Serves meat, vegan options available. Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese food with added sushi menu. Accommodating to veg requests when you specify. Open Mon-Thu 11:00am-9:00pm, Fri-Sat 11:00am-10:00pm, Sun 11:00am-9:00pm.
Category: Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Beer/Wine, Take-out, Vietnamese, Southeast Asian, Non-veg
Reviews (5)
First Review by EverydayTastiness
Contributions +20
Great experience! - Edit
We went there worried that there would be a language barrier because of the reviews on here but there was none. I ordered vegan pad Thai with tofu, my daughter ordered vegan Thai basil with mock duck and fried rice w/o egg. The server assured me that there was no fish sauce- making it vegan. Not once did I feel like he didn't understand. We thought the food was amazing, the prices were high, but I find that's normal for Asian restaurants. The only thing that really bothered me about the restaurant (which is the same for all Asian restaurants I've been to) is that there were kids running around to the front of the restaurant and to the back into the kitchen or listening to tv on an iPad loudly they appeared to belong to someone who worked there.
Contributions +66
Fish sauce seems to be hiding in there - Edit
Service was very polite, but there seemed to be somewhat of a language barrier, which made inquires into veg*n issue difficult. The previous review about menu notations of veg*n options, I interpreted differently (tho the reviewer is right, items with a meat title are marked with a veg*n symbol and the symbol says "this dish is vegetarian/vegan"). I interpreted them to mean they can be made veg*n, upon request. This makes more sense based on how many things have the symbol. But the language barrier prevented clarification of that, to my satisfaction.
I am very tuned to the smell and taste of fish sauce (not liking it pretty dramatically), and I found my Pad Thai and vegetable dumplings sauce to taste and smell pretty fishy. Not enjoyable.
The Pad Thai was soupy with sauce, not something I am used to. And very limited in ingredients besides noodles. 4 or 5 carrot pieces, but couldn't find any bean sprouts, and the waiter (who took our order w/out writing it down) forgot my tofu. But, remembered no egg, so that was something. I asked repeatedly if it had fish sauce in the sauce, and he said repeatedly, while pointing to the menu symbols, vegetarian. But, I don't think that was true.
My dinner companion had mock duck with crispy potatoes; he liked the preparation of the potatoes (sliced and fried crispy), the mock duck was a bit more spongy than he liked, and the sauce was more tangy (good tangy) than he was used to. Overall he enjoyed.
The fried spring rolls were vegetable/no egg; enjoyed. The steamed vegetable dumplings were ok; sauce looked soy based but smelled/tasted fishy.
Pros: Friendly, Quiet/dark ambiance for dinner
Cons: Difficult communicating re: veg*n option, Fish smell/taste
Contributions +30
Confused - Edit
I have eaten here a few times and the food isn't bad, but after looking closer at the menu they really seem to have no idea what vegetarian or vegan means. They "kindly" label which dishes are vegetarian and vegan, yet many of the dishes blatantly state that they contain fish sauce, egg, or meat, yet are still labelled vegan. This makes me doubt which, if any, of the dishes labelled vegan are actually so. I actually contacted the business to politely inform them of what vegetarian and vegan meant and how they could fix their menu and got no response. I think they played Pin the tail on the donkey with the menu when they were assigning "vegan" labels to the food...it's so random and false. I'm not eating here anymore, which is sad because there are very few vegan-friendly restaurants in the area.
Cons: not vegetarian, mislabels the menu
Contributions +19
Awesome vegan options! - Edit
It was so incredibly easy to order vegan here! There are symbols next to each menu item that tells you if it's vegan & the server just said to tell him that you want it vegan and they can make just about anything vegan. The mango spring rolls were AMAZING! The coconut curry dish with tofu was tasty as well. My husband got the sweet & spicy blast curry with tofu and loved it.
Pros: Easy to order, SPRING ROLLS!, Many options
Contributions +1522
Good food and service - Edit
I've been to Bambu several times both in a large vegan dineout and as a couple. The service and food have been great every time. The vegan options are clearly labeled on the menu, and the owner is very passionate about her business and providing a quality experience. Several times she has made vegan items not listed on the menu for us. Vegan items are clearly labeled in the print menu.
I like the basil dishes and the stir-fries.
Link to this page from your site. Entry info .
Return to Maplewood Vegetarian Restaurants & Health Food Store Listings
Business Owners, if you see an unfair review, read this.
Why was my review removed? - details
Reviews are not endorsed by HappyCow - review terms
Has Bambu closed, shut down, moved, or changed? Please use the Update Form.
This page has been viewed 828 times.
Nearby Listings
View MoreTongue in Cheek
Tanpopo Noodle Shop
The Bulldog
Be the first to review
0 reviewsMusic Forest Cafe