Julia's Indonesian Kitchen

The taste is very authentic especially the chicken kalasan with Julia's special chilly. The service is great and the atmosphere of the restaurant reminds me of Indonesia. I understand that sometimes the services is little bit slow because of the size of the kitchen, but i don't really care since the food is really great and tasty. Honestly, if you want the real2 taste of Indonesian food, you should go to Indonesia for sure :D :D. If you never try Indonesian food before, i recommend this authentic restaurant and order the ristjtafel, ikan kipas, the ayam goreng kremes (this is the best one), es bandung, avocado shake, es teler, and much much more... At the first time, i really hate to find the parking spot, but there is a free parking on the back right of the restaurant (i found this).. that's where i park every time i have lunch and dinner.. So far so good, everybody should try Julia's Indonesian Kitchen..

Pros: Individual ristafel, kremes, Avocado shake, cheap, tasty,

Cons: parking

Posted 07/26/09

Travel and dine out are one of my hobbies.I live in Seattle in the past 9 years never found any "good quality" of Indonesia restaurant. I have been visiting Julia's kitchen since 2007 regularly but in the past 3 times had bad experiences. The parking situation is awful, it's odd how clinic parking sign put right in front of the restaurant, lucky if you could find space in the back of restaurant that assigned for 3 cars only otherwise you should find parking space on the street (but pay attention of the signs! certain hours your car can be towed if you exceed the time limit). I thought over time they will improve the service and quality of food , I guess I was wrong ! my recent trip was tonite around 6 pm when I ordered "pempek palembang","siomay" and "es teler".pempek palembang (traditional fish cake mixed with egg and flour) was only small pieces swamped in egg noodles and cucumber, the noodles was pre-cooked look grim.the siomay (steam veggies and woonton) were pre-cooked like yesterday and they just warmed up in microwave. everything was tasteless except the es teler was ok (traditional mix fruits drink as dessert).

Pros: es teler is ok

Cons: somay and pempek not up to the standard, parking is a hasle.

Posted 06/27/09

I know Indonesian food a little, having eaten at Indo Cafe up by Northgate a few times, and this place looked interesting. Looks were unfortunately deceiving, though. We (my wife, young son, and I) were about the third party to be seated this evening. Even so, the food didn't come for forty-five minutes, and when it did come was nearly cold and not particularly flavorful. My wife had the mini-rijstaffel, and the only good thing in it was the beef rendang, spicier than Indo Cafe's but hard to cut. The other dishes on her tray might have been made this morning or last night and reheated, none too convincingly. My noodle-and-chicken curry was bland, not at all spicy the way the menu promised, and the fried wontons that accompanied it were cold in the center. The only saving grace to the meal was my son's lemongrass-chicken soup with rice noodles, seasoned to taste like something and warm enough to qualify as a cooked meal. I told the owner on the way out how disappointed I was, and he was profusely apologetic, but I'm not going back there. The service at Indo Cafe can be slow, too, and Northgate's a bit of a drive, but the food's much, much better there. However, by the time we left Julia's, the place was packed, so maybe the others knew something we didn't.

Pros: Kids can find something they like

Cons: Food, service, cold and drafty room

Posted 02/09/08

After spending 5 years in Holland I was home struck to be back at home again. I know I will miss everything that Holland has got to offer. Since living in Holland I became addicted to Indonesian food, I love the spicy and sweetness that makes such a good blend in a food.
Couple weeks ago, my friend told me about this great restaurant in Ravenna Ave. Tucked in a small house I even love this place more, it gives you a homey feeling. The name of that restaurant is Julia's Indo Kitchen, I was so excited to try this place. I brought my friends to eat there, the result.. It was great!! The food is simply delicious, the staff were kind and polite. I got to meet Julia's husband Mr. Rudi, when he knows that I can speak a little bit of dutch he started to make a conversation in Dutch.. I really am in Holland when I'm there, having the best meal of my life and got to speak the language again..

If you have never Indonesian food before, I would suggest their rijsttafel (rice table) their portion is generous and the price is cheap.. and also don't forget to try their most famous Ayam Goreng Kremes (Fried chicken with crispy bits) let me tell you guys, my friends can't get over it so he decided to take one home with extra crispy bits. For drinks they got this wonderful Ginger drink, it's a hot drink and it got strong ginger taste to it.. couldn't be better in this rainy and cold season.. For cold drink they got this great avocado smoothie, if you haven't tried it before this is a must!

I freaking love this place!! They never dissapoint me, the service is great and so is the food!!

Pros: The Food, The Drinks, Service, Ambience

Cons: Parking

Posted 01/11/08

It's been years since I went back to Indonesia and when I came to this place to eat, it brought back the memories of all the good food back home. The food taste so good with all the various spices in it. The "Ayam Kremes" was superb, so was the satay. For light meals the noodles menu are good choices too. For first timers, I suggest to try the Rijstafel. It has rice with several different dishes on a plate so you can try different kind of taste. For drinks, the avocado shake is great. But a warm ginger tea can be another awesome choice to accompany you in a rainy weather of Seattle. Although the place is kinda small, the room felt very cozy. The traditional decorations with batik and many ornaments introduce the customers of the Indonesian culture. The servers were very friendly too. They will guide you through the menu if you are not familiar with the food. This is a real place to taste a little bit of Indonesian food and culture. Everybody should come to this place!

Pros: good taste, price, ambience, service, food variaton

Cons: small place, not good for large party

Posted 01/11/08

We called Julia's several hours ahead to make a reservation, but when we arrived, we were rudely dismissed by the staff. Eventually, they started telling us "just a couple of minutes," but then they'd walk away and help other customers who'd arrived a good ten minutes after us.

It became clear that they had simply taken our reservation but never set aside a table for us. If they'd had some glitch and wouldn't be able to seat us that evening, they should've been honest with us when we first arrived instead of letting us stand in the ultra-small "lobby" being whacked by the front door every time someone else entered.

Eventually, 20 minutes after they should've seated us, we inquired again about the status of our table. At this point, we were told it was unlikely they'd be able to seat us that evening--unless our party was willing to wait another hour and then break up and sit in different parts of the restaurant! It was unclear why they couldn't have let us known that 20 minutes earlier so we could've more easily made alternative plans.

There is simply no excuse for treating customers so dismissively. Clearly, someone needs to open a good Indonesian restaurant in this town.

Pros: None

Cons: Terrible Service, Difficult Parking, No Functional Lobby for Waiting, Rude Staff

Posted 01/06/08