Marination

My friend works nearby so this seemed like a great place to meet up for lunch. I’ve been a Marination fan since Big Blue took the streets years ago.
I’m not a fan of the layout. The draw of Marination makes it virtually impossible to get in and out quickly. The line begins when their doors open for lunch and doesn’t stop for hours. The small space means that the line weaves twice and if anyone is unlucky (or lucky depending on your perspective) to be sitting at the counter, it’s a wall-​to-​wall touch fest. There’s also a lack of good space to wait for your food. It becomes confusing, always crowded and quite frankly, barely worth the effort.
Pro tip — you can order easily online now for take out.
I’m comforted by menu items I’ve come to love over time. Kimchi fried rice is one of my faves. One of the items here that I had not tried before is the korean cheese steak. Definitely not a fan of this sandwich. The flavors in concept are good but in reality, do not go well together. The mac salad is the standard recipe which is a reliable and welcome addition to the menu. The tacos are also to be expected — my favorite is sexy tofu.
Ranking all three of the Marination bricks locations (here, Cap Hill, and West Seattle) this is definitely at the bottom of my list.

Excellent and creative food. Price is right for the fresh and high quality ingredients and recipes.
Very good service too. We bonded with the friendly yet diplomatic staff behind the counter. The seeming manager let us stay a little after closing to enjoy the experience. Nice especially we just worked magic on a small parking spot.

This restaurant is tucked away right next to the Westin Seattle which is pretty visible by their large circular towers.
Overall, the food is good, but several of the menu items seem like they are just a little off the target. The pork tacos and sliders are probably the best (Spicy pork especially), but the ginger chicken and the beef are a bit short on flavor.
Meanwhile, the Aloha tots are a little too salty in the tots, and a little too bland in the meats. Sometimes the flavors balance out, but ultimately are just a little off the mark.
Happy hour prices are super reasonable ($ 2 taco /​sliders, $ 5 tots) but overall I feel like there are better places around unless you’re craving the very specific genre of Asian Fusion (corn) tacos.

I work right down the street and have sampled a good chunk of the menu. The Kale salad is fantastic, the tacos are also very good. I had the pork sliders, the pork was a a little dry. I also had the spicy pork torta. Again a little dry but the slaw and guac was excellent.
Overall this place is very good, a little pricy but very good.

The NYT 36 hours in Seattle guide directed me to Marination & I got so excited. After I got there and tried nearly everything on the menu, I just can’t say what all the hype is about.
We tried all the tacos except for tofu, got the kimchi quesadilla and the Kalua pork siders. Kalua pork was definitely the best offering (slider & taco) but overall I was underwhelmed.
I wouldn’t go out of your way like NYT recommends, but if you’re in the neighborhood and they’re open, definitely worth trying a few items on their menu.

Little salty to my liking. It’s very busy during lunch time. It took me 20 minutes to get 2 tacos. I will try the pre-​order next time. Service gets 5 stars.

I came here to get a quick bite for lunch. It was a Saturday afternoon and so it was not too busy. The restaurant was clean, organized, and the service was quite friendly. It’s quite easy to find the restaurant, it’s right on 6^th ave on the ground floor of a large colorful building.
I ordered the Kalbi Beef Taco and their signature Aloha Tots. The Kalbi Beef taco was very tasty, but nothing special about it, and the Aloha Tots weren’t bad. However, the Aloha Tots were a bit salty, but they did have a really nice spice to them. All in all, the food wasn’t bad, but nothing amazing/​to write home about. If I’m in the area, I wouldn’t mind stopping by for a bite to eat, but I wouldn’t come out of my way to eat here.

I love Marination Ma Kai, so I was stoked to see another location close to my new job. This spot’s a cute little lunch bar with happy hour specials. I took advantage and got the Aloha Tots, a Mini Katsu, and a Tofu Taco. The tots were great — really flavorful and a good amount of food for the price. I had to reheat the other two, so I don’t think my experience worth commenting. I have to swing by again to get my usual: Kimchi Fried Rice with Sexy Tofu!
By the way — everyone working at this location is super friendly and down to earth. Can’t take that for granted, they’re awesome.

So I’ve been to the Marination Station in Alki and it was ok… the portions were small and it wasn’t anything outstanding.
When I came here, I wasn’t expecting too much since my previous experience was just ok, but it did improve my outlook on it a little. The portions were larger and the staff is really friendly. I just wish the line wasn’t so long. It was ridiculous. I waited almost 30 minutes just to make an order. Then my order only came out 5 minutes after that. I think they need to improve upon their assembly line. It’s out of hand!
Another reason why I reduced the stars with this place is because my co-​worker went there at 1:00 and it was STILL crowded. Then after she waited through the whole line for 20 minutes, they were out of kimchi… It takes 2 minutes to create a sign that says «NO MORE KIMCHI» …then indicating what dishes that affects because that is such a waste of time!
All in all, ok food, terrible wait.

I’ve come here for lunch 4 times in the last week. It’s that good. I think this is the great lunch place. It’s simple and homey Korean style cuisine. So far I’ve liked and tried the Tacos, Pork Torta, Cheesteak, and the Kimchi Fried Rice. Mostly everything has kimchi or a spice to it! I love the AmeriKorean cuisine!
They are fast, reasonably priced, and are highly recommended by an Asian half breed (me).

Marination brings their delicious Hawaiian Korean fusion to Downtown /​South Lake Union. Just like the other Marination locations, the food is delicious. The kim chi fried rice is flavor packed and the pork tender. The runny fried egg on top is icing on the cake. Definitely worth visiting for lunch.

Good food, quick service. The Kalbi Beef Taco Salad is a lot of food and the Nunya sauce gives it a great kick. Will definitely be back to try other menu items.

Good Hawaiian food for a great price. Perfect for that lunchbreak fix. Also, they have happy hour from 2−5pm Monday thru Friday! I got two sliders and a taco for $ 6. No complaints here!

I just paid 13 $ for a pork cutlet sandwich. Was it worth it? No. It was ok. The slaw was rather bland. The sauce is good but usually katsu is one of the cheapest items on an Asian takeout menu…

Love the new location! It’s more like a lunch counter than a full service restaurant as the space is pretty small with minimal seating although they seem to be set up to handle a steady stream of to go orders during what should be very busy lunch and happy hour times. Classic menu items like tacos and sliders are available here although you may want to try some of the more unique items like Korean Cheese Steak or the Aloha Tots which come with Kalua pork, kimchi sauce, Japanese mayo, scallions, and a fried egg.
Aside from being small, the space is very clean and obviously has the look of being brand new since they have only been open a couple weeks. The service was great and they had plenty of people on staff even though it wasn’t very busy when I stopped in. I would definitely recommend stopping in during happy hour which is from 2pm to 5pm to take advantage of the discounted items. This is going to become a mainstay for locals just like all their other locations. Not sure if it’s ideal for someone to make a trip to the area although, if you are already nearby, you will definitely want to stop in. Of special interest to me is that the location is only a couple blocks away from the Cinerama so this will make a perfect place to grab a quick bite either before or after a movie.

The food is interesting, tasty, and high-​quality. However, some of the items are rather small (such as the fish tacos) and don’t seem quite worth the money.

The first visit was the wonderful experience I have learned to expect from the Marination family of dining experiences.
Having had former experience with Marination, I did my best to get to this location as close to 11 am (opening) as possible. I had a few orders in front of me, but everything moved pretty quickly and there seems to be a new system for noting modifiers that the staff are getting used to.
The food: Everything I expected. In this visit, I got (ordered for two people) 2 tofu tacos, 2 spicy pork tacos and a kim chee/​veggie quesadilla. Few observations:
* Kale salads and Mac salads are now in a grab-​and-​go case — great add!
* Nunya sauce is available for sale at this location with the standard complimentary taco or slider
* No spam musubi — I don’t eat these anymore, but it seems odd, since it’s a pretty easy up-​sell item.
* No breakfast — please add this soon! I am obsessed with the sunrise burritos.
* TATER TOTS — I need to try these, but am excited it’s on the menu.
* Packaging — take out boxes are compostable boxes, versus the plates + foil you’d get at the Marination mobile. This makes it much easier to take back to your desk.
The service: Friendly staff! I actually feel a bit bad for the line staff, since (the way it’s set up) the customers basically hover over them watching their food being made. Maybe they don’t care, but let’s be good customers and not stare!
The space: There is some seating, but I wouldn’t come here intending to find seating.

Nice place if you want Hawaiian Fusion food. If you’re looking for the true taste of Hawaiian local food, this may not be the place. Lived in Hawaii for 10 years and have had real local food. This is definitely fusion.

Stopped in on the way to the bus from the office, and had a couple pork sliders, the quality of the meat was quite good. Not too fatty like can be the case with some pulled pork places. But it was a little more salty the I care for, and I usually like my stuff on the salty side.
Overall the sliders were okay. Nothing bad about them, but nothing stand out awesome either. Was a little bummed they don’t offer bbq sauce. The «nunya» sauce was an okay substitute.

I love Marination and I had to come in on the day they opened on the 28^th (of December) and check it out. The restaurant is very clean and the staff are great! Food is the same as you’d expect = delicious from their other locations like Alki, Broadway and their food trucks! I personally love all the tacos; I usually get around the world which is all of their flavors from pork to chicken to beef. I love the kahlua pork quesadilla which is what I ordered on this day. The Denny Renegade [where SLU, Downtown and Belltown meet] area which is where I live is just getting better and better with all of these new food options that won’t break your bank. You’ll probably be seeing me at this Marination location atleast once a week, especially that I live and work just a block away from here.
Also, they have happy hour 3−5PM!!! Close on Sundays!

This is the same Korean/​Hawaiian fusion you’re probably familiar with, only in a storefront. The space itself it pretty tight if there’s a line, but they did a good job of making use of a small footprint. I’m not sure there would be room if people are actually sitting and standing in line, but it could work.
The kimchi fried rice was a solid contender, although not perfect. I thought the kalbi beef was flavorful, if a bit dry, but overall it was a good value for money. I’m allergic to carrots and can’t eat wheat, so I have to rule out anything with their slaw or a sammich. That means my options are pretty limited, although I didn’t inquire about their advertised gluten free options with a side of no carrots. I look forward to exploring other options and seeing them (hopefully) work out a few kinks.

Same great Asian fusion food, new South Lake Union/​Downtown location next to new Amazon towers. The Korean Cheesesteak will be a standard menu item at this location.