Grain River Asian Bistro — Restaurant in Oro Valley

Man, Grain River Asian Bistro does a LOT of things well. As good as the food is - and it IS - believe that headliner caption photo on Yelp here - those sesame balls absolutely blew me away. We're very fortunate to live right in the area, and we've only been there once but we will definitely be back many times. The service really got to me, too. Warm and very friendly and not in a fake or lip service way at all. TRULY excellent service. Very welcoming and warm young women running the place, and I felt they truly appreciated my business.

I will admit we started out pretty tame on our initial visit (which was takeout) and just got pad Thai and fried rice, and I know a lot of you are wondering why not the Pho and many other Vietnamese specialties - which looked GREAT, by the way, as I glanced at the dining room, yep they all look great, but we'll get there. And I liked the pad Thai but liked the fried rice even better. But it was those sesame balls that I am still thinking about. You know how some athletes perform at a level higher than the entire rest of the league? Well, that's how I feel about these sesame balls. No other pastry, no other DESSERT has compared to these sesame balls. Light, fluffy, sweet - and just the perfect amount of sweetness, I honestly went into it wondering if it would be too sweet like some Vietnamese iced coffees I've had (not the one at Grain River, either, I haven't tried their yet, just using it as a comparison for level of sweetness), but it struck the absolute perfect sweetness level for me. And the TEXTURE. And the filling - just the right amount, and delicious. And the sesame seeds on the outside? You can taste the sesame flavor. I've had a lot of desserts and pastries, too. And oh, by the way, I've since stopped by again and picked up some Nhu Lan, another dessert, to go, and WOW yet AGAIN! That one I'll post the photo for (sorry, forgot photos on the others).

And just a lot of intangibles that work well too. Like the ambiance, it's clean and modern and well decorated and just comfortable. And I think the small dessert/beverage displays behind the counter are an added plus. Think I saw some coffee flan if I'm not mistaken. It's like you take a glance while you're doing your business at the register, and a million thoughts flood your mind ("Ooh, THAT looks good" x 100)

As I said, don't let me get you too distracted on the unbelievable desserts, I've got many reasons to return for the food and to experience the sit-down service. Grain River is going to be very successful under their new management. And they well deserve it. They are working hard, serving up excellent food in a cheerful,...

My wife and I used to eat at Grain River often when it was owned by the previous owner. We always loved the food and had great service before. We decided to eat dinner now with the new management on a Friday night before a show at the Gaslight. After our experience tonight, we will never go back. We had such a terrible experience and noticed others in the restaurant were also getting terrible service. We ordered two entrees. We waited 40 minutes before one out of our two entrees was brought to our table. We thought that was unusual but noticed the same thing happening at the table next to us. The server said the 2nd entree would be out shortly. My wife went ahead and started eating so her food wouldn't get cold. My entree still didn't come even after 20 minutes. The server never returned to fill water or check how the first entree was or let us know why the rest of our order still had not come out. She did walk by going to other tables. We didn't complain and tried to be understanding. We thought maybe their was a good reason and we should be patient. We needed to leave to the show after being at the restaurant for an hour. My wife went up to the cash register very politely and let our server know we needed to leave. The server started to give the bill with 2 entrees. My wife let her know we never got our 2nd entree. The server seemed to not believe my wife at first and acted somewhat surprised. You would think in such a small restaurant she would remember what she had done or not done. The server only had about 4 tables and the other server had the rest. She went in the back to check and came back saying the dish was made but it was wrong. She said they didn't know who had the dish with chicken so it was left in the back. Anyway, my wife paid for the one entree, but there wasn't any apologies for us waiting so long and not getting our full order. We have never eaten a restaurant where servers and staff do not care whether someone gets their food. We understand that maybe they were short handed but the server was actually quite rude and unapologetic. This was the first time in my life I did not leave a tip. We are not picky and demanding people. The whole experience was terrible and Grain River made no effort to make things better. I would not recommend anyone going to Grain River unless they get their staff trained. The one entree we did get tasted okay but it was bit cold as well. I do not know how long the restaurant has been open under new management, but they really need to make some...

MSG ALERT!!! My first time dining at this restaurant, the food was delicious!! The owner's daughter came to my table, introduced herself, and gave me a brief history of her parent's restaurant. I told her how delicious the appetizers were that I ordered. She explained that all their food is made in-house. Wow...I was on top of the world in finding a restaurant that prepares and serves clean, healthy food choices. THEN I DEVELOPED A HEADACHE SHORTLY AFTER I LEFT, TINGLING IN MY FACE AND NECK, AND HIGH HEART RATE!!! ON TOP OF THIS, I HAD INSOMNIA ALL NIGHT LONG!! I knew what was causing this...they use MSG!!!!! I called the next day and asked if they used MSG and or Monosodium glutamate in their food, and they stated they did. After explaining why I asked about MSG, she told me to alert my server, and the chef would prepare my food items without MSG. The FDA requires all food manufacturers that use MSG to list it in their ingredients so people can avoid MSG consumption. People with high blood pressure can have a stroke from eating MSG if they have a sensitivity to it because it elevates one's heart rate. Thankfully, I do not have high blood pressure!!!! Okay...enough of this...I returned the next week and told my server several times to let the chef know I couldn't have MSG in my food. I ordered the same as I did the first time, and before I finished eating, all hell broke loose. My face tightened up, my heart was racing, and by the time I drove home, my face, neck, and chest had a rash and I was feverish. So I must have received a triple dose that time!! Another night of insomnia, and long story short, I will never go back. MSG is an artificial chemical, a salt enhancer, and I have the right to know what I am eating, and shame on them for having MSG in their food anyway. It's a cost-cutter ingredient for them, using MSG instead of SALT. PF Chang's does not use MSG!!!!! I, like PF Chang's, create Asian sauces, and they are all natural...