Bambu

Doesn't Recommend

ctkennedy

Joined 2 years ago

Stay away from this place if you want good customer service!. Really disappointed by the poor service. I was excited to eat at Bambu after I looked at their menu online. I found out about them through Groupon and bought a certificate. Imagine my surprise when the owner gave a really long and sort of pathetic speech about how she couldn't allow us to use the coupon for items on the regular menu because they didn't cost enough and she wouldn't make enough money. We were trying to follow the rules she set and then she changed them midstream.

I might have been cool with that but then the server who knew we were not going to use the coupon failed to make us aware of the lunch combo specials (which would have made us very happy) and the food took about 30 minutes to come out.

The food was good, but the poor service and attitude left a really bad taste in my mouth.

Recommends

vikesmike

Joined 2 years ago

Excellent Cuisine. Ok, first the owner and staff are very nice. She will stop by your table, chat you up, and let you know what is good for your palate.

This is an asian place for foodies. As we all know you follow the chef, not the name of the restuarant, and this chef has been perfecting his craft excellently here at Bambu. Whether straight Chinese, Vietnamese, or Thai, the food here is excellent.

We started off with eggrolls that were obviously homemade (not packaged like Great Dragon!) Crispy and tasty they were perfectly done. For the main course I had Tiger Pork. The waiter was very helpful with letting this Minnesotan know how much "heat" or spice to add. I went for a 7 (scale of 1 to 10) and it was perfect. (note to reader: we do like spicy food and abhor "Minnesota spicy" so my taste may be different from yours) My wife went for a 9 and it was good too, spicy but full of flavor. She had the mongolian beef and the sauce was excellent as well. my daughter had the Pad Thai and said this was better and more authentic than she gets in Madison, WI. For desert the waiter recommended against the Tiramisu but my daughter got it anyway and it wasn't that bad. That is one of the items they do not make from scratch. My wife got the red bean ice cream and I couldn't stop sampling it. It is a foodies dream, a unique taste that doesn't overpower but keeps making you come back for more.

Overall for an excellent experience at a moderately priced Asian restaurant I'm suprised more people don't RAVE about this place. I had a Summit beer with my meal, but I would recommend the Plum Wine as well.

Doesn't Recommend

momme3

Joined 2 years ago

We're done with this place. Having three children and two of them being toddlers, we don't eat out much for our sake and the sake of waitstaff everywhere (toddlers are loud and messy eaters). So I thought it was worth a shot to call and see if Bambu would allow us to purchase a take out order using our internet certificate. I was thrilled to hear that they would except it for take out and placed my order. When I came to pick up our meal, I was treated very rudely by who may have been the owner. She was very angry that someone had told me that I could use my certificate for take out. I was even more surprised by her anger after I told her I was happy to pay the 18% gratuity despite the fact that we were not taking up a table at her restaurant. She also took the time to go back and scold her employees while I sat and waited to pay for my food. When I got home, I discovered that the broth container had a broken lid and it spilled all over inside the bag. With all of this going wrong, I was hoping that we would at least have a decent meal but once again we were disappointed. Next time we want take out we will take our business elsewhere. Que Nha in St. Paul, Shuang Cheng in Dinkytown and Quang in Minneapolis are 100x better in both quality of food and service. Trust me, it's worth the drive.

Doesn't Recommend

JulietsKiss

Joined 3 years ago

Great Food * Needs to Improve Customer Service. Bambu is located in Maplewood off Beam Avenue--kitty corner from the hospital and behind the strip mall with Half Priced Books and the Dollar Store

It is a beautifully decorated restaurant that is also kid-friendly. The menu has a great variety of selections, all which are freshly prepared. The quality of food is excellent. Prices for an entree begin at $11, and the portions of an average plate could easily feed two people.

I used to frequent Bambu until I encountered a number of problems with customer service...It was really unnerving that they didn't seem to acknowledge that I am repeat customer and show some kind of courtesy. The Lunch menu is very confusing, it's hard to read the prices and what is advertised in the Lunch Box is actually quite different from what the owner's intended so you will pay more to get what you thought was a great deal. It is hard to communicate with the staff when you have a problem--but just fine when you are ordering. And when there was a mistake with my order, someone came out from the kitchen to lecture me, and tell me I was wrong which made me totally loose my appetite.

I really like Bambu but don't visit as often because the customer service needs improvement.