dip as well (gloriously messy and spicy), and I’ve had the pozole (not a fan but I tried it three times to be sure it wasn’t just a one-​time thing, and came to the conclusion pozole is something I don’t want to eat, no matter how good it is). The platters are a good value, since you get a nice portion of beans and rice to make a hearty meal. If you get the empanadas platter, you get to choose which two empanadas you want, so if you want one veggie and one meat, you can do that.
As for seating: there isn’t much inside and the patio is limited. There’s a small counter along the window that seats maybe eight people. If you had a party of ten people, you’ll fill up most of the interior space. Go early if you want to not have to wait so long in line, or take it to go.

This is my favorite lunch spot downtown! Delicious food, well priced, friendly staff and great service.
The Puerco Asado Bowl is my go to; juicy pork, fabulous sauce and love the pickled onions.
I also recommend the Sancocho Stew with pork & sausage; it is really flavorful and a big enough portion for lunch.
I eat here often and it has been extremely consistent with regard to taste, quality and portion size.

My god, the Cuban Dip is UNREAL.
First of all, an insanely good cuban with some of the best pork I’ve ever had. To top it off, very tasty pork au jus to dip it in.
I will never eat a French dip ever again as I am so spoiled by this sandwich.
Enjoy this sandwich and you will be happy forever!

I have been coming to this place since its inception. I have known of Manu since his days at Blind Pig because it’s one of my all-​time favorite places in Seattle. And, when Manu left to start his bodega I was more than eager to support and try his food venture. And, Manu’s food is spectacular. This place may look like a small little place from the outside, but trust me and go inside if you like bodegas and pleasant service. When you walk in, there are a few tables and chairs some Goya products you can purchase so it looks like it is half convenience store and half deli/​café. I think it’s supposed to remind of neighborhood bodegas. I have tried most of the menu and have enjoyed it. But my go to favorite is Puerco Asado sandwich. And, it’s divine when Manu himself makes it. The prices are more than reasonable and the size of the plates are decent.
The only complain I have is that La Bodega can be infuriatingly hit or miss. Inconsistent to say the least. Sometimes their food and service is incomparable. But most times the servers are simply too distracted and the food is just mediocre. I have come to conclude that is because there can’t be more than one Manu. So, why I keep going back? Because, I know this place has potential and I work right next door. If I time it right, I can avoid the lunch crowd and actually get Manu to make my sandwich. Don’t let this discourage you! Because I want this place to survive and Manu’s excellent food to reach wider masses.
So, please give this place few sincere tries. Pretty please!

The pork sandwich is great. If all their food was as good as that sandwich this would be a five star joint. I went and had the ham and Swiss though and it was one of the worst sandwiches I have ever purchased, and I’ve had really bad sandwiches. 8.25 for a real nasty pile of ketchup and mustard!

Had veggie empanada plate. Delicious, distinctive flavor. Filling but healthy. Fun sitting by open window, listening to tunes and watching busy little Prefontaine.

Delicious. I am always excited to try Latino food restaurants in different states — especially when they get good reviews! The restaurant is relatively small, but there are a few tables inside and plenty of outside seating. They also sell a variety of Latino (possibly all Dominican) condiments and cooking ingredients.
I have to eat gluten free (Celiac), and there are lots of options here. You can make any sandwich into a bowl, and the empanadas are gluten free too. I got a beef empanada and a cheese empanada. Both were really good, but I think I liked the beef one a little bit better. If I’m in Seattle again, I’ll definitely check this place out again. I would love to try one of their bowls! While we were there, about 3 different people came in for take-​out orders. This place is popular!

I wasn’t planning on eating here until I was searching for food near me in google. First thing that popped out for me was «Bodega». I read what kind of food it was and got excited! I’m latino from puertorico; and love food from my home as well as other spanish cultures.
Dominican and Cuban food is very close to Puertorican food so I had to try! (Especially since I missed home cooking and didn’t want to cook all that lol) I orderd the pork with rice and beans and mini salad. I also ordered 2 empanadas.
The food was delicious; but the rice was a little dry and bland for Dominican food. (But still good). The pork was very good. Melt in your mouth good. :) The empanadas were soooo sooo good! Flavorful, not burnt, and the sauce with it was oooh sooo good! I had 2 and almost bought more! I also had a virgin guava mojito. Delicious! I loooooove guava; so this was a great treat for me. Refreshing and delicious. But less ice needed so there is more guava. Lol
The décor was very nice. Definitely Dominican. Lol (meant in good way) It reminded me of my friends home. Relaxed, comfortable, welcoming amd smelled great. The guy who was helping me (assuming is the owner); spoke english and spanish clearly and was super friendly. Very, very informative and great at recommending the food. He also recommended bachata dancing and music happening on saturday! Fun, fun! I think it’s a great little hidden gem that is worth stopping in. I will definitely recommend to people if they want good Dominican (spanish) food.

Ever watch the movie «Chef» with Jon Favreau? I did and after watching that movie I realized that I needed to delete a particular review I wrote about a year ago.
I visited La Bodega when they first opened. I wrote a pretty harsh review. There were high hopes for this restaurant and I shot it down. I didn’t think about the owner and how he put a lot of time and effort in creating this restaurant, this dream of his. He wanted to share the dishes of his homeland and I complained about the website.
I visited the restaurant months later out of guilt. That Chef movie put things into perspective. My colleagues invited me to lunch and I decided to go with them just to see if the restaurant had changed. It did. There was a line to order and a line for pick up. All the tables were filled. The interior was colorful. The food was surprisingly good.
I don’t know if the owner recognized me from my Unilocal profile picture when I ordered my food; I was secretly hoping he wouldn’t. He did look at me though with an emotionless face. Maybe he read my previous review, maybe he didn’t. If he did read it though, I’m glad he didn’t kick me out of his restaurant.

Everything was awesome — honestly: The food was authentic and fresh (including locally-​sourced, which is all you get on many islands), the vibe is authentic and smelled spot on and only missed heat and humidity. And perhaps mopeds parked out front. Just needed a couple abuelos arguing over the soccer match on a tv in the corner!
I feel a need to speak the few 2 – 3 star reviews that speak poorly of the place… they’re thinking in Western «I got to go» terms, not in what’s it like to eat someplace outside the US. Some may be valid, like «please check me out now because I got something to go». Others sound like they expect McDonald’s pace in an original place. To them I say «please breathe, then look around — this is more than grab and go». Let yourself feel some love, the staff here will give it back.