A Dong Restaurant

My first visit. Didn't know what to expect, but was very impressed. Excellent food I had the vegetarian, tofu and vegetables. Sorry I don't remember the name of the dish, but it was outstanding will definitely return!

I was with the small group and they accommodated us very well. They gave us a spot first to sit together and very attentive to us.

I was very disappointed in the lack of flavors in my most recent meal at ADong. I hadn't been since before Covid. It was a Friday around lunchtime and there were a lot of empty seats--same thing when we left--that's worrisome for a business.
My friend ordered the equivalent of crab Rangoon, and said they were tasty. They came with a lemony sauce.
I had the iced tea which is actually a very lightly flavored lime drink. It was very refreshing.
I then had a cup of hot and sour soup, which had one shrimp in the cup and lots of nice crunchy veggies. But it had none of the hot nor sour flavors that I'm used to.
I had two spring rolls with a very bland sauce. I should've asked for peanut sauce; I just assumed that what it was. Each roll had three shrimp in it, quite a bit of lettuce and some rice noodles. I didn't even bother to finish them.
The waitress was pleasant. The room is bright and clean.
Perhaps you're supposed to ask for some heat/spices?

Passing through Des Moine we found this Vietnamese restaurant. It was spacious and clean, especially the restroom was very clean! The service was attentive, friendly, and very good.

We wanted to try something different from the usual Vietnamese dish we get back at home. We got pork stuffed squid, pork ribs with the restaurant's special sauce, spring roll, and sour lemon drink.

I feel a bit of a mixed feeling with the food we ordered. The flavours were really bland compared to the flavours I am used to. The fish sauce dipping sauce (nuoc cham) almost tasted like water with a hint of fish sauce, which in my opinion was very off putting. Where I am from we have fairly large Vietnamese community so I can trust the flavours. I am wondering if the flavours here are weaker to cater to the non Asian palate?

Anyway, the 4 stars is for the wonderful and friendly service this restaurant provided.

Ordered their duck noodle soup and pho before. Service is always great and for a few of my carry out orders they've tossed in a free appetizer before.

Best fresh Asian food in the Des Moines area! I have tried so many different dishes here & I'm never disappointed.

A Des Moines staple for a reason, amazing food! Favorites are 1c egg rolls, 16c curry tofu soup, 26c tofu and greens, 33c coconut sauce udon noodles with tofu. Meat dishes are good too but I especially love the huge vegetarian menu!

Pretty disappointing, unfortunately. I really wanted to try a wider range of Vietnamese menu items but this place was a letdown.

Service was pretty bad. Took about 10 minutes before anyone even asked me if I wanted a table and they merely asked "can I help you?"

The food itself was some of the worst I've ever had. I love Vietnamese food, but this was awful. For whatever reason, they served my food with two soy sauce packets tossed right on top even though there was soy sauce on the table.

Others complained, too. Another gentleman walked in to remind the waitress that the manager insisted on comping him for a previous takeout order they had messed up.

Restaurant was simple and clean. Food was delicious. Had the pork egg rolls, and chicken pho. Their iced tea is infused with Jasmine. Service was quick and pleasant.

Food was fabulous! We were so happy to have a whole vegetarian section. Also, the wait staff were thrilled to see our 5 month old baby and were so cute in interacting with him. We don't live here but would absolutely return!

Staff is amazing here! Everyone is so sweet and they are quick.

I could imagine it is hard to find authentic ingredients in this area. That is understandable.

I'm really happy I got to stop here while visiting. Their broth has great flavors and their meats are yummy. Worth the stop if you need a warm bowl of soup for your belly.