Ngon Vietnamese Bistro - St Paul

Driving down University Ave one Saturday afternoon, looking for a place to eat dinner, I passed by Ngon Bistro, and thought I 'd give them a try, so glad I did! The food here is Vietnamese/Asian fusion, and includes favorites like pho, spring rolls and bahn mi. In the summer months there is a wonderful little outdoor patio for dining, but I decided to stay indoors. The dining room is bright and cheery, thanks to light colors and huge picture windows at the front of the store. It 's fun to sit and watch the streetcars go by on the Metro 's Green Line! You can use the Victoria St. station stop to get here. The menu is a simple one page affair, with a small but excellent selection of Vietnamese/Asian inspired food. I was also given a page of daily specials. Lots 's of great food to choose from! They also have a small selection of signature cocktails for you to try. I had the Lemon Basil Negroni, and it was excellent! For a small plate appetizer, I decided on pork egg rolls, and they were wonderful. They came with a nice, sweet dipping sauce. I had no problem eating them both! My main course was the pho with meatballs. Oh my goodness! It was the best soup I 've ever had in my life! And so very filling. The staff here are really great people, and wonderful to deal with. The decor is simple, bright and cheery. Parking can be an issue, but I had no problems finding a spot close by. The food itself is OUTSTANDING. Bar service is top notch. If you stick to just a main course and water, you can dine for about $20 a person. Add adult drinks and appetizers, and your looking at $50 a person. I give Ngon Bistro my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION! I do plan on coming back again.

Update: patio is open. Dog friendly patio. The pho is so amazing! There are fun drink options and all local beers served. The owner places great importance on keeping the menu fresh and new. Great quaint atmosphere.

Amazing spring rolls (limited availability). And the Pho is absolutely amazing. There is a bar to sit at. The ambient lighting and music makes dinner for a great date night. I enjoy the usage of metal chop sticks. However they seem to not hold the noodles as well.

My girlfriend and I, on a lark, decided to head to Ngon Bistro. This place is very large, many tables inside and outside, so getting a seat was a breeze they noted they do not do reservations with fewer than five people. We had a few starters (pork ramp sandwich, duck bao and the rabbit dumplings they were all excellent. For our main courses we shared Pho (ribeye, very good! and the Bun. They were both excellent. We had a total of three drinks, the gin and tonic was delightful, the spritz was great they used an amaro that wasn’t aperol, it seemed, which was nice and the Manhattan; all well made. The staff was very friendly, they have one of those “view the menu and order on your phone” systems that is becoming more popular. It worked out alright for us, no complaints there. There were also several humans to chat with for “when the robot can’t answer your questions,” as one server put it. Would definitely come back here again, sit on the patio to enjoy the sunshine and bring some friends so we can eat more food family style.

Everything is excellent. You can get good pho and bun and Ramen anywhere on University Ave. But Ngon makes it simple and magical. Like there's some serious magic in this food. Plus a bar and crafted cocktails.