a dong restaurant

so very light and fresh.phois the cure for anything. the best around. great price. the place looks great. i love the 89 and the spicy lemon grass chicken is heaven.

awesome food, i've tried everything from the deliciousphoto the duck. as for appetizers try the egg rolls, the 1c. you're welcome :)

just passing through.... iowa on our way to minnesota, did a little research on a place to stop to eat, and this restaurant came up with some good positive reviews. so why not give it a try?

we tried a few variety of rolls along with some chickenpho- all were mighty tasty. the chicken broth was nicely seasoned & not too salty, more meat than i am used to (good thing!), and ditto for the rice noodles. as most vietnamese restaurants are, it had a laid-back vibe and instantly felt comfortable when walking in. food is reasonably priced as well. the location is no the best as you can easily miss this place if you aren't looking for it.

overall a good experience and would stop back when taking another road trip through iowa. arguably the bestphothat i have had, therefore it is currently a "favorite" restaurant of mine.

not enough taste but cheap!. this vietnamese restaurant was easy to find and is located in a historic part of des moines the sherman hills neighborhood, but the food was not historic. the service was great and the people were helpful about what the food was. the restaurant was clean and light but very plain with very little decoration. we hadphowhich is was broth with noodles and meat in it. the broth was bland with very little taste and the meat, which was beef was tough. i really like the spring rolls but they were a little greasy and soggy on the outside. we had mango bubble tea which was the best part of the meal even though i thought it was too sweet. the vegetables were very fresh especially the cabbage and had just the right amount of crunch to them. the whole meal was very inexpensive and would be very reasonable if you are on a budget. i had never tried vietnamese food before and even though it was taste lacking i would try it again and order different things.

mmmmm... pho. the bestphoi've ever had was in san antonio, tx... a dong is a close second and might be just as good if i knew not to orderphowith grisly meat. a dong is on the edge of downtown and has decent parking and ok decor. nothing spectacular but it's in keeping with these sort of mom and pop asian restaurants.

i came during the lunch rush at 1230 and was able to be quickly seated and after i'd placed my order had myphowithin 5-10 minutes. it was served in the huge bowl you'd expect and came with a healthy helping of fresh lime, basil, and bean sprouts. the meat was good, i'd ordered the mixed beef and enjoyed the tender pieces my only complaint was the grisly pieces which you can order a bowl without. i just wanted to try something new and learned. other than that i would've liked to have thephobe a little bit more saltier/sour without having to add soy. if you're in town i'd definitely recommend stopping in.

blech. i should've known the minute i walked inside; the restaurant was filled with non-asain people, a sign that this place was inauthentic. and it was. everything was bland, from thephobroth to the spring rolls to the pork chops. will never go there again.

fresh!. this is fantastic vietnamese food, prepared with a wonderful array of fresh herbs and delicious sauces. if you want a fresh meal that still has some body (and enough protein), go with the vermicelli with pork and egg roll. it's the best thing on the menu.

thephois very good. you could probably nitpick and find better elsewhere around town, but thephoat a dong is certainly nothing to complain about.

the chairs get a little uncomfortable by the end of the meal, but with menu prices so cheap, you can't expect much more. service is generally good. i've eaten there a dozen times and had mediocre service just once. sometimes it takes too long for them to bring the bill, and i'm never quite sure if i'm supposed to just go to the counter before they bring the bill?

overall, this is one of my favorite places in the metro.