Sao Asian Bistro
2800 17th St, Marion, IL, 62959
Sao Asian Bistro Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Marion for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Marion for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Marion for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
2800 17th St
Marion, IL, 62959 - Phone (618) 993-2828
- Website https://www.saoasianbistro.com/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 9:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : No
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Trendy, Classy, Upscale
Noise Level : Quiet
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
Chinese Cuisine
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
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Myers S.
The food was ok. I asked for extra spicy. It came out sweeter than it should have. The general tsaos chicken was like honey chicken. The spice was non existent.
(3)Foodie F.
Wow! The quality of this asian food was totally unexpected for a stop in Marion. You have to try this place! It's clean, great service and the food is excellence.
(5)Heather G.
Waited a while for someone to come to our table. While my boyfriend was in the restroom he watched an employee try to leave without washing his hands. Then we finally ordered, waiting...waiting...just as we were about to leave cash and leave, the food came out. Boyfriend got shrimp pad Thai, I got Singapore noodles with vegetables. I asked for no egg, but my dish was swimming in scrambled eggs. For the sake of time, I just picked them out. Then we got the bill. A weekday lunch Shrimp pad Thai was somehow valued at $14.88! When we asked why, because on the menu it states pad Thai noodles as $8.59, where are they coming up with this price? The manager says, "I'm sorry your server should have told you, if you have meat there is an up charge..." Of $6.00! It was not worth $15, sorry lady. Food was good, I'll give them that. But overpriced for the ambiance and experience. Do yourself a favor and pass on this place.
(1)MARIE B.
This place was FANTABULOUS! I was acknowledged right away AND served like a queen! The female bartender was excellent and her recommendations were outstanding, given my carb counting-high protein diet to maintain my figure. :). Anyway, do NOT let any of these reviews fool you. If you know what you want and how to EXPLAIN your desired preparation of your meals, you will NOT be disappointed. I have traveled around the world and know great foods, especially the flavors of Asia. Folks, work with your bartenders and waiters/waitresses and I am sure your palate will thank you and your belly! Happy eating and embrace the good people of this wonderful place who, I am sure, will make you feel right at home! :)
(5)Jamila H.
Not good!! It took a while for someone to come to our table. The food had absolutely no flavor. The owner walked around and came to our table. He tried to make things right by taking $1 off (really!?!). I ate all my food, but my husband didn't finish his. I ordered the vegetable stir fry and my husband order vegetable fried rice. Was a complete waste of money.
(1)Tom C.
Horrible. If you like spaghetti, get the pad thai. Expensive, and gross. $18 for the worse pad thai I've ever had. Peppered steak could have been dog food.
(1)Nathan S.
This establishment seems a bit out of place but it truly is amazing. The moment you walk in it seems you have been transported to a trendy city restaurant with great service. The food was well above average for my expectations upon arriving. Whether you are part of a large party or a single person you will get the feeling you are the only customer and that shows in the service. A previous comment referenced the restrooms so I had to check it out and they were spot on! What a hidden gem in Marion! Will be back for sure.
(5)Richard W.
Food was delicious. Plates were a bit on the small side, be prepared to get a second dish for a full size meal.
(4)Brooke M.
I love the food here, but the service is terrible. I've gone in on multiple occasions where there are less than five tables occupied and still it takes forever to get service, and you have to flag someone down for refills. I continue to go because I love the food, but they should really work on training their servers better.
(3)Rod C.
This place puzzles me. Driving through rural Southern Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee, all we would see along the highway was the typical fast food and Cracker Barrel type places. So when I found this upscale asian bistro on Yelp, I wasn't sure what to think. It seems so out of place. From the building, to the wait staff, to the food, everything seems like it belongs in a trendy suburb of a big city. But putting aside the fact that this restaurant somehow unfortunately got picked up by a flying saucer and plopped down in the middle of nowhere, our experience was pretty good. Everything was tasty and the service was very good. The restrooms were immaculate too, which is always a plus when you're doing a long interstate road trip. I enjoyed the kung pao chicken and the crab rangoon. I would definitely stop here again if we're ever passing through the same area.
(4)Glenda W.
Oh my! Who would think you would find gourmet dining on a highway stop? Fantastic food and ambiance and inspiring personal story from the owner. I will always make this a stop.
(5)Gary B.
The food was great. A Little expensive. The service was terrible. The servers seem to not know what each other is doing. Had to go fetch the doorman just to get some sweetener for tea. Had two servers promise they would be back with sweetener but never showed.
(2)Matt B.
I had low expectations going into this place, as I couldn't imagine a place in the middle of nowhere Southern Illinois had decent Asian food. But surprisingly, the food is quite good here. Best described as Asian Fusion, Asian Bistro can be compared to PF Chang's. The food therein is not exactly authentic Asian, but is quite tasty. I would shy away from the sushi, as it's not particularly good. All the full meals I've had have been very satisfying. EDIT: Their Asian beer selection, upon further review, is not all that extensive. Half a dozen, at absolute most. I had this at four stars before because I liked the selection, but since it's not that good, I'm removing a star. Meh.
(3)Hang T.
Think of this place as if it was a slightly smaller, non-franchised version of P.F. Chang's. When you walk in, the decor is pretty nice, red mahogany and etched windows all around. This place is clean and well-managed. It is a little dark inside though and needs more natural lighting. Even though there was a Chinese chef in the back, you can really tell how authentic the food is when a restaurant spends a lot of time and money into the decor. I usually take it as a sign that it is an Americanized Chinese restaurant. On to the food. Prices are very reasonable during lunch and the portions are good. Less than ten bucks. We came here for lunch and the dishes come with either hot and sour or egg drop soup. We tried the hot and sour and it was watered down and salty. Next up was the Asian spring salad. Now I knew this dish was not Asian because it was a salad with strawberries in it. Throughout all my years of eating Asian food, I've never seen a salad with fruit on it from an authentic restaurant. It was good with its light strawberry dressing, but the dressing got watered down towards the bottom of the dish. It tasted really bland towards the end. Also, if you plan to order this, make sure it's your meal or you are sharing with a lot of people because it's too much salad. Their best dish in my opinion is the General Sao's chicken. It should be since it is their signature dish. The chicken was nicely cooked with golden sweet and sour sauce on top of it. I also ordered the chicken in black bean sauce. In the beginning, it was really good, but it was salt in the dish started building up and I had to stop eating. Overall I would say that this place has decent Chinese food. Not authentic, but decent. Some of their dishes are overly salted or watered down, but you can trust that the restaurant is clean. The servers were fine, nothing amazing about the service, but at least they weren't slacking off. I would come back to this place as it is the best Chinese food I've tried in these parts so far.
(3)Barb B.
On our way home and stopped in Marion for the night. We were not expecting anything more than the typical chain restaurants. To our surprise had a wonderful meal of steamed pot stickers (fabulous sauce) and General Sao's chicken. Delicious. And the owner came from the kitchen and stopped by our table...sign of a class act. Will stop here again as we travel back and forth to FL.
(5)Richy N.
Had the Ahi Tuna Steak with Miso Sauce and it was delicious!
(4)Dan Z.
Not bad overall. After I had to wait 10 minutes to get the bar tender to actually come out to the bar to take my order,I was a little perturbed. The dumplings were good and very tasty! The Garlic chicken was...different. Not so much garlic and a little spicy, which was a nice surprise! The fried rice was just OK. $30 for the appetizer and two main entrees was a bit expensive I thought. I'd go back again and try other things!
(3)Mike K.
Very good and fresh...pretty clean for a Asian place....the food is plentiful but the prices are big city prices.....I would expect to pay this in Washington, St. Louis, Nashville, or Chicago...NOT Marion, IL. I've had several different dishes and never been disappointed.....but every time I go, it is empty...I wonder how this place will stay in business.
(3)David T.
Actually, a pretty decent Chinese restaurant for southern Illinois. Going here I wasn't expecting much, but when the food came out I was somewhat surprised. Yes, their portions are kind of small, especially for the price, but they make up for it with the taste. I get the General's chicken and the sauce is superb as well as the chicken being perfectly breaded, and not too heavy as you would have at your traditional Chinese restaurant. In addition, their service is attentive and professional. I would recommend this restaurant. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because the prices are a little too high for the serving size. Also, it does take a little longer than some Chinese restaurants. Still, you do get a soup with the lunch meal, unlike some Chinese restaurants in the area.
(4)Mr S.
Seated as soon as a table was available by dedicated hostess, nice waiting lobby, beautiful outside seating with fountains and decorative garden. Agree with others that the appearance of the place and ambiance is professional and comfortable. One of our group waited at bar and found two HDTVs with separate channels on, and volume actually up 'just loud enough' that those at bar could follow the sport without disturbing the rest. Nice touch. Outstanding specialties like the Pot-Stickers (best I've had) and some uniquely well-done dishes like their Honey-Crispy Chicken. Hands down my daughter's favorite now, as other's plain Honey-Chicken can't touch this. They were willing to make some minor custom requests like adding a bit of heat to one, substituting pork for a dish that didn't have that offered as an option, added some basil to another, and dropping eggplant out of another, with no cost or reluctance, and each dish was served quickly and correctly as-ordered. All were well-worth the reasonable prices and we intend to come back and bring friends. The owner (Sao?) even came out to personally check that all of our orders were satisfactory, and seemed genuinely interested and friendly.
(5)Kay J.
We had a 20 minute wait at 7pm on a Friday night so we had a drink at the bar. 5 drinks - 2 were non-alcoholic - $25.00. No one ordered call drinks so this was a bit pricy. Our server was very friendly. Maybe a bit too friendly. Our food was quite good. We shared a smoked salmon sushi appitizer and pot stickers. I had a Korean bar-b-que beef dish that was meant to be served as a lettuce wrap with carrots and cucumbers. The pineapple chicken was excellent and came with a prettily carved fresh quarter of pineapple. The other entrees were tastey and attractive. Order the brown rice for an extra buck. The bill for 5 people with 4 drinks came to $125 plus tip.
(3)Mike S.
Amazing food, and much better service than I expected. Definitely will be back. I had the Thai Spicy Beef and the misses had the Honey crispy chicken and both were incredible. Also had a good waiter named Thomas who went above and beyond. The entire wait staff was kind, and courteous.
(5)Steve H.
A little more upscale than most of the Asian spots in the area. It's a nice place to take a date without breaking your bank and the food is really good. My favorite is the Empress Shrimp by far. Nice plump shrimp with spicy plum sauce. My girlfriend enjoys the honey chicken which is also tasty. The entrees are huge portions and come with enough rice for a few people. You could get away with ordering one entree and it would be enough for two. The actually bring it out in a huge dish with two spoons. I love it when restaurants encourage sharing.
(4)Christina V.
Very clean. Great service. Hot and sour soup was fine. Brown rice available! So...why the 2 stars? I was very sick that evening in my hotel, and I'm pretty sure it was the chicken I are there. Not awesome for a work trip, and I can't say I will ever be back, though I really wanted to love it!
(2)Ted W.
this review is upon my second visit here. I love their approach to an Asian/Latin fusion, using poblanos in their spicy Thai dishes. The restaurant is clean, the staff incredibly friendly and engaging.
(4)Matt R.
Not what I would have expected in a small town! Very nice and clean place with a lot of choices on the menu. Lettuce wraps were very good (near par with the big chain) and the Teriyaki chicken had a great flavor!
(4)Patricia M.
Beautiful restaurant. A bit pricey. The food is usually pretty good, but occasionally not. The crab Rangoon is very good. This is more of a fine dining restaurant than "fast" food.
(4)Carnation A.
Food was very fresh--a nice mixture of contemporary Asian... better than expected. Would definitely return. Agree with other reviewers that it could be compared to a PF Changs....I had the shrimp with pineapple and walnuts...quite good and quite filling. My hubby had the scallops and he also enjoyed it immensely. Portions were quite substantial...we could have shared.
(5)Jeff Z.
Pretty good chinese! Fresh ingredients.
(4)Stan P.
I had a very enjoyable experience at Sao's. I received excellent advice from server/bartender Jamie (ask for her) The food was unique and flavorful. The manager and owner were there and made me feel very welcome.
(4)Matt T.
Hands down, one of my favorite places to eat. The "Thai Spicy Chicken and Shrimp" is the best. (I add basil and it is AMAZING). Decor and atmosphere is great and is a wonderful place for lunch or dinner. Highly recommend.
(5)Cathy G.
We travel through Marion on trips from Illinois to Alabama and try to schedule our drive to include a stop at Sao's Asian Bistro. We always have their pot stickers which are as good as any that we've has in Chicago. We usually split an entee after the pot stickers and end up with plenty of food for two. We love both the food and the service as well as the quiet atmosphere. We've never had to wait and have always found the wait staff to be knowledgeable as well as accomodating when we asked for additional spice or veggies added to a dish
(4)Rahul I.
Took my wife, my mother, and my sister to this place a few years ago when I lived in Marion. The food was good. It is typical Southeast Asian restaurant. It is expensive. My mother though found the food tasting a bit fishy.
(4)Deb F.
We got excited when we saw this restaurant next to our hotel (Hampton Inn) in Marion, IL. I tried to order on the online order system but it didn't work correctly as after signing up I got an error message. I called in the order and it was ready in 20 min. The first thing we did when we got back to the hotel was to sort everything out and noticed we didn't have any eating utensils. Hampton Inn to the rescue! We had been driving for 11 hrs so by the time we got to our room, unpacked, ordered and received our food we were really hungry so sort of over ordered. But, we had left overs for the next day. My husband ordered Red Curry chicken and said it was very good-above average. He also had the Crab Ragoon that was average. I had the fried dumplings that were average. What was above average was the dipping sauce, not too sweet with a tang to it. I had the combination Lo mien and also though that was above average on the flavor and amount of meat. I ordered a dessert which traveled home with us. The dessert was a white-chocolate raspberry torte. I guess I was tired because I focused in on the word "chocolate" so was expecting dark chocolate, lol. But, the dessert was heavenly. I could not eat it in one sitting but enjoyed it throughout my road trip home the next day, I even let my husband have a "bite." Bottom line-I would go back and if I am in the area again, would love to sit at the restaurant and have the experience of it all, along with good food. I give it a three start because of the missing eating utensils and the fact that I need to go back and sit in the restaurant to give it an all over rating.
(3)Joey H.
As I said during dinner, "There isn't any one place like this in the Bay, there's thousands of places like this." I asked the waitress which appetizer she'd order, Crab Rangoon or Cheese wonton thingy. She went with the wonton cheese thing which says three is served on plate, but I only receive two. As for me, not likely to return my order or complain because I could use less cheese in my diet. My entree consisted of Garlic Chicken which I was thinking would taste like how I have it at any Thai restaurant. My first taste was new because there was hardly any garlic, which takes away the fact that its a garlic chicken dish. I did like the proportion because I was able to take some for my plane trip home. So, sitting in the Denver United terminal, I luckily found a plastic fork in my bag and really enjoyed my room temperature 'garlic' chicken. Wait, how come I took away another star. Well, my co-worker just had to ask for so much, plus they mixed up his entree with another. But it didn't come out pretty quick and sizzling. Like I said, I've tasted garlic chicken, and this wasn't garlic chicken.
(3)