Bamboo Bistro

Was in St. Louis for a conference, and I was so thankful to find a place that served up my version of comfort food.
Overall, the food wasn’t bad. It’s definitely a step up from the quintessential «cheap chinese food» as the food was pretty fresh and was of decent quality. St. Louis isn’t really known for a lot of Asians, so I appreciate the workers who were there that kept it as authentic as possible. :)
I appreciated the variety of Asian cuisines represented. If you’re looking for a place with pretty decent Asian food for a pretty good price, I’d highly recommend it!
If I’m ever back in town, I’m totally going to stop by.
Be sure to take advantage of their lunch buffet to-​go! Pick all that you want, as much as you want for $ 6.50 a pound!

I went with the fried rice with Shrimp and Chicken. Quality was great and portion was good. They actually use larger shrimp and they put a good amount. No skimping here. Also had a bowl of the wonton soup which was perfect. It was actually good for the soul. I only tried 2 dishes but if everything is of that quality I would definitely dine here. It’s convenient and right next to the Crown Plaza. Makes for easy access.

Pro: A great Chinese buffet! What Bamboo Bistro has helped me to realize is that a huge buffet spread is not always a good thing. Bigger places will put out a whole mess of food that may sit and get cold after a while. Furthermore, many options may not always allow for the greatest quality. Think «a jack of all trades is a master of none». BB keeps their options limited to ensure that everything is great; they also refresh the spread with fresh food. After all, nobody likes two-​hour-​old lo mien, do they?!? There’s also a full bar if your workday drives you to seek some liquid therapy…
Con: None noted…
Bottom Line: Great lunchtime option! Will return…

My family had dinner here while on vacation. The food was excellent, serving sizes were ample and the service was excellent. Will definitely return on our next visit to St. Louis.

Delicious fresh with a large variety of cuisine. Egg drop soup, steamed dumplings, General tsos chicken, sugar doughnuts and more. A ok for two teenage boys and their mom.

Have been here twice in the past month and absolutely loved both experiences! The first time was during a Cardinals game and went with family as we were walking around downtown. Everyone got a different entrée and we passed them around the table to sample the others and each plate was very delicious! The second time was during their lunch buffet which I sampled and must say it’s one of the best asian buffets I have had in some time! It isn’t a huge buffet but it does offer lots of options and the food is very hot. My wife absolutely loves their pad thai and my mother in law who was in town visiting says she still dreams about their Chicken Lo Mein.

Good for what it is – a Chinese-​Vietnamese buffet downtown that has to cater to a community that isn’t totally accustomed to the real deal. I came here feeling a little homesick and really wanting something that reminded me of the food I ate growing up in a Chinese-​Vietnamese family, so I naturally wandered in to Bamboo. The host and server, Trung, was very courteous, and the whole time I was there, I could hear Vietnamese being spoken. :)
The menu had a lot of offerings, and it took me a while to sort through it to find all the Canto & Viet dishes, of which there were a decent number. I broke my cardinal rule of only ordering phở at designated phở restaurants because… sometimes you just crave it. It came out piping hot, the meat was still slightly pink (how it should be!) so I could choose the level of doneness I wanted it at, and it came with a decent playful of fixings (Thai basil, lime wedge, bean sprouts, jalapeño slices, hoisin, and sriracha). The broth had all the right spices and was not too oily, but I thought the flavors were toned down significantly. Not the best phở, but better than I was expecting from a buffet restaurant. Would be even better if they included tripe with the meats. ;)
I also splurged and got a glass of Moscato d’Asti, which was way better than anything I normally am willing to buy for myself.
Some other menu items I was elated to see and will return for, if only to verify that these are the actual dishes in Vietnamese that I am thinking they are: Vietnamese chicken salad (goi ga), Vietnamese steak salad/​Asian Shaking Steak (bo luc lac), wonton egg noodle soup (mi hoanh thanh), seafood bird’s nest (o yen), and sizzling special rice noodle (phở ap chao).
Overall, a decent place to satisfy a Vietnamese food craving in a convenient (for me) location. It’s not the best or most authentic-​tasting that I’ve had in St. Louis (that honor goes to Truc Lam), but it gets the job done.

Very bad service. Food not authentic at all.

Amazing food!!! This is how an Asian buffet restaurant should function! Everything was hot and the staff was attentive to the needs of my guest and I. Highly recommend this place if you’re looking for an acceptable Asian buffet. All the food was hot and the place was super clean. I’ll definitely be coming back for more!

The restaurant area itself is a little cluttered and confusing with its not-​buffet and its sorta bar. The bathroom was terrible. The large stall had an out of order sign and a bunch of stuff stored in it. Guess it won’t be in order anytime soon. The first stall has a broken latch, so you can only go with the door swinging open. The only stall left is dark and dingy and not too clean.
I have this thing about restaurant bathrooms. I have found that how they care for the bathroom reflects what they do in the kitchen. After seeing this bathroom, I almost left without ordering. But, the place was nearly empty and I felt sorry for them.
The host told me to sit anywhere I wanted, then brought me a drink menu and a separate dinner menu. I picked one of their specialty drinks after reading the expansive list. It sounded pretty good, until he returned to take my drink order. He looked over his shoulder at the bar and said, «We don’t have mixed drinks.»
Um…kay. Water, then.
I ordered the seafood soup. It was a giant portion of bland broth and rice noodles. Three pieces of squid with the same texture as new tires. Two shrimp. A few green onions. I had to ask for cilantro and hot sauce. Still had to salt it for flavor.
Staff was polite. Food meh. Not a place I’d return to.

I wanted noodle soup, I just had a tooth pulled and wanted something easy to eat. The beef soup was delicious. will for sure go back.

I used to live half a block away from bamboo bistro and at no point during my time there did I ever want to order bamboo bistro for lunch or dinner. It’s not horrible food but it falls well short of many other dining options in downtown. Even within the category of «assorted Asian cuisine» I would rather go somewhere else. The food has never impressed me and the prices are way over the top. I think they get away with this arrangement due to the high tourist traffic they get in the area.
Don’t be a sucker and settle for mediocre and over-​priced food, head a little ways further west in downtown and you can find much better options!

I’m not a big Chinese food fan, but am willing to try it based on someone’s recommendation, and for an occasional change. This was rated as the best by a friend. It was good, fresh, clean, and tasty. The service was very good (not much required for a buffet), and just enough attention to keep our drinks full, empty plates clear, but not be annoying.

There really wasn’t anything great about this place that would have me running back again anytime soon.
I was looking for a place with more than just the typical Chinese food so when I saw they had a lunch buffet I thought, great, I can finally sample new things. I’m guessing to get the Vietnamese or Thai type food you need to order directly from the menu. Other than some Kimchi and Tom Yum soup, you’re pretty much stuck with the Chinese basics (I.e. General Tso Chicken, low mein, egg rolls, crab rangoon, etc). And basic it was… no wow factor.
Now the worst part was my waitress «Hunter». Guess how many times I got checked on through the course of my time there? Guess how many times I got asked if I needed anything else? Guess how many times I was asked how everything was when she came to get the payment? NONE! Not one time did she say anything YET she walked by me probably more than 10 times. She even dropped off my check while I was up at the buffet and that’s when she decided to finally fill up my glass of water. Very horrible service on her part. Which sucks because whether or not I’ve enjoyed the food as long as I get good service I tip quite well. How do you leave a big tip for no service.
I’m not very confident that I’ll be back since they have Thai and Vietnamese restaurants here in South St Louis where I can try something new.

So far not so good. Came during lunch and when I asked for a menu my server immediately informed me that if I didn’t have the buffet then it would be a long wait. The menu was difficult to navigate and I had to ask where the Phở section was. They had a few options so I picked one and I have to say meh. Should’ve got the buffet. I’m sure the Chinese is good but I’d steer clear of the Phở.

Dude! No joke! What a pleasant surprise. Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but this place is super clean and sharp!
Everything was fresh and none of that stuff nobody eats and just sits. Sorry, egg foo young patty lovers.
I’m speaking of the lunch buffet! I’ll be back very soon!

I dropped in here with family after we went to see the arch. I had no idea what it would be like, but it was much better than I had expected!
Theres plenty of seating even though it’s pretty popular during the lunch buffet from 11am-​2pm. It’s clean and spacious, and the quality, price, and quantity of food is good. (Says a lot coming from an Asian who has high expectations for Asian food!)
There was 5 people and our bill was around $ 50. Not bad, given that we all ate around 3 plates of food.

Considering that this place is a) in St. Louis which tends to not have good Chinese food b) located in downtown StL which doesn’t have the best options and c) is a Chinese food buffet, overall not too bad. I come here a couple times a year with my office nearby. They have great fried pineapple, and for $ 11 have all my favorite Chinese dish options. Egg drop soup has good flavor. The food is a little greasy but not as bad as other places. Unlimited fortune cookies helps.

Went for lunch w/​my colleagues since it is down the street from T-​REx.
Have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. The buffet is small, but everything I had was pretty darn good. I have had terrible chinese buffets, average ones, and good ones (do great ones actually exist??) and this was solid.
Service was friendly and quick. I guess price-​wise it is on the high-​end, at least when compared to something like Everest for lunch, but I still dug it.
I recommend it.

I went to Bamboo Bistro one day with some coworkers for a work lunch. I didn’t really know where we were going but was happy when I saw it had a Chinese/​Vietnamese buffet. Some of you know this but my guilty pleasure/​comfort food is Chinese. I love it soooooooo much.
You could order other things off the menu but I confidently opted in on the all you can eat buffet. Usually buffets kind of gross me out unless they look exceptionally clean or nicer and this one passed the test.
They had a wide variety of fried things, meats, rice/​noodle dishes, vegetables, and desserts. I remember be addicted to this green bean dish they had. It was amazing. The best «international» green beans I have ever had. I need to force the chef to give me his recipe. I was pleased with everything, I thoroughly enjoyed trying a little bit of each (the best part of a buffet).
The wait staff is very friendly and the physical space itself is nice too. Kind of has that metropolitan café vibe. I hope others enjoy their visit to Bamboo as well!