Blue Orchid Pan Asian Cuisine and BAR — Restaurant in New Haven

My office of 20 does weekly lunches from different places. This is just around the corner so we decided to try it (saw good reviews as well). The owner Q was very helpful in answering questions about some of the dishes to be sure I ordered the correct items for our crowd. I really wanted to snap a picture of the food but by the time I got back from getting my phone, everyone had dug in and the food was not as "pretty" as it was when first set out. Even thought I did take out, I went to the restaurant and they had really cool paintings on the wall from a local artist and it seems like a cool place. We got half trays of the following items: Green salad with ginger dressing, plain rice, pineapple rice, chicken and cashews, beef and broccoli, vegetable pad thai. All were amazing. because we had such a large order, they threw in some complimentary pork and shrimp dumplings that were great as well. We will definitely be adding Blue Orchid to our rotation of lunch spots!...next time I will take some pictures before they...

Food quality was FANTASTIC. Will be returning to try some noodles dishes and would recommend would. Over all, nice atmosphere and the service was on par with the quality of the food.

The sampler we had was so good I wish we got two. Not because of the portion size but because everything on it was that tasty. The sauces paired well with corresponding sample and the beef rib soup I ordered was flavorful.

I am not one for presentation, I am all about quality, but I would say that the dishes were brought to the table in a picturesque manner (I wish I grabbed a shot before digging in).

We were offered their “signature lavender lemonade”, which again was picturesque, and would have tasted nice with some alcohol. Not that it tasted bad, my wife and I just don’t drink a lot of sweet drinks.

This place is a must try for the local...

These days, teenagers refer to everything that is not great as "mid." Blue Orchid was not bad, but it was not great, either, so it falls into the "mid" category. Others might say, "blah." So, wouldn't that be a 3 of 5? "Mid" or "Blah" quantified is 3, yes? Not quite, the mango with sticky rice had rotting mangoes (ill taste, spongy tissue), even though it was the first time I had blue sticky rice (kinda cool). There was a crumb on the seat--verboten. And, the waitress had the energy of, "Can this be over now so I can get back to my life?" I was anxiously waiting for my sister to request to take a pic with the Blue Orchid backdrop prominently, longingly, if not desperately, hanging on their back wall. She did not. I was spared. And, we all got back to our lives. Happy Birthday, Sis. Next time, big brother will make a...