Marination Ma Kai: Austere Eating with a Killer View
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There are few things people enjoy more than eating beside the water. Couple that with a beautiful venue, great service and good food and it’s a recipe for memorable dining. But if you strip away that great service, all sense of fancy decor, porcelain dishes, elegant cutlery and cloth napkins — even lose the shelter of a dining room — and all that’s left to establish whether your meal is memorable is the food in front of you and where you’re eating it.
That’s what dining at Marination Ma Kai by Alki Beach is all about during this pandemic period of our lives. It’s just a five minute water taxi ride from Seattle’s dockside to Alki and a vibe completely different from anywhere else in town. As the shoreline perimeter of West Seattle, Alki is the Emerald City’s favorite “beach” because, in addition to the pristine sparkle of Elliott Bay, it is graced with the entire view of Seattle; an unobstructed vista of sea, ships and skyscrapers against the backdrop of the mighty Cascade Range with its year-round snow. Including, of course, the iconic Space Needle. It's like gazing at San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge; gawking at Manhattan from the cliffs of New Jersey. It’s an all-encompassing panorama of one of America’s most beautiful cities, and it’s eye-popping.
Given Alki’s mass appeal it’s only natural that, in addition to the stunning views of everything, there is also good food. And Marination Ma Kai is thought by many to serve some of the most unique. This waterfront joint blends the Pacific, Asia, Mexico and the beach in a way not found elsewhere in this city of fusion food. In the non-pandemic summer when Marination was in full swing, tables inside and out celebrated the festive Mahalo vibe of this fun gathering place. Surfboards were propped by the bar, Hawaiian/Reggae music mixed with laughter and wafted across tables of beachgoers partying it up with cocktails and beer. But now, during this difficult Corona culture, the joint is outside only. Closed is its relaxed boathouse dining room at the edge of Seacrest Park, replaced instead by take-out style food to be eaten at weathered outdoor picnic tables exposed to the sky and sun. One needs to keep a watchful eye for seagulls standing by, and the wind may snatch your paper napkins or the brown bag that your food came in if you don’t shove it under your leg on the bench. Missing is the distraction of the beach party and surfer-dudes and clinking glasses. Now all that is left are the basics of dining. And just what are those basics? Nothing more than the natural surroundings of Elliott Bay, the food they cook in the otherwise empty Seacrest Boathouse, and what is very possibly the greatest dining view in all of Seattle. It is here and now, in the total absence of island party buzz, that Marination Ma Kai nakedly-reveals itself as, well, a special place.
There is something soothing about sitting on the edge of sparkling water, looking across at a gorgeous cityscape and eating excellent food. Picnic tables scatter along the shoreline between flowering bushes and greenery. The rocky edge of the bay drops steeply to emerald clear water and an occasional sea creature passes by. In the near distance seals hauled up on the stony beaches and buoys floating offshore bark. At the edge of the restaurant is a sturdy wooden pier where a few guys are always fishing, and the floating dock for the water taxi leading across the water to Pioneer Square. It’s a million dollar view that constantly changes with the sun and clouds, and where watercraft ranging from enormous container ships to sailboats, fishing vessels and kayaks move in all directions. When the sun is out and the breeze wafts in it’s the kind of place where you could just stay all day.
And why not stay, because there is a lot of good food that Marination is cranking out of the kitchen. Variations on Hawaiian/Korean/Mexican flavors rule the day here, including their signature Aloha Pork Sliders -- marinaded pork slow cooked before shredding. It goes in a soft Hawaiian sweet bun and is topped with crispy slaw and Marination’s famous creamy sweet/spicy Nunya sesame sauce. It’s impossible to eat just one.
The trademark Kimchi Rice with kalbi beef, seaweed and a fried egg on top is equally contagious. The strips of marinated meat blend naturally with the robust fermented tingle of spicy kimchi and the dense, almost-sticky rice beneath. Blend the egg and laver together with the meat and kimchi in the takeout container and dive in. After that, a trio of fish or bulgogi tacos with Korean slaw and Marination’s Miso-ginger sauce shows the unique fusion mentality of this place.
Marination doesn’t ignore its aquatic location on the edge of the bay. Sticking to the boathouse’s roots as a once popular fish & chips joint, Pacific Northwest fin-fish is served up, panko crusted or grilled and slipped into soft corn tortillas for fish tacos that are out of this world. Don’t miss the kimchi tarter sauce with that. Or break the delicate cooked egg atop the Loco Moco and watch the yellow yolk ooze over the hearty marinated ground beef patty drenched in rich brown gravy and rice. Then reward yourself with a hefty side of Aloha Fries with its beckoning burnt-end shreds of kaluha pork with egg and furikaki piled high beneath another fried egg. One bite and you’ll lose your freaking mind. And remember, with each bite of all of this — with every chew — your eyes are captives of bay-front beauty. This is honest to goodness, down to earth waterside dining in its very finest, unadorned state.
Most will agree that dining with a great outdoor view always makes food taste better. And as Marination’s interesting combination of flavors from the Pacific, Korea, Mexico and the northwest explode in your mouth, the view adds even more to that sensory experience. It’s unparalleled in Alki or perhaps anywhere in Seattle — not just because it is Seattle that you’re looking at across the pristine sound, but also because you're not removed from that beauty by windows and walls. Rather you are engulfed within it. Nothing separates your table from this wonderland of urban nature. The gentle waves of Elliot Bay lap just a few feet from your shoes, which scrape on the dirt, stones and grass of the water’s edge. You’re not just beside the natural beauty of the bay, you’re a part of it. It is that which makes for memorable dining. And that is, in a word, delicious.
Marination Ma Kai, 1660 Harbor Ave SW
Seattle, WA
