Ramie Review - Capitol Hill - Seattle - The Infatuation
"This dark wood-blasted sister spot to Bainbridge Island’s Ba Sa is Seattle’s fanciest Vietnamese restaurant. In a city that has an abundance of casual restaurants serving bánh mì, pho, and bún, it’s refreshing to see a menu that involves frothy pandan-infused cocktails, crudo topped with nước chấm sorbet, and wagyu carpaccio with porcini ash. But even with some standout dishes, Ramie is ultimately underwhelming—a good-but-not-great Capitol Hill special occasion backup plan. photo credit: Suzi Pratt photo credit: Suzi Pratt photo credit: Suzi Pratt photo credit: Suzi Pratt photo credit: Suzi Pratt Sure, the space is snazzy—with usual suspects like elegant stoneware and furniture that looks plucked from the lobby of an architecture firm. But that doesn’t matter if everything else is kind of a yawn. There’s not much activity buzzing even amidst peak dinnertime. And though the food is fine, it lacks the spark that would otherwise make our fingers dance across a phone screen to text friends. Beautiful scored-and-seared oyster mushrooms plead for salt. A dish of beef tallow-coated corn is diluted by egg yolk. And a glassy-glazed black bean mousse resembles Yoplait Whips’ early aughts heyday and not much else. Not everything’s forgettable. Ramie’s best dishes include puffy hollow bread that tastes like a deep-fried sesame bagel, rice rolls slick with shrimp butter, and assembly-required trotter lettuce wraps sauced in a lemongrass pork jus that adds tang to everything it drips upon. The wine list is great too, with pours like sparkling verdicchio from Italy and Georgian amber fermented in underground qvervi. And reservations are easy to nab, making Ramie a solid candidate for a last-minute date. Provided you skip the breath-compromising tequila cocktail infused with garlic chive. Food Rundown photo credit: Suzi Pratt Bánh Tiêu The hollow bread is a steam-stuffed cloud of fried dough and nutty sesame. Slather on butter that’s been filled with a crater of honey, and tack on a second order while you’re at it. Gỏi Cá This is a very nice $27 hamachi crudo. The yellowtail is buttery, pickled ramps and garlic chips add bite, and a salty-fruity quenelle of kumquat sorbet multitasks as a bright sauce and refrigeration at the same time. photo credit: Suzi Pratt Bánh Cuốn If you like consuming the insides of a prawn’s noggin, you’ll enjoy these rice rolls coated in a combination of shrimp butter, pork, mushroom bits, and nước chấm. Nothing life-changing, just a pleasant—albeit oily—appetizer. photo credit: Suzi Pratt Canh Khoai Mỡ "It’s not like other risottos,” our server bragged. We hate to break it to them, but the canh khoai mỡ is, in fact, like other risottos. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since this vegan version features a creamy duo of arborio rice and purple yam, and the snackable brittle lotus root crips add a twinge of texture. But there's not enough of the herby pesto moat, and you'll find yourself reaching for condiments from other dishes to jazz up the bowl. photo credit: Suzi Pratt Gà Nướng Muối Ớt Sometimes, the char-marked chicken is a work of juicy poultry brilliance. At other times, it’s disappointingly dry—and the accompanying bitter-burnt kale can’t save it. photo credit: Suzi Pratt Cá Chiên It’s alarming how little branzino meat this whole grilled fish yields, but the morsels you do end up with are rich and tasty, especially with a dollop of fish sauce-coated onsen egg yolk spooned on top. And we could snack on the shaved kimchi cucumber it comes with for days. Giò Giả Cầy These are DIY lettuce wraps served with thin pork slices and a variety of sauces and vegetables. Assembling your own is fun, so this is worth an order—just note that the earthy jus on the side is overly salty." - Aimee Rizzo
