LAB C FOOD KITCHEN - Bastrop — Restaurant in Bastrop

OH MY GOSH THIS FOOD BLEW MY MIND!!! If you live in the area and are not already eating here all the time you are seriously missing out big time. Everything is so delicious, portions are HUGE and price is more than reasonable. My husband and I rented an airbnb in the area for our 6th anniversary and wanted to find the best food in the area to treat ourselves with to celebrate. We read the amazing reviews previous customers had left and went in with high expectations only to be blown away by how ABSOLUTELY AMAZING everything was. First off the staff is all super friendly and made us feel welcome from the start. Then to top it off the owners are rock stars and made our night so special- They brought us some of their purple tea ♥️ "because purple means forever in their country." ♥️ My heart could burst! The tea was from their new tea shop two doors down. And WOW the purple tea smoothy is WAY better than any drink you could find at a starbucks. I wish we lived closer because their tea shop would be a daily visit if we did. Soooo refreshing and creamy. Now for the food...There aren't enough words to properly describe how delicious everything was. Since it was our anniversary we tried a lot of things: *Vietnamese coffee- One of my favorite drinks! My husband hadn't tried one before and I am so glad this is the one he got to try first. This version hits all the right flavor notes soo creamy and delicious! Best coffee ever! Shrimp spring rolls- best cooked shrimp I have had in a long time and the peanut sauce is to die for! (I would buy the sauce bottled if I could) Vermicelli Noodle Bowl with Grilled Chicken-- The chicken is so tender and juicy on it's own but when you add the special sauce and mix everything together just WOW again words cannot do this flavor justice. If you haven't had this yet you really should. The chef is working magic back there. I would seriously eat this dish every day if I could. Also If I could buy bottles of this sauce I would too. WOWZERS! So good! *Vietnamese Shaking Beef- Again WOW! So much depth of flavor in this dish! The bell peppers still have a nice bite to them and the beef is so tender and juicy. The star of this dish is the roasted garlic though just WOW sooo good. We got level 3 for spice and it was the perfect amount of heat/flavor. *Fried seafood combo- I'm allergic to wheat so I couldn't try this one myself but it looked amazing. The fries (which I could try) were so crunchy crispy on the outside and perfectly fluffy on the inside and the flavor of the oil they cooked in added extra umph of flavor- these fries don't even need a dipping sauce they are sooo good. My husband's review "the fish was so fresh and juicy other catfish places we've tried just don't usually get it right like that." *Crab Legs- I got the special house seasoning and it was absolutely delicious. Crab was juicy and tender and the flavor is hard to describe but full of so many different notes of deliciousness - you gotta try it yourself! (This was so much food we are looking forward to finishing leftovers tomorrow.)

We are over the moon with the service and the food! Y'all are the best! (Seriously considering moving closer to Bastrop now just so we can eat here more regularly. If y'all expand and open up shop in the Bryan/College Station area please let us know!) Looking forward to the next time we are in the area so we can eat here again! ♥️♥️♥️ Thank you so much for making our anniversary...

I should mention up front - I lived in Honolulu Hawaii for a long time and I know what good Vietnamese food is. I have not been to LAB C in a while because I just had too many bad experiences there. The service is poor and the food is just so-so. My opinion - the "employees" just do not care. Whether it is the cooks or the servers - it is just a job to them. What I cannot comprehend is that Gilbert had a place on HWY 71 before he opened LAB C, and it was simply phenomenal - always impeccable service and always truly great food. I think it was run by Gilbert and his family - not Gilbert's employees...

EDIT 08/14/2024 Gilbert, I decided to give LAB C another chance and I came in for lunch today at approximately 1:00PM. The restaurant was half-empty and there was one cashier and one server working. I ordered (1) A2 Fresh Spring Roll - 2-pieces and (1) B6 Lab C Special Bowl Pork and Shrimp and Pork egg-roll - and an Iced Tea. My bill came out to $32.48!

To start, the spring rolls were clearly made at least 2-days previously. The rice noodles were limp and and the shrimp had the 2-day old taste. Furthermore, the aromatics in the spring roll were wilted and lacked flavor and aroma. The peanut sauce was completely bland and tasteless, and, I had to ask for some sriracha - which should always come with the peanut sauce...

Next came the Lab C Special Bowl. The egg rolls tasted like the filling had spoiled - tasted like dishwater - and the rest of the meal was again, bland. The noodles were either over-cooked or had been sitting around for a while. The vegetables were limp and tasteless and the pork, while generous, was uninteresting.

I left the Lab C Special Bowl half full, stood up, paid my bill, and left. I will never be back.

I have no idea what you can possibly be thinking, sir - the service was unbelievably slow given so few customers in your restaurant. Your cashier was at least trying, but her co-worker was completely useless. For $32.48 for lunch (primarily rice noodles), for one person, the food and service should have been stellar - in fact, it was less than mediocre. It was the absolute worst experience I have had in any Vietnamese Restaurant I have ever eaten in - period.

You need an intervention sir. Whomever is advising you on your business has no clue what they are doing. There is no way you are going to remain open much longer.

Best to you and...

I’ve heard people buzzing about them for a good while but had never checked them out and just continued to pout that ‘we just have little to no good food in Bastrop’ YALL. I CAN’T BELIEVE I’VE BEEN MISSING OUT ON THIS PLACE. I went from never having gone to….I had it 3 times last week lol. And I’m probablyyyy going to pick some up again tonight bc it’s all I’m thinking about. The food is out of this world and large portions, the servers and staff are genuinely lovely and such pro’s. We could hear them bantering together and laughing while flawlessly executing these perfectly cooked dishes and it’s just refreshing to be dining in a place where the staff enjoys each other and their customers and the job they’re doing - that’s really rare and says a lot about this place. The owners are sensational and deserve all the praise they get in all the other reviews that say how lovely they are. They have a huge menu with so many options and a ton of bubble teas and coffees and other deliciousness that I didn’t even get into because I never made it past their stir fry beef plate. I’ve had it each time and I’m still dreaming about it. Perfectly tender beef on a bed of rice and veggies with a sauce and seasoning that takes it over the top and it’s a huge portion too. My dad loved his stir fry pork dish and my mom is raving about her pho and we aren’t easily impressed honestly lol. We’re always gracious when we eat out of course but we often leave most places thinking ‘ehh, that was just okay’ and you DON’T do that leaving here. We were checked on multiple times by literally every staff member which is also so rare now. Please if you’re like me and just disenchanted with food here and continuously sleeping on this place, GO. You’ll only be sorry you didn’t go sooner.

As a side note just bc I just remembered it now that I’m thinking about them, I know they REALLY stepped up to help the community during Covid and were providing food for those in need. It was back when I didn’t go of course but I remember thinking the owners must be something special given being in an atmosphere when MOST business owners were scrambling and trying to figure out how to stay afloat and THEY were focused on serving people in need. Whew. So yeah, if my promises of amazing food don’t get you in the door, let it be that these are really good humans you want to support and give...