Beer/Wine
Vietnamese
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. This Vietnamese restaurant has a separate vegetarian menu featuring mostly mock meat dishes. Open Mon-Tue 10:00am-9:00pm, Thu-Sun 10:00am-9:00pm. Closed Wed.


Venue map for Moonlight Cafe
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21 Reviews

First Review by punkinness

EmdotAlice

Points +4649

Vegan
26 Aug 2024

Not impressed

Yes, they have a large vegan menu here. We tried several dishes from the vegan menu including the spicy wonton, tofu salad roll (fresh roll), bahn xeo, and double mushroom and eggplant with tofu, and my partner got a vegan Thai iced tea. We both really liked the spicy wontons. They had a good amount of spice and flavor. The fresh rolls were not bad, though the peanut sauce was too sweet. The bahn xeo was really fried compared to what we’ve had at other places and didn’t have much flavor at all. I didn’t like the double mushroom eggplant at all. The eggplant didn’t have much flavor. My partner agreed it was missing something, but he at least found it eatable. We suspect that for their vegan menu they remove the fish sauce but don’t do much to replace the flavor. Overall we were pretty disappointed. It could be we just ordered the wrong dishes but it’s unlikely we’ll be back.

Updated from previous review on 2024-07-06

Pros: Good spicy wontons

Cons: Some dishes pretty bland

lmop

Points +156

Vegan
20 Jul 2024

Solid but not great

Huge vegan menu at this place, though not everything on said menu IS vegan - husband ordered pad Thai and was asked if he wanted egg on it, I asked for Vietnamese coffee and was told it's made with dairy milk and can't be made differently. I got the orange chicken lunch plate and it's got good flavor, but no crunch or crispiness to the chicken that I'd expect. Husband charitably described his pad Thai as "what I would get if I were pretty drunk and tried to make myself pad Thai." Not really surprising when you order Thai from a Vietnamese place though! I also ordered Thai tea but never got it and had to have it removed from the bill when I paid. They did apologize and offer it to go but we had places to be. We'll give it another try at some point because I long for shrimp.

Pros: Big portions , Reasonable prices (for Seattle) , They have a parking lot!

Cons: Vegan menu not fully vegan, Didn't receive drink

Seatown_vegan

Points +8096

Vegan
13 Dec 2023

My now go-to Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle

I can’t believe I haven’t been here until this year. Massive vegan menu with plenty of options. My go-to is the spicy noodle soup. Delicious! Throughout my visits I’ve also ordered vermicelli noodle bowls, fresh rolls, spicy dumplings. So much to choose from. Definitely worth visiting if in the area.

clarebear9

Points +888

Vegan
22 Aug 2023

A HUGE vegan menu

8 pages of tons of vegan options. The pho with multiple vegan “meats” was great. Flavorful. The banh mi tofu/mushroom was soooooo good. And finally a Thai iced tea that’s vegan!!

Pros: Vegan menu , Thai iced tea, Variety

Jimby

Points +106

Vegan
02 Jun 2023

Great vegan options

Delicious food with an entire vegan menu. Vegan bahn mi was amazing!

lady3jane

Points +264

Vegan
01 May 2023

Good standby

Large vegan menu and everything I’ve tried has been tasty.

JordynMary

Points +134

Vegan
25 Apr 2023

best banh mi

i have been ordering off grub hub like once a week for this place. their tofu banh mi is the best i’ve had outside of Vietnam. the bread is so soft. i love the egg rolls too and my omni partner loved the veggie pho. i am about to move closer to it so i’m looking forward to eating in!

paulinas.statue

Points +42

Vegan
20 Feb 2023

Great Vegan Options

I really love the vegan options here. It’s a little confusing to order at times, but the food is tasty. It could definitely be a little less expensive, though.

Pros: Lots of vegan options

Cons: Expensive

bEzz

Points +1735

Vegan
21 Jan 2023

Vegan & Affordable

Moonlight Cafe has been slinging vegan food off its own separate veg menu for 20 years. It’s not fancy, but it’s tasty, filling, and affordable

greysonstrzelczyk

Points +190

Vegan
02 Aug 2022

Extensive Vegan Menu

Great small restaurant. The vegan menu is HUGE and our waitress was helpful. The special combo fried rice was really yummy. There’s SO much to choose from.

Pros: Lots of vegan options

JayJay10

Points +241

Vegan
11 May 2022

Full vegan menu

They have a separate full vegan menu that makes it so much easier to order. Also, so many options. What delicious fresh food they have too. The staff was really friendly and extremely attentive.

Pros: Vegan menu, Friendly attentive staff, Yummy AF

Cons: A bit on the pricey side

brittacathrine

Points +16

Vegan
10 Mar 2020

Favorite restaurant of all time

I crave the Moonlight springroll tray "Moonlight Dac Biet Khay" all the time, it's kind of a problem. OMG so good.

Pros: Huge vegan selection. Vegan menu has 105 items. , Inexpensive, Delicious

Cons: Kinda dirty inside and sketchy outside

Vegegas

Points +23

Vegan
15 Sep 2018

Delicious!

I rarely give 5 stars (happy cow only allows a 4 star rating for non-vegetarian restaurants, a mistake since that's where you find the best vegetarian food,) but this place serves the best asian vegetarian food in Seattle, and the prices are affordable. Try the vermicelli noodles with lemongrass (mock) chicken, or the general tso chicken (kids favorite.) The special Pho comes with a variety of mock meats. Tofu is available if you don't like fake meat. The special appetizer with an abundance of vegetables, fake meats and noodles which you roll into transparent rice or bean sheets, after soaking them in hot water, is spectacular - enough food for a full meal for 2 people. Everything is very tasty and consistent. Service is not great, but acceptable.

Updated from previous review on 2010-05-28

Pros: tasty, affordable, consistent

Cons: service, decor, Cleanliness

WestSeattleLuke

Points +142

Herbivore
10 Jun 2018

Dump

I used to love this place, but it has really gone down hill. If the owner isn’t standing outside chain smoking, he is inside yelling at his employees or coughing all over your food. The last time they cleaned the restaurant must’ve been during the Reagan administration. Do not go in the bathroom!! 🤢

Pros: Sentimental memories of meals past

Cons: Dirty, Unsanitary , Unappetizing

AdelliePop

Points +20

Vegan
20 May 2018

Okay

Heard really good things about this restaurant from other vegans. When i went, it looked really run down and unkempt from the outside. Inside looked about the same. Staff was really nice and there were lots of Vietnamese customers. I guess thats a good sign that the food is authentic. Had lots of food options for both vegans and non-veg/vegans. Did not wait long at all to receive our dishes but the food was SUPER greasy and tasted like any other Vietnamese take out would. So nothing special really. Probably wouldnt go there again.

Pros: Quick to serve

Cons: A bit run down, Food was really greasy

Arti

Points +743

Mostly Veg
18 Sep 2017

Tasty food - a little on the oily side

I like the food a lot. Had the mongolian beef - does not taste a whole lot like real beef but very tasty never the less. The food was a little too oily so I would personally not eat it regularly but I loved it as my once-in-a-while unhealthy eat out :D

Veg4Jay

Points +2171

Vegan
17 Jan 2017

Very Yummy Veg/Vegan Options

The food here is very delicious with an entire menu of veg/vegan options. The food is really worth trying! One of my new faves!! The staff are friendly, the restaurant is pleasant and the price is right!

Pros: Excellent Food and Many Veg/Vegan Options, Very Pleasant Environment and Staff, Really Reasonably Priced

Cons: The do have Meat Options....

bitebitebite

Points +88

Vegan
30 Jan 2015

Pleasantly rich - not too much so

Fake meat dishes in Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants are often heavy and greasy. In this regard Moonlight was a pleasant surprise (at least for the dishes I tasted on a visit there).

There was definitely some richness and grease present, but in just the right amount. It wasn't overdone, there was plenty of flavor and it was easily less than Bamboo Garden.

I was there on a weekday evening and it was busy, but we didn't have to wait too long (in the cute waiting area). The ambiance is ok, but it can be rather loud and difficult to hold a conversation across a table.

Service was decent. Neither outstanding nor anything complain about.

As other's mention - you'll want the green menu. There are so many options! I'll be going back to try more, just not right away.


UPDATE : Ate here a second time and was diissapointed. The "sesame tofu" is just some oily, bland tofu with sesame seeds stuck to it. :( Recommend against ordering that dish. Dropping the rating a notch.

Pros: Wide selection, Plenty of flavor, not overdone, Reasonably priced

Cons: A little on the loud side

salxvx

Points +71

Vegan
05 May 2014

Best asian food in town!

I used to live in Seattle and whenever I got a craving for asian food this was my go to place and it never let me down. I should also say that this place is still worth coming back to every time I'm in town. They have a vegan and an omni menu so make sure you get the green one as the items on the vegan one are also described as "beef" and "chicken" so it can be a bit confusing. They make their own fake meats and you can tell the texture is different than most asian places, as for the flavor: it is unsurpassable. I recently went back and took some friends who are vegan, locals and had never heard of it. They were mesmerized with how good the food is. You can tell a place is good/legit when you go at lunch hour and it is crowded with natives. It was always a reassuring feeling when I started noticing that. Portions are good as well as the prices. My only complaint about this place is that not enough vegan people know about it. It is an absolute must!

Pros: Excellent Food, Good value, Good portions

Cons: Also serves meat

Chef Kati

Points +120

Vegetarian
21 Dec 2009

Always Divine!

We have been to Moonlight more than 15 times and obviously like it a lot! We have taken non vegetarian friends many times and because of the two menus (red for carnivores and green for we veggies) everyone is happy. There are over 100 items on the vegetarian menu and we've never been disappointed. Parking is right in front and free.

Pros: Varied & large menu, free parking in front, authentic ingredients

punkinness

Points +137

Vegan
25 Oct 2006

super tasty

they have 2 menus, a vegan and a carnivour. the fake meat on the vegan fare are incredibly tasty, each different 'meat' having it's corresponding flavors and textures. while i never cared for real fish, their mock fish dishes (especially the smoked salmon) are awesome. great variety of dishes, veggies have always been fresh and pretty, the serving sizes are about average or a little better than average.

Pros: fake meats, decent portion size, large veg menu

Cons: location, it's not fully vegan, temp-bring a coat




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