Barbecue Garden (135A Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa)

Firstly, it is probably necessary to justify the title. I entitled it as such as I found the staff to be rather curt & certainly lacking in an ability to smile. The only staff member who seemed capable of being genuinely pleasant was the ‘greeter’ who gave a cheerful smile & farewell. Unfortunately, the rest did not have such charm. I presume they have been trained this way, perhaps it is someone’s perception that ‘up market’ service has to render staff to a robot like existence.

Myself & two friends went here, my friend had been before & sung its praises. On sitting down he immediately commented how the prices had noticeably increased since his not too long ago last visit. We ordered a family set (349,000đ) which is 3 types of meat, rice & a free sweet spring roll dish for dessert.

The meat was well marinated, delicious & cooking it at the table adds a new dimension to lunch. The rice was certainly high quality & perfectly cooked. The real drawback to the meal was that the servings are small, this family meal is supposedly for 3 people. That is certainly not the case, even the rice was served sparingly compared to other establishments. The sweet spring rolls were very tasty & the chocolate sauce was very rice. A perfect end to a light lunch.

The garden here is really nice, full of plants & it has the feeling of being far away from the hustle & bustle of Saigon. Three stars for BBQ garden, tasty meat in minimal overpriced portions served by waiters who cannot smile result in a low score. I would however suggest that people try it, cooking at the table in the pleasant garden is a nice change.