Ngon Restaurant — Restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

TL;DR

Unfortunately, this was the worst experience on my entire trip in Vietnam.

The food was only okay, but definitely over priced. The decor was nice, but literally fall hazards.The service was absolutely horrendous. My dad fell on the ground after tripping on the steps and no one came to help or even check on him. All the staff just stood there and watched him struggle to get back up. You should come if you want to trip and fall to sue them, but go elsewhere for food.

We came to try after seeing great reviews online and some recommendations from friends and family. The decor is very traditional, but the service and food just don't make it worth coming if you're in Vietnam.

The food is on the more expensive side for Saigon, but the attitude and treatment from our servers was horrendous. My father fell after walking down the steps of one of their tables that doesn't have any paint indicators (this is literally a safety hazard that could hurt someone).

When we asked for more hot water because our tea was too strong, they told us that they'd need to CHARGE us for another ice tea if we wanted hot water. We asked why and they said that's how management was setup (we ate at a LOT of other places in Vietnam -- check out my travel list -- and NONE of them ever charged us when we asked for more hot water). The servers literally stood after to argue with us that they needed to charge us for the hot water.

Service also became very slow despite us ordering 15 dishes (this was also like a tapas style restaurant) slowly throughout the meal. It got to a point where our servers (we had 3 assigned to us) appeared to be hiding from us and the other servers flat out ignored us!

Even asking for the check took another 20 minutes. You could literally go to any other restaurant in the area and be treated 10x better than here. My family and I literally did that...

We ordered a good spread of food: Bot Chien (fried rice pancake): 3/5 - not crispy, but soy sauce was sweet Bun dau ran (tofu vermicelli): 2/5 - very plain, just vermicelli noodles, some veggies that Banh Beo Thap Cam (vietnamese rice cake): 2/5 - fish sauce was plain and these were almost overcooked Bun Thit Nuong (pork vermicelli): 3/5 - small portion size, nothing special, tasted like it should Com Chien La E (Lemon basil Fried Rice): 2/5 - lacked flavor, could've concentrated the basil much more Dua Tac (iced coconut drink) - 3/5 - too much ice, but tasted like it should Goi cuon chay (vegetarian spring rolls) - 2/5 - very plain, even with the hoisin sauce, which was very bland, almost watery Muc com chay toi - 2/5 lacked flavor and texture was a bit watery Nem nuong nha trang (bbq pork rolls) - 3/5 - tasted like nem nuong should, but it came out cold and the...

한글 후기는 호치민 도깨비 카페에 작성하였습니다.

This travel was the first time with my mother.

Upon arrival, I ordered buncha, Morning Glory, Bánh Xèo, lemon juice, and a Saigon beer. Despite the crowded place, the service was quick, and the food didn't take too long to come. The buncha was tasty, though the portion was small. However, there was an unexpected delay for the Morning Glory, and they mistakenly brought a dish we didn't order. Having experienced similar situations in other Vietnamese cities, I called the waiter, and they promptly took it back as usual.

The issue arose with the Morning Glory. It looks fresh and delicious, and my mother enjoyed it until a cockroach appeared when there was about 1/3 left. It seemed to have been stir-fried with the Morning Glory. Disturbed, my mother felt nauseated, and I immediately called the manager. The manager(name : ngyuen duo(?)) arrived, uttered a quick "sorry," swiftly took the plate away without addressing the issue. (The young female employee with black-framed glasses seemed even more apologetic than the manager, who has no responsibility.) Unless I had taken the photo immediately, there were no physical evidence at all.

In the meantime, Bánh Xèo arrived. The manager didn't return, so I called again (we didnt eat Banh Xeo at all.), and he casually said, "Cancel the Morning Glory, Bánh Xèo is fine, eat it." Outraged, I considered raising my voice but decided to remain calm, asking, 'What would you do if you were in my shoes?' He responded with sigh, but I insisted on canceling the Morning Glory, willing to pay for the others.

Upon my insistence, he agreed to cancel the Morning Glory but emphasized that Bánh Xèo was okay. Frustrated, I retorted, 'You said is it okay? Right?' Finally, he brought the bill again with sigh,however,which included unused napkins. When I found and pointed it out, he nonchalantly erased it with a pen.

After got the bill, my mother's mood was significantly really down, so, we headed straight to the hotel directly. It was a totally disappointing experience, especially considering this is a place catering primarily for foreigners. Especially, the service showed by the manager left the most terrified experience of this trip.

If you plan to go to here, well...consider carefully once again. There are so many delicious, good mood restaurant except here.

Thanks...

I went here as recommended by my family in London, as a good place which has a mixture of many vietnamese dishes in one place. I'm a Londoner now living in Saigon and had a friend come out to visit me. This place is much easier if you have a specific craving but want to try many Vietnamese dishes all in one place.

Last week it was difficult to get a reservation ahead, so I arrived at 6pm to secure a table for 4. I had no problem getting a table, but later you can see the ques building up outside people wantinf a table ( I usually eat early in London anyway). Yes it's more expensive when compared to other local prices, but not as much as what we would pay in London. ie 4 of us ate including a bottle of white wine for equivent of £70.

Portion sizes are small but the variety of choice on the menu is great. Inside is pretty and clean, decent formal table setting with real cloth napkins. It's strange to me that you can have 6 girls waiting at the entrance to greet, but somehow less serving staff allocated to dining tables.

Food came out quickly and there is no method how dishes come out, rather as soon as chef has prepared. Tables could be much bigger, as we really struggled with space once the many dishes came out randomly. Impossible to have all dishes at one time, hence forced to eat faster some dishes to make space at the table. Having a square table is ok if you have one dish per person at a time, but impossible to have more than 3 dishes in the center to share at one time due to plate sizes of food arriving, begins to feel cramped. Few pictures of only some of the food ordered uploaded here.

Knocked off 1 star from my review as service could be improved. Service was a bit slow, as waitress/ waiters don't seem to not make any eye contact / check tables frequently if you wanted assistance. Also many times refilling our own wine glasses ourselves, or having to ask staff to do it. This small issue can be easily resolved, I think this is just a standard practice where we come from ie we are more used to in London /Western countries.

Would I come again? ...yes as I know it is hygenic, has variety I want and doesn't give me tummy issues with the food standards. ie OK for newer delicate...