Bambu

Our party of 5 people all loved their food! Omnivores & vegans alike, we all want to come back here as soon as possible… Amazing, and I mean, amazing spring rolls! The coconut curry with tofu was awesome! I loved that it was easy to order vegan off the menu! We’ll be back!

We were there early on a Saturday evening. The place was quiet and comfortable. Our server was personable, helpful, and funny. I enjoyed the Thai Basil Rice with tofu, my Mom had Green Curry with shrimp, which she also enjoyed. Prices are moderate. I’ll go back!

As a Unilocaler, I felt that I had to write a review based on my experience with this restaurant. I looked up a few places and thought I’d try out his place. Pictures can be deceiving until your there trying the food. The time was 3:00pm and after a good workout at the Y, I wanted to try the General Tao’s chicken. Ordered the dish and just by the looks of it, I knew I wasn’t going to meet my expectations. The sauce was not as good and the chicken was rough and dry. Overall, the vegetables were good!

Great customer service, the phở was amazing. You get a good amount of fixings for it as well. Can’t wait to come back and try the pad Thai!

Love this place! All the food is made fresh, actually fresh. The curry is delicious. You have to try this place out

We went with a party of 8 people. Separate checks. The food was good and the service was slow. Our bill for two people came to slightly over $ 26.00 including tax. We were charged $ 6.40 for gratuity. I am always good about tipping and understand a gratuity charge for groups. But this is a bit too much in my opinion. It comes out to approximately 25 percent. I’m not happy about the robbery. They got the gratuity and lost me as a customer. I enjoyed the meal and had mentioned to my wife during the meal that I would come here again. Now not so!

Really good Vietnamese egg rolls and the egg foo young was very tasty. I’m not sure what the big deal is with the coconut curry. I tried it and found it okay and I’ve had better. Maybe I should have tried the massaman? I will try that next time. The potatoes were really good. The menu is a little wonky and the place Is hard to get to. I hope they survive because nothing really sticks in that location.

We ordered Gluten-​free Orange Chicken and GF Sesame Chicken, and the GF Egg Rolls. All were awesome. I highly recommend it! Unless you’re feeding kids… «Mild» wasn’t quite mild enough for our little ones. They enjoyed some hot dogs.

We eat there at least once a month. Consistently good food and friendly service. Yin, the owner, is one of the hardest working women in the entire state.

Very good food when the owner is there, but when she is gone the food just isn’t the same! Good phở and chicken wings! I also enjoy the host who is exactly like Bobby Lee

We stopped in here on a whim and I had the coconut curry with mock duck and my husband had the Kung pao chicken lunch specials. We loved our food! Nicely presented with fresh and quality ingredients. Our veggies were crispy and the egg rolls were not your run-​of-​the-​mill oily and bland egg rolls.
The server was attentive (granted, the place was deserted) and the food was inexpensive. Decorations were cute without being cheesy. Although we didn’t partake, we noticed there was a decent drink list and the desserts sounded creative and yummy. Really surprised that Bambu doesn’t have a higher overall rating because we’ll definitely be back!

I have been to Bambu many times over the last two years. On occasion, the service was spotty. This is no obstacle for a lover of good ph. They make up the basics to please the Midwestern palette, but their authentic dishes are worth more than they charge and the atmosphere is that of a comfortable living room. If you’re looking for grease and msg go to a buffet, but if you want really fresh dishes made with love go here! True foodies won’t be disappointed. I just learned they deliver within a 5 mile radius and might become a hermit.

This is a quiet Asian restaurant located in a strip mall in maplewood. It offers a variety of Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese food. I enjoyed the egg rolls but thought that I have had way better for the price. They were actually crispy though– I cannot stand soggy egg rolls. The wonton soup was pretty good and I would definitely order it again. The sesame chicken was better than I had expected it would be. I wish it had been more crispy but the chicken was actually chicken. I like spicy food and ordered ⁸⁄₁₀ but if there is a next time would go with ¹⁰⁄₁₀. The owner, yin, who was also our server was very friendly and welcoming and had a great sense of humor. We got our food fast and she checked back regularly. The entrees are big enough to share. We had finished all of our rice but still had a lot of chicken left and when we asked for a box, yin returned with boxes and more rice for no charge. Overall, the food wasn’t the best Asian food I have ever had but it suited what we were looking for and I would return again if in the area and looking for a quick bite and would like to try more of the items on the menu.

If you have a chance to take the spring roll making class, DO IT. Their spring rolls are excellent and the peanut sauce that accompanies them is delicious. So when I saw on Facebook that they were offering a class to learn to make them, I signed up. For $ 20 I had fun learning to make fresh spring rolls, I STUFFED myself with my classroom attempts (because even if they aren’t pretty, they’re delicious!) and I got a couple of rolls and a bottle of their peanut sauce to take home. I recommend mixing a bit of spicy rooster sauce with the peanut sauce for dipping. Flavor party!
And finally, I LOVE them for being sensitive to us gluten free people. They have GF peanut sauce all ready for me and they have a GF menu section as well.

Our meals at Bambu were decent. Pad thai was fair… kind of bad… noodles were not done right, carrots soggy, chicken overcooked, sauce not quite right… we eat a lot of Thai food, by no means am I a pad thai fanatic, but I ordered it here because I thought any restaurant with a Thai menu could make a proper pad thai… wrong… girlfriend’s curry also tasted really cheap, very bland.
The Singha was good at least!
²⁄₅

I was less than impressed with Bambu. My sister and I ventured to Bambu because we purchased a Groupon for the restaurant. The interior was fun, clean and fit the standard description of a stereotypical — strip mall — Chinese restaurant. The food was sub par, overpriced and the service was dial-​up-​connection slow!
The main reasons why I was not impressed with Bambu
1: Slow Service — There were two waitresses for about 15 people. The service was slow and inconsistent. It took forever to get our food let alone refills on drinks — our server did not get our orders correct and she forgot to put the order in for one of our appetizer. We constantly had to flag down different staff members to get simple things like re-​fills on drinks and to-​go boxes. As soon as we received our entrees, we asked our waitress for the bill and boxes, which ended up taking forever — even with the nice warning far ahead of time.
2: The Food Was Less Than «A-​Okay»: The cream cheese wontons were somewhat cold and had a strong hint of citrus (not described on the menu). The pork egg rolls were small in size and bland. The Beef Lo mein lacked flavor, and the noodles reminded me thin angel hair pasta. I asked for a spiciness level of 7 out of 10 however I am pretty confident that I received 0 out of 10. The Tiger Pork was okay, however it was very salty and a tad over fried.
3: Overpriced: The quality of the food in terms of portion size, quality of food and taste did not match up. I highly suggest heading to a chain fast food restaurant such as Leeann Chin or Panda Express over Bambu. Although Bambu provides a nice atmosphere, the food at Leeann’s and Panda is much better in several ways!
I will not be eating at Bambu again.

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have… Bambu?
For a fairly unassuming pan-​Asian restaurant in a strip mall in somewhat of an outdated commercial cesspool, Bambu surprisingly has some redeeming qualities. Prices are reasonable, they serve beer and wine, they make a pretty solid curry, service is generally friendly and they’ll make your order more than MN spicy upon request.
On the flip side, they appear to run a somewhat skeleton crew at times, serve up a disappointing Pad Thai and their location leaves a bit to be desired; unless you’re making a Costco run or going to the Maplewood Mall.
In the end, the positives outweigh some of the criticisms, but I wouldn’t recommend venturing from too far away to make a visit.

Now, when I think of «good thai/​vietnamese food», to be honest, I don’t normally think, «Maplewood, MN in a strip mall!»
However, I must say that I was delightfully surprised by a recent visit to Bambu. A friend recommended we swing by this joint for a late lunch on Sunday afternoon. She said they had fresh ingredients and a nice menu, and I have to agree. Specifically, the «smaller portions» for $ 5.99 a piece cannot be beat; they have dishes from China, Vietnam and Thailand all under this price point. And to be honest, the «smaller portions» really are not all that small.
We split the fresh spring rolls, and each of us ordered a Phở for our main meal, and split a yellow curry and ginger stir fry dish. Fresh ingredients and good flavor. I liked that we were able to choose a spice level, from 1 to 10, as well.
I recommend that you make the tropical excursion to Maplewood, MN for thai/​vietnamese food. It’s worth the journey.

This is a great little restaurant. I come here for the $ 5.99 buffet. They have excellent spring rolls with a homemade peanut sauce vs. an out of bottle sauce. Some of my favorites are the chicken fried rice, Phở Ga is exceptional and should be given a try, and the sesame chicken is wonderful. They have a small plate menu, but don’t be fooled, you still get a plate full of food.
The service can be really slow. The staff is very friendly and the owner is super nice.

I like to come here for lunch because of their specials, $ 5,99. I love love love their spring rolls and their crazy peanut sauce that goes with it! They are well known for it. I usually get Pad Thai because I like the strong smell of their fish sauce, dont’ ask me why. I seriously think they should relocate their area to the MInneapolis area. This place is located in a strip mall right next to Maplewood. They have a small bar, but their dining area is big.
The only thing I don’t is their menu, it’s kind of confusing to read. So if you have questions, just ask the server. They are very helpful. Almost forgot to mention, they have buffet too! Enjoy.