Lotus Asian Cuisine — Restaurant in Roanoke

Today we tried a new Vietnamese restaurant close to home called Lotus Cuisine.

Wanted to like this spot since it is so close to home but unfortunately was disappointed.

I will preface that tonight was the grand opening and it was packed.

Let's start off with at least the Pros of this restaurant.

Decor is great and the atmosphere was good.

Ice coffee was really good and came in an interesting glass bottle.

The banh cuon was delicious.

Now for the Cons:

Service was lackluster at best. We walked in and asked for a table for two. The server who checked us in took us to a table and started to clean it off for us to sit. Then stops half way and just walks away. We stood there waiting, until another server came over and asked if we needed help. We told him the other gentlemen was cleaning the table and just left. So he continued to clean the table and seated us. Gave us the menu which is limited at this time due to the grand opening today. We ordered several dishes to try out. We got their Lotus Pho, Banh Cuon, Pork eggroll, Look Lac Beef(Shaken Beef) and Vietnamese ice coffee. Once our food came no one ever came back to check in on us. We had to flag people down just to get our check. Now this is normally ok since they were busy with their grand opening, but the owners and their friends and family and staff were sitting at the table right next to us. The staff were too busy chatting up and taking shots instead of checking on their customers.

Lotus Pho-small size, they over cooked the raw steak as though they cooked it in the actual broth pot then placed it in the bowl to serve.

Look Lac Beef(Shaken Beef)-It was NOT Shaken Beef at all. It was more like beef stew(Bo Kho) than anything without the stew and flavor. My son and I took one bite and just pushed it aside.

Overall the price is above average for below average food...

I couldn't tell you what any of the food tasted like. I can only explain what the service was like and the atmosphere. My wife and I arrived at 6:25 pmon a Friday. The hostess/waitress pointed to our table. We never saw her again. By 6:35 pm a bartender finally came to my table and offered us drinks. We requested water. At 6:36 two additional members of my party showed up. And from 6:36 to 6:52 not a waiter, waitress, host, nor bartender ever came by to even ask if we wanted anything. My party and I walked up and left. There wasn't even an attempt made by any of the staff to implore us to stay and apologize.

If there was an N/A option for food I would give that. I imagine the food is good but b/c nobody asked me if I wanted anything, I can't really say.

The atmosphere is nice. I enjoyed it for what it's worth. What I disliked it is the fact that the menus were clearly recycled paper menus that had been used multiple times with a lot of wear and tear. Not in a protective cover, just nicely printed paper folded in a triangular fashion that was used over, and over, and over again.

To put into perspective how bad of an experience this was, my party went to a restaurant across the street and waited half an hour before we were seated. By the time we were seated, we had our drinks, appetizers, and meals in LESS time than the time we spent waiting for a server to address our...

I’ve been waiting for this place to open as I’m frequently in downtown Roanoke. It was worth the wait! The decor is colorful and cheery and the staff were all friendly and attentive. This was my first visit and I had just the tofu pho and a hot oolong tea, just to dip my toes in. I’m SO glad I don’t have to drive 30+ minutes for great pho anymore! It’s the best comfort food and this place is well worth the visit. Very reasonably priced food for how good it is. The owner even took a few minutes to chat with me and it’s very clear they care a lot about the food they serve and are proud to be able to share their culture with us here in little Roanoke. Will definitely be back!

Update 12/8: Returned for dinner. Excellent end to the week. I had the Banh Knot (mini shrimp pancakes) and they might be my absolute favorite appetizer now. Truly top tier. Golden Bowl with Chicken was amazing as well- the menu says with gravy, but that's not the thick southern style gravy we see in most places. It was light and fresh and the noodles were crispy and delicious.

I'm officially a...