A Dong Restaurant

This was our first time at A Dong and we went with friends that have been going there for over 20 years. They have authentic Vietnamese and the food was delicious. They use very little fat in their cooking and the food tasted fresh and light. I tried an authentic option recommended to me, and will have to go back to try some more. The prices were also affordable. Very happy.

I ordered the stir-fried beef with spicy lemongrass but it came out to be pork. The dish is not stir-friend as it came out to be soupy. The dish had a lot of bamboo shoots which I was not a fan of. I would not recommend this dish to anyone. Our server also had a look that he didn’t want us to be there, so we immediately left after our meal.

This place is fresh! The interior is minimal yet pleasant. The food is prepared quick and the flavors are impressive! A must do if you're visiting from out of town. Almost everything is vegetarian friendly (but not everything) ask them to sub with tofu. I recommend the vegan pho or the #17 egg noodle tofu plate. Delicious!!

I have been coming here since I was a child (at their original location) and it's the most amazing Vietnamese food you will find anywhere. Love these guys.

We walked in with a party of 7, able to be seated almost immediately. The food didn't take long, being able to enjoy the delicate and bold flavors of the cuisine. The staff was extremely friendly and had great service. I had the chicken curry; it being absolutely delicious. The flavors mixed extremely well, the curry mixing perfectly with the chicken and rice.

Atmosphere was nice, service was absolutely amazing! Friendly, nice, respectful, they were patient with me as well as gave me good ideas on what would be good to order. I didn't like my food as much, perhaps when I go back, my next choice will better than the choice I picked before.

The restaurant is clean and well decorated. Food was delivered fast. Food was delivered very hot. Overall, the food was good.Down side, I didn't know the bill was not delivered to the table 😕 and I had to ask for a container for leftovers.

Two meals eaten and we’re ok, one star off for soupy fried rice (not sure why so much oil?) and also it generally felt like the staff wasn’t quite sure what to do next. It wasn’t overly busy. Food came out fast once ordered though! Plenty of beef in the pho! Lots of rice noodles too. I’d recommend the pho

Have been here a few times and love it! It is a bit pricier than some of the other pho places. Their duck noodle soup was good but for the price I would've wanted more duck.

It was just okay. I hadn't been here for many years, and stopped in recently after moving back from Idaho. We used to eat here all the time back in the day, but it just wasn't the same. I was disappointed.

A Dong Vietnamese Restaurant has been a cherished favorite of mine in the Des Moines Metro area since the early '90s. The vibrant, fresh ingredients bring each dish to life, and every bite feels like it's made just for you. The Goi Cuon Spring Rolls explode with crisp flavors, while the Pho Tai offers a perfectly layered mix of fragrant herbs, tender vegetables, savory broth, and noodles. When I'm feeling under the weather, the hot and spicy soup is my go-to comfort. Pair it with their soothing Jasmine tea for a truly calming experience. With kind service, easy parking, and prices that can't be beat, it's a top choice whether I'm dining in or taking out!

Passing through Des Moine we found this Vietnamese restaurant. It was spacious and clean, especially the restroom was very clean! The service was attentive, friendly, and very good. We wanted to try something different from the usual Vietnamese dish we get back at home. We got pork stuffed squid, pork ribs with the restaurant's special sauce, spring roll, and sour lemon drink. I feel a bit of a mixed feeling with the food we ordered. The flavours were really bland compared to the flavours I am used to. The fish sauce dipping sauce (nuoc cham) almost tasted like water with a hint of fish sauce, which in my opinion was very off putting. Where I am from we have fairly large Vietnamese community so I can trust the flavours. I am wondering if the flavours here are weaker to cater to the non Asian palate? Anyway, the 4 stars is for the wonderful and friendly service this restaurant provided.

I was very disappointed in the lack of flavors in my most recent meal at ADong. I hadn't been since before Covid. It was a Friday around lunchtime and there were a lot of empty seats--same thing when we left--that's worrisome for a business. My friend ordered the equivalent of crab Rangoon, and said they were tasty. They came with a lemony sauce. I had the iced tea which is actually a very lightly flavored lime drink. It was very refreshing. I then had a cup of hot and sour soup, which had one shrimp in the cup and lots of nice crunchy veggies. But it had none of the hot nor sour flavors that I'm used to. I had two spring rolls with a very bland sauce. I should've asked for peanut sauce; I just assumed that what it was. Each roll had three shrimp in it, quite a bit of lettuce and some rice noodles. I didn't even bother to finish them. The waitress was pleasant. The room is bright and clean. Perhaps you're supposed to ask for some heat/spices?

Ever since someone had posted about their vegetarian menu on one of the Des Moines food groups a few years ago, I have been so in love with their food since! Every time I go, I try to order a new dish off the vegetarian menu and it is always soooooo delicious! But my fav has to be the egg rolls. So perfectly crispy and the sauce they give with it is amazing! Portions are always huge especially to me. I always end up with leftovers the staff is always so kind and helpful when I have questions. Would definitely recommend!

BREAK MY SCALE. So good. The customer service was so good they got us right in and the food came quick and hot. Everything was so fresh.

My first visit. Didn't know what to expect, but was very impressed. Excellent food I had the vegetarian, tofu and vegetables. Sorry I don't remember the name of the dish, but it was outstanding will definitely return! I was with the small group and they accommodated us very well. They gave us a spot first to sit together and very attentive to us.

Best fresh Asian food in the Des Moines area! I have tried so many different dishes here & I'm never disappointed.

A Des Moines staple for a reason, amazing food! Favorites are 1c egg rolls, 16c curry tofu soup, 26c tofu and greens, 33c coconut sauce udon noodles with tofu. Meat dishes are good too but I especially love the huge vegetarian menu!

The rest of my party loved the place. I doubt I'll be back. I like my food a little more Americanized. Haha there wasn't enough grease for me! Seemed much more authentic than most places in America. Which is actually a good thing

I have been enjoying the food at A Dong's for 20 years. A recent visit however was disappointing. A new menu made it difficult to find my favorites, then we I did find them and ordered them they were awful. The rice paper wrapping the spring roles was like cardboard and my favorite Hot and Sour soup was filled with cabbage and other inferior ingredients. Then the prices were higher. Very disappointing. I probably won't go back unless I hear that they have improved

Staff is amazing here! Everyone is so sweet and they are quick. I could imagine it is hard to find authentic ingredients in this area. That is understandable. I'm really happy I got to stop here while visiting. Their broth has great flavors and their meats are yummy. Worth the stop if you need a warm bowl of soup for your belly.

Restaurant was simple and clean. Food was delicious. Had the pork egg rolls, and chicken pho. Their iced tea is infused with Jasmine. Service was quick and pleasant.

Food was fabulous! We were so happy to have a whole vegetarian section. Also, the wait staff were thrilled to see our 5 month old baby and were so cute in interacting with him. We don't live here but would absolutely return!

Agree with other reviews, nice staff but mediocre food. If you've had authentic Vietnamese, this is not it. Take the fresh spring road for instance. They were $5 or so for two of them and you can't have both pork and shrimp in them as you normally would, only one or the other. In addition to that they're not stuffed very tightly but fairly loose. The sauce was the most watery I've had and lacking in flavor. The fried noodles I expected to be the Chinese style that are crispy but as you can see from my photo they weren't. The dish was still tasty because noodles, seafood, and vegetables taste good together, and nothing was a weird texture, but it could have had more flavor.

This is a great Vietnamese pho spot in Des Moines. The menu is extensive and includes a variety of dishes besides pho. On this visit I had the shrimp spring rolls as an appetizer and the seafood and bbq pork with egg and white noodles as a main course. The spring rolls were awesome. They were served with a fig sauce, which I was very hesitant about, but it really made the dish. The pho is a large portion and comes with everything you can imagine. Mine had both egg and white noodles, several kinds of seafood, bbq pork slices, bean sprouts, lime wedge, and sliced raw jalapeño. The broth is also perfect. Overall a great spot for pho lovers like myself.

Came here for dinner yesterday and was saddened by the decline in quality from the last time I visited 3-4 years ago. The veggie egg rolls were extremely oily and lacked flavor - it seemed to just be filled with unseasoned cabbage? The fresh spring rolls were similarly flavorless and came with a watery dipping sauce that I had to dump sriracha into. My veggie fried rice was decent but again totally forgettable flavor-wise. I've made better fried rice at home in a pinch. We also felt very rush to leave around 8:30pm even though they do not close until 9pm. I'm not sure if it's a staffing or ingredient/supply chain issue but I'm hoping they can find their groove again because I really want this family owned restaurant to continue thriving!

Pretty disappointing, unfortunately. I really wanted to try a wider range of Vietnamese menu items but this place was a letdown. Service was pretty bad. Took about 10 minutes before anyone even asked me if I wanted a table and they merely asked "can I help you?" The food itself was some of the worst I've ever had. I love Vietnamese food, but this was awful. For whatever reason, they served my food with two soy sauce packets tossed right on top even though there was soy sauce on the table. Others complained, too. Another gentleman walked in to remind the waitress that the manager insisted on comping him for a previous takeout order they had messed up.

The best dish you will ever eat. If I'm ever granted one last meal, this will be it. Will I drive from Omaha Nebraska to Des Moines for this? Yes. Yes, I will.

Decent food, but honestly have never understood the hype. Service was good and menu is authentic.

I started going to A Dong when it was one of the only Vietnamese restaurants in Des Moines and when it was located across from where Smokey Row sits now in a strip of shops that has long since been demolished. I don't know if the same family who rabbit then has it now but I liked it then I I like it now. I see a lot of reviews with lower ratings saying it it isn't authentic and as a white person I can't say what is or isn't authentic Vietnamese food, but I do feel certain things have been adjusted to make them more user friendly for the American palate that has not experienced Vietnamese cooking before - case in point - their spring rolls which the diner must request the herbs be included in vs removed as to make them gentler for someone not used to eating mint. My favorite dishes are the curry chicken, lemon grass chicken, the rare beef salad, the secret soup at the end of the appetizer menu that does not have a aloha/number, their Pho tai and their chicken and veggie soup. They have always been great with me, offering extra ginger if in the chicken soup when they know we were ordering it because we were sick, their dipping sauce is still my favorite fish sauce condiment to out on everything. I also adore whoever took over their social media platform a few years ago and that they stuck up for the Asian community when their was a restaurant that wanted to open with a blatantly racist name and got that stopped and the name was changed.

This was my first and last time to A Dong. The meal itself was OK except for the eggroll. I took one bite of the eggroll and had to spit it out. The flavor was so horrible. The main reason I will never return is the service is unbelievably horrible, let me clarify- customer service. I wasn't greeted. I was not said hello to. I was seated with a wave of the hand- never spoken to -not one word. I had to go up to the front to get my ticket to check out. Even then there was not a single courtesy. Who needs that kind of treatment / the food wasn't anything spectacular - shrimp with vegetables, big deal and like I said- the worst eggroll in my 68 years! I will never return.

i love pho and this place unfortunately ranks amongst the worst i have had. im sorry des moines people yall have it rough. no idea why its rated high for food. pho and chicken com ga was bad.

Am trying my best to ignore the blatantly obvious innuendo in the name just like a respectable adult person should. A Dong, the best authentic Vietnamese restaurant that you have never heard of. I kid you not the outside looks more like a sketchy cigarette shop than a nice sit down (if you don't believe me check out my picture). Don't let the look deceive you though. I walked in with no expectations and I was amazed by this place. Here are the facts. 1) The food is fast, really truly fast. 2) The menu is in Vietnamese but they conveniently number all the dishes so that basic white people like me can order without looking like a fool. 3) The prices are super low. A typical authentic place will run $10-$15 on a plate whereas here more like $6-$8 for the same great quality. 4) The food tastes great (some sort of unbelievably not bland beef based bowl!!). I can't really elaborate on this one, you just need to find out for yourself. In conclusion, go try this place out. I have concluded.

Been going here for 30 years. Great food and service. We will continue to support small businesses especially great ones

The greeting upon entry was friendly. The menu was plentiful with options by their description that had you read and want to try each delectable dish. The veggie spring roll was full of fresh vegetables and the chicken fried rice was steaming hot as well as seasoned to perfection. My to go order was more than I could eat in one setting. This was a good change of pace for me in that I could try something not found at most other Chinese Restaurants even though I usually wind up ordering the same old thing.

Just wow. I haven't seen such a varied Vietnamese menu...ever. And our food was absolutely delicious. We ordered a kid's beef pho for our 2-year old, which they wisely brought out ASAP and served sans herbs and onions. The owner also stopped by with a fortune cookie to help entertain him while we waited for the rest of our food. What a sweetheart. I ordered the ground-pork stuffed tofu off the house specialties menu, and it was fantastic. A mixture of herbed pork, wood-ear mushrooms, and cellophane noodles is stuffed into fried(?) tofu pockets and topped with a delicious tomato sauce. I'm guessing this unexpected pairing of ingredients harks back to France's imperial influence in Vietnam. There was a yellowy tinge to the sauce hinting of turmeric. The stuffed tofu came with a generous side of steamed jasmine rice, crisp lettuce and sliced cucumber and tomato, plus pickled carrot and daikon radish. Each bite explodes in a series of contrasting texture and flavor - juicy meatball, tender tofu, savory sauce, crunchy vegetables, soft rice, and sweet, sour, and salty accompaniments. I skipped the dressing/dip over the top as it mostly tasted of Maggi sauce. We enjoyed our shrimp and pork summer rolls with plum sauce to start. I swiped a slurp of my husband's roasted bone-in duck soup and it was tasty with a rich, dark poultry-flavored stock. Prices were fair ($12-14/entree, around $5 for the kid's soup, and $3-4 per app) - a little more than we typically spend at lunch, but portions were also huge and perfectly executed. That's rare with a menu this broad and deep. We will definitely, definitely return next time we're in town. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

A Dông is a Des Moines institution! Originally located in the now empty lot across the street from Smokey Row Coffee, A Dông has maintained a consistent high quality menu with an excellent mix for flavors. A frequent City View Best award recipient as both a choice Vietnamese and vegetarian restaurant, I have yet to order an item off A Dông's menu that I did not enjoy. For the non-vegetarian, a not health conscious, I highly reccomand and order of 86 - a great egg roll and dipping sauce. If you like it hot, ask for a side of chili oil. Noodles in cocnut sauce (33C), iced coffee with heavy cream/condensed milk, fresh-made lemonade... All delicious... Excuse me, I need to go call in my carry out order!

Absolutely amazed with this place. I'm not a huge pho person but I wanted pho today and OMG I'm so happy I stopped by. The pho was delicious and just the perfect amount. The noodles were quality noodles and the broth was top notch!!! It was very clear so I was skeptical but after taking my first sip, I couldn't stop sipping! Lol it's so refreshing!! It's rare to find a pho joint that has quality noodles and broth. A must try if you're in the area! I'll be bringing all my guests here when they visit and want pho!

Menu has a great variety. Atmosphere is laid back and slow. Better for a casual date or dinner with friends when you have time to spare.

The place looks esthetic and the food is good, good place, and they have welcoming people.

I first visited A Dong in 2014. They've been around for a long time and so many people have raves about their food. I was curious about the hype. They have an extensive menu. Honestly, the first Vietnamese restaurant I've been to with this many items available. The restaurant staff is very friendly and the wait is never long. Their service is one of the better ones compared to other Vietnamese restaurants in the DSM area. The food: so far, my general consensus is that their flavor profile does not suit my taste. I have been consistently getting bo tai chanh. It's a rare dish to find around here and their is DELICIOUS. Every now and again I try a new dish: -pho: too bland, I prefer a more flavorful broth. There are too many Vietnamese restaurants in DSM to justify getting pho here. -bun rieu: again, the broth here does not taste authentic and there's fewer toppings/meats. I prefer Pho 515's bun rieu. -bun thit nuong (vermicelli)I don't like their fish sauce and meat. In my opinion, both of these are pivotal to a good vermicelli bowl.

I was very excited to try out A Dong. Coming from New England I'm not surprised or suffering in the cold, but I do know how to warm myself up. A nIce bowl of soup. Bun bo hue was on the menu so I knew it had to be authentic. Maybe I'm spoiled, but I thought it was just all right. I was left wanting more flavor. Overall, my friends seemed to really like it so I'll have to give it a second chance. I also noticed the prices had increased from the time they uploaded the facebook menu. Some dishes had gone up a few cents. p.s. the curry looked amazing.

Everything about A Dong is amazing. It is a place where dreams come true. The noodles are supreme. I get the spiciest foods from this place, they deliver joy to me. I love A Dong.

Pros: huge selection of food, plenty seating, east parking, reasonable pricing Cons: my vegetarian vermicelli was somewhat lacking of flavor...it was still decent enough to eat, but I couldn't say that I truly enjoyed it. It was fresh though

Completely disappointed. I have been going to this restaurant since before they were In this location. I have a few favorites. One is 105 with shrimp and cucumber. It normally is spicy and a very thin sauce. This time it had tons of chunks, small shrimp, over cooked cucumbers and the sauce was thick with no spice. I also ordered a steamed spring roll which I haven't tried. It had a weird flavor and texture. The cabbage was the texture of potatoes. In the past, I would have rated this a 5 but not today!!

I was very disappointed with the pho here. The broth was lacking so much flavor that it tasted like the water used to cook the noodles. The slices of beef and pieces of meatballs were standard and the noodles were cooked decently. What surprised me the most was that the child size serving of pho was the same price as a regular adult size serving. I would not recommend this place to anyone, especially for first time pho triers.

My wife and I have been frequenting A Dong for years, and absolutely love it! We started bringing the kiddos here as soon as they were old enough and now it's one of their favorites too. A longtime staple in the area since 1989. We often get the same waiter we've had for decades. He is very pleasant, friendly and loves kids! In fact, whenever we dine there without, the first thing he says is, "Where's your kids?" He always makes sure to give us extra fortune cookies to take home for them My favorites are #62 and 119 w/ duck. My wife really enjoys the pho. Egg rolls and spring rolls are top notch. Have tried many flavors of the bubble teas and they are all yummy! If you need a lil pep in your step the Vietnamese iced coffee will get ya going. So glad they're still around after all these years. Having been through a fire and then COVID, their survival is a true testament to how well they are cherished by the community.

I had not been here in many years. A Dong did not disappoint. There is something for everyone. They have light dishes, vegatarian, pork, chicken, shrimp. The menu is huge. Hard to make a decision. I went with the chicken, vegetables, rice, and egg roll. The restaurant was 90% full but the service was on point. My dinning partner and I were able to grab a great meal with time to spare before a show. Definitely want to go back and try other dishes

Atmosphere in this place was not the most comfortable. Something about this place where when you speak, it echos and I don't like people listening in on my conversations and I don't care to listen to others that's the ambience I got in that place. This honestly is probably one of the worst pho I have ever eaten. But am still willing to give it a 3 star since I am not about trying to hurt people's businesses but rather give my honest opinion so that the owners can do what they want with this. The noodles, I can tell, come from dry packaged noodle that has been rehydrated. It has a specific taste and smell to it. My question is why serve dry pho noodle and not fresh? The overall pho broth taste and quality was no where near the traditional Vietnamese phos I've had and I've been to a lot since I'm from Southern California. Good luck to this place!

By far and away the best thing about this place is the customer service! Everyone was exceedingly friendly and went above and beyond to give us a good experience. We started with a variety of egg rolls that included a shrimp and cheese that was out of this world, a veggie eggroll, a pork eggroll and a shrimp eggroll. There was not as much flavor with the filling as I was expecting but the crispy shell was spot on on all of them but the shrimp and cheese. For my main I opted for a tofu and veggie curry bowl with rice. I had mentioned that I liked fried tofu and the waiter had the kitchen fry some of the tofu slices on top. It was awesome! The broth had a lot of flavor but I think that a little coconut milk would have smoothed it out. They do fancy cuts on the veggies too which made it classier than you typically see. My cousins both ordered the coconut curry bowls; one with duck and one with shrimp. Their broth was incredible. For dessert I went with a pineapple boba tea with soda water instead of milk or sprite. It was much less sweet which made me like it more than I typically like boba tea.

WOWIE ZOWIE it has been 5 years since I last wrote about A Dong! I bet I have been here or ordered to go from here at least 25 times in the past 5 years, so how have they been doing since! WELL A+ as always! For a vegan on a budget there is no better option in town! The portion sizes are amazing, the price is always right and the amount of choices will blow your mind not your bank account! Im a huge fan of 15 C and 16 C. both our vegan soups with loads of fake meat, fresh veggies and a perfect broth! I love this on hot days and or cold days! Get the veggie spring rolls too, they can't be beaten! A Dong remodeled after a fire and it's less divey now and a bit more swank but you still get that great taste and it don't drowned the bank!

Busy with the lunch rush as we arrived at 1p. Vietnamese iced coffee made the right way "French Press drip" loved it had another to go also. My Pho Dac Biet was amazing light rich flavorful hot broth with nice portions of tender meat almost wanted to drink every last drop from the bowl . Bun was very good as well crunchy lettuce and bean sprouts fresh cilantro, veggies etc. Grilled pork and shrimp tasty and tender. I will be back!

This has been a sad moment for me at this place. I've had many friends who let me know since they have newly renovated after that fire they had, it hasn't been what it was and I have come here to second that notion. Sure the place looks similar with nicer decor and setting but the food has lacked. The pho that I used to love so much was so bland that I had douse it with Hoison and Sriracha to have some flavoring. Not just the food has lacked but the price has gone up a few dollars higher so it's a lose/lose all around. A Dong used to be a staple of Des Moines but it has falling downhill. I want to give it another chance but if I've been hearing it over and over again from different people and I've tried it myself to also have the same sadness...

We came here again on our trip back from KC for OK Go concert. I usually get the duck in bone egg noodle soup which is the best. I saved the big pieces for my wife. My wife had the chicken pho which my mother-in-law makes too. I have to say this is a close 2nd to my wife's mom. The egg rolls are also good too and close 2nd to my wife's mom too. Overall, the price and value is there for this place and always busy here even on Sunday after church. This place recently had renovation and the place looks very classy now.

I got bun bo hue to go and spring rolls and I wasn't impressed! they did give a large portion of meat but not much variety! The broth tasted really plain and the quality and love I have seen in many bun bo hue soups was missing here.. I had high hopes for this place given the reviews. I also thought the spring rolls and they were a bit off ? I will be going else where, sorry but this first order really put me off ! But I will be raving about the name forever

Only eaten here one time. I ordered four different dishes. They were very bland. It seems like the food has been Americanized to appeal to a broader spectrum of Iowans. The sauces seemed watered down. Not sure I will return. Extremely disappointing. Staff was very nice.

I had been wanting to try pho for the longest time and I live right behind A dong so I finally bit the bullet and did it. I was a bit nervous because some yelp reviews said it was flavorless and what not but I was trapped in my house without a ride so I ordered it anyways. And I am sooooooo soo glad I did. I ordered the #2 pho Tai with raw beef and was blown away by how delicious it was. I can't believe I've been depriving myself this long. I thought the broth was very tasty and found myself drinking the rest of it from the bowl. It was packaged perfectly with all of the toppings in one box, the raw beef wrapped in foil (which I really appreciate I was afraid it would be overcooked by the time I got home), and the super hot broth in a big plastic container. It was phenomenal on a cold iowa day. The service was very quick and friendly too. Everything felt very clean even the vegetables, herbs and what not that came in my food. You can tell they put care into their preparation and what they do. I will 100% be coming back several times throughout winter to get a pho fix. Thank you a dong, I'm now addicted!