Delicious food, but spotty service / needs help with interior design
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After walking in old town Geneva for the afternoon we decided to check out various restaurants that were open on a Saturday night.
Surprisingly, most storefronts seem to be closed, even though it was only 7 o'clock.
We debated between this place and the brasserie across the street, and decided to check this place out.
I will break this review down into four parts:
1. First impressions:
For some reason this restaurant is tucked away on the second floor of the building. The restaurant on the first floor - which was rather lively - was actually another Vietnamese restaurant. You have to walk up a somewhat rickety staircase up to the second floor to get to this restaurant. There is no sign which makes this clear.
The decor was somewhat dated. The multicolored table cloths and wall paintings were rather faded.
Can't quite put my finger on it, but the atmosphere seemed very subdued and uninviting, literally as if we were interrupting a family dinner / family gathering (in a way, I guess we were)
2. Service:
The service was somewhat spotty. For example, I asked the bald Thai gentleman what the difference was between the three soups listed, and his response was "they are different, one has coconut milk." A follow-up question of which soup he recommended was followed by, "depends on what you like."
Hmm, You don't say???
3. Food:
Thank goodness the food was actually quite delicious, as the saving grace of our experience here.
I got the fish soup which was EXCELLENT. It had solid chunks of fish (a lean type of fish), light cream, and fresh lemongrass. This was extremely savory.
She got the shrimp with fresh basil leaves. There were eight shrimp, cleanly butterflied. This was stir fried with a savory mix of zucchini, lemongrass, garlic, bamboo shoots, and of course basil.
42.50 CHF.
4. Recommendation:
If you can stomach the "what do you want" kind of service and dated decor, this place may be worth checking out.
Skip the water, which is 3 CHF per person (!!) read more