Vanessa's Bistro — Restaurant in Berkeley

So Vanessa's is literally across the street from my work and so it SHOULD be super easy to call in a take out. Last time I called in, the lost my order. They were busy so I let it go and got something from Sweet Basil Thai downstairs from my clinic.

I gave them another chance tonight. It's a busy evening in my clinic so I only had 20 minutes to run over pick up dinner before the evening rush set in. I called way in advanced and before their Friday night Happy Hour rush. They said it would take 10-15 minutes, I gave them 20 before I walked over.

The place was empty, maybe a hand full of customers at most, no orders in the kitchen going. The waiter took my money and tired to hide that my ticket was still on the counter in the front house. Guess who forgot to give it to the kitchen......seriously? Instead of 'fessing up to the mistake and offering to make my order for free,they tried to hide it and told me it would be out in just a minute........Really? Claypot takes quite a while to make up......they were going to just stir fry the whole thing and let it pass as good.

The head waiter apologized and when I asked why the order wasn't ready......he told me he didn't know why the kitchen didn't make the order, it was back there the whole time. What B-!!SH!#@$.....I JUST SAW THE TICKET ON THE COUNTER!

So now I have a whole evening to work with no dinner........I'll never come here...

I went to Vanessa's Bistro for a friend's b-day dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a pri-fix menu (about 8 dishes) and it was a GREAT value. My co-worker had told me he loved this place but it was a bit pricey, so I was expecting expensive, but as it turned out, it was very inexpensive. The only hitch was that it wasn't a dish per person. It was family style tapas, so everyone had to share, which was fine because by the end of the meal, everyone was pretty full.

Every dish was cooked perfectly. I am usually very picky about Vietnamese food because I grew up on it, but I'd say Vanessa's Bistro is spot on in terms of flavor, presentation and price. Because it was family style, I didn't want to be a piggy and hog everything, but I could have hogged everything and then be needed to be rolled out..hehe

The drink selection is great also. Everyone I was with was satisfied with their drinks.

Service was great. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive.

The place is a bit small, so it is probably recommended that you make...

Seated outside (our preference) with 5-10 minutes. Our waitress was absolutely delightful! We started with the salt & pepper calimari, the shrimp & papaya salad, and the fresh tofu spring rolls, then the giant prawns with udon noodles, the great lemongrass chicken, and the garlic eggplant, along with a single serving of jasmine rice. There was plenty of food for 4! And it was all delicious! My wife had a bottle of Pelligrino, the other couple had each a glass of Chardonnay, and I had a 12 oz bottle of Asahi Super-Dry for $5 (I believe this was not only a fair price, but slighly less expensive than the 21.4 oz bottle for $9).

The food was delicioys, the price quite reasonable (4 dinners for a bit more than $100). We will definitely come back, for the delicious reasonably priced cuisine and the excellent service. And to try their slow-rosted pork with chipotle salsa & chips, an interesting fusion dish for an excellent...