Seattle’s Time Bistro: Savory Bites, but with Sustainability Blights

Time Bistro | Vietnamese + Asian Fusion

🌏 Seattle, WA, USA

❀❀❀❀ 4.1 / 5.0

A Bistro with Plant-Based Promise

Located in the U District of Seattle, Time Bistro is a cozy nook serving up Vietnamese and Asian Fusion. The space heaters are like suspended fireplaces in the dining area and plant life accents the walls, giving the restaurant an organic ambience.

Time Bistro is a standout option for Vietnamese food—and there are accolades to show for it. In 2023, the restaurant won four first place titles in The Seattle Times’ Best in the PNW rankings. Locals consistently rave about their cheap eats, chicken wings, and vegetarian options. They even earned the bronze in my own “Best Banh Mi of 2024.”

The staff have been mellow on each of my visits, making for a laid-back experience. When friends and families gather in this quaint dining room, sharing stories over noodles and Thai iced tea, it’s enough to warm the heart.

Exploring the Plant-Based Menu

One of the things that sets Time Bistro apart is its dedicated vegetarian menu. The kitchen caters to both omnivores and herbivores, offering so many options that it actually has two separate menus.

Time Bistro leaned into offering vegetarian dishes to honor one of the owners’ grandmothers, who was a Buddhist nun. While not all Buddhists are vegetarian, one of Buddhism’s fundamental precepts is non-killing. Hence why, in Vietnam and its immigrant establishments, plant-based food is fantastically common.

Unlike many places with vegetarian options, however, plant-based folks aren’t limited to tofu and its derivatives. Most notable are their vegan pork and chicken, which are inventive twists on classic favorites. They have somehow managed to create “meats” that are both flavorful and texturally appropriate.

To prelude, the vegan pork was the VIP that secured Time Bistro’s third place spot on my preferred banh mi list last year!

Banh Mi that Hits the Mark

What originally drew me to Time Bistro was its Vegan Pork Banh Mi. Whenever there’s an opportunity to try a fresh take on reimagined protein, I’m in. 

As a banh mi fiend, I didn’t leave disappointed. First, the grilled “pork” was delightfully smoky. The special house sauce elevated the experience by a mile, too, complementing savory with a kiss of sweet. Even the vegetables-to-protein ratio felt exquisitely appropriate. 

The pickled carrots, white radish, cucumber, and white onion were fresh and full of pop. I didn’t find myself desiring any more of them, either. As someone who gravitates toward vegetables at every opportunity, I commonly have to ask banh mi stops for extra. Not the case here; it was a well-balanced sandwich all throughout.

As I remember, the bread was flakier than I would normally prefer. But that’s easier to overlook when the bulk of the banh mi is a winner!

Takeaway Letdown: The Plastic Problem

My second experience with Time Bistro was takeaway. Instead of ordering banh mi, I went zany (*gasp*) and tried the Singapore Style Noodles with vegan “chicken.”  

I was… hesitant when I retrieved the food. The noodles looked fine, despite being wet with condensation from the container—but my bigger issue was with the container itself. 

It was a clear clamshell package, the type that usually holds things like strawberries and ready-made foods. Manufacturers typically make these clamshells from PET (Polyethylene terephthalate), a member of the polyester family.

Although PET is considered one of the “safest” plastics for food storage, it’s still an ambiguous concoction of hundreds (and up to thousands) of functionally anonymous chemicals. Depending on the composition of the plastic, it can expose us to a variety of hormone disruptors. We simply don’t know.

Plastics break down with heat, which is why certain types are prone to melting in the microwave. As temperature and time increase, plastic’s integrity decreases, and chemicals can leach into its surroundings. With potentially hundreds of unknown chemicals in one container, it’s not entirely unreasonable to deduce that chemicals could leach into hot food.

Moreover, due to the incredible variety of chemical makeups, most of our plastic takeaway containers aren’t even recycled. In reality, their complex chemical makeups—and food/label contamination—often prevent efficient sorting and processing. The environmental and health tolls of disposable plastics tend to overshadow my overall experience.

Final Thoughts on Time Bistro

Altogether, Time Bistro is worth a visit—especially if you dig creative “meat” alternatives and a really decent banh mi. The atmosphere is undeniably warm, and both food menus are full of fresh intrigue. 

Consider dining in for the best experience. The restaurant’s plastic-heavy packaging choices definitely reduced the quality of the takeaway. By the time the food got home, each dish was a bit soggy with condensation, and I struggled to palate the chemical leaching potential of the PET plastic. If the restaurant switched to a compostable alternative (or at least a food-safer plastic), those concerns would diminish.  

As a plant-conscious small business, though, Time Bistro is a special gem in Seattle’s U District. Their vegetarian menu is a thorough delight, and I imagine the meat options are delicious, too.

Perhaps after your own adventure, we can compare notes.

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