Grain River Asian Bistro

Needed Pho to scratch the itch.... didn't disappoint! Great service, banging spring rolls, pho bomb!!! As I left, I stopped in the parking lot, looked around, and realized, the world was a better place.....

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I had been wanting to try this restaurant for a while, we had dinner there last Sunday.
To start we ordered the Spring Rolls and they were very very tasty and a larger size than the ones we’ve had at other places. My husband had the Pho noodle soup with slices of beef, the small bowl is more than plenty for one person, I tasted the broth that IMO is the key component of the soup and it didn’t have the flavor of all the spices that are supposed to be used in it. It tasted just like plain broth with some salt.
I ordered the Pad Thai with chicken and it was a huge disappointment. I’ve had this dish in several Thai restaurants and I know how the sauce should taste. Here there was no hint of tamarind, fish sauce or cayenne in the noodles. The servings were very generous and prices are reasonable.
Service was good and I liked the setting. We might give it a second chance and order something different.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

I truly terrible experience. I ordered by phone for pick up. I asked for Chinese mustard and sweet sauce, which were forgotten. I asked that they not include plastic silverware, which they included, but most importantly, they included no Vietnamese sauce for the vermicelli salad. Instead, they gave me a giant container of soy sauce. The vermicelli salad is not edible with soy sauce. A total waste of money. The staff does not know what they’re doing. It was a Saturday night.

Great vietnamese food.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Good neighborhood Asian. Handled our large party efficiently

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 5

I ordered a “bowl” of hot and sour soup. I put bowl in parentheses because it is without a doubt the smallest bowl of soup I have ever had. In any other restaurant it would be called a cup. That wouldn’t be a problem if the price was similarly smaller. It wasn’t. The price was identical to my neighborhood Chinese restaurant, Old Peking on Speedway. I don’t think that it would be an exaggeration to say Old Peking’s bowl is double the size of Grain Rivers.

Now, I wouldn’t be writing this review if this meager portion was of the quality to justify the price. The unfortunate truth is that their soup was terribly mediocre. Not awful, just very plain and uninspired. Not terribly hot, and not very sour. It’s like hot and sour soup for people with diminished capacity.

I would have given them fewer stars than 3 for selling mediocre soup at premium prices but I take some responsibility for ordering a Chinese soup in what was so obviously a Vietnamese restaurant. So my bad. Maybe I’ll go back and order the pho and see if they can pull that off well

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 4

Very good food! Prices are in line for oro valley.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I kind of hate to do this less than rave kind of reviews but...Food was just OK. Had the Basil Chicken which was overdone and kind of like some sort of frozen breaded chicken out of a bag. Huge portion though. Other dish was the E1, Mon Xoa. Great variety/quantity of meats and veggies but otherwise uninspired. Spring rolls were great. No beer or wine. Said that was forthcoming. Their intensive take-out business interferes with the in-house business, so the time spent there without a glass of wine was way too long. They are trying though....

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

The food is authentic and flavorful. I have tried many dishes, and so far everything is a hit. The addition of a complimentary dessert at the end of the meal shows their dedication to great service. Highly suggest trying thr vietnamese coffee if it is your thing.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Absolute gas. The pork belly banh Mi is incredible. I don’t even like boba, but the Mango boba here is amazing. Highly recommend.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My friend and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch yesterday at this restaurant. We had the shrimp tempura as an appetizer, the Thai Red Curry dish and the veggie & tofu sir fry. We’ll certainly return to this place as the food was good, the service was excellent and the atmosphere was perfect.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

I’m used to phở from the PNW, so I looked past the really strong cinnamon taste but couldn’t get past the bit of plastic in my takeout /:

Food: 1

Service: 3

One of our favorites . Food is VERY fresh and many items & condiments are made in the restaurant. Great menu and service. We find we are going every week. Pho and spring rolls are our goto choices.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Beef Soup

Incredible vegan pho. Looking forward to trying more dishes.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Best cơm tấm in arizona. Most place in Phoenix is not even close.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5