Cargo Club Cafe & Restaurant — Restaurant in Hội An

I ate here with two friends on a Thursday at about 8pm and they were clearly very busy, which is expected, but I ordered the surf and turf which came out basically lukewarm and the pepper sauce had developed a film on it, so it had clearly been left sitting in the kitchen for too long by one of the waitstaff.

I ate some of it but then it got too cold and because there aren't much in the way of consumer rights or recourse for service or product issues in Vietnam (it's almost always a little antagonistic and not worth the hassle) and I was enjoying talking to my friends, I didn't make a fuss.

Later when the waitress asked if everything was okay I told her that the food wasn't hot when it came out so I only had a few bites. She took the food away, then came back about 10 minutes later and offered me some ice cream. I guess it's a gesture but it's pretty weak, and if I wanted ice cream. I'd go to an ice cream shop, what I wanted was steak and prawns, served hot. That's the part that restaurants are supposed to be good at.

Long story short, don't try and order food when it's busy, the place cleared out quickly after the rush so maybe aim for 9pm. The quality of the ingredients was fine, the wine (an Argentinian malbec) wasn't great for the price point. And check if your food is actually hot when it arrives.

It's also worth mentioning is the fact that the girl out front sort of talked to me like I was an idiot. She kept on telling me that there was no space on the terrace, even though it was very clear that there was no space on the terrace because it was right behind her, and I kept on telling her that I was happy to eat inside. She said this to me three times in a row.

I guess everybody was a little overwhelmed with a busy-ish...

The Cargo Club on the promenade beside the Hoi An River is an amazing space with some amazing food with amazing views. Stretched between two adjoining streets, the south-end has superb river views, while the north-end has equally superb views of the beautiful Hoi An Old Quarters, its colours, cafés and paper lamps. Both ends are great for people-watching, especially in the evenings when tourists from all over town congregate here to watch boats with colourful paper lamps floating by. The interiors are done up with white walls and silk lamps in shades of aquamarine. The wooden tables, chairs, bar counters, wooden boards, doors, cabinet, banisters, windows sundry drawers seem to be rescued antiques. The whole ambience of the interiors is one of timelessness as if the Cargo has been there for ever, and stood the test of time. While the restaurant is at the moment informal and all walk-ins are welcome, if there's a table, the excellent service and presentation of the food is that of a fine dining restaurant. The granola bowl I ordered was the most beautifully presented breakfast dish ever. The colours and freshness of the fruit was an absolute delight. While the ca phé sûa dá, the signature Vietnamese iced coffee wasn't very remarkable, my disappointment was more with the fact that it finished rather quickly. Later, I ordered a continental breakfast to check out the breads and preserves. The combo came with Vietnamese iced coffee, which I again finished too quickly. After this sumptuous breakfast I lingered over a book, enjoying the splendid river views from my perch by the window, and lovely curated piano music playing over the crystal-clear...

Service was too slow although its not full house. Our waitress didnt seem to understand the menu, everytime we asked, she just looked unsure and said would ask the kitchen. Service was slow but still acceptable. However, the food, so hard to describe them. The taste overall is fine but they put spicy in everything, in my clam pasta (with Vietnamese chillies), in the stewed beef (served with bread) and even in my kid's beef burger. My husband litterally soaked in sweat eating their beef stew and i have tried to finish my clam pasta in tears. The burger was left after few bites with support of a half of water bottle. I was very upset as i have specifically asked the waitress not to serve spicy dish to my kid - and she didnt help at all (we are Vietnamese, no trouble communicating with her). I had to talk to the manager, they blamed it on the newly fired waitress and claimed all kid can eat that burger and offer me a new one, but we are too tired to stay for another might-be-disppointing burger. So we just left. Will never come back again definitely. The price is high for such service...