Haaaater-aid...
We're all entitled to our own opinions but I am surprised at some of the negative reviews. Â If you want super authentic Vietnamese food, you probably shouldn't be getting it anywhere near Richfield. Â I'm just saying!
My wife and I live to eat and frequent this place. Â It is a great neighborhood joint and we love supporting family businesses. Â Like at any restaurant, figure out what's good, make sure the restaurant is consistent, and stick with it. Â
If you go, and you should, order the spicy chicken combo A. Â The spicy chicken is pretty much amazing and you have to hate fried food, and anything that tastes good if you can find fault in Vina's eggrolls-they are the best that I have ever had in my life. Â
Service has always been friendly and attentive. Â
There's good reason this place has been around for so long. Â For all you haters, remember that you live in Minnesota and that you're not a big deal. Â Get over yourself. Â Bon appetit.
Food Â
I ordered 5 dishes because of the <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRestaurant.com&s=0aab4cbd731f3d3b0d1453050d3abc56a8c80bd214e25469c7555b750dca8a51" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Restaurant.com</a> voucher. I could make any of those 5 dishes better than them. Very sad
Chicken pho tastes like sweet broth with slices of a whole chicken breast and tons of scallion. The only condiment was bean sprouts. This is smallest ingredients I have ever seen in a bowl of pho. If a restaurant is able to pull it off with the least amount of ingredients and still taste awesome, then by all means do it. This pho lacks the pho flavor. It tastes like bland soup
Egg are huge here, but they could have made it into a regular size eggroll and add more flavor into it with dry mushroom and bean thread noodles.
Rice were made with just a bit too much water so it's sticky
The com (rice) dish did not come with a coat of scallion and oil as it should
Shrimp curry tastes like they only use the curry powder rather than both the curry powder and the liquid mix. And they should have cook it with some chicken broth
The stir fry dish tastes bland.
Location & Parking
It's easy to find at the corner and lots of parking
Settings Â
The setting is not memorable
Service
The service was polite, but missed a few key points. I didn't get water and they forgot about it even though the place was not busy.
Price
For an average size of good pho I usually pay $8. Vina Restaurant costs more and missed a lot of ingredients from a typical pho. So for me, this is way over priced
Verdict
Will not go back even if you pay me. I ended up re-seasoning everything I brought home.
I really wanted to love this place, because it has that cute, hole-in-the-wall feel to it, and the server was nice.
But...I didn't really love it. Went into the place on a whim, after deciding Leeann Chin was too boring for us.
This place did have good chicken spring rolls, though all that was in them was chicken, iceberg lettuce, and bean sprouts. I ordered the ginger chicken, and while the portion was big enough to share with my fiance, the flavor was not so big.
As many others mentioned, the menu is mostly Americanized Chinese, not Vietnamese. If you are craving good Vietnamese, I recommend Quangs!
I did notice that that place stayed pretty busy- so this must fit the bill for someone out there!?
I have to say that I love the owner's flavors in their food. Â Beef potato .... yummy. Â Pho... yummy. Â It's interesting to see how people complain that this restaurant doesn't provide VNmese food, when indeed everyone who works there is 100% VNmese. Â And really .... I may agree w/that comment to some point, b/c there's limitted VNmese food you've become accustomed to: Â Rice noodles, grilled pork, clay pot fish, etc.
Perhaps they'll decide to move their restaurant to the VNmese food you're familiar with, and you'd love it. One thing is certain, the owner is perhaps one of the best VNmese cooks I've seen. Â And her veggie dishes, if I can eat like that everyday... I wouldn't have the need to ever eat meat again.
I love Vina's egg roll salad, but I just had the worst customer service there! I decided to pick up egg roll salads for my husband and I for dinner tonight. On my way there, I discovered that  Groupon Now had a deal for $20 worth of food for $15. I arrived at Vina's and told the cashier that I had the groupon deal. I was told that it was for dine-in only (I should have read the fine print). I apologized for not seeing that and asked if I could just get it to go since they were closing in 10 minutes and I was trying to get dinner before my husband got off work. I was told that I had to sit down and order my food to get the $5 Groupon discount. I asked what the difference is if I sit down or just get my food to go and I was told it had to do with the servers getting a tip. I usually tip even for take out so I'm not sure what they were trying to accomplish here except for making things difficult over $5.
So, at this point I sit down to place my food order and ask for two to go boxes with the order. I was told that I could only get one boxed to go and I would have to eat the other meal there. What?! Â When does a restaurant tell you that you can't get a to go box for your food? So, once again I play along..... I order the two salads and since I understand that English is not the servers first language, I slowly and clearly, ask for no bean sprouts. When my salad arrives, there are a ton of bean sprouts! I let the server know that I asked for no bean sprouts. She responded, "you never told me that." Are you serious! At this point I'm looking for hidden cameras because I'm feeling like I'm getting Punked. She does fix the salad and brings a new one minus the sprouts, but she makes it clear that she is annoyed with me. Anyway, I let them box up one salad and then take a few bites out of my salad that they are insisting that I eat there. I then ask for a to- go box. I get a dirty look from the server, but she returns.....with the smallest to-go box I've ever seen! I ask her for a bigger box because my food will clearly not fit into this tiny box, but she tells me it will fit and walks away. So, I'm left to cram all my salad into this tiny box and she is right, it does fit.....i just had to shove it down so hard that my salad now looked like some type of compressed unrecognizable food.
Now, we finally get to the part where I pay. At the register,  I show my Groupon and I'm told that I have to pay tax in the amount of $1.50. This is not the first time that I've used a Groupon for a restaurant and I don't remember paying for tax separately....maybe I have, but this just added more irritation. I pay the tax, but do not leave a tip. As a  former server of 8 years, this is not something I do, but the service was so bad that there was no way I was going to reward bad attitudes.
All the irratation and attitude was not worth the $5 that I saved....actually I didn't even save $5 after the tax.
I will not be back after all that!
Almost completely non-Vietnamese menu, from the same planet, I guess as the Vietnam of Kinh-do.
Must have opened when no one knew better and coasts along on the memory banks of local nostalgia. I do not have these beer goggles on, so no.
It's not good ameri-chinese greasy fun either, I'm always a sucker for that, but this ain't it. Â I wish someone WOULD bring what this could be to the 'hood.
Had a coupon for this little joint - figured it would at least be a cheap meal. Â All I can say is that the service was friendly & the food was decent. Â Possibly a step up from take out. Â
The usual chinese dishes were present as well as some curries, vermicilli salad, & pho. Â We both had chinese style stir frys. Â They were edible. Â I probably wouldn't make a special trip back here though.
I want to like you. Â I love Vietnamese food, but where is yours? Â I would love to be able to brag that you are a great local spot down the street from me, but every time I go there you get my order wrong and insist you don't! Â I would rather keep on driving down Nicollet to Eat Street, where at least they can afford herbs to compliment their dishes, or even thank their customers.
Review Source:Dear Vina
I notice that you claim yourself to be a Vietnamese restaurant, but you don't even come close. You are a poor rendition of a outdated Chinese restaurant who offers a very limited selection of actual Vietnamese food. Your service though is on point of what I would expect of a Vietnamese restaurant, which is usually crappy. I am Vietnamese and I am sometimes disappointed in my own culture. Also, would it hurt to buy some new tables or put a table cloth on? Because my shirt sleeves stuck to the table..Gross.
To elaborate on my dislike for this establishment, lets start with the service. Typical unfriendliness, but what really put the nail in the coffin was when my husband asked the server for a booster chair and she pointed to the other side of the restaurant of where they were.
The food, was some of the worst I have ever had. Seriously. First off the amount of food you get for the price is absolutely absurd. Secondly, I was truly expecting food to taste good for the fact that this place has been around since the 80s and proved to have staying power. The Shrimp and Tofu in Ginger Sauce looked like a big pile of mush and did not even taste like ginger. I don't know why I even took the left over home. The sesame chicken contained about 8 pieces and cost me $10. It was barely enough to feed one person. I can't imagine that their food would even fill up a quart if you were to order take out. If people seriously think the food is fantastic I am going to assume it is because they have never had better.
FYI deep fried food, such and wontons, egg rolls and sweet and sour chicken pretty much taste the same everywhere. So, raving about typical Americanized Chinese food is irrelevant.
This was one of the restaraunts my family went to alot when I was a child. Food here has alway's been really good, they probably have a life long customer with me as long as I continue to live in the Twin Cities area. Its always a difficult choice between thier hot and spicy chicken or thier pork fried rice. Usually I get the hot and spicy chicken because it is something not to be found anywhere else, there are places that come close such as the Kihndo, but this is by far the best, its made of boneless diced chicken with sauteed onions and sauteed lemon grass.
The veggie egg rolls here are great as well, the dining area inside is extremely cozy, the helpings are big, the prices are low, and the service is excellent. Your food also arrives extremely fast, I think they've even been quicker than fast food many times. One thing that is important to note is that they are closed between lunchtime and dinnertime (2- 5), If you want great oriental food I think Vina is a place you really need to try
My family has been coming/ordering out from Vina since I was really little and it's always a special treat when we do so.
Vina by far has the best eggrolls I have ever had. I normally do not even like eggrolls, but these are so crunchy and the flavor is yummy. And their special fried rice-sooooo good both warm and cold. I love how many different types of food are put into in the rice-peas, beanshoots, onions, eggs, pork, shrimp, chicken....such a plethora of goodness! I also like that their sauces for their dishes (such as the sweet and sour sauce) doesn't thicken up, as I've had that happen at other Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants before. I wouldn't say that Vina has mind-blowing food or the best Vietnamese food I've ever had-but it provides a solid meal and remains a staple restaurant my family continues to go to.
Great place to go for the house special spring rolls. Â They are so flavorful, with contrasting textures and flavors. Â The peanut sauce was excellent and plentiful.
We also ordered the spicy chicken, which was all that I had read it would be. Â The curry shrimp was ordered medium and exactly what I had experienced in Saigon a few years ago. Â
The place is dingy, and could use an update, but they were very friendly and served us even though they were closing in 20 minutes.
I don't know what intrigued me most about this cozy eatery - the fact that it's mere blocks from my home or that the food came in a bag that was so greasy the food almost fell out of the bag before I made it home. Â As I quiet the Nutritionist in me, I must say this place has tasty comfort food and interesting menu variety.
Review Source:This was a random "Im starving and I want some pho for dinner" pick- we've driven past it a million times and never thought anything of it. Â The prices were great, the service was adorable- little ladies, the owner I think, and the food was pretty good. Â I have to say we love Lotus To Go Go downtown- and it was almost as good as Lotus but way more convenient to where we live. Â We'll definitely be going back.
Review Source:My family has one redeeming quality when it comes to food. Occasionally, with some persuasion, my parents will decide to order in Vina instead of going to Champs, Chipotle, or eating rubbery steaks.
The restaurant itself is kitchy and a little run down. The neon sign letting everyone know the restaurant exists on Nicollet avenue most likely scares people away. The interior of the restaurants includes a few tables, old carpeting, and a greasy smell. We usually order in.
Even though my family orders an enormous amount of food, it only takes 10 minutes for it to be ready. Usually this would be an indication  that the food has been sitting under a head lamp, and probably tasteless, but it would be a mistake to think that.
Stand out dishes include:
1. the egg rolls. The best I've ever had: large, a perfectly crunchy exterior, with a hot flavorful vegetable-filled inside.
2. Beef Lo Mein (long thin noodles wrapped around hearty beef and vegetables)
3. Special Fried Rice (oh its sooo special)
4. Curry Chicken (my least favorite of the five but still good)
5. Spicy shrimp
It kind of pains me to do this but, I must. Vina isn't that great anymore.
The food has just been bad recently. Last night's cream cheese wontons were straight up hard, the eggrolls had no flavor and the pho was totally boring. It's kind of lame when I only get some noodles, bean sprouts and chicken to add to the broth. The staff is still really friendly and (even more importantly) FAST but the quality of the food as of late is what is making me swear of Vina forever (which SUCKS because it's so close, but we're just going to make the trip to Jasmine 26 from now on.)
I like to think i've had my fair share of Vietnamese food after living in California and Minneapolis but this place simply didn't impress me. Â Outside of the dingy atmosphere (what do you really expect when going to a vietnamese joint), I ordered the pork spring rolls and a bowl of chicken pho. Â The spring rolls were nearly tasteless outside of the peanut dipping sauce and the pho lacked the accompaniment of lime, basil and chili peppers. Â Not to mention the dish was somewhat bland. Â I recommend going up to Quang for a good bowl of pho. Â When in doubt, look at the clientele. Â Quang, full of Vietnamese, Vina, full of a boring Edina.Richfield lunch crowd that wouldn't know good vietnamese food if it came up and smacked their mama.
Review Source:I was in the mood for Vietnamese food but I didn't want to drive to Quang because 1. I'm afraid of Eat Street (too many choices to go to and restaurants w/o parking lots give me anxiety) and 2. Getting a table for 1 is embarrassing if the restaurant is going to be packed and I'm sure Quang would have been packed. Okay now that I've aired out my insecurities time to get to the food.
Per Jaymi M.'s yelp review I decided to check out Vina since I love questionable neighborhood restaurants with ample parking. It really was empty and there really were only four people in the restaurant at the time. But the food was so good. I ordered the veggie spring rolls and the chicken pho. My only critique of the spring rolls is that there was only lettuce, bean sprouts and rice noodles. I was hoping there'd be a carrot or a bell pepper just for some color. But I am willing to let it slide because the spring rolls were huge and I want to drink gallons of the peanut dipping sauce. My pho was exceptional, the broth was perfectly sweet and savory. There were ample pieces of chicken breast  and lots of rice noodles. It was simple and perfectly deliiiicioouuuss.
It was such a good deal too and it seemed like the lunch specials were a good bet.
Vina is wonderful. Go to Vina for lunch. It is a fairly small, family-owned affair, but it is a wonderful place, and there is a particular reason for this:
Order the spicy chicken lunch special. You will get a generous portion of sweet-and-spicy chicken, steamed or fried rice, and an egg roll with fish sauce. It will be fairly inexpensive, but you will get plenty of food.
Dip the egg roll into the fish sauce, take a bite, and behold! you stand before the gates of Vietnamese-food heaven. The egg roll is crispy and delicious, and the fish sauce hints at the spicy-sweet delights ahead.
Eat a piece of the chicken with some rice, and enter, striding confidently but eagerly through those gates. The chicken is sweet without being cloying, and piquant without being overpowering.
You will accomplish great things this afternoon after having been so fortified.
But first, you have important chicken to deal with. And rice, and fish sauce, and most of an egg roll.
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