eM Que Viet Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Saint Paul

In summary: will absolutely, definitely, no questions asked, come back for more! Food: 10/10 Service: 10/10 Quality of interaction with staff: 10/10

The long version: We are foodies: We workout hard. We eat harder. At approximately 6:30pm, we showed up unannounced with low expectations to be seated. The restaurant was bustling. The welcome from the lady at the front of the house, handing out to-go orders was warm and inviting, even though she was clearly busy. She deferred us to the hostess. I’ll mention the hostess twice. Once with our experience and then, with an observation that told me everything I needed to know.

Part 1: Olivia (hostess) elevated us from a warm welcome to an enthusiastic, not the over-the-top kind, but the full-hearted kind, and genuinely engaged experience. She did find us a nook on the far side of the restaurant, and we went into what I can only describe as “food that made us physically happy” experience. The quality of food, the recommendations from our primary server, the “check-in” by another server, none of it felt staged or performative, but genuine and wholesome. My wife had the Ribeye Pho (double the protein), I had the Bò Lúc Lăc “Shaken Beef” - absolutely outstanding: 10/10 What really stopped me dead in my culinary tracks, though, were the egg rolls as an appetizer. I don’t know who’s responsible and how they’re prepared, but that’s some kitchen magic. A solid 12/10 in my book. We also had a double order of spring rolls, because, …why not. We eat. A lot.

Part 2: The observation: While we were delving into our version of culinary Valhalla, an elderly couple was seated the next booth over. Olivia, the hostess, treated them with the same enthusiastic courtesy as we experienced. However, the gentleman was on crutches. Yes, the crutches would have easily fit next to him in the booth and would not have presented an obstacle. Under normal circumstances, I’d have expected this to be the end of it. Olivia, though, made it a point to ask whether she can store the gentleman’s crutches, for him to have a better and less encumbered dining experience. The man happily agreed to have Olivia store his crutches, and I am reasonably certain, that this type of experience leaves a lasting impression. It sure did for me.

Perhaps this is insignificant to the casual observer. To me, a stickler for customer service, attention to detail, servant and empathetic leadership, these nuances are making profound differences. What Olivia, in conjunction with her colleagues, demonstrated, is what’s so often overlooked in the hospitality industry: human connection, equalizing of perceived and actual power-differentials between “serving staff” and “guests”, and nuanced leadership that is invisible to most but felt by all.

We will definitely come...

I thought I would wait until trying this place for a second time to leave a review, as I had initially come later in the day on their grand opening and felt that the staff was probably burned out. Overall I'm still glad that St Paul is getting more Vietnamese options, but I would still drive to caravelle/pho 79 in Minneapolis over this place to get authentic Vietnamese-Chinese food.

Pros: The cá kho was made with sea bass!! Delicious and a spot on take of a classic comfort food. Could have done with some spice, but the flavor hit all the right notes. The drinks were delicious. The service was friendly and the chef even came out to thank us.

Cons: The twist on the classic bún riêu was a miss. The pasta was overcooked and overall the flavors combatted each other rather than working together. The dish seems like it's supposed to be a blend of a classic Italian Bolognese pasta along with the rice noodle crab-guts and tomato soup from Vietnam, but it lacks the bite of lime or spice that is typically in bún riêu, and also any acidity that would come from the tomato in a Bolognese. The result was a greasy, mushy pasta dish that tasted ambiguously savory. The pho broth is sweet up front but lacks depth in savory flavor. The staff answering the phone didn't know the Vietnamese pronunciations of their own foods, which was slightly frustrating for me.

Things that are different, but not necessarily bad: The pho menu is a departure from what you might see elsewhere-- each pho comes with one topping rather than a combination of proteins typically seen at Vietnamese restaurants for all combination dishes (pho, rice plates, and noodle bowls). Everything is single serve. Not what I'm used to for a Vietnamese style dinner, would have expected...

So we came in during their first week of business, having opened 7-13-22…. Bottom line: The food was great (as expected)! The service left something to be desired! ☹️

When we arrived, no one greeted us, no one said they would “be with you in a minute”, and no one would look us in the eye…. Finally we asserted ourselves and said, a bit too loudly, “We need a table for two”.

After finally getting someone’s attention, we took the option of sitting on the patio… a real delight!

Then we sat at our table and waited, and waited, and waited some more. No one would greet us and bring us water, no one would say, “Be with you in a minute”, no one would look us in the eye. A waiter came within earshot, and I said, a bit too loudly, “we are ready to order”.

Max responded very quickly and responsively, even though we were not his table! He got us water, took our order, and quickly served us (in addition to his own tables).

We finished eating and then we waited for the bill…. and waited, and waited some more. Finally, after saying, a bit too loudly, “We need our bill”, the waitress who was supposed to have served us finally came with our bill and a box. Whew!

With all of that being said, the food was a culinary delight! After having an egg roll, my wife said, “This is the only egg roll I have ever tasted that I like! It is really good!” I had my favorite from the original Que Viet in NE Mpls, the hot and spicy mock duck. It was a delight!

Max did say that they were a bit disorganized, being that it was their first week open. So we will probably be back, expecting improved service! The food is great, the quantity served was appropriate, and the...