The first few times here we usually have cuddled up in the lounge area with the soft cushions under the watchful eye of a Buddha statue with many coins falling off of his belly. What no 20's? Lame, no good luck coming your way. Lately we have migrated to the bar also. Service is good. Extensive Vietnamese food selections as well as other cuisines. Seriously, many food selections. Lots of white wine including Chardonnays and Pinot Grigios for the 2 legged mointain lions. (Ya'll know what I mean. It is Walnut Creek after all). The red wines by the glass selection is slim. Great bottle selection though on the reds. It's typically a lively place with locals always in attendance. They stay open till 11 on Friday and Saturday and 9 other nights. Parking is a challenge on the street and the small private parking lots. There is a garage close by but I hate garages. read more

Vanessa's Bistro - Sunset cocktail and champs - Vietnamese Near Me - Walnut Creek, California

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Great ambiance. Food was 10/10. drinks and service on point too. Will definitely be back read more

Vanessa's Bistro - Stir fry filet mignon & chicken breast - Vietnamese Near Me - Walnut Creek, California

Vanessa's has been a Walnut Creek staple for quite a few years now, and seems to have a loyal following of local regulars, which is always good to see. The cuisine is Vietnamese with a French fusion twist. The menu is pretty extensive, with tapas, salads, banh mi sandwiches, meat and seafood. Nice flavor combinations. I would love to see a few more vegetarian options added in the future. They have good happy hour deals on various small plates, and HH cocktails run for about $11. Their lychee martini is tasty. There is a lounge area on one side of the dining room, which is nice for leisurely hanging out in for drinks, bites, and people-watching. There is usually a sports game on the TV if you're into that. Service is always good. Staff are friendly, welcoming, and always make sure customers have a nice time. read more

We usually have a great time here. For the flavors, consistency, and location in DTWC, its a nice and reliable spot. Pretty much all the dishes are well seasoned and I dont recall getting anything we didn't like. Portions are kinda small for the prices but not terrible. read more

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This place is nice and quiet. Limited items on the menu but good food. Staff were friendly and courteous and also attentive. This is a nice place for a quiet meal. read more

Great Vietnamese tapas place! Awesome happy hour! Lychee martinis are super dope! I ordered the crispy chicken rolls and homemade chicken pot stickers! They won't disappoint. Their garlic noodles are the best in the area. Friendly staff, tasty food, great happy hour what more can you ask for....oh the Vietnamese coffee martinis!!!!! read more

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I've been coming here since it was located on Main St. I love their happy hour, my go to drink is the luscious lychee martini. All the dishes are very tasty, exotic & creative also has good presentation! I'm not sure of it's Michael or Jimmy behind the bar, he is always kind & inviting! The staff always excellent service. I'll see you for happy hour soon! read more

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Very big food and drink menu at this small restaurant, lots of interesting things to choose from. The food we did choose was quite tasty and fairly reasonably priced. Service was solid and overall we'd definitely come back to try more or order delivery. The chicken wings were pretty big and had a kinda spicy and sweet glaze on them. The shrimp soup was super flavorful and the cup was pretty big. The shrimp spring roles had a great spicy sauce and lots of large shrimp in them. The pork banh mi had a ton of pork and nice topping, though could have used more sauce (which was tasty). The vermicelli bowl was quite large and had big chunks of cold steak on top. read more

Good food, fair pricing, decent portion size and excellent service. Will definitely be back and will also try happy hour next time. read more

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Cute aesthetic, spacious, had TVs to watch games. Service was friendly and attentive. Impressive Happy Hour 4pm-6pm daily and 9pm to close on Friday and Saturday. The drinks were nicely balanced. The coffee martini in particular was not too sweet and just boozy enough. The tuna carpaccio was just ok, nothing wrong with it, but just not very impressive. read more

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Why have I never tried Vanessa's until now?! My friends and I came here to celebrate my birthday and we had a great time. The food was delicious! I had a lychee martini, and we all shared salt and pepper tofu, chicken potstickers, beef and chicken stirfry with garlic noodles, beef carpaccio, quail, bananas foster, and creme brulee. It was all so delicious we thoroughly enjoyed our food, except for the quail. It was a bit dry and gamey and bananas foster was okay. Aside from that everything else was solid. Definitely would come back. Love the tapas assortment, great for sharing everything. read more

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As parents of two young children, we were looking for a parents' nightcap. We've made Vanessa's our go to spot. Espresso and Lychee martinis are great. The Vietnamese tapas are delicious. Service is friendly and prompt. Whether you're looking for dinner/date night or just a nightcap with friends, you can't go wrong with this spot. read more

Always have a great experience here. The menu has a good range of options, the drinks are always made well and service is friendly. I'd add another star if I could just for the amazing responses to people complaining and giving them a low rating because he didnt take their picture. Awesome. Keep up the good work. And go Bears. read more

What wge ordered: Appetizer: - Spring Roll - Calamari Entrée: - Prawns and Scallops with rice - Claypot Rice Desert: - None Scores: - Hospitality/Politeness: 9/10 - Dinnerware quality/cleanliness 7/10 - Timeliness: 8/10 - Food quality: 7/10 - Food deliciousness 7/10 - Food healthiness: 6/10. - Parking availability: 6/10 Overall score: 62% Do I take my significant other to there for a relax/romantic dinner? Yes. Do I casually party there? Yes. Do I eat there on a Sunday noon? Yes. Miscellaneous Hints: - The Claypot Rice was too greasy. read more

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Loved coming here and can't wait to come again. We came here on short notice as we're attending a standup comedy show down the street at the Lescher center and had only 30-45 mins to eat. Our server was so wonderful, took the time to get to know us, had us order and got the food out piping hot and right on time. We tried the crispy Saigon chicken rolls, five spice chicken Bahn mi and the spicy lemongrass tofu Bahn mi. We absolutely loooved the chicken rolls - they were so crispy on the outside and flavorful inside. We ate it the way the server recommended, using the lettuce in the dish as a vehicle to hold the rolls and then dipping it in the hot sauce - the lettuce adds a refreshing crunch! We loved our Bahn Mis as well - especially enjoyed that the tofu was served hot! Docked off a star because a couple weeks later after dreaming of this Bahn mi, I ordered it via doordash home and it didn't live up to the initial taste. I suggest going and eating here in person for the best bites!! The staff is so warm and welcoming, we will definitely be back here again. read more

Great customer service. The staff were super nice. The drinks came out quickly. I didn't order food but my drink was perfectly mixed. Nice atmosphere inside. No loud music and a NBA game was on. read more

Vanessa's Bistro - Pear martini - Vietnamese Near Me - Walnut Creek, California

This place always hits. Excellent service and very good and consistent food. The drinks/cocktails are top notch as well. The ambiance is quaint and intimate yet fun and very much of a family feel. read more

I usually don't write Yelp reviews but this was a must for Vanessa's. We dine here with our friend's and family about twice a month, give or take. It is by far my favorite Asian restaurant in Walnut Creek. The food is wonderfully delicious, and so are the drinks! The filet mignon carpaccio, the crispy salt and pepper tofu, and the espresso martini (highly recommend), are some of my favorites! The food is made to absolute perfection. Candidly, I have NEVER had a bad meal or drink at Vanessa's and the service is some of the best I've ever had. The wait staff are very friendly, professional, prompt and polite. All around chef's kiss and I can't recommend this place enough! read more

Second time dining here. It was a bit of a disappointment. First the drinks were not good, spicy margarita, was not spicy and missing something. The waitress was not friendly and took her sweet time serving food between appetizers and main course. She didn't check in with us, she didn't bother to tell us, food will be right out. It's crazy how small of a restaurant it is, the waitstaff ratio to tables and we still have to wait 40 mins between apps and mains. She thought she was slick, but I kept my eye on timing. You could tell the order was missed in the lineup as it came out piping hot. Regulars showed up after us and were done before us. Probably not gonna come back. Improve your waitstaff. Actually maker's mark - was not great either. No thanks you should have kept the tip. Adding to this review. The drinks were better the last time, can't always get it right!!! I've had spicier margaritas before without having to complain. Serving the drink the first time is your opportunity, don't look for complaints to do better. One more thing, our total bill was $140, we left a $18 tip. If your waitress got it wrong, take it up with her!!!! read more

Want a carpaccio fix?? Vanessa's in Walnut Creek is all you need to know. This is a quaint Asian/French fusion restaurant with great music and a fun staff - Aria and Derek are the bomb! The carpaccio has an Asian flair that you will judge all others against. The others are simply, "an also ran". Did i mention that they serve both a filet and tuna. Enjoy, Randall read more

Fabulous food .portions were generous, & a nice variety of drinks.was a bit noisy, though.

Simply amazing! We have been several times, including our anniversary and Valentine's Day. Thanks for taking care of us Mike. Michael read more

Best happy hour in town!!! Great deals on an extensive list of cocktails and food. The lychee martini was perfect and tried the Toki highball... I have a new fav drink! So light and refreshing. The beef carpaccio is tender slices of filet topped with all sorts of goodness. The lettuce wraps are the best I have ever had. Fresh and light with the sauce on the side so you can control how sweet you make it! read more

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Deliciously served food matched with a warm cozy ambience. Had such a wonderful gustatory experience! Treat yourself with a sumptuous meal and superb dining experience you'll never regret. Vanessa's Bistro it is! read more

We got Vanessa's catered for a work lunch. The salads were very fresh! We get lots of salads at work via catering and lately they've been very subpar: wilted to the point of being slimy and gross. The shaking filet mignon salad was full of crispy veggies and savory cubes of filet mignon. The garlic butter brandy sauce tied it all together. So good! The shaking filet mignon sandwich had a lot of promise. Interestingly, it contained mozzarella cheese and one of my coworkers likened it to a cheesesteak with the thin slices of beef, which had zero shaking beef flavor. I concur. I think this may be better fresh in the restaurant since the cheese was a hard glob by the time we dug in. The fried rice was plentiful (huge tray), but just ok. Vanessa's is still on my radar for happy hour! Hope I can get over to WC sometime soon to try. read more

Vanessa's Bistro - Shaking filet mignon banh mi - Vietnamese Near Me - Walnut Creek, California

I forgot about posting this review, but the young man the service the ambience is a great place to hang out. The food was fantastic.

Came here for a friend's birthday held in the private room upstairs. The servers brought the food out promptly and placed at a table set up against the back of the room. And our hostess Ariana very attentive and professional. She was the best. The music went in and out a couple times. And it was kind of awkward standing/sitting holding our plates to eat our food. The food was good tho. read more

Vanessa's Bistro - a table full of food - Vietnamese Near Me - Walnut Creek, California

Really like the Vietnamese inspired cuisine here. I'm actually Vietnamese too lol. Love their happy hour - lasts until 6pm with discounted apps and drinks. For apps Crispy salt and pepper tofu - 9/10 Fresh prawn spring rolls - 5/10 (rolls were sticky, noodles mushy) Salt and pepper prawns - 8/10 (just wish there was more!) Fish Tacos - 6/10 - get some Asian inspired dishes (to be fair my friend ordered this) Spicy wings - 8/10 Crispy Saigon chicken rolls - 8/10 Green papaya salad also a good choice! I don't get bánh mi since I still go to San Jose where it's $7... paying $14 seems too much Main dishes Fresh crab with garlic butter noodles - worth it IMO, you can also get the jumbo prawn garlic noodles at a lower price point. I like their garlic noodles as it's the thicker noodles and has a great flavor Cute decor, ample seating and attentive servers. Can't go wrong! I'm glad to see this place is still doing well after many years. read more

We stopped in for happy hour and were blown away by the food and drinks. The margaritas and Palomas were perfectly balanced - not too strong, not too sweet. And the happy hour chicken had just the right amount of kick! The ambiance was amazing, with a rustic, natural vibe and an industrial twist. But what really made our experience stand out was our server, Ryan. She was knowledgeable, friendly, and gave us great recommendations. As someone who doesn't like spice, she suggested the happy hour chicken and calamari, which were both incredible. Ryan was another awesome person who made the experience even better. Thank you, she even found my little friends unicorn (she knows what i mean) she's epic.!!! Vanessa's, for a fantastic happy hour! We can't wait to come back! read more

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I went from having a bad night to a great night. I took my family out to eat at another restaurant, but found a hair in our food. We left and decided to come here. I let the kids order whatever they wanted. The food came quick, the restaurant was clean, & our waiter was great. I don't remember his name but he was very kind. Everything tasted amazing. I will definitely be back! read more

Food, service, drinks everything was great! It got a little loud towards the end of the evening but still manageable

On Saturday evening, I was out with my besties, Alice and Shawn. We're always hungry, so we decided to grab a bite at one of the local eateries on Locust. Everyone had the same idea because all the new "spots" were packed. Vanessa's Bistro had tables and a few seats at the bar available. We bellied up to the bar where Mike Nguyen, Vanessa's son, mixed some fantastic martinis for us. Mike was a super nice guy and a great bartender. In case you didn't know, Vanessa's is a Vietnamese tapas restaurant with a French twist. We ordered several dishes, the shaking beef perfectly cooked with delicious flavor. The chicken and rice clay pot had great flavor with tons of succulent chicken. The tasty salt and pepper prawns. Last but certainly not least, the yumilicious garlic butter noodles. Everything we had was terrific! I suspect I will go back sometime this week for more shaking beef and garlic butter noodles; yes, they were that good! In addition to the fabulous food, I appreciated the more subdued and warm interior. Beautiful wood fills the space, providing better acoustics for the patrons' conversations. Vanessa's has an extensive Happy Hour menu. A selection of beers for $5 and many cocktails for $10-$11. They have 15 items on the Tapas menu for just $12. Happy hour is 4-6PM every day and 9PM-close on the weekends. They have Taco Tuesday featuring two tacos and a Hornitos margarita for $12 and Wine Wednesday with 1/2 of all bottles of wine. read more

Great food, amazing ambiance and even better Service! This place never disappoints!!!! The staff is always friendly and attentive!! read more

Vanessa's Bistro - Great place, amazing food, awesome ambiance and even better service!!!! - Vietnamese Near Me - Walnut Creek, California

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I ordered Vietnamese food, which was delicious! My friend ordered the filet mignon, which he said was the best he'd ever had and he has traveled all over the world! So if you don't like Vietnamese food, go there for the cocktails and steak. read more

Food has an abundance of flavor. I recommend the Filet mignon. It's very soft and always well cooked. Staff is welcoming and friendly.

Sadly, this is not a good place to dine anymore. We ate at the Berkeley location many years ago so that is why we decided to try the one in WC but this place has gone down hill. The service was very poor and the food was very disappointing. We ordered the chicken rolls ( greasy and little flavor), fried rice (charred and greasy), chicken wings (essentially just fried with no flavor whatsoever), the curry chicken (ok but wasn't impressive). The best dish we had was the salad with shaking beef but that was a B not an A, and we got a strawberry virgin mojito that was 90% ice so that was a rip off. I would not recommend this place because it is overpriced for what you get in the low quality of the food and the lacking service from very young people not focused on customer service. There are many better places to eat in the area. read more

Nice vibe! The lobster and garlic noodles was good. The crab could use a little bit more flavor and season. The waiter was nice and made good suggestions in the music in atmosphere was good for girls night or date night. read more

Family run, great ambiance & super convenient location- also a late night happy hour at 9 pm! We walked right over after a show at Lesher. Service was really on point- checked on us often, friendly. We ordered ClayPot rice, calamari, chicken wings, garlic noodles w beef, tofu & string beans, chicken coconut curry- everything was tasty ( even approved by 3 picky SE Asians in our party). Drinks were good although we didn't get to try the fancier cocktails ( gotta get home early) This is our second time here- will definitely return again. read more

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Came here as a group on a Saturday night. I had a reservation but was 15 mins late due to parking issue my reservation was given away, which is fine it's my fault. The place is not to big. Only a few tables with two hour time limit and also 3 lounge seating with no hour limit. We took the lounge seating The drink is awesome! They don't skimp on alcohol. The food was delicious. Small servings we ordered: Fresh Spring rolls, crispy Chicken Rolls, Filet Mignon Carpaccio, Papaya Salad, Salt and Pepper Calamari. Panko Crusted Petrale Sole Fish Tacos Avocado, House Pico W/cilantro AioliFish Tacos and chicken Wings. We devoured the food . It was delicious and good. Btw: Health score is No Violation! Took the first serving of food and then we just went on enjoying the evening! Took the first photo and just enjoyed the rest of the food! read more

Vanessa's Bistro - *Spicy Vietnamese Green Papaya Salad Poached Prawns, Roasted Peanuts Fried Shallot & Mint - Vietnamese Near Me - Walnut Creek, California

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One of the best restaurants in WC. There is a reason Mike and the team have been around for so long (bad food rarely lasts in this area), their food and service are top of class! I have literally taken dozens of people here over the years, from family to friends to my entire office, and without fail every one of them throughly enjoyed the experience. Pro Tip: just get every single Tapa on the menu.....you know want to anyways! read more