Marination Station

There are just some places that you become obsessed with. Marination Station is such a place.
The obsession for me begins with the sliders. I dig the spam sliders, but the pulled pork ones are what I crave for all of the time.
Get the tacos, get the kimchi rice, they are delicious, but I will scarf down 4 or 5 sliders easily and live every minute of it.
Definitely a highlight of my Capitol Hill visits!

So yummy! Our waiter AJ did such a great job choosing the perfect dinner choices for our family. Friendly, fast and delicious!

Ordered the chicken salad and a pork taco via postmates, and scarfed it dowwwwn. Some real life right there. Totally delicious, worth the price. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Food was delicious — had the veggie kimchi with tofu. Spicy and savory enough to go back for another bite over and over again. My friend had a taco salad and he cleaned his plate.
Elana was wonderful! Why can’t the rest of the world be as friendly as the folks at MS?
I do wish there was more inside seating — due to the rain we had to crowd inside… other than that, one of my favorite locales.

**I always have to stop by here whenever I’m in the First Hill/​Broadway area. The food has great flavor between sweet and savory. My favorite’s the *Kimchee Fried Rice with either *Miso Ginger Chicken or *Sexy Tofu.
**Reasons why I didn’t give it a perfect rating: *Parking is a hassle. Though it’s free in the lot, you can, (probably will), get a ticket if you park for more than 30 minutes. *And at times, the food isn’t consistently good.

Small place, good food, decently priced. I had the tofu kimchi. It was spicy and flavorful! The place is small and could seat around 8 people. The quantity was good.

Recently after stopping by for lunch I decided to write a review to share my experience with others. The staff here were very friendly and helpful in selecting a choice, they even offered a sample of their spicy pork which was very yummy. Unfortunately when I received my order for kimchi fried rice I was very disappointed. The rice was over cooked, their was very little meat given, and their wasn’t any flavor that indicated they had included kimchi. I want to say I maybe had five small pieces of meat to the entire take out box given, considering that their prices were kind of high I was expecting more. I did enjoy their customer service but do not plan to return anytime soon.

My favorite restaurant in seattle. Try the spam sliders!

Loved their vegan «Sexy Tofu» tacos. Filling, cheap, fresh and DELICIOUS!

I was late for school and decided to eat — found this place. I got here 15+ mins early but they open 2 mins early. I ordered kimchi fried rice with kalbi beef coz I saw a lot of people talking about it here on Unilocal — I did the right choice! The mac salad was bomb too! I wasn’t lucky enough to get spam musubi coz they only serve it mondays.

Oh, this whole 25 minute wait for a quesadilla business is nonsense and I wish I would have read the numerous other tips and reviews regarding the wait nearly killed me.
The explanation for the wait on the quesadilla was because they made it incorrectly the first time ’round (they failed to omit the crema) and thus, double the wait time. As an apology, they gave me a free pork slider which was very much appreciated because I was famished.
1. Would I order the quesadilla again? I would but I would call ahead to order.
2. Was the quesadilla worth the wait? Yes, however, note that my time spent waiting was sitting out on the ‘patio’ in front of Marination Station in the warm sunshine.
My quesadilla was very good and hit the spot. The pickled jalapeño toppings were delicious but gave me heartburn for the next couple of hours (worth it though!). The quesadilla had the right meat to cheese to tortilla ratio.
The best way I can describe Marination Station is that it is a brick and mortar food truck. There is a counter-​height bar that runs along two windowed walls inside with 6 – 8 barstools. Outside there is a large counter-​height table with an additional 6 – 8 barstools. Finally, the large ‘patio’ (aka rooftop) has multiple counter-​height bars that run along the walls of the patio with additional seating. There’s actually a ton of seating available.
As for parking, there is a very large parking garage (look for it off of Broadway titled «QFC public parking». QFC provides 60 minutes of free parking (no ticket validation needed, however you must register your parking spot at the meter which starts your 60 minute clock). Free parking rocks but don’t risk getting a ticket. Pop into QFC for a handful of items (no minimum spend required) before or after you dine at Marination Station.
I will return to Marination Station multiple times over the course of my next days, weeks, and possibly years in Seattle but will question my judgement when starving and wanting a quesadilla.

Before I get lynched by an angry mob for a 3 star review, understand that this is my preference and that 3 stars doesn’t equate to bad, it just means that it’s ok (to me).
There was a lot of hype leading up to my first visit to this place. I’ve never been one to chase food trucks so it was nice to hear they have a brick and mortar location for me to sit and eat.
Now I don’t know because I’m not the biggest fan of fusion foods or because I have a higher standard of kimchee fried rice and kalbi ribs, but MS to me was okay at best. The kimchee fried rice was a bit dry and had very little spice to it. Texture was done well but the kalbi ribs were also dry and borderline bland. After a healthy dose of sriracha it was sub par. For $ 7 there was a decent amount food so no complaint for portions. The side of mac salad was mildly flavored as well.
Overall, I’ve had better — but it’s not a bad place. I wouldn’t go out of my way to come back or hunt for their food truck. But if i’m in the neighborhood and want to eat something different, I’ll be there again to see if my food that day was simply an off day.

After reading the reviews on this tiny restaurant, I thought i’d finally try it out. It’s upstairs of QFC and is a pretty small space. I want to say maybe 7 – 8 seats inside in a «bar» formation, other than that, it’s a booth where they take your order. There are some seats outside though.
The service was great, the cashier was very friendly and personable. I ordered the Beef Kimchi Fried rice and a Beef Kalbi Taco. The Kimchi Fried rice had a fried egg on top of it, a layer of beef under that egg and then the box was ¾ filled with the fried rice. The beef was too salty for me, I could only eat a few bites until it was too much. The kimchi fried rice was pretty good for me for the first few bites, since I had a good amount of kimchi in it, but half way it started getting bland. It was «okay». Onto the taco, it was pretty good. I did enjoy the balance between the salad (sweetish) and the beef (salty).
Overall, my experience was okay.
Notes: Order take out. I assume during a busy day the seat will be taken.

Talk about poor customer service! Went here for lunch during work. Ordered the pork kimchi quesadilla and waited about 25 minutes! They did NOT give me a heads up that it would take this long. After I checked in on it at about 15 minutes, they said its almost done, another minute. Yea right!
To make matters even more frustrating, a customer got their quesadilla before me!!! What. The. Heck.
I know you’re busy but cmon seriously. 25 minutes is rather ridiculous. One of the guys said they had to grill it so it takes the longest. Ok could have said that from the beginning so I wouldn’t have ordered it on my 30 minute lunch! Also obviously it has to be grilled. I’m quite bitter as you can see. I don’t think they even said sorry.

I really enjoyed this unique fusion food. I’ve never seen a Kimchi Quesadilla (with kalua pork!) anywhere else in my life, and I’m not likely to. There was a very unique coleslaw topping, and what seemed somewhat like sriracha mayo drizzled on top. It was super good, and the bite I tried of my friend’s cheesesteak special was great as well.
I’d definitely come back. Things to be aware of — this location is tiny. Like, 10 seats maybe and they’re all around the windows at a bar, no tables at all. It gets very crowded around lunch time, and it’s pretty much just a counter that you order at. Way better for takeout than to sit and eat. As such, it’s not great for groups either, any more than two people would have probably been a pain.
Everything comes out fairly quickly, the music is fun, and the people are nice. The quesadilla was great, but I’d definitely try something different next time. It wasn’t a «so good I’ll never order anything else again» moment.

Don’t exile me, but I’m not a super-​fan. I’m not typically a fan of fusion food, so that may be why.
I ordered two tacos, spicy pork and kalbi beef, and a side of mac salad. They were OK. I wasn’t a huge fan of the slaw they put on the tacos. Mac salad was good but nothing special.
Although, A++ for the service, though. The ladies I ordered from were very personable and friendly and upbeat. I could tell they were very genuine!
In the end, not really my type of food, but just my $ 0.02.

The name of the place definitely threw me off. I had just gotten off a flight from SF, so my buddy and I were looking for something quick and easy, but still filling and delicious. I only had so many meals during my trip to Seattle, and I really needed to make them really count. Tucked away on the second floor of what seems like a strip mall, Marination Station has an open food court-​like seating area outside, and a few stools and benches inside as well. The space inside is very tight, so it’s definitely way better to sit outside. The people behind the counter were very friendly, and they paid very close attention to our special requests and such. I was surprised at the amount of people in the café, especially since the location was so roundabout. I guess that speaks to the food…
I didn’t have too much personal experience with Hawaiian-​Korean fusion, so we went for broke. We went with the kimchi fried rice with kalbi and fried egg on top, the spicy pork «torta», the spicy pork sliders and tacos. Pay no mind to our general fat-​assery, we just like to order the whole darn menu and that’s that. My favorites were the fried rice and the spicy pork torta, which actually came on baguette-​like bread, rather than a round roll. However, it was stuffed with marinated spicy pork, slaw, and thinly sliced pickled beets. Such a random mix of ingredients, but it all came together quite well. The kimchi fried rice was a little bit more familiar to me, but with the load of kalbi and the perfectly cooked, runny, fried egg on top, it really put the meal over the top. The tacos and the sliders were pretty standard fare that I had seen before, but still delicious in their own right. The secret really is the nunya sauce, which is a mayo-​based sauce with a lot of spices, gojuchang, garlic, and scallions. Drizzle that on just about any of these dishes, and it’ll be great.
They also had Hawaiian Sun, which was pretty neat. I’ve actually never been to Hawai’i but my roommate from college was, and his parents would always send him care packages that contained things like macadamia nuts, chocolates, and Hawaiian Sun. It’s not really anything special in the world of soft drinks, but I can see the appeal for college kids who are homesick and want to see something familiar.
In all, this wasn’t really cheap eats, with dishes running at about $ 10 each, but they were definitely filling, and well-​portioned. I can’t speak to the authenticity of the food, but everything was delicious, and in the end, that’s really what matters. I’ll definitely be back for some of that kimchi fried rice, or if I’m just looking for a snack, I’ll go for the sliders or tacos.

Great location with a fantastic view and damn good food. I had the spam slider. Yep, SPAM! It was phenomenal. I also had a bahn mi sandwich. Great deal. Love the ordering at the counter and being given a buzzer for when you food is ready. Seating is awesome. Community table or small tables with window views or tables outside or benches outside with the best view in West Seattle. What a great deal. REstaurant is located right at the water taxi and a public pier for fishing and an area where scuba divers frequent so no lack of things to watch while eating. To go orders also would be super convenient here. And I just raised my rating from a 4 to a 5 when I reread this fantastic review especially when I consider the price per person is less than $ 10!!! Really, try this place out. You won’t be disappointed.

Marination is one of my favorite food trucks in Seattle! This Capitol Hill brick-​and-​mortar restaurant is the location I end up going to most often, and it’s a regular stop on too-​lazy-​to-​cook nights (or kimchi-​rice-​craving nights).
This location is a bit tricky to find at first. On the corner of Broadway & Pike is the QFC supermarket; Marination is located on top of QFC, upstairs on the rooftop parking level. Just follow the stairs up and you’ll see them.
It’s fairly small and usually pretty crowded, so indoor seating can be limited, but there’s a large outdoor seating area with tables and bars that has more room. Order at the counter and hover impatiently until your order is called, then grab a table outside or take it to go.
The miso ginger chicken tacos, spicy pork torta, and kahlua pork sliders are all delicious, but my favorite is the flaming-​hot spicy kimchi rice bowl with an egg on top — you can choose your protein, and I usually get the tofu (not because I’m vegetarian, just because it’s good!). The portion is generous and very filling for under $ 10. They don’t have as many menu items here as Marination Ma Kai does, so the selection is a little more limited, but I can always find something tasty.
Service is always friendly here, but it can get slow if the staff is busy preparing a large catering order. The closer you get to closing time, the more likely it is that they’ll run out of ingredients, so be prepared to be flexible if you show up during the last hour of the day. It’s not uncommon that they’ll say it will take a few extra minutes because they need to finish a new batch of rice — but hey, you know you’re getting the freshest food then!
If the Marination truck doesn’t stop near you or you just want to grab some quick, tasty Asian fusion food for cheap, this station is a great choice for a fast meal.

Small, cozy, and cute! It has outdoor seating shared with tamarind tree. I just got the kalbi taco which was delicious and the prefect snack. Everything on the menu looked bomb and so did everyone’s food. I would defiantly come back!

L