Address: | 799 University Ave W, St Paul, MN 55104, USA |
Phone: | +1 651-222-3301 |
Site: | ngonbistro.com |
Rating: | 4.1 |
Working: | 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–11PM 11AM–9PM |
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Joseph Anderson
We stopped in to Ngon Bistro after finding that our normal pho favorite had closed for a week during the holidays to give their staff a break. After getting over a bit of sticker shock - $13 for the cheapest bowl of pho - we both ordered the 3 Beef. We were underwhelmed with the portion size - about half of what you would get at any vietnamese restaurant anywhere down the street - as well as with the quantity of add-ins, like sprouts and basil. Also, we felt ignored by the staff - with the waiter showing up once to take our order, and once to drop off the check. For a restaurant with this level of ambiance and acclaim, especially on a slow Wednesday night with less than half the tables full, we expected better. While the quality of the pho was high, with clear attention to the stock, we wont be returning. Overall, we felt that the price point of the restaurant didnt validate the low quality of service and small portion size. To be totally honest, there are any number of excellent vietnamese restaurants in the same neighborhood that offer the same quality of food with better service at 2/3 the cost. Ngon can save their lauded fancy appetizers for someone else, we wont be returning.
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A Private User
We have been eating at Ngon for years now. My wife has a serious addiction to their pho (the oxtail in particular)! My usual is the seafood hu tieu (awesome and full of shrimp, squid, mussels, & shrimp balls). We rarely pass up the rabbit dumpling but if you like meat- the charcuterie tray is not to be missed (the spiced smoked pork belly is pure meat candy). The entrees are terrifiic and there are always new desserts to try (Surly Darkness ice cream!?!). Speaking of beer, they have a great selection of local & regional brews and always offer special cellared casks and specialty poors. The wine list is pretty nice too. We enjoy dining at Ngon so much we had our wedding dinner with them. Hai, the owner/chef, and his staff took EXCELLENT care of us. Our guests complimented the experience over and over. Ngon is a nice blend of traditional cuisine and bistro-type dining. Prices are VERY fair for the quality, they run specials regulary, and we have always received good service. (For what its worth, I have worked in the retail and service industry for 15 yrs. and served time on staff at more than a few restaurants thus I dont throw praise for quality and service around lightly. )
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Rebecca Hazelton Stafford
I enjoyed the food quite a lot, but was astonished at my experience otherwise. We were a six person table. We ordered appetizers, drinks, entrees -- and were very happy. Not troublesome, and certainly making the restaurant some money. This pleasant evening all changed, however, when I sent back a drink. The general manager came over to ask what was wrong with it. I explained that I believed the proportions were off (its my favorite drink, I have it often, and had just had one in a bar downtown that was wonderfully made). He became very aggressive and said it was a "perfect" drink. "I assure you," he said repeatedly," this drink is perfect." I told him that wed have to agree to disagree, and he said, "whatever," and stalked off. Although I held my ground during our confrontation (not an expected one, I assure you!), I am sorry to say that I cried afterwards and had to leave the table -- he was that nasty. One of my tablemates went and had a word with him, but of course no apology for this behavior was forthcoming. Its hard to imagine him acting this way toward a man, so I suspect theres some sexism at work here as well.
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Amaterasu Omikami
If youre looking for a real delicious bowl of pho, this is definitely the place to go. You get a very large bowl serving and its a good price for gourmet food that uses local produce (The ribeye pho is the best in my opinion, but the most expensive at 13.50 for a bowl). A plate of sprouts/limes/basil/jalapenos are provided along with chili oil and hoisin sauce. Along with their wide selection of alcoholic beverages, they also have delicious homemade house sodas including spicy ginger beer and lemon basil soda (my favorites). They cost 4 dollars a glass, but in my opinion its worth it for how tasty and refreshing they were. We stopped in a bit before noon and there were maybe 2 tables filled besides us. It slowly got a bit busier as we ate, and it probably keeps growing busy to evening, so keep that in mind if you want to eat here. All in all, it was fantastic. Friendly, quick service, delicious food and drink, and it only cost just over 50 dollars for three people who all ordered pho and sodas. I definitely recommend coming here.
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Patience Stewart
Went on a Sunday afternoon, there were only two other tables. The decor was lovely and the place smelled really good. We ordered two Croque Madames and three rice vermicelli salads (Bún). Everything was incredibly delicious. I cant stress how good it was (its definitely not "authentic," but very flavorful and, bonus, most of their ingredients are made in-house). The vermicelli salads were similar to the huge ones you can get at Saigon across the street (another place Id highly recommend but thats a different story), only the meat wasnt cooked to death like it can be there. The desserts were also very good, we ordered the panna cotta and the lychee. Service was about average, a little slow considering how few people there were, but not awful. We didnt have any problems so we didnt have the opportunity to see how flexible they were. We will definitely be back, I want to try everything on the menu.
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A Private User
I used to love this restaurant. When this place was Pho Ahn, I used to go there a lot. When it became Ngo, I still supported the place. I noticed over time the bowl of Pho and food portion got smaller and the price went up. $8.95 for a bowl of Pho(vietnamese soup). My wife loves ice tea and cherry coke. One evening we decided to dine there. A caucasian waiter asked what would we like to drink, my wife said, "Ice Tea". The waiter replies, "we dont have any ice tea." Then she said, "How about Cherry coke?" Then he said, "Sorry, we dont have anything fancy like that." WHAT AN A*HOLE! And then when we ordered a rabbit dumbling, my eagle eyes can see little tiny fruit flies living in the tiny grass sprouts. I called the manager over, didnt want to make a scene for the other customers and whispered to her ears that there are fruit flies in the sprouts. That was the last time.
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A Private User
This place would have gotten 4 stars if it werent for the slow, snobby, unaccommodating service. My fellow diners and I are all fairly familiar with Vietnamese cuisine, and we all thought our respective dishes (beef bun, tofu bun, and lettuce wraps) were some of the best weve had. The setting is also pleasant, although nothing too special. However, the service was pretty disappointing. Unresponsive, slow, and unaccommodating (they refused to provide either a side of vegetables or noodles for my son, it took forever for our waiter to stop talking to the other waiter and come over to take our order, and each time we asked for something it felt like a burden). This gave the place an air of snobbiness I dont appreciate -- I am a well-cultured and sophisticated diner, but have never believed that snobbery reflects anything but poor customer service.