This place reminds of Vietnamese restaurants in Cali, as in it's cheap, fast, delicious, and no frills. If you're looking for a floor that's not sticky and a $10 bowl of pho this ain't it. You can however get a bowl of pho for close to $5 and spring rolls for $2. Take out rarely take more than 5 min to prepare and comes with all the trimmings (e.g. basil, bean sprouts, and requisite sauces if you order pho). If you appreciate pig blood in your bun bo hue, check out Dong Ky! And it's under $6 for a hot bowl of deliciousness!
Review Source:Love this place, Â great food. Â I only do take out, Â With the grocery store right there it is nice placing the order, Â go shopping and then pick up food
The price is the best in the city for Vietnamese food, Â and after being in Ho Chi Minh a couple of years ago. Â I can say with certainty they are a very authentic food.
I used to eat here a lot more often when I ate meat. The Beef broth Pho was my favorite and that's all I would have. I've also tried the orange chicken, stew with bread, and a few other things that I can't remember. The spring rolls are good but the sauce is too vinegar heavy - just have the rolls and you'll be fine. You can ask for the pork to be skipped for a veggie version and they'll do it but you have to be specific and clear or you'll be unwrapping the roll to pick it out yourself.
Lately I've had the Kung Pao Tofu and have been pleased with that and the spring rolls. I might try the fish congee soon or see if they have a veggie congee - can't beat the soup here.
This is a family restaurant and so everyone is friendly and laid back. Be patient and your server and food will come faster than you think. If you are in a crazy hurry, maybe a sit-down restaurant isn't a good idea to begin with.
I come here so many times that I feel nervous to come in twice in a week.
Because it's THAT cheap.
Their prices are reasonable for the amount of food that they give.
One little dislike though; their staffs seem as though they hate their job and serve me so lazily.
I don't know if it's just me...
However, you can't stop me from coming, Dong Ky!!!!
This place combines the best attributes of Vietnamese cuisine: great, refreshing food and sincere Vietnamese identity.
The folks at Dong Ky could care less what you think of their retro decorations and accommodations. They're not trying to impress you with multi-page, heavy printed menus or dishware like at Tank Noodle. At Dong Ky, they are just dedicated to providing you with the best Vietnamese food for your buck.
And by that, I mean Dong Ky is by far one of the best steals in Northern Chicago. With entrees like Hu Tieu Xao and Bun being barely $6 and bowls of Pho costing ~$4, Dong Ky is your stomach and your wallet's best friend. You could conceivably walk in and order spring rolls, pho, AND iced coffee and get change back for your $10 bill.
Now yes the portions are smaller than other restaurants in the area, but do note that in comparison, plates at other restaurants will cost anywhere from $2-3 dollars more. More is not necessarily better. At Dong Ky you will never have a scenario where you are forced to drop a significant amount of money for an entree with large portions that you may not necessarily care for. I guess the best way to describe it is almost like the TGI Friday deal back in the day where you were charged smaller prices for smaller portions.
What this means is, instead of having to spend like $8 on a plate of banh xeo and having way too much to eat, you can spend $4 on a plate of banh xeo, and if you tire of it, you can spend another $4 for a bowl of congee or some noodles. Variety of dishes beats portion sizes.
And the food itself is nothing to scoff at either. Dong Ky is connected to a large Asian grocery and I suspect they are able to keep their costs low because of this. As consumers we also benefit from the fresh ingredients made available by this relationship. As for their Pho, Dong Ky's pho tastes like a mix between Tank's and Lily's. It's got a darker broth, with more body than Lily's but not nearly as aromatic as Tank's. Still, for~ $4 a bowl, it sure is a steal.
Only complaints are that the staff and service can be a bit slow, however, you can chalk it up to the Vietnamese custom of never wanting to hurry your patrons. Also, $10 minimum for credit cards! So order something extra for lunch the next day if you're stuffed and haven't hit that mark, you probably would've spent $12-14 anyway at another Vietnamese restaurant in Uptown.
This is one of my "go to" restaurants. The atmosphere feels pretty home-like. I love their food and their cheap prices! $4.95 for a decent bowl of pho?! Who doesn't like that? I also like their banh xeo, bun bo hue and their bun thit nuong. The only thing I don't like is that it's pretty small and the lack of sanitation in there.
Review Source:A bit dingy, a bit crowded, a bit slow, and gross bathrooms. However, the food is so cheap (and the company I was with so good!) that I didn't really mind any of the above. My judgment of the pho I had is probably not too accurate because the price made it taste better than it might actually have been, but I gotta say I enjoyed it! I wouldn't necessarily recommend this place or come back because there are other good options in the neighborhood, but for that price...
Review Source:I always went here for the bun xieu (did I spell that properly?), a non-egg vegetarian crispy crepe with tofu and broccoli. This stuff is super fresh and comes with a mound of delicious sprouts and greens.
  I went to Tank Noodle for Pho. I thought they could not be topped. Then my wife went out on a limb and got some take-out pho chay (veggie pho) and it knocked us out. For what it is--spiced broth, noodles, sprouts, basil, mushroom, bok choy/nappa--it was incredibly tasty. I will say this much, for pho to cost $8 as it does now over at Tank, its plain silly. Don Ky does not only just as fresh and flavorful pho, but a myriad of other delights even better than tank does. And when I want to spend a fair amount on a single order of pho and an order of spring rolls; rolling out to a grand total of $6.75 + tip (do tip, they are so good there) for two to eat well, it is without compare.
I am never going anywhere else.
Good and cheap food! My friends and I all fell in love with this one.
I work/live close by, so I've probably tried 80% of all Vietnamese restaurants in the area. Dong Ky was fairly recently discovered by my friends 'cause it hides deep in Broadway Supermarket. I liked the NO. 44, grilled meat and egg rolls with steamed rice noodles. My coworkers enjoyed the spring rolls very much. But I'd prefer to take out than dine in, the space is really small and sometimes crowded.
This place is not the best but its not the worst either. Â After seeing other reviews I wish I would have tried a smoothie but I got a diet coke. Â
Also, theres a grocery store next door and a parking lot. Â The prices here are pretty low but I came here by myself on my lunch break and you need to do a minimum of $10 if you have a credit card. Â The food was ok, I liked my crab rangoons but the sweet and sour chicken was a little bit gross... I know this sounds weird but it kind of tasted like butter. Â
It's a good place to stop by for your lunch break but I probably won't be back because there are so many Asian places in the neighborhood to try, but other than that it was ok.
Best smoothies in flavors that are incredibly different- like avacado. Try it!
Plus, the big grocery next door has unbeatable prices on nuts- Boyfriend roasts a tray of peanuts at a time, seasons them himself and they make killer snack.
He's talking about making peanut sauce this weekend, which gets me all kinds of excited.
Small, in a strip mall, kind of hard to find cause the sign is fading, but it's right next to the Vietnamese market. Â
Free and ample parking.
So cheap I ordered two entrees!
Got the pho AND bun bo hue(?) chilled vermicelli noodles with pork, pork skin, and egg rolls with side of chilled sauce that you're supposed to pour over it. Yum! Both HUGE and around $8 together?
Also got the watermelon bubble tea but it was almost TOO pink where I felt like they used some powder? Idk, still good, but definitely not all fruit.
The other pho places in Argyle were pretty packed, so if you want some place low key that's cheap, this is it.
My favorite Viet restaurant in Chicago. They have the lowest prices and best quality food in Viet town. I check in here so often one of my friends asked me if I started working for them lol.
It can get pretty crowed on Sundays because it is connected to a grocery store. However, the restaurant benefits from it because they are always able to provide fresh ingredients.
My favorites are:
Pho Tai Nam: You know the pho is good when you don't need add anything else to it. The broth is perfect! Also, if you're a type of person that just likes the pho broth and wants to eat a rice dish. You can order the pho broth in a small bowl for like a buck.
Bun Thit Nhung(Grilled Beef & Vermicelli): Make sure to request egg rolls and a egg with.
Bo Loc Lac(Beef Squares): One of my favorite dishes. It sometimes doesn't fill me up so you may want to  get an app with this dish.
Coconut Smoothies: Best smoothies in Chicago! Fresh Fruit. I've had smoothies at Joyees and Tank Noodle, both don't compare. There Taro flavor is also amazing.
Bo Ba Hui (not to sure what its called in English): This is my wifes favorite. But be careful because its extremely spicy.
I love this place all day everyday.
Solid Viet food. I've tried their pho dat biet (with everything in it) and I enjoyed it. They don't skimp on the side veggies either, which I like. This is the hangover cure, if you guys don't know.
Spring rolls are fresh and amazing my customized peanut sauce (with added hot sauce). Crab rangoon is not too bad either.
Beware of the Bun Bo Hue. It is so tasty, but so spicy. I was sweatin' up a storm last time I ordered this. My friends were laughing at me, but I didn't care because it was so good. Yup, it was worth it.
Yes, this place is cheap and it is very divey. Not necessarily a place you would take out of towners, unless they are on the cheap. I would go again.
The Good:
The Banh Xeo appetizer pancake
Beef Noodle #87
Chicken Pan See Euw
Avocado Bubble Tea Smoothie
Durain Bubble Tea Smoothie
The Bad:
Cleanliness is lacking
Service is a touch rude
Stupid TV blaring in the background.
After coming back from the bay area, I was riding high on a wave on a delicious variety of vegetarian Asian meals.
Then I ate at Dong Ky, and suddenly I was facedown in the water.
The veggie menu looks sweet, and so do the prices. So I got spring rolls and curry noodles, which are my go-to items.
Spring rolls definitely should not taste like garbage. That's not a figure of speech, either. They tasted like rotting garbage, without the sauce.
I hate wasting food, but I only ate half of one before I surrendered.
On a positive note, the mild curry broth was actually pretty satisfying, with the noodles. The broccoli was ok to eat because the crowns absorbed curry well, but the staleness came through occasionally. The carrots were so old, there were multiple cracks all around the poor things. No flavor :(
If anyone has any other suggestions for cheap, good, vegetarian Vietnamese, I wanna hear about it!
HORRIBLE SERVICE!
We had a party of 8, but there was no wait for a table. Â We waited 15 minutes at the table and no one stopped by to greet us. Â Someone finally came and we all ordered drinks: bubble tea, soy milk, iced coffee with condensed milk, smoothies, etc and he was about to walk away and we had to stop him to place out order (after all we already sat there for 15 minutes). We got spring rolls, egg rolls, and pho for 7 people, and M got a rice dish.
it was 20 mins after we walked in the door and we still didn't have drinks, not even water! Â I finally walked up to host and told her that we had been waiting for over 20 mins without our drinks even water, she said that they ran out of glasses and would be right out with it.
35 mins after we walked in the door, we finally got our waters and thats it- no specialty drinks that we ordered. Â Then M got his meal- the rice dish... but we weren't served our apps yet! Â We asked her about our apps and she said that it was coming out soon. Â M started eating and then the spring rolls and egg rolls came out. Â Below average on both. Â The pho came out RIGHT AFTER THAT! Â We didn't even get a chance to put a spring roll in our mouth and our entrees were on the table
Let me remind you, the entrees came out and we didn't even get our drinks yet! Â We asked the server about our drinks and she said that it would be right out. Â
Food: The pho was not that good. Â It was too sweet and a bit watery, like they were running out of broth and they were trying to stretch it a bit more by adding water. Â It was cheap and was not worth it!
We finally get some of the drinks- the soy milk, lemonade and ice coffee never made it out, but we just wanted to LEAVE. Â Then we looked at the bill and they charged us for the 3 drinks we didn't even get!!!
I don't care how cheap it is, it was the first time and the last time I will ever go there. Â There are so many other Vietnamese places to go eat on Broadway. Â Don't waste your time there.
$4 for a big ass bowl of spicy beef pho...
A big ass bowl of DELICIOUS spicy beef pho...
When we were seated I asked our waitress what was "good and spicy" and ol' girl hit a homerun like Hideki Matsui recommending the spicy beef pho... for $4...
Oh, and the crab rangoon was probably the best I've ever had... and it was around $2...
Me and the lady ate like fucking bosses for a whopping total of $12.35
I love this place.
I am naming my first born Dong Ky.
I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of hesitant about eating only because reviews mentioned it being really cheap. Â It could either mean a good or bad thing, but this first experience was good. Â In fact really good. Â The broth was a bit dark, but the taste was fantastic. Â It wasn't salt at all. Â The portion is just right and for how much its worth, order another bowl if your still hungry :)
The avocado bubble tea is great! I don't usually get avocado, but because it was good, I decided to order may fav. the Taro flavor. Â It was a little too milky, but the taste was still satisfying! Â I'll be going here for my pho fix from now on.
This place is awesome! Â Why, cause the food is so cheap, but at the same time its still really good. Â Fresh ingredients, good service.
Pho' is only $3.45, soups are $3.25-3.95.
Most of the appetizers are around $2-3, crab rangoon(6) is $1.50.
They have a really good sized menu of vietnamese(front half) as well as chinese(back half menu) dishes.
One of my best friends who's also vietnamese, swears by this place. Â She loves Tank, Pho 777, etc. Â But she stops by this place regularly for take out after work. Â That is a definite endorsement for their whole menu.
FYI We had 2 entrees, Pho, 2 iced coffees, and 2 apps for $18.
Long ago, when I first became somewhat enamored with pho....I remember a few tips that infiltrated my psyche.
1. Dong Ky is super cheap--and super good for pho.
2. Pho is an EXCELLENT hangover cure.
Honestly, I'm not hungover that much...but when I am, I AM. And, apparently the Iowan adventure I embarked upon Saturday night left me feeling like someone had tracked my liver through the Congo, and left it begging for mercy.
Pho mercy.
And, salvation was secured at 830pm on a Sunday night. A parking lot ...halleluia, as parking in this part of town can be a little tricky. Enter through the market entrance, hang a right...and you are in quick Vietnamese food HEAVEN.
Avocado bubble tea with tapioca: $2.95.
-bonus, the cup says "Enjoy your life." Indeed, I might be able to now!
-they got lots o' flavors to choose from.
-Fresh fruit, used!
Pho with beef flank and meatballs: $4.25
-Hot and fast, about 5 minutes to get to my table.
-not sure what "combo noodle" means, but I'm pretty sure I ate something with tentacles. I'm still here, though.
Confirmed:
*Dong Ky is cheap, fast and authentic! (only gringo up in here).
*Pho IS indeed a great hangover cure.
*Avocado bubble tea is magical. Enjoy my life!
Under $10 for a great meal, and I challenge you to get more food for this amount of money anywhere in the city. They take credit cards, too!
It's a wee bit divey, but in a charming way (think Scope mint colored walls, the Bears game playing, and random orders being yelled across the room).
Hell, they saved my life. Kudos, pho wins again.
p.s. next time you are hungover, trust and just try this....seriously!
So, last night I took a big step forward in my commitment with my boyfriend. This might not seem like a big deal, but for those who know me, you are aware that I tend to be a wee bit bossy. And I am a bit more bossy when it comes to choosing where I dine.
Well, last night...I...trusted...him to go on yelp and find a place close to the theater for us to have dinner. And he did. And it was good.
I have never experienced Vietnamese food before and have been intrigued by yelp's recent talk of "pho" (and all the funny ways you can make puns out of it), so I decided on the pho.
We started with some pork spring rolls, which came out in two nanoseconds, and then each had our own bowl of soup in which to bathe. Seriously, they were that big. I had the pho tai nam, which was essentially rice noodles with beef flank. The broth was tasty, especially after I spiced it up with some chili sauce (pa-zow!) I can imagine this would be an excellent comfort meal if you have a cold.
The boyfriend had the roast duck with egg noodles and it was DE-licious. He wins the ordering competition for that one. YUM.
We split an avocado bubble tea (hello, lovah, you perfectly not-too-sweet accompaniment to my spicy lips) and ta-da, only spent $20 for dinner including a generous tip. Frickin' fabulous. We were stuffed the rest of the night.
Moral of the story? It's OK to trust the boyfriend to choose your food once in awhile.
I love this place!
Not only have I never been let down by the quality of the food, but the price cannot be beat! Service is average, but the freshness of ingredients and clean flavors that are delivered make this place one of my top pics for noodles in the Arglye area.
A friend and I ended up being drenched in the freezing rain and the only thing that thawed us out was a steaming bowl of Pho.
On a side note; When they were shooting the No Reservations Chicago episode this past year, Bourdain and crew stopped at this place for some noodle-ly deliciousness as well.
That's an endorsement that can't be ignored!
Eat and enjoy
-r
My friend Idyl (pronounced "eye - dEEl") has been raving about Dong Ky for weeks now. It's been nothing but "Dong Ky is so cheap!" and "Their avocado bubble tea is so good!" ... I'm really broke this week, so I finally agreed to check out this little Vietnamese/Chinese hole in the wall.
Lo and behold, everything she had said was true!
Dong Ky IS SO CHEAP!
AND their avocado bubble tea IS SO GOOD!
I had the rice noodle soup with roast duck, and boy did it hit the spot. It was tasty and the portions were pretty darn generous for the price. The place really is a dive, but they're not kidding around when it comes to their cuisine.
I think I'll be frequenting Dong Ky a lot more often.
Dropped by Dong Ky the other week to try out their food. Â I've been eating mostly at Tank, but wanted to explore other venues in/near Argyle. Â As described in other reviews, Dong Ky is a no nonsense place. Â Order your food, eat, pay.
I had Canh Chua Tom (sour shrimp soup) and Ca Kho To (fish in clay pot..sorta). Â Both were delicious! Â The sour soup tasted exactly like I had remembered it from Vietnam. Â The fish was served in an metal bowl. Â You get 3 pieces of fish. Â It was very tasty. Â Just watch out for tiny bones since that's the way it's supposed to be served up. Â My gf had Bun Ca Ri Ga. Â She thought it was good but Tank had better curry flavor in the soup. Â My parents said they like Dong Ky for their Hu Tieu (rice noodles soup).
Here's a tip: when it's time to pay, and you don't want to sit around forever waiting for your check, just walk up to the register, tell them your table number and they'll ring you up. Â Why be all proper sitting there for 20 min waiting for a check when you can do like the regulars do and just pay when you're ready.
I'll be back to try out their other dishes and pho as well.
"Donkey" has to be the least expensive Vietnamese restaurant in town. Â I tried the pho, banh xeo (crepe), and bo luc lac (beef cubes). Â All the dishes were not amazing but acceptable. Â
Positives:
1. Â Great prices, nice portions
2. Â Free parking lot
3. Â Can quickly grab a few pastries and steamed buns for the road
3. Â Attached to an asian grocery store
I love shopping next door but have been putting off a trip to the Dong for a while.  Partly because I'm still not mature enough to eat at a place with 'dong' in the name without giggling but mostly  I'm only there to buy things at the attached supermarket and there's only so many Vietnamese meals I can eat in a day. Â
I was enticed by the duck, bamboo and vermicelli soup pictured on the table for $4.75. Â Intrigued enough to forgo my defacto beef pho (hopefully with tripe) order at a noodle house. Â
At first I thought the duck meat tasted a little gamey but didn't feel that way a minute later. Â This particular soup comes with a small bowl of minced ginger to add and the condiment plate had mint instead of basil, but I got by. Â The jalepenos were pickled with the other preserved sauces and what have yous, a little different but tasty. Â
My main complaint with this soup was the duck still being on the bone. It was tender and came off easily indicating a little braising action but chopping a whole dark meat duck quarter (which is a lot of duck, no complaints on the quantity) into 4 pieces does not make for an easy grab with chopsticks or let you have a bite with both duck and bamboo and vermicelli noodles. Â Otherwise, it was a great soup. Â
The Dong Ky loses stars for kind of inattentive service, the taking forever to get a check kind and the hot tea coming in one large glass instead of a pot with little cups. Â It gets cold that way!
They have lots of great looking dishes but I always break down and get the Chicken Kung Pao. My default location for avocado bubble teas. Check out the market next door if you want 10lb. bags of peanuts or 20 gallons of chile garlic sauce. Notice the folksy-disney-dong-ky wood carving on the wall. Love the no-nonsense service.
Plus, all of us non-vietnamese speakers get to call it "Donkey!"
My god.. Dong Ky is just amazing. It's one of the best places to eat in Chicago if you want authentic Vietnamese food for really cheap. And the decor/people really remind me of the real Vietnam. I come here for the Vietnamese, not Chinese. All of their dishes are worth so much more than they're selling.
I've had the shaky beef (bo luc lac), caramelized fish pot (ca kho to), and the pork chop/shredded pork/fried egg rice dish (com tam suong, bi, trung).
I've left satisfied every time with the prices, food, and service. The waitresses are always on their toes with the water and occasionally come by to ask me how everything's going, which is very appreciated.
I TIPPED 100%
Because my lunch was so damn cheap and so damn good. Â The pho tai nam (#25) costs $3.45 and has an amazingly flavorful broth. Â Also winners are the light and refreshing spring rolls, and the delightfully crisp egg rolls. Â As far as cleanliness, I've only had one occasion out of 10 where I thought my bowl could've been cleaner. Â Funny, how I kept eating though...it was that good.
3.5 stars!! Parking! Grocery and Bank next door!
Great prices! Good standard portions. Nice staff. Pho Beef Soup, Spring Eggrolls and some fried rice or sweet and sour pork! What more can you ask for and a great $ price at the end of a nice meal. The atmosphere is simple and not upscale but a great diner feel on Broadway!!
My bf lives in Uptown, so we normally go to Pho Xe Lua, Tank, or New Saigon. Â Last night we were actually going to go to New Saigon, but they don't take credit card. Â Instead we tried out Dong Ky. Â
Let me preface, saying that all Vietnamese restaurants in Argyle aren't the cleanest. Â I think you should look for something that is good and cheap. Â That's what Dong Ky does right. Â Most of the common entrees are $3.25-4.95!!! Â That's atleast $1-4 cheaper to comparable restaurants around the neighborhood. Â We got the most expensive appetizer, boiled beef salad ($6.95) and two entrees (under $5 each) and the bill came out to be $18 for tax and tip.
UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!
Definately will go back soon!
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