Xinh Xinh Cafe — Restaurant in Urbana

I’m honestly surprised this place has so many positive reviews. My experience was far from what I expected. From the moment we walked in, we were completely ignored. We were never greeted, and the staff didn’t say a single word to us until we were paying and the only words out of his mouth were, “cash or card.” Even when he took our order, not a single word was spoken.

The wait was painfully long. It took 20 minutes just for someone to come to our table and take our order, even though there was only one other table occupied at the time. After he finally took our order, a few other small groups arrived, and despite the long wait, they all received their food before we did.

As for the food, it was just okay—nothing special. The pork in my bun thit nuong was unlike any I’ve had—I lived in Vietnam for several years and frequently visit viet restaurants when traveling and while in the U.S. as it’s my favorite cuisine. My friend said the pho was just okay too.

Overall, the service was absolutely terrible—probably the worst I’ve experienced in a long time. The food is passable if you’re really craving Vietnamese cuisine in the middle of Illinois, but honestly, you’re better off ordering to-go if you want to avoid the long waits and poor attitudes. I won't be...

Always the best!! Vegan / vegetarian options are plenty, delicious, and marked! They have a little section of some veg options, but there are more you can find in other areas on the menu! They have a vegan lime sauce (in lieu of fish sauce) for things like the vermicelli bowls so you still get that nice fresh taste!! I've been to other places where the only option they have is peanut sauce or soy sauce which... isn't the same dish :/ So Xinh Xinh is AWESOME! Their vegan pho is one of the best I've ever had! It is not just chocked full of veggies and it is not overwhelmingly broccoli or celery tasting. (I still want my pho to taste like pho even though I like veggies!) And I am IN LOVE with their spicy tofu (not spicy at all). The spicy tofu bahn mi is one option I have not seen anywhere!! This is my go to place when I am looking for a place to eat. Since it's operated by a family, their hours are a bit shorter and they close often with little notice or online update, but I am 100% okay with this because I...

Ordered the tofu vermicelli bowl and the shrimp spring rolls. The shrimp spring rolls were absolutely PACKED and very refreshing. The peanut sauce was a tad bit too sweet, but the pickled veggies in the rolls helped balance that out.

The tofu vermicelli bowl was disappointing, to say the least. Most of the tofu pieces were super dried out and tough to chew (I think they were fried for a bit too long), and the sauce itself was incredibly salty. Like I probably consumed the entirety of my daily recommended serving of sodium (and some more) from the tofu alone. We ended up eating only half of the dish before giving up. I'm not sure what happened this day--from what I could gather by reading previous reviews, the tofu should have been crispy yet plump and not absolutely drenched and swimming in a dark sauce. I don't think I would go back to try anything else,...