In keeping with my New Year’s resolution to try some new restaurants, Robert and I decided to venture out to a little place called Green Leaf. Green Leaf is a Vietnamese restaurant located in the International District. It opened for business just over a year ago and has been getting rave reviews ever since, many hailing it as the best Vietnamese food in Seattle. Mario Batali has already been there even. Needless to say, I was dying to try it. We went with our friend Jason who has been there several times and was able to provide firsthand confirmation of its yumminess.

The restaurant is tiny. It probably only has about 10 tables but, despite its small size, it doesn’t feel cramped at all. I’ve heard that it can get pretty busy, so we decided to go early to avoid the rush. Unlike many of its neighboring restaurants, Green Leaf has quite a bit of ambiance. Bamboo walls, attractive wooden chairs and dim lighting make for a very warm, comfortable atmosphere.

Upon arriving at our table, we were immediately served with menus and big mugs of hot tea. The menu at Green Leaf is a little daunting, especially if you are not familiar with Vietnamese food. There is a lot to choose from. It is somewhat heavy on the meat, but there were several delicious-sounding vegetarian options. They also have a really interesting selection of beverages including egg soda, pickle plum soda and kumquat soda. I stuck with a more mainstream tamarind soda. It was good but a little sweet for my taste.

I had heard wonderful things about the Banh Xeo so I ordered that to share. Banh Xeo is a crispy rice flour and coconut milk pancake filled with bean sprouts and your choice of tofu or pork and shrimp. Accompanying the Banh Xeo is a large plate of lettuce, cilantro and basil. You are meant to wrap pieces of the Banh Xeo with some of the fresh herbs in the lettuce leaves and then dip all of that into a nuoc cham dipping sauce. It was messy but delicious and fun.

Jason ordered a couple of his favorite appetizers: Grilled Beef with “Lop” Leaf and the very unusual Escargot and Pork, which looked essentially like an escargot and pork meatloaf skewered on a piece of lemongrass. Robert decided to play it safe by ordering the Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork. For my dinner, I chose the House Special Noodle Soup which was described as a rice noodle soup with shrimp, squid, fish balls, BBQ pork and wontons. I honestly had no idea what to expect so it was quite a thrill when I was served the biggest bowl of soup I had ever before seen. I’ve been out for pho many times and it is always served in oversized bowls but never like this. This was…a trough. But, it was a trough filled with delicious piping hot noodles, seafood and broth. I was also provided with a plate of bean sprouts, sliced jalapeños, herbs and lime wedges for seasoning my soup. It was really yummy but, not surprisingly, I was only able to get about halfway through before I was stuffed full.

One of my favorite things about Vietnamese food is the abundance of fresh herbs and Green Leaf doesn’t disappoint in this area. Plenty of greenery with no wilting in sight. I can see why they have built up such a good reputation. Not only is the food fresh and tasty, but the prices are reasonable and the staff is friendly and helpful. Sure enough, as we were leaving, there was crowd waiting at the door for a table. Green Leaf is located at 418 8th Ave S.