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University Teriyaki
Categories: Restaurants Japanese Restaurants Korean Restaurants Chinese Japanese, Korean, Chinese [Edit]
4108 University Way NESeattle, WA 98105
Neighbourhood: University District
(206) 632-5688
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Dive-y
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
About This Business:
Henry prepares classics from his homeland of Taiwan, but brings his love of ingredients and techniques from aroud the world. Enjoy familiar favorities,… read more »
129 reviews for University Teriyaki
Review Highlights
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"My favorite place for frozen yogurt in the U-District." In 18 reviews -
"7 - not the cheapest teriyaki on the ave." In 38 reviews -
"I always get the chicken katsu and have never been..." In 10 reviews
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129 reviews in English
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Review from Kittiya P.
Seattle, WA
3/25/2012
This is the only place I go to get Hot Stone Pot Bibimbap. Huge portion, served with miso soup. It's huge mainly because of rice, but you also get all kinds of veggies (bean sprouts, carrots, zucchini, etc), beef, and a fried egg in it. Don't forget to add the sauce in it. It's not as spicy as it looks.
I also recommend their chap jae and ddokboki as well :)
I haven't had their sushi, but they do look very appetizing.
This place is not the cleanest restaurant on the ave, but I honestly think it's not that bad. I think it's because people have to clean up after themselves. Their staff do wipe the tables down when they can.
Their frozen yogurt is pretty good too. -
Review from Olive H.
4/14/2012
Mehh.
Ordered the chicken + katsu + gyoza combo. The heap of salad that comes with is really pointless. Could they stop dumping mounds of cheap lettuce that nobody likes to eat? It was half the plate, with squirted dressing.
The katsu was burnt and very dry. If its burnt black, doesn't that indicate that you shouldn't serve it? The chicken was average at best. The gyoza had no crunch and tasted weird...
All that for $9 or so. I guess it's not their specialty. My friend's plate of food was burnt too. What? Did they just cook everything at once and leave it cooking so they could get the food out faster? Because there were 5 of us and the food was out within 5 minutes, each. That's a plus, but THAT fast says my food was sitting around for centuries. I wouldn't come back again. -
Review from Waves G.
Oakland, CA
3/4/2012
This is a long overdue review. Please do not EVER go here. Please, not even if your life depended on it! I had lunch here once because I was too lazy to go farther and wish I hadn't. I ate some kind of a sweet and sour pork and it gave me diarrhea in a matter of 20 minutes after leaving the restaurant. No, that's not it. The worst part is the fact that the runs and abdominal pain lasted 4 days and did not feel well for almost two weeks. I kid you now. My friends can attest to this and I dissuaded from ever eating at this place.
Please stay away!!! I will not eat here ever again, not even if its free!!!! -
Review from Sean R.
Seattle, WA
5/14/2012
this place sucks. i go there, and will continue to go there, but it's an extremely mediocre restaurant. that said, it's basically supposed to be. people go there because it's cheap and fast; not because it rocks anyone's world.
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Review from Diane C.
1/30/2012
This is my go to place when I'm too lazy to go any farther. It's not the healthiest, yummiest, or nicest place to eat on the Ave...but I like it.
I always get spicy chicken teriyaki with brown rice (no salad), although they also offer korean hot pots, sushi, and other yakisobas. (I can't really speak to those.)
This is not the place you go when you want vegetables. No real redeeming health value with all the sugary sauce. I usually bring myself some stir fry veggies from home to throw in. You might be wondering why i don't make my own teriyaki chicken too...it's because I can't get by sauce to taste like theirs!
This is absolutely a student joint. Lots of frat boys and college athletes, but that just tells you the portion sizes are huge. I always take my food to go though, so I don't really deal with the cleanliness of the tables, chairs, etc. This place doesn't pretend it's anything it's not...it's cheap asian-ish food...that's it. -
Review from Chris C.
Seattle, WA
4/13/2012
I wouldn't eat it if it wasn't one of the closest places to the dorms. Semi-cheap food, but very oily.
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Review from Rachel A.
12/16/2011
We really hated this place-- slim vegetarian options, unseasoned dishes (for both veggies and carnivores) and just generally bleh food.
No point in going back there! -
Review from Lisa S.
Seattle, WA
1/9/2012
I enjoy UT - the food is always consistent and cheap. The combos also come with rice and a side salad. My go-to is the spicy chicken teriyaki, the chicken katsu is also a fine alternative.
I always take my food to go, as the other reviews on here have suggested, the restaurant isn't clean, and I'm sure they've had several health code violations throughout the years... but what asian restaurant doesn't? -
Review from Rich X.
10/30/2011
Pros: Relatively low price for how much the portion is. Decent tasting food.
Cons: This place is very dirty and and the tables just do not feel clean. This place has been shut down many times for health reasons. I personally haven't had any problems but there are much better places to eat on University Way. -
Review from Angel I.
1/29/2012 9 Check-ins Here
LOVE University Teriyaki. I've tried all of the other locations on the Ave and just keep coming back UT. Prices are cheap and portions are huge, and I find myself sharing one of their entree portions with another person so it ends up being a super cheap meal. Service is fast, though I have to dock off a star because they reject requests for substitutions during busy hours or give you a funny look if you even ask. The only teriyaki to get is the chicken, all of the other meats are very dry and not good. I know it's personal preference but I like their sweeter teriyaki sauce. It's also nice that they serve froyo, in fact, they the first ones on the Ave to have froyo at a location lower than NE 45th and University. They also have TVs that show various sports games on--football, basketball, etc.
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Review from Kelly G.
Seattle, WA
8/31/2011 1 Check-in Here
If you go to UW, you will go to UT. Simple truth.
The portions are large, and the food is always at least decent. UT has a Chinese menu, a Korean menu, and now a sushi menu, so certainly more variety than your average teriyaki joint if chicken teriyaki with a side of gyozas just isn't cutting it today. Their (truly great) mongolian beef is my post-quiz section staple. -
Review from Melissa S.
Pittsburgh, PA
8/7/2011
They are way to all over the place. I understand the need to accommodate the Asian community by offering a diverse menu, but pick a side, please.
A big sign outside says that the have sushi, which is all I wanted. A snotty waitress tells me that there is no one there to make it today. Ok. My Korean husband, excited to see Korean offerings orders a spicy seafood soup. Absolutely no flavor or spices that would indicate that it was a "Korean" dish. I order a salad, asking if they use Ginger dressing. She tells yes. When it comes out it has white cream on it. I ask, politely, if it is Ranch dressing (which is my dietary nightmare). Again, in a snotty/haughty tone she tells me that it is NOT and walks away. It was.
I guess we were kind of hard up because it was raining and we didn't feel like walking far. I'd eat food out of a sloppy overflowing gutter before going there again. -
Review from Anthony O.
Silverdale, WA
1/31/2012
Keep walking. Yeah you get large portions. But seriously, its like a trough of day-old reheated meat over rice. Not worth it. Go up the ave to Teriyaki 1st if your craving teriyaki. If thats to far get vietnamese, thai, anything but UT, expand your tastebuds
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Review from John K.
Rosamond, CA
4/2/2012
I liked my food. Counter lady was very nice. Seems pricey for having to bus your own tables and order at a counter though.
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Review from Maylee L.
10/21/2011
My friend used to work there. He said their grading for cleanse is rated an F and the boss is a crackhead and very lazy who eats from pots without cleaning them. But I think that's how it is when you eat out almost everywhere. I found couple pieces of bugs in my food, so gross. There was one time where I heard one of my friend saw a rat while eating there. Don't go there, your just eating food that taste good but it is actually contaminated.
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Review from Mary P.
Bellevue, WA
4/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
Their portions are HUGE.
It's very cheap and relatively low quality, but tastes okay.
I found a spider leg in my salad once, which was unpleasant. -
Review from Monica P.
Seattle, WA
3/20/2012
I used to come here quite often, until I saw the bugs and rat... nuff said
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Review from Tan Lo S.
6/9/2011
I don't know why most of the Teriyaki places i've been to are Korean. I love that. But I always think that's so interesting. This place was definitely better than next door, Ichiro. I think they have great portions.
They also have a mini Froyo inside and I thought that was good. I probably would return again, but I'm still trying to find a place that is as good as the one by my house in South Seattle. I think this place was pretty good. Good tasting, good flavors. :) -
Review from ME M.
Las Vegas, NV
5/12/2011
UT UT UT!
Ohh UT, how large your portions are and how average everything about you is.... I go to you when I'm busy, lazy, depressed, or don't want to walk all the way up the Ave to somewhere better than you. You're always there for me-- you and that door where I can get froyo with little mochi balls and fruit on top. But, I don't love everything about you. Especially when you made me gain that twenty pounds freshman year. I know, I know, it wasn't all your fault. I forgive you. -
Review from Joanne D.
12/1/2011
I don't know why people rave about this place. Their chicken teriyaki is always burnt and dry.
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Review from Patrick C.
Loma Linda, CA
1/1/2011
Honestly, i like this place and I have eaten here at least 40 times BUT my friend (whose name I'm not going to say) used to work here and lets just say their kitchen isn't very clean/sanitary. There are rats scurrying around and after everything my friend told me, I stopped eating there. My friend even quit his job there.
You know how good a restaurant is by how many dishes on the menu the owner will eat. And let's just say, he will only eat 3 things on the menu out of the many possible selections. -
Review from Ryan S.
4/27/2011
This is my favorite Teriyaki restaurant in the city. I have been here about a dozen times and it never disappoints.
Since I'm a runner, I usually take all of the calories I can get. The portions here are HUGE and I always leave with a full belly. I don't really like salad so they substitute it for an extra scoop of rice.
I don't know exactly what it is about the teriyaki sauce, but it's the best I've ever had. I always gotten the plain teriyaki chicken except once I ordered the spicy teriyaki. 10 little dixie cups of water later, I decided to stick to the milder one.
Aside from the over crowdedness of students at lunchtime, I love everything about this place and try to make it a weekly destination. -
Review from Jannie H.
Jacksonville, NC
6/8/2011
UT is a staple to every student's experience, if you haven't been here, you need to go. Love the fact that they have Chinese and Korean dishes. It will surely satisfy anyone's craving. They also serve froyo.
There is no waiter service, so you bus your own table, but hey, what do you expect for affordable food? -
Review from Megan A.
3/31/2011
University Teriyaki may be good for incoming freshman who are looking to escape dorm food, but just as I got tired of university classes, I got tired of UT.
I would not say that the food is terrible, but its not amazing. Yes, the food is cheap, but you get what you pay for (plus you cannot use your husky card anywhere on the ave anymore). If you do plan to eat here, I would suggest the chicken katsu. Do not get the bulgogi! It had so much fat that I could not eat most of it. I am also not a fan of the salad - the watered-down ranch dressing makes me gag. I also noticed that many people have been commenting on the frozen yogurt - it's tasty but you can get a bigger bang for your buck elsewhere.
The restaurant itself is outdated. Personally, I enjoy a little more cleanliness and comfort where I eat. The staff seems friendly, but they just take your order at the counter, so I have not had to much interaction with them. -
Review from Nick H.
Northgate, Seattle, WA
1/15/2011
I came here recently with my sister for a quick supper.
I had the chicken/chicken katsu combo. It was quite tasty. It came with two scoops of rice and a salad. The portions were generous and the prices reasonable. The chicken was cooked perfectly. I didn't even need to add any extra teriyaki sauce, but I could see how others might. The only complaint I have is the amount of sauce for the katsu. It was just a small container. I could've used more of that.
I will be coming here again. -
Review from Madison L.
Seattle, WA
3/9/2012
Not really anything special. I've ordered combos that had teriyaki in it and rice and it's always been bleh. Not much vegetables given. Proportions are okay but the food itself isn't very tasty or satisfying. Leaves me wanting something more. It's cheap but not good.
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Review from Maria G.
3/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
I go there a lot often for a quick lunch or dinner stop. The service is fast. I also like their frozen yogurt a lot!
The price is reasonable for college students!
For 6-8 dollars, you can get a big plate of food with two scoops of rice, some lettuce salad, and plenty chicken teriyaki! -
Review from Dominique F.
Arlington, VA
2/18/2011
It's on the ave; it's clean and it offers huuuuge portions at cheap prices. Why in the world would you not like it?
Plus the froyo they sell is pretty good too!
Def. worth going to if you're around here and craving teryaki! -
Review from Marley B.
1/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good sized portions for a good price, but the quality of food is hit or miss. The $1.00 cup of miso soup is always good. Tofu teriyaki is good as well. My meat eating friends have commented that the chicken is sometimes overdone.
Overall, a good find. -
Review from Rachel H.
Seattle, WA
1/25/2011
If I could rate this three 3 1/2 stars, I would. This is, in my opinion, the tastiest teriyaki place on The Ave.
The restaurant is clean and spacious and they have two flat screen TV's (one in each room) usually tuned into sports. You bus your own table here, which isn't a big deal to me. I really don't know what else to say about teriyaki. -
Review from Jeanny M.
Really good for Korean food actually!
I'll rewind a bit, I've been here for their yakisoba which is crazy huge, and just okay tasting. I've gotten their katsu which is nice and crispy. I've gotten bibimbap that comes in an interesting bowl (not the hot stone one), which was filling and good for its location to my job. I've asked for sushi and was told the person wasn't in today (even though I ordered on the correct day). I believe they've gone to prepackaged sushi.
Anyway, their Korean menu is pretty long and overwhelming. I decided on the seafood kimchi bowl (in the hot stone pot). It was just around $8 for lunch.
We got waters and our number and sat on the side where the frogurt stand is. It's less noisy and crowded, plus we had an early, not-between classes lunch date.
The food was brought to us in a few minutes and it was tasty good. They definitely put a LOT of kimchi in there (I separated it from the seafood and rice). It was very spicy and hot (temp-wise). The seafood was some shrimp and squid (in stick form, which I don't personally like). The portion of seafood was decent.
After eating (I love how the rice gets all crispy in those hot stone bowls) we bussed our own table carefully and went back to work. -
Review from Don B.
10/26/2009
I totally stumbled (literally) upon this little teriyaki joint after a UW/Ducks football game on Saturday, and I'm so glad I did.
After a rousing Ducks ass-whuppin' of the Huskies, my green-and-gold clad crew and I headed over to the Ave in hopes of catching some cabs back across town. We decided to post up in front of University Teriyaki to wait for the cabs we had called. As we stood and waited, and waited, we kept smelling the amazing scents of Korean food coming out of UT. Deciding that no cab would be coming any time soon, we hauled our ever-hungrier asses inside to grab some grub.
The menu reads like your average Teriyaki joint - a mix of chicken, beef, yakisoba, etc... but you can tell that's just there for show (and people who don't know better). The real menu hangs to the right of the cashier area and is half in Korean, half in English, and reads like my take-out dream. A litany of Korean staples like bi bim bap, kimchi rice cake, bulgogi, kalbu, chigae, etc... Coming from Portland, a town filled with mediocre food, this was a beautiful sight for me. We waited in the longest line ever, and ordered a score of Korean dishes.
The Yakisoba was a complete disappointment. Totally bland, greasy yaki. Standard. But that's where the disappointment ended. The Kimchi rice cake was pretty dang good, and the spicy pork stir fry was decently tasty. Then came the major highlight - spicy squid. This dish captivated me. The depth of the red, Korean spicy/garlicky sauce with chewy squid bits and a mix of veggies. Fantastic. Delicious. We had ordered family style, and I pulled the a-hole move and grabbed that whole dish for myself. I think I shared about 5 bites. The rest was MINE. And at somewhere near $7 for a HUGE serving, it was pretty stellar.
All in all, it was a great random find (especially since, and don't tell anyone this, but I didn't check Yelp before I ordered my food), and I would easily return for the spicy squid dish. Based on the Yaki, though, I would generally avoid the non-Korean items on the menu. One look back into the kitchen tells me that Korean food is the order of the day here.
On a side note, I'll mention that our service was great, but I saw numerous snafus happening with orders that came up before ours, so clear communication is key.Listed in: Sea-town Ballers, Seattle Food
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Review from Rachel S.
Seattle, WA
12/31/2007
The U District's depressing. I mean, there's a university there. Universities give me the heebie-jeebies. Eight years of my life have I spent living on campuses, right smack on top of tertiary-institution-owned land. Eight more years have I spent just right on the border of a university, taking my meals there, loitering in lounges. Two have I taught at, two have I properly attended, two more have I gone to some sort of class within, and nine more have I had infiltrate my existence through their association with my kin.
I don't go near a university if I can help it. I mean, all those students. And teachers. And excessively large buildings. And things. Bad things. Bad food, too. No, no, no, no! Help!
But you can't always avoid the U District, and if anything can take the edge of fear off, it's a nice thick bowl of Korean soup. University Terikayi may have a disconcerting name, and a disconcerting sign saying something about European pastries, but while the soup definitely doesn't meet Lynnwood or Federal Way standards, it's still decent, and unacademic, and awfully soothing. -
Review from Eugene C.
Seattle, WA
3/30/2010
As far as teriyaki goes, this place is strictly average. Often the teriyaki sauce will begin to coagulate far before it has reached my table. Either that says something about the freshness of the sauce or the just untimely manner in which the plate was brought out to me. That said, average teriyaki is a lot better than an average pizza or burger. When you consider the cheapness and sheer quantity of UT, you begin to appreciate the mountain of average teriyaki deliciousness that looms before you.
I think the real gem here goes beyond teriyaki chicken. If you order many of the other Korean dishes here (minus jajang myun), you'll get surprisingly decent to good dishes for pretty decent prices as well.
So don't play it safe all the time and get kimchee fried rice or stone pot stir fried rice. There are quite a bit of options here that are better than teriyaki chicken. -
Review from Stephanie P.
Seattle, WA
11/13/2006
There is a time and a place for fine dining, but this was not one of those times: it was around seven on a Saturday evening and we had half an hour to eat, ideally for under $10, since we were low on cash to boot. Luckily, we were in the U-district, where this is not an uncommon plight. We had plenty of options, but the grimly institutional look of University Teriyaki sealed the deal for us.
No decorating budgets were harmed in the making of this restaurant --- from the circa-1970s faux-wood paneling and plastic-topped tables to the colorless all-weather carpet, the furnishings were all clearly chosen with the idea of passing the savings on to you, the customer. A couple of flat-screen TVs in the corner are the only nod to aesthetics, and handwritten signs with smiley faces cheerfully remind you to bus your own tables.
The menu board offers some teriyaki combos (chicken, gyoza, tempura), yakisoba, and make-your-own combos with one or two items plus rice and salad. There's also a selection of Korean dishes, which neither of us was feeling brave enough to try that night. My beef yakisoba ($6) ended up being a mountain of noodles, cabbage, onions, and scraps of meat that tasted not unlike beef jerky, in a good way. It also came with a small scoop of rice and the ever-present salad with mayonnaise dressing, which I ignored. My friend's chicken teriyaki and gyoza was generously sized, with two scoops of rice --- the gyoza was hotter than the surface of the sun, but good, as far as my cauterized taste buds could tell.
Nothing fancy here, but the service is super-fast, and they do take credit cards for the cash-strapped (there is a $0.50 fee for totals under $5). Get your order to-go even if you're eating there, because they give you so dang much food that you'll need to take the leftovers with you anyway --- and it's one less dish to bus. It may not be the best teriyaki you've ever had, but it's cheap and fast and there's lots of it, whether you're a student or just have the budget of one.Listed in: Asian Restaurants Of My…
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Review from Tony L.
San Diego, CA
9/29/2008
I've been here twice (twice!!!) and I won't wish their teriyaki upon my worst enemies. I was here with friends who thinks this is good -- or maybe they were trying to kill me... twice...
I do agree that it's cheap and the portions are pretty big, but it's a big heap of nasty. How can teriyaki turn so wrong?Listed in: Wall of Shame
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Review from Allie S.
2/2/2009
Get the Korean food -- that's where UT shines. Anything with kimchi is an instant win in my book, as a general rule.
The reason UT is great? Even with the portion downsizing, I almost always have enough for two meals. Just make sure you come while it's busy, from about :25 - :35 after the hour during the school day [I know, counter intuitive!] -- it ensures that the food you're eating hasn't been sitting around too long -- yes, it's preprepped, but at least it's made within the last hour not the last three hours, amirite? :)Listed in: The College Life
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Review from Jon D.
11/9/2010
UT is a catchphrase in Husky Jargon (closely related to Chinook Jargon, often used to confuse Cougars, and mildly disorient WWU students). What does it mean? Well, it means: "Starving, broke, studying too long, and need nourishment other than instant noodles".
UT serves straight up half-decent teriyaki (meat with some teriyaki sauce on it) with some rice and a half-decent iceberg salad that probably came right out of the "iceberg salad mix" bag. Throw some Kikkoman on it, and there you go. A perfectly acceptable meal for 7-8 bucks, depending on what you ordered.
While the food is. Well, alright. The portions are nice and huge, and will last for both lunch and dinner if you've had an energy bar for breakfast. Which is good, because of its excessively convenient location at 41st & The Ave. Sometimes I just stop in just to get some food that'll last me the day because I'm already there. And that's probably good business for them.
They just added a whole Korean menu, but I haven't yet been convinced that it would last me for the two meals rather than just for one meal, so I haven't partaken yet. Besides, there are plenty of Korean places around.Listed in: Dawg Bites
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Review from Lori M.
Seattle, WA
3/5/2010 1 Check-in Here
I've really only had Korean dishes and frozen yogurt here. The Korean food is okay. I've had worse and I've had way better so this falls under ok. Certainly, it's ok for lunch on the ave. It's not the cheapest lunch. Dohl sot bibambop is a little over $7.
I really liked their frozen yogurt when I've had it. I believe they use Nancy's yogurt for their frozen yogurt with a variety of fruit and candy offerings for toppings. A nice frozen pick-me-up during the summer! -
Review from Rob W.
Seattle, WA
3/23/2009
They have a big menu that includes Korean stuff, but you should probably stick with teriyaki and yakisoba, both of which are incredibly good. The teriyaki sauce is delicious, it runs a touch sweeter than your average sauce.
The yakisoba noodles are great, and the quantity you get can only be described as ridiculous. It just hits the spot. If you're a student at UW, sometimes you just get a craving for UT sometimes. It's admittedly pretty limited, but if you stick to ordering what they do right, teriyaki and yakisoba, you wont regret it.
My only request is that they have an option for a smaller portion, I'd rather be able to pay 30% less and get %30 less, because the standard portion is just too massive. It could easily feed two average women; I'm a dude that likes to chow down and after about two thirds of it is gone, I'm only still eating because I cant stop.
There are a lot of grumblings about service here, but I don't think it's fair. The place has seating, but it's really more cafe style. While they do bring you your food, you clear your table yourself. I have no gripes about this since they don't pretend to be a sit down restaurant with a waiter. It's a busy place, so I like ordering my food, grabbing my drink out of the case, and having my food brought to me within 5 minutes.
Overall this place gets a thumbs up from me, it's one of my regular spots.Listed in: University District-Seattle
