Brian Burns
Google
My wife and I have eaten at the Vietnam Restaurant on average once a month for the past thirty years. Not only has it been an institution for us, but we've brought quite a few other people in over those years.
After eating at the Vietnam Restaurant this evening (April 15, 2025), I am truly sad to say we won't ever be back.
In recent years, the food, which was once outstanding, has been increasingly hit-and-miss, yet managed to retain a minimal level of quality to keep us coming back (if not quite as often).
This evening the food was off-the-charts bad. So bad, in fact, that when the waiter came over to check on us I asked if the restaurant had changed ownership or hired a new cook. I described the poor quality of each food item we had ordered, and the waiter said he would go back and talk to the manager. He returned and thanked us for our feedback, saying the manager would "check."
"Check what," I asked, and he replied, "check on the chef."
At the end of our meal, of which we were able to eat less than half, we were presented with a FULL BILL. When we got to the counter to pay, the waiter, sensing our dissatisfaction, extended a 10% discount --- better than nothing, but considering our lengthy round-trip from Arlington and the fact that after paying for an expensive meal and leaving hungry --- well, it just wasn't enough to bring us back. Ever.
Sad, especially after thirty years of patronage.