The Room
Eric Banh — also of Stateside and Monsoon — opened Ba Bar on 12th Avenue in 2011 — a casual Vietnamese dining room dedicated to the proposition that Capitol Hill needed a working pho-and-banh-mi destination at full-restaurant register. The dining room is intentionally bright and casual, with hand-painted Vietnamese folk art on the walls.
Eater Seattle has held Ba Bar on its top-Capitol-Hill rankings every year of operation. The format is intentionally non-fine-dining but the pho-and-banh-mi programme runs at fine-dining technique.
The Food
The pho programme runs a serious twelve-hour beef-bone broth. The banh-mi programme runs five rotating sandwiches. The lemongrass chicken, the wok-tossed rice plates, and the brunch service handle the menu's wider draws.
Cocktail programme runs Vietnamese-spice-led. Beer programme runs Vietnamese-import. Service is counter-and-runner.
Best Occasion Fit
Solo Dining: Ba Bar is one of Capitol Hill's most-reliable casual solo-dining counters. A bowl of pho, a Vietnamese coffee, the all-day menu fills any time of day.
First Date: Ba Bar is a casual first-date alternative for the diner who wants the night to register as Capitol-Hill-honest rather than fine-dining.
Team Dinner: Ba Bar handles team lunches better than most Capitol Hill counters. The family-style ordering scales, the bill is honest.