The #21 and #128 buses go past Grillbird in West Seattle. The place doesn’t look like much but it always smells good, and when there’s chatter on the bus, it’s often folks with happy meal memories there. Grillbird, then, has been on my to-eat list for as long as I’ve been back in Seattle, since 2022.

On a recent Wednesday, I rang the bell and stepped off the bus and into Grillbird. It doesn’t look like much on the inside, either. There’s no dining area, so every order is to go. There’s a touchscreen for taking orders, and if that was the only option (as it is in more and more restaurants) I would’ve turned around and left, but they’re also happy to take your order the old-fashioned way, wherein humans speak words. I’m old-fashioned, but was also a newbie, so I let two other people go ahead of me while I studied the menu board.

They make poke and ohana and bang bang chicken, but I don’t know what any of that might be. I’m a sandwich guy, so I zoomed in on the menu’s sandwich section. Looking at their website to write this review, only two sandwiches are listed, a Chicken Katsu Sando and a grillburger (hamburger). When I was actually there, though, the menu offered two kinds of chicken-burger, and I wanted one of each. Since I can’t remember what the second chicken sammich was, I’ll call it a Schmatzu. I wanted a Katsu and a Schmatzu and a side of fried cauliflower.

Came my turn to order, a smiley young woman greeted me. She offered fries, and I instantly decided that would be a safer choice than fried cauliflower, so my order was sealed. She thanked me, I slid my debit card into their machine, and the total totally blew my expectations — $47 and change, without a tip? That’s about $20 more than I’d expected, and that’s a lot, for two sandwiches and a fries and a drink.

I said nothing, though. I’m not one to make a ruckus. Instead I sat on their nicely lacquered bench to wait for my lunch, and replayed the conversation at the counter, trying to understand whether I’d misspoken or been defrauded.

My opening line was going to be, “I’ll have two sandwiches, Katsu and Schmatzu.” But what I’d said was, “I’ll have two sandwiches, Katsu —”

And she’d interrupted to ask, “With fries?”

“Yup” is what I’d said, switching from fried cauliflower to fried potatoes. Then I’d carried on — “and a Schmatzu sandwich.”

“With fries?”

“No, thanks.” One fries was enough.

Hmmmm. OK, I get it now. With my odd phrasing and her interruption, she’d booked me for “two sandwiches, Katzu,” when I’d only wanted one, and “with fries” for both Katzus. Factor in the Schmatzu, and I’d accidentally ordered three sandwiches plus two sides, when all I’d wanted was two sandwiches and one side. That’s why it was almost fifty bucks, instead of thirty bucks or so.

Oh, well. It was an honest mistake, and anyway, I’m round like a beach ball — I eat a lot, whatever’s in front of me, and certainly I could eat three sandwiches and two fries.

In the waiting area, there’s an electronic readerboard on the wall, keeping track of each order’s progress, so I followed mine from “ordered” to “being prepped” to “almost ready.” It was bizarrely entertaining.

While I sat, a steady stream of customers came in, one at a time but never long between them. Except for me, each of the dozen customers at Grillbird could be accurately described as young and stylishly dressed. Guess Grillbird is where the cool kids eat. And me, the old beach ball.

The #128 bus runs every twenty minutes, and that’s a good fit for Grillbird. Me and my meal-in-a-sack were on the next bus.

My receipt was stapled to the sack, and yup, my bench-calculations were correct. Three sammiches, two sides, and a strawberry milk. If I’d ordered what I’d intended to order, it wouldn’t have been pricey — the sandwiches are only $10 for the Katsu and $12 for the Schmatzu, and the fries are six bucks. The strawberry milk was $3. Reasonable prices, for 2025.

The sandwiches were excellent and large, with generous chunks of chicken, and some unidentifiable Asian herbs and spices — exotic enough to seem special, sloppy and haphazard enough to be a human concoction, not something perfected in a corporate kitchen, and tasty and filling enough to easily be worth the price. Srsly, just one sammich with one fries would be a meal for an ordinary adult, if such beasts exist. Three sandwiches and two fries very, very filled this fat guy.

The fries are waffle-style, not as astoundingly excellent as the sandwiches, but very good. Everything cooled down on the long bus ride home, but zapped up again nicely in the microwave. The packaging is all cardboard, too, so not so wasteful, and zappable in the sack.

Grillbird is nothing fancy, but the food is good and the price is right when it’s right. I will return, and soon.

Grillbird
6501 35th Ave SW (West Seattle)
Food: VERY GOOD
Price: GOOD
Service: GOOD
Transit: #21, #128
Verdict: YES.

7/24/2025

Cheap Seattle

itsdougholland.com
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