Vietnam Garden Restaurant - Victoria

So we didn't want to travel far on the snow covered roads. Ken kindly seated us near the back,close to a radiator. Our lunch time specials were delivered in minutes...incredibly fresh, tasty food and lots of piping hot tea. We splurged and ordered the banana fritters for dessert. They came attractively presented with fresh apple slices, mint leaf garnish and caramel sauce over the vanilla ice cream....divine. A real treat.

Had high hopes to find an excellent local Vietnamese restaurant, but this was below average.Decor is interesting, with lots of drawings and paintings on the walls, most painted by children. The dining room is comfortable, but if it's cold outside, you will feel a draft whenever people come and go.Service was ok. The server (owner?) brought my wife's meal several minutes before mine, which I don't like, personally. She also didn't smile and looked pretty unhappy and unappreciative that her dinning room was full of guests. Maybe she was having a bad day.The food was ok compared to other places where I've had excellent Vietnamese food. My wife had the Hot and Sour Chicken Soup. She thought it was ok, but not fantastic. I had the Vermicelli Bowl with Ham and BBQ Pork and Spring Roll. It was just ok. I didn't like the fried ham slices nor the BBQ pork, which was very fatty.Finally, when I paid using the Interac machine, I couldn't help to notice how dirty the machine was. If that machine is that dirty, I can only imagine that the rest of the kitchen is also not Spic and Span.Sorry, we will not go back...

Count me lucky because I live nearby and can drop into the Vietnam Garden any time I like. I often have the Tom Yum soup with prawns, but other dishes I've tried have been equally good. I always bring visitors here to sample Chef Ken's wonderful food and the gracious hospitality he offers with his staff and family. Well worth the short trip from wherever you are in Greater Victoria over the bridge to Esquimalt!

Owner is very nice and the foods are very good:) they serve thai foods, chinese foods and vietnamese foods, price is reasonable.

We went twice over a couple of weeks to make sure the first time wasn't a fluke. The food is made to order by owner Ken who is also an accomplished artist, his pictures are all over.I had the squid dish both times and loved it. My wife had chicken with pork and noodles which were excellent.We will definitely be going back again and again, sorry we didn't find before.