Louie’s Cuisine of China

Tonight was the last night of a Ballard institution. Thanks so much to everyone who over the years made Louie’s a welcoming, delicious place to bring family and friends for a memorable meal together. We took many pictures of the inimitable décor on our way out, but no mere image will ever capture the happiness of a perfectly pressed duck. Safe travel and fair winds, friends.

FYI — This weekend was their last weekend that they’d be open. They are closing down forever. :(Well, closing down at this location, anyway. They said they’ll open up in a new location later on.

I am glad they are closing down. Last time I went 4 years ago the waitress was rude, lazy, and inattentive. The «food» tasted bland, no flavor or taste.
Good riddance.

This place is getting sold and makes me sad. They have the best special fried rice and dried beef with snowpeas. So good. Plus it’s super old school Chinese looking. You’ll feel like the 70’s never left.

SOOO sad to see Louie’s close and hope/​pray that they decide to open another restaurant in the near future. We drive all the way to Ballard from West Seattle/​Burien just to get our Chinese food fix. It is Chinese American but it is some of the best food I’ve ever had. The breading is always just right and somehow manages to stay crispy underneath all the delicious sauces, the special fried rice is loaded with all sorts of good meat, the appetizers are amazing, and the veggies are always cooked til slightly crunchy but not mushy or too hard. I can honestly say I have never had a bad eating experience and they always leave me wanting more.

NO!!! They are closing at the end of the month! It’s just wrong. Louie’s how can you do this? Was it the Unilocal Review from the crazed evil family with food strewing spawn? Was it T the agoraphobic food snob? Was it the hipster jackasses now populating the mean streets of Ballard? Please say it ain’t so.

We’ve been going here for years. Yes it’s old school but that is part of the charm.
Our favorites include:
Walnut Prawns
General Tso’s Chicken
Dry-​Fried Cantonese Steak
Moo Shu Pork
Potstickers
We’ve had truly great meals at Louie’s and some that were just quite good. Never less than that.
The place is a classic.

Staff was courteous and nice but the food took a long time to get to the table and wasn’t great, just okay. Tea service even took a long time (really?). The chow mein and fried rice were pretty good, albeit salty, fried shrimp were okay, but too much breading. Did not like the egg roll at all – tasted like something I could get from the case at Safeway; BBQ pork was pretty dry.
Ate our leftovers, but don’t feel the need to go back.

We had a great experience here. The food came out in a timely fashion and was delicious. We had a quiet table to ourselves and the waiter was very friendly. We ordered a combination and all of it was great… And came out warm.
Absolutely no complaints.

When we dine at Louie’s of China we always eat in the dining room so can’t comment too much on the bar scene. I think the reason that louie’s only gets a two and a half star rating is because a lot of their customers are not into tweeting or facebooking or Unilocaling.
We like it because the service is good, the place is generally quiet enough that you could actually have a conversation with your dining companions and it’s one of the few places that has egg foo young.
Yup it is definitely an old school chinese american restaurant. If you keep that in mind when you go in everything will be fine.

I guess I should have read reviews before going to this restaurant. The best thing I can say about Louie’s is that the waitress was nice when she chose to stop at our table. With only 4 other tables occupied I expect a server to do more than bring me a drink and drop off food without checking in at any other time.
The best of the food at our table would be described as mediocre. Unfortunately for me, my food was terrible. I asked the server about ingredients in a few dishes and was told they would check with the chef as she wasn’t sure. The server never came back to verify the contents of the dish so I’m still not sure what was in it, but that didn’t change the fact that it was what was delivered to our table. It took 30 minutes for any food to come to our table and when it did it was barely warm or flat out cold. Sure, tell me the noodles are supposed to be that way, how would I know the difference? But when you stick a couple tablespoons on some spaghetti noodles I can at least assume it was warm at some point as the peanut butter was slightly stirred in.
I have not had such a negative dining experience in Seattle in a long time and I’m not sure I’ve ever been as angry about spending money in a restaurant. I can definitely recommend that people DO NOT visit Louie’s.

Louie’s does not brand itself as a high-​end authentic Chinese experience. It is an old school place. It is American-​style Chinese food.
It is a great place if this is what you are looking for. None of the dishes is outstanding, but every one is good and the ambiance of the place is really fun.

LOUIE’S HATES CHILDREN!!!
This not an exaggeration. We used to go with my 5 year and 1 year. As you can imagine, sometimes infants can be messy, but hey, that is life. Anyway, about a month ago, we go to Louie’s for dinner. The owner, the bald dude, is counting something, or doing something and essentially does not acknowledge us for like 5 mins.
Then he looks up, knowing full well who we are and says, «you baby always makes a mess when you come in. We won’t seat you unless your baby will not make a mess». Now that is impossible to guarantee because, babies don’t make promises.
Anyway, I try to explain this, my wife tries to explain this, and he is not having any of it. He then proceeds to ignore us until we walk out. This guy is a serious D-​bag.
Now if you have been to Louie’s more than once, you will notice that the clientele is are not exactly spring chickens. And if you live in Ballard you will notice that the place is becoming a mecca for families with small children.
The food it okay, if I was going to rate it solely on the food, I would give it 3 stars. But given my experience, not a chance. I hope he will go out of business sooner rather than later. F-​ck you Louie!

In full disclosure, i’ve only been here for happy hour. That being said, i’ve been to MANY a HH at Louie’s, and it is solid.
There aren’t any thrills here, which is part of it’s charm. Prices are cheap, drinks are stuff, food is great (potstickers and the humbao being my personal faves).
The typical server may appear to very cold, but i’ve seen her smile from time to time. Again, all part of the charm of Louie’s.
Either way, this place is definitely a hidden gem. A solid 3.

I LOVE THIS PLACE
I do not come for the food. This is American chinese, yadda yadda, pretty much can get anywhere.
I come because I can call ahead and wait on my food (from the nice guy at the front) while I sit by the fire in those crazy wicker chairs. I think they do tarot readings in them.
From the wicker chair position you can get a good view of the bar, and that is where it is exciting. Unfortunately they usually prep my food really quickly so I never get to hear a full conversation.

Came here with family last night. The décor is straight out of the 70’s and really is a time warp. Back in its hey day of the 80’s this place used to be packed nightly from what I’ve been told. Fast forward to today and the place is pretty empty. The food though is fairly good. We had the General Tso’s Chicken, Orange Chicken, Lo Mein, and a couple of rices. The food was all very tasty and not terribly coated in batter and deep fried. The sauces were thick, not oily. The portions were decent sizes but not overwhelming. I would certainly go back again if for no other reason than I don’t feel like I ate a giant salt lick last night. It’s not the best Chinese Food you’ll ever eat but it’s solid.

If you’re drunk or hung over, maybe Louie’s will suffice.
If you’re in control of your faculties, run do not walk away from their door.
As if deep fried egg foo yung is not disgusting enough, they use hideouly old oil to fry them. Never even occurred to me that it could, let alone would, be deep fried.
I thought the first batch of carry out was a mistake. It was like nothing I’d ever seen called egg foo yung before. So I went back and waited a good long time, only to get more of the same.
Search for images of egg foo yung. I am SURE you will find lovely, golden brown patties of egg, bean sprouts, veggies and maybe some meat. I doubt you will find dark, dark brown close to black lumps of blech.
They need to cook it like an omlette, not like an eggroll. When in doubt, dump it in the deep fryer? Gaaagggg.
I will never, ever eat at Louie’s again. You should avoid it if you want tasty food. If you want to laugh about how awful something is, this is the place for you.
This was soooo gross and they acted like it was business as usual. I’d pay money to watch the owner eat some of this crap.

Firstly, this place is NOT fine Chinese cuisine. In fact, the only folks who think it is, are probably from Kansas and think good Chinese food is KFC «Chicken Tenders» with packets of spicy ginger sauce oozed all over it.
Secondly, like any self-​respecting Am-​Chin food joint, it makes its money off of booze in the bar-​lounge. Patrons that are typically laborers, insurance salesmen, and folks from the fishing industry. Think 55+ year olds in polyester suits.
If you’re drunk, have older taste buds, and you’re hungry, almost anything tastes good. Trust me.
How do I know this? Because I’d been going here off and on since it first began in the 70s. Yeah, In the 70s, before decent Chinese food (or any decent Asian cuisine for that matter) sprung up in the city. In the 70s (even in the early 80s) Louie’s was considered the bomb — good for what was available, and the norm.
Forward three decades… want good Chinese food? Go to the International District, there are plenty. Want stiff drinks, with better service and American style Chinese food that’s probably, how do I say this, less hassle? Go to Gim Wah in Magnolia, about 2 miles away. It’s everything Louie’s is but without the [insert your issue (s) here].

Fans of old school chow mein unite, no matter if you call it calif. style, new york style, or Cantonese, I call it a winner. Heres how I rate this in my 57 years I have ate americanized chinese at least min. twice a month since i can remember. Later years 4 to 6 times a month. I look at the rice, the fried rice the darker the brown the more flavor. I dont want my chow mein swimming in the sauce/​gravy. I love the charing of the veggies and rice. Theres a place in Buren there since 1958 right on target but twice the price for half the food.
Louies the sauce stuck to the veggies enough to enhance the flavor without it floating the noodles. Flavor best I have had in this area, but needed more of a char flavor. The portion size was ample and the price very affordable.
The size of this place is gigantic, with even more space down stairs. The staff very friendly and makes you feel welcomed.
Now if your a fan of Tai tung in the international district, and my wife was, you have to try louies, Louies beats them hands down for old school chow mein.
Had to give it a five, but its a honest 4.7 is it the very best I have had NO its #3 on my all time list, one is in East Los Angeles, and the other is in Canton Ohio, so unless your going to either those cities closer to drive to Ballard.

This will be one of my shorter reviews. Don’t laugh, I DO write them from time to time.
We’ve eaten here a few times. The hom bow was pretty good and a decent value, four for $ 5.00. If there’s two of you, order some of these and split an entrée, you’ll be more than satisfied. Their main dishes were okay, nothing really struck me as amazing. It was perfectly serviceable but not great.
The décor is straight up seventies and the wait staff can be brusque toward the end of the night. All in all, there’s better late night Chinese if you venture to the I.D. — the good thing about Louie’s is that they are open late and closer to the house than downtown.