Their Laotian/Thai/Asian food is delicious! We typically get their food delivered, and it is always delicious. I really like their curries, including curried noodles. Pho is also nice on a cold day or a sick day. I have heard they have a weekday lunch buffet that I want to try one day.
(5)
Josh D.
This place is awesome. My favorite lunch buffet in the city, $9.50 all you can eat thai. Can't beat it. Walk in grab a plate sit down, grab another or 2 and then head out at your leisure. Dinner is even better. I've been ordering delivery since it opened up and this is a regular spot for my family. Some of the best thai noodle dishes I've had. Curries are excellent as well.
(4)
Lori N.
We have come here every other day since we discovered they have awesome buffet! The food is pretty authentic and so delicious.
(4)
Elissa B.
I had a rough week at work and needed Thai to pull me through. My favorite place was closed! Disaster! Calm down, time to try one from the bookmark list. No one answers the phone! Drama ensues! Elissa throws a damn fit!! Luckily my boyfriend is cool as a cucumber when I'm having a toddler meltdown and suggested Mekong since it's close and delivers. If Rick R gives it a decent review, that's a good enough sign for me. (Because Heaven help us all if this food turned out not to be good - I was in a dark place) GREAT NEWS, KIDS. Mekong has delicious food!! Angels sing, sun shines upon me, and balance is moderately restored to my world. I had the panang curry, which is a fave of mine at all Thai restaurants. It was peanutty and spicy, with perfectly cooked tofu and veggies. My heart wanted to eat it all in one sitting, but luckily my stomach filled up quick because Thai leftovers are beautiful. Boyfriend had one of the noodle dishes (I forget which, forgive me), which was very good as well. My only note is that delivery took kind of a long time. Not unreasonable, but I don't usually wait 45 minutes on a Tuesday, you know? But it wasn't a big enough deal to me. I will definitely be getting food from Mekong again.
(4)
Dorothy A.
Food is good but there is a loooooong wait even for appetizers. I must not mind that much as I keep coming back. Don't come here if you are in a rush to eat or have somewhere to go. Recommend: Pud Kee Mow with pork and Pud See Ewe with shrimp. Of course try the Mango Bubble Tea.
(4)
Carrie M.
We REALLY love this great place across the street from Wauwatosa and Washington Heights. It's nice enough for a "date night" yet casual enough to bring the kids. With three cuisines to choose from, Thai, Laotian and Vietnamese, there is literally something for everyone. Among my favorites is the Pud Kee Mow, or "Drunken Man's Noodles", a rich, savory dish with thick, chewy noodles, veggies and your choice of meats, including chicken, tofu, pork or duck. Panang Curry is a tiny bit spicy, but deliciously nuanced with coconut milk, carrots, straw mushrooms and again, a choice of meats or tofu. The Tom Kha is my favorite soup there, at least now that their special Mekong Soup is no longer on the menu (hint, hint, owners). Grandma Chanta's special homemade sausage is a delight as well, as is the different varieties of duck on the menu--I'm especially fond of the lemongrass duck. For the less adventurous, there are several varieties of fried rice. Mekong Cafe just introduced a juice bar, and tonight we sampled both the Vigor Juice, which includes beet root, apple, strawberry and orange juices and Pineapple Zing, pineapple, lemon, orange and apple, both sweetened with honey. Yummmmmm. All in all, this is one of my favorite Asian places in the city, and what I love best is that every single dish has its own distinct flavor and character. Reasonable prices, good portion sizes, delicious food, what's not to like?
(4)
Dylani H.
I am kinda torn in opinions about this place. After going through the long long menu of. Thai, Chinese ,Vietnamese and generic items i feel that this restaurant lacks identity . Having said that here is my overall review; Ambiance - don't expect this place to be a fancy restaurant. This is an a-ok place with ample space and basic seating. Service- friendly staff Food- thai food was sub par and non memorable Beef fried rice was ok Crab Rangoon were actually awful and over fried brining the overall rating to about 2.5 however"........ ----Must try---- rated 5 Beef Pad see Ew - yummy-licious Lettuce wraps- holy mammoth...these are huge portions !!
(3)
Batilly H.
I've been here a few times - the food is on point although only until recently have I ordered anything else other than the Pud See Ew. At least they're consistently good! I would recommend dining-in, since ordering to-go always takes a lot longer than anticipated. They are generous with their food portions, so I don't mind dining in and taking rest (most) of the food to-go. This is going to be a review of all the food tried up to this point. Pud See Ew - Delicious! Thick rice noodles with plenty of broccoli and chicken for now and later. I would add a little heat to it, but I'm a wimp so 2 is about as hot as it gets. If you like mushrooms, adding the straw mushrooms is a plus! Larb (Chicken) - My friend loves this dish. It's cooked, yet served cold so I thought that was a bit odd. However, it's seasoned well and has a nice balanced palate. A little dry when you compare it to the rest of the dishes tried to date. Seafood Pho - I've ordered this to go, and the thing is huge. Everything comes separately so your noodles don't get soggy by the time you get it. They are pretty generous with their toppings so there is definitely enough to share. Or just drink that whole broth by yourself. Whatever's your pleasure! The broth is seasoned slightly different than the regular pho, almost preferred - less MSG or something. I dig it! Stir-Fry Pineapple - My gf ordered this and we were both pleasantly surprised by how deliciously sweet and saucy it was! Not normally a fan of cooked fruit, I thought it was well-seasoned, not too pineappley - it adds just enough touch of sweet for the salty. There was a good balance of sauce (however it kind of went away when she ate it the next day) But still, she was glad she branched out! Pud Oyster Sauce - To me, this is pretty much the Pud See Ew without the noodles. Tastes are pretty similar, this once is saucier. They're both so delicious. I order this when I don't feel eating noodles Mekong Sizzling Platter Combo - Okay - I saved the best for last. This piping hot plate of lightly battered chicken with a tenderized steak drizzled in spicy volcano sauce is the fruit to my loom. My friend ordered this when we dined together and I hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. Finally, I dragged my gf to dine in the following weekend and I was not disappointed. It's the dish that turn heads when it exits the kitchen. There is ample food for two on that platter. I love how crunchy the chicken is, drenched in that chili garlic sauce, adding to my mouthful of rice. And then you want a slice of that steak (you can practically slice it with a butter knife except there is no room on that platter to cut it!). I would probably recommend getting that steak cubed before bringing to the table, but maybe keeping the steak is what keeps it tender? AND THAT SAUCE THOUGH. WHO ARE YOU? WHO CREATED YOU? WHY ARE YOU SO DELICIOUS? It's a cross between chili sauce, garlic sauce and fish sauce...and a whole lotta mmm Mmmm Mmmm. Basically, don't visit this place WITHOUT ORDERING THIS DISH. They have chicken/steak, steak/shrimp, chicken/shrimp options - it'll cost ya about $20 but it's damn well worth it. I must add that their juice bar is pretty yummy too. I am so glad there is finally a boba place in the Tosa area. And they use real fruit for their fruit smoothies, none of that weird powder crap that make you question your life choices. If you follow them on Facebook or sign up for their mailing list, you know about their monthly specials - this month, all boba is $5.00! YUMMY YUMMY! I also must add that half the time, their service is slow. Our server took forever to take our orders, didn't come to ask us how the food was and then I had to flag him down to pack the food up. However, the previous time, the server was great. I think if you get one that doesn't speak very good English, it's gonna be a minute. Drink some water...or something. Hence the four stars instead of five. Such a shame.
(4)
Rick R.
I'm still a big fan of this place. It's been too long since my last visit, but I was off work yesterday, so I felt I should see if the food was still good. it is. In fact, it was even better than I remember! I've dined here with a large group before, ordering off the menu, but the food in the buffet tastes just as fresh, and oftne is fresh if you go at the right time. There are a lot of options for $8.95. Yesterday's included Chicken Tom Kha soup, Veggie Tom Yum soup, Pork Larb, Beef Pud Prig, Tofu Pad Thai, Tofu and Veggies, Garlic Pork, fried rice, white rice, Yellow Curry with chicken, Veggie Spring rolls, crab rangoon, fried plantains, and at least three other entrees I can't recall. Everything was hot and delicious! I wish they offered a Saturday or Sunday lunch/brunch buffet. It;s just too hard to pick one item from the menu. I love getting a few bites of several items instead. Lunch or dinner, if you're craving Southeast Asian food, Mekong Cafe is tough to beat. It also made Carol Deptolla's Top 30 Resturants list for 2014, so at least one professional critic loves it, too!
(4)
Aubrey G.
Though we live close by, my honey doesn't like Thai food nor Chinese food that much, so.... I went by myself for lunch. I've been wanting to try this place for a couple of years, now. I was surprised at how large the dining area was and the ambiance. Very nice space with quiet southeast Asian music and decorations. I was also surprised to see a large buffet table. (The regular menu was also presented to me when I entered the location). I checked out the buffet before I decided what to order. Wow! Great stuff. (See my pix). Getting the lunch buffet was a no brainer; and only $8.95. Can't remember what the names of everything was, but I tasted about 75% of the offerings, including but not limited to cabbage salad, Thai/Vietnamese noodles (accompanied by a really delicious cocoanut, peanut 'gravy/sauce' in a separate bowl), Crab rangoon, two kinds of chicken, crispy pork, tomato/cuke salad, fried rice, etc... I REALLY liked this place and will definitely be going out of my way to eat here from now on.
(4)
Mog Y.
My husband and I always drive by this place but we were always hesitant to try it. After much yelping and looking over the menu we decided to try their lunch buffet. And it was more than we had expected! The variety of food was very good. Everything was well seasoned, not too overly salted. If you're hmong you know the dish with beef boiled with tripe and tons of herbs.. well to our surprise, they had it! It was really good, just as good as homemade! And their chicken laab/larb was really good, very moist and full of flavor. Their curry was on point as well and all the other dishes were delicious! I have been dreaming of going back and I cant wait to order other items on their menu! For lunch buffet, you cant go wrong with $8/person!! Going back forsure!! Btw their strawberry bubble tea was the prefect amount of sweetness!!
(5)
Sarah K.
Walked in and placed an order to go. It took less than 10 minutes to get two different orders for a friend and myself. I absolutely LOVE the Green Curry with tofu! As with any Thai-Viet restaurant, you never know what kind of heat you are going to get on a given day. The peppers are biting and mouthwatering. Not the best area, but I think it is definitely worth a try!
(4)
Sarah D.
I have been here many times in last few years and quality has gone down a lot!! I ordered the beef red curry and the beef smelled so bad and tasted so funky and chewy. Pretty sure the beef was bad or old. Totally turned me off and needless to to say I tossed everything. Sad to take this place off my list of options.
(3)
Mary M.
this is my first time I ever visiting the cafe. I thought that the interior was very calming and inviting. Perfect for a lunch date with your significant other or one or two friends. it was hard to choose what i wanted because the menu was so versatile. I decided on soup because I wasn't feeling that well and head congestion all that day. it was served piping hot just like I liked it! the flavor was very tasty. and have a good gaming background to the soup. next time I think I'll try their sandwiches.
(3)
Amanda H.
After moving to Tosa this summer, I was delighted to find that there was actually a place nearby that serves Pho! I've ordered take-out from Mekong several times and they're always quick, friendly and the food is delicious. It's such a treat to be able to order carry-out that isn't your usual Chinese food fair. Mekong has so much to choose from (meat, curry and noodle dishes) and a few different cultural cuisines that always afford you try something different from the last time. It's on a very busy intersection of 60th and North Ave, and sometimes finding parking takes a bit, but it is so worth it! I'd definitely recommend this little cafe to anyone in the Tosa area.
(4)
Steffany X.
When I got there, my friend and I weren't greeted but stared at by the staff that were talking about their lives. Once they were done talking, we finally were seated. After being seated, we waited about 10 minutes until someone came and took our order (we were the only people there). After the waitress took my order, she started walking off until I stopped her because she didn't take my friend's order yet. It was awkward because the waitress didn't even apologize, she just thought that my friend and I were sharing (I ordered an appetizer and an entree). When our food came, the waitress almost dropped the food on me, which she did not apologize. The food had no flavor, my larb tasted like black pepper with some kind of soy sauce and my friend's fried rice was all greasy. This was the first time I had bad Thai food, I will not be returning.
(1)
Lacey A.
3.5 stars, based on buffet only. While the flavors are pretty good, the food on a buffet was only lukewarm and had been sitting for quite a while without being refilled or stirred. A couple dishes were almost completely out, tom yum soup had little of anything left in it, some dishes had had the meat picked out, and the rice had dried, hard grains in it. We had arrived 1.5 hours before the end of the buffet, too, so it's not like we just caught the tail end. We asked if things were going to be refilled, and the server immediately went to the buffet to see what was needed and told the kitchen, who proceeded to refills things. So A+ for following through and service (everyone was always ready with water refills or dirty plate taking, though tables could have been cleaned better before the next customer). I like that the buffet has a number of salads every day, since I love Vietnamese and Thai salads. The noodles in the bun were completely stuck together, though, so they were a little difficult to navigate, though once you got it on your plate it was delicious. The nuoc cham was a little on the sweet side, but that's nothing more fish sauce from the condiment bottle can't fix. Chicken Laab was also refreshing. Favorites on the hot side were the crying tiger beef (really, just because of the sauce) and Thai grilled chicken and potatoes. The potatoes were amazingly creamy with a little crunch on the exterior. It was more of a dry stir fry with a deep curry flavor which was fantastic. I did not like the sweet and sour chicken, but I have never liked that ketchupy pineapple sauce and this version was no different to me. I did wish there was a stir fried noodle dish available. The crab rangoon were giant with a ton of filling, but it was mostly plain cream cheese and lacked seasoning. Overall, the flavors were good, but I wished it was all Thai dishes instead of some Chinese things thrown in. No one was really attending to the buffet, stirring items to keep them hot and from drying out, or watching what needed refilling (If I had not asked about it, I don't think things would have been refilled). I've been to a couple other lunch buffets that were operated better (Indian Buffet on 76th and Royal Garden on Silver Spring). That will not prevent me from trying Mekong again, though perhaps I will either go earlier during the lunch hour, or order from their regular menu. Because the buffet items change every day, I am excited to try new things again.
(3)
Quinn P.
I ordered Bangkok noodles and Banh cuon for to go. The moment I got home, there was no soup in the container since it was all spilled into the plastic bag and some got into the dry noodles box. Luckily enough it did not get in banh cuon box. However, one of 2 fish sauce containers spilled inside the banh cuon box. And trust me I am no racer. I am giving them 1 star since my $20 bucks got wasted and I had to clean up the mess.
(1)
A N.
This is my favorite Thai place in Milwaukee. I judge Thai places based off the deliciousness of their Pad Kee Mao (my favorite dish). Mekong Cafe makes their noodles from scratch, and the Pad Kee Mao noodles are super thick rice noodles which end up slightly crispy on outside and chewy on inside. It is so amazing that it reset my bar for awesome. I don't know if I will be able to eat at another Thai place again without wishing for Mekong Cafe... FYI: Their hot is REALLY hot. The papaya salad made me cry multiple times (way too hot for me, but so good I couldn't stop eating it.)
(5)
Dallas W.
Since the temperature was below zero today in Milwaukee, all I was craving was a hot bowl of pho. Went ahead and gave this place a shot, and (almost) everything was on point! For an appetizer, we had the fresh spring rolls with shrimp. It is served with your choice of a peanut sauce or red chili sauce, and we enjoyed both. The hint of cilantro is nice in the rolls. Since it was delivery, they brought the ingredients for the pho on the side, which was great because the greens and such weren't soggy or overdone by the time it got to us. My only Complaint with the pho is the pork was a little dry. For our main dish we ordered curry panang with duck. I love curry, and this was on point. We ordered the medium heat, which was perfect. It came with white rice. But we also got a side of pork fried rice-- a little different from your traditional Chinese rice. It was also delicious. We will definitely be ordering from here again.
(4)
Mina V.
My husband and I never got served. They took our order, left us, and then we slowly watched everyone else around us (who arrived later than us) get their food before we did. It was a very painful experience. We waited 35 minutes and no one checked up on us. I don't care how their food is because we will never come back to try it. Oh yeah, and parking was a pain. Mekong Cafe is located in such a busy corner of town. But good thing we don't have to worry about that anymore because we are never coming back. And one last thing: it smells like nail salon in there. Lost my appetite the minute we walked in.
(1)
Kal M.
Delicious! We ordered a delivery and it was delivered quite fast. Food was very fresh and delicious. I ordered the Ramayana veggie- veggies were fresh, loved the peanut sauce. My husband ordered the Mekong chicken and for once, compared to other restaurants, it was as spicy as he requested it to be. The delivery guy forgot to bring the juices (which were buy one get one half off) so he gave us the food, didn't take our money and said he'd be back. He came back with two delicious cold pressed juices! So happy to have finally tried this place.
(5)
Peter B.
Pho-mazing! Ask your server for recommendations! the pan noodle appetizer was something id never had before and it rocked my noodle world. And chicken and seafood Pho were also flavorful and very generous portions. I'll definitely be back!
(5)
Chad M.
I love this place! Seriously, like everytime I get a curry craving it's off to Mekong. Of course they have the staples like Pud Thai, Tom Kha soup, Spring Rolls and other dishes, but the Mussamun Curry with Chicken is my favorite. The staff is always friendly, but it's a small business so there usually aren't too many people working there and they have a lot of tasks. The decor is minimal, but comfortable and it's a great place to go when a craving strikes.
(4)
Randy B.
My wife and I really enjoy Thai food and try it almost everywhere we go. We went for the lunch buffet and really weren't impressed. We tried nearly half the dishes and really can't say much stood out as excellent, let alone good. Perhaps it was because it was the buffet. If so then they should stop serving it. If you can't do something well, then don't do it's all. Either way, we won't be back. There are at least three better options within the greater area - Sticky Rice, pacific Bistro and Thai-na-mite.
(2)
Andy F.
Really really loved my experience today! I went to Mekong Cafe with my fiance after an extensive search for local Thai food. We saw this and decided to give it a try. The location is kind of difficult to maneuver and we were forced to find street parking, which is typical for the city. Nonetheless we came in with high expectations, and as we walked in the restaurant is very spacious, well organized tables with a presentable set up. You select your own table to sit in, which I found kind of odd but whatever. As soon as we were seated, we weere served water and given menus. The menu was fairly large, with the selections of Thai/Vietnamese/Laotian cuisine as well as a small kids meal section, vegetarian options, and the reknown drinks from Vietnam. All of the options in the menu were well described, and the waiting staff were well educated of what the dishes consisted of and the optiions. Although we weren't asked if we'd like drinks I can kind of see why when our meals finally came around. We ordered crab rangoons and they were very creamy and no crab in them (from what I could taste) and it came with plum sauce which was absolutely amazing! Great overrall, would definitely have again. One thing you must note is that the wait time here from when the wait staff came around to ask us for our orders (when we first were seated), the appetizer arriving and then the main course was quite the wait but my fiance and I didn't seem to care at the time but I can see possible issues arising from it. Regardless we loved our meals, nice and spicy and very generous portions at that! This is definitely a place I would visit again with friends and family!
(4)
Matty P.
I enjoyed here for the first time today. Their lunch buffet is vivid and changes daily, which is really neat. It was very quiet, and you seat yourself. The staff is polite and helpful. I will certainly come back! Also, they deliver to our neighborhood. New joint: approved.
(5)
Mikal P.
Consistently great SE Asian food for lunch. Buffet has expanded and includes a good mix of American favs and "native" fare. Good service and fair prices make this one of my favs.
(5)
Michelle T.
First time getting delivery. Delivered in time frame quoted. Got Pad Thai with chicken and crab Rangoon. Delicious!!!! Would definitely order from again!
(5)
Elizabeth J.
We have only ever ordered delivery from here. We are fortunate to live close by. This is, by far, the best Asian food with delivery that we have found. And my parents always want to order when they come to visit because they have nothing like it where they live. We've always had good service and food but last night we had a bit of an order mishap. We ordered two types of pad thai and somehow they only delivered (and charged) for one. Since we were feeding a lot of people, my husband called up and reordered our other dish. They very quickly made it and sent it over. The service after this miscommunication was great and just cemented us even more as regular customers.
(4)
Nicole W.
I was really not impressed with this place, although my friends seemed to enjoy their meals. Although we had a reservation, the place did not seem prepared for our group of 10 at all. The food came out over a 20 minute period, leaving some people half way through by the time others had gotten their plates. The thai iced coffee had clearly been brewed long ago and was oxidized and stale. Although the menu says they have bubble tea, I was informed when I ordered it that it was actually more like a smoothie (what?) I cancelled the order so I can't tell you if it was good or not, as I had been expecting tea. Finally, I ordered pud thai with tofu and it was pretty much inedible. The tofu was cooked really nicely but the noodles were undercooked and tasted as though they'd been soaked in vinegar. Now, I'm one of those people that drinks apple cider vinegar for fun, so for me to say it was too vinegary is pretty bad. The restaurant was big enough to accommodate our group, the service was attentive, and the portions were generous, but I think that about covers the positive aspects of my meal here. I left hungry and cranky.
(1)
Krust N.
So much yum. The pho is delicious. Their weekday buffet is fresh and tasty. My fav. Dinner dish is the ginger noodles. They best way I can describe it is fresh.
(5)
D. M.
Pretty darn good food, a decent selection of dishes from Laos too which is always a treat. I like that when you ask for 4 out of 4 star heat the food is spicy! The restaurant is big, relatively clean, and the servers friendly and informative. I'm definitely coming back to this restaurant and would choose it over many in Milwaukee proper.
(4)
May B.
I ordered a ton of takeout food from this place and got to try quite a few things. We got the sample appetizer platter - which was a ton of food in itself. Some of it was a bit greasy, but overall good deal and pretty good variety for a sampler. I ordered the Bankok Noodles. It wasn't as hot (temperature-wise) as I would have liked, the soup was tasty, but not quite what I was envisioning. The red curry we ordered however was the best part of the meal. The curry was spicy, great consistency and very tasty. I'll have to try some other items off their menu next time, but their curry is definitely worth the trip.
(4)
S V.
Took my mom here for dinner a couple nights ago and the food was delicious yet again! The crab rangoons are creamy, warm and the pastry is crunchy yet melts in your mouth. The tom yum soup is flavorful and light with just a touch of spice. Mekong now also has a juice bar- I tried the jungle juice and it was surprisingly good for something with spinach and cucumber (there's other ingredients in there, too). For entrees, mom had the lemongrass duck (nice tangy sauce but the duck fat stays on the bird and some of the crispy pieces were a little dry) and I tried something with chicken, stir fried tomatoes and zucchini and a brown sauce, very tasty and fresh. The staff is always friendly and prompt, offering to pack up your food at the end of dinner and the portions are so big I've got leftovers for a whole other meal.
(5)
Brittany R.
Ugh! Terrible! TERRIBLE! We ordered delivery from Mekong tonight, because our normal Thai restaurant wasn't answering their phone. We ordered the Beef Pad See Ew and Chicken Pad Thai. (Pud Thai). The noodles in the Pad See Ew were gummy and WAY overcooked - almost the consistency of a gummy bear or other gummy candy. The Pad Thai was chopped up like a chop salad, and even dishing it up you could tell it was extremely overcooked - it was dry, dry, dry. They provided a HUGE portion of Pad Thai to us, which I can only guess was their way of unloading the not-wanted leftover food in their kitchen, as it tasted and looked as if it had been sitting out for hours. SO disappointed. I've been suggesting we try this place for a long time, and due to it's location my husband never wanted to give it a shot -- because Pattaya wasn't answering their phone (??), and we were both in the mood for asian style food, we finally tried it. Never again.
(1)
Anton K.
Ate there for lunch on a Friday and had their buffet for $8.95. They had a great assortment of salad and appetizers, soup, entrees, and dessert. We'll definitely return on a different day to see if they change up the offerings. Tried the papaya salad, curry beef, spring roll, Mekong chicken, and other items. I'm new to Vietnamese cuisine, but enjoyed all the offerings, some spicy, which I enjoy, but the dishes were not overpowering.
(4)
Yeng C.
Even though I find Mekong Cafe to be more expensive than other Thai restaurants, they are the only Thai restaurant in town that delivers to my house in Washington Heights. Thai food is one of my favorites and I have to say that Mekong Cafe's yellow curry is one of the most authentic and delicious I've ever had. I have also dined there before and the service was great and the portions were huge. I look forward to trying their buffet soon!
(5)
Angela D.
Always love Mekong Cafe and their family recipes. Good service and fast delivery. Kahn the manager is always friendly and helpful. Last night favorites Crying Tiger sliced steak limes, basil cilantro and a special chili sauce, lettuce to make a wrap. Nam Kow is rice lettuce wrap filled with great flavors of curry, coconut, ham and peanuts. Crispy salty goodness. A go to if you are hung over. Chicken Larb. Is a great low carb meal.
(5)
Ling C.
Get the pud kee mow!! Our waiter was wonderful and made the best recommendations. Ask for Kahn... He's the nicest guy. My boyfriends parents got Lad Na and Larb. They loved it and it tasted wonderful with the sticky rice.
(5)
Mindy N.
I've been here 3 times, the menu features a wide variety of Asian dishes such as Laos, Thai and Vietanamese. The service is wonderful. It has a neighborhood feel, large portions and good value.
(5)
Terra C.
Great portion sizes. Yellow curry was delicious. Crab Rangoon was really tasty. Nice spot to try. Will definitely go again!
(3)
Lei L.
Really the only Thai food in Tosa, it's not bad! We come here when we need a Thai fix. The restaurant itself is in a busy street corner, dining space is okay and moderately sized. The food generally is pretty good though not the best Thai ever, but it hits the spot. Pad thia is decent. The Tom yum was delicious. Their jalapeno fried rice is one of our favorites! This place also is convenient because they deliver and also sells bubble tea! Though I think their teas are made from a mix, when you need bubble tea, it doesn't matter, it's still super yummy!
(4)
Tex T.
Came here on a Sunday afternoon ( Yelp hours on here are wrong, would suggest checking restaurant website) between lunch and dinner times, so the dinning room was more or less empty. I liked the decor/ layout/music (peaceful and calming) of the restaurant and imagine that the ambiance would be wonderful when the place has some other dinners in it. Service was excellent- fast and attentive. Husband and I both loved our food- Mekong tofu and the Larb with tofu. Having been my first time at Mekong and my first time trying Larb, I was seriously happy with how much I was enjoying the food and the restaurant. The only issue with the entire experience was the spice level on the cucumber salad we ordered- in the future we will definitely get a 2 or less, 3 was way too hot. Nothing a few visits worth of experimenting can't resolve. Level 3 was perfect for our entrees though. Even though we will be dining in again, it would also make excellent takeout as well. We can't wait to try it again!
(4)
James D.
Huge portions and expensive. We got pud thai which was that florescent orange color and way too sweet, and other flavors not there. Also got the Pud Kee Mao which had very few vegetables, and extremely thick, bordering on either raw or day old noodles. The flavor was interesting but couldn't get past the condition of the noodles. Don't bother with this place.
(1)
Alice L.
I'm giving four stars for the lunch buffet only. It was so good! Really authentic flavor and a good selection including pork laab, tom yum soup, sliced steak with tomato pepper sauce, and fried shrimp chips. I would highly recommend this place for a good authentic lunch.
(4)
Nicole A.
Good thai food is challenging to find in this city. Mekong Cafe was excellent in food, presentation, portions, and service. Started with the shrimp spring rolls (non-fried version.) The vegetables were very fresh and crisp. Main course included the volcano duck and pineapple fried rice. Don't be fooled into thinking volcano means hot. The sauce was tasty sweet, the duck perfectly tender, and was accompanied with carrots and cabbage. The pineapple fried rice was a huge portion. The tofu could be a little better, and could use more cashews, but all in all a decent fried rice. There seemed to be a slight delay in service at one small point, but only noticeable if you're on a big time crunch. Since it was my birthday, they brought out a nice vanilla ice cream dessert, which was drizzled with honey, and had small deep fried plantains. I found it to be very generous. The prices might seem a $1 or $2 higher than some places, but the pineapple rice portion could probably feed a family of four.
(4)
Maura M.
My husband and I moved to Milwaukee's west side this summer. We loved EE-Sane on the east side, so we were very happy to find another Thai place close to our new home. We've had them deliver three or four times and have eaten there once. We are technically out of their delivery area, but they always seem happy to bring us our food. They generally say it will be an hour wait for delivery, which I think has been the case once. They've generally been closer to a half hour though, in our experience. Our one dine-in experience was great. The waiter was extremely friendly and helpful. He seemed like a guy I'd want to go get a beer with, and the fact that he was bringing me tasty food made him that much more appealing. So yes, the best part: the food. Mekong has a huge variety of dishes, including a bunch of stuff I've never seen at any Thai or other Asian cuisine restaurant before. We get the spring rolls almost every time. They're light and fresh and the dipping sauces are flavorful and complement the rolls well. In an attempt to find something similar to basil noodles, we ordered Pud Kee Mow with chicken. It is definitely not a basil noodles substitute, but it is delicious. I think next time we'll order it with beef (I think the dark sauce will lend itself better to beef than chicken) but it is so good, we will definitely be ordering it again. The noodles really make the dish - they are homemade and completely addicting. I'm not sure I'd describe the dish as having a "bold flavor" as their menu does, it was a little subdued in my opinion, but still delicious. The Bangkok noodles are also good. I was skeptical about the noodle + tom yum combination, but it was really the best of both worlds. I got to have both without overstuffing myself. The tom yum was comparable to EE Sane's. Again, the noodles were homemade and just so, so good. When we dined in, we both had beef pho. It came with tons of garnishes that you could add to adapt the flavor exactly to your liking. The bowl was gigantic, but I ate the entire thing because I just couldn't stop myself. Definitely a place we will keep going back to.
(4)
Denise M.
I was so excited to try this restaurant because I love love love to try various Asian dishes. This restaurant does Thai, Vietnamese and Laotian. The menu is very big and divided by nationality. We tried two appetizers thinking one didn't list cilantro (one of the diners doesn't care for it) but everything has cilantro there - I wasn't complaining. We all ordered soup. two of us ordered Tom Yum and I ordered Tom Kar Kai. The soups were very spicy hot, almost too hot, but had delicious flavor. One guest ordered Larb and it was terrible. No flavor. I ordered the Crying Tiger which would have been like beef lettuce wraps. It came with a chunk of iceburg lettuce that made it difficult to eat. The best dish at the table was my friend's sizzling plate; it was also the most expensive at $20. The three of us drink hot tea which was brewed perfectly. I might go back and give this place a second try just because I want to like it. will update review if I go back.
(3)
Nidhi K.
A couple of weeks ago, we ordered take out from Mekong Cafe. I had a bad experience once before but decided to give it another try based on positive reviews here. We had the Pad See Ewe and the red curry. The Pad See Ewe had a huge clump of noodles at the bottom that had all stuck together. The red curry was overwhelmed by the taste of fish sauce. You couldn't taste any other flavor. I have no complaints about speed and service, but if the food doesn't taste good that stuff doesn't count.
(1)
Sara H.
My hunt for great Thai food is over! A few friends of mine were craving Thai food and decided to try out Mekong cafe this evening. Food: Apps - I ordered the veggie Tom Yum soup. Veggies were fresh and soup was flavorful although for those individuals that can't handle spice please note that it does have a kick. Also shared an order of fresh shrimp spring rolls which were delicious crisp and mild. Main dish- Vegetable curry - Perfect blend of spices with fresh veggies! Wonderful dish for a colder fall day. Portion was also generous so I have left overs for lunch tomorrow! One of my friends who can not handle spice ordered the pud thai (mild) and said that it was also excellent. Service: Went on a Thursday evening and thought the service was prompt and the waitstaff was friendly and engaging. Will be back - great food, good service, overall wonderful casual dinning experience.
(4)
Charlie W.
The best! Service is friendly and social, the delivery is quick, the dining area is clean and beautiful, and best of all the food is unreal. Fresh, real flavors and a huge menu.
(5)
Nessie V.
Been wanting to try this place for a while. Glad I finally did. To sum this place up, the food it worth the wait. And you will wait. We get in, sit down, and we have 3 menus for 9 people. We manage to all get a chance to look at the menus and decide before we get asked about drinks. At which point we order apps and main courses. The food comes, and it is a LOT of food. Gordon Ramsay would have conniptions about the huge portions. The appetizer combo was like 3 appetizers worth of food. My mom-in-law got the chicken, and it was fit for Jake Blues ("one whole fried chicken"). Everyone had doggy bags. They had plenty of vegetarian options. Though I do wish they had more distinctly Lao or Vietnamese ones. Or some mulberry leaf tea. I did love the unassumingly-named Mekong Tofu, which was served on a sizzling hot platter. The veg red curry was really good too. Parking is a little tough here, so leave a little extra time for that.
(4)
Lori G.
Disappointing. First, they messed up our order and said it was a glitch in their system. 2of the dishes were in edible. Red curry flavor is good but hardly any chicken or vegetables.
(1)
Marc T.
A group of us tried Mekong Cafe last Friday and all thought it was pretty good. Although I was interested in a few of the menu items, I ended up getting the buffet like my companions. I thought it was pretty good, probably on par with King and I. Our whole group were also fans of the fact that the buffet contained crab rangoon. I'll likely return to try an entree and appetizer from the menu.
(3)
Steve G.
I've ordered take out a from here a couple times and have been pleased with the quality of the food. The pud thai with chicken is pretty good while the mekong chicken and crab ragoons are about average. The prices are reasonable and the people that work here are very friendly and helpful. The only thing that keeps me from eating at this restaurant is that the place has been dead when I stop in. I can probably count on two hands the number of people I saw in here over two visits during normal dinner hours. If you're looking to feed a large group, however, I know where you can find enough space...
(3)
James B.
It's not easy being an ethnic food junky recently transplanted from the vibrant east side to not-so-vibrant Washington Heights. On the east side the decision was "Do I want falafel or curry? Or maybe vindaloo. Oooh, sushi!" Out here in the sticks it's more along the lines of "Do I really want to drive twenty blocks for fried rice?" It's sad, but we all make sacrifices. At any rate, I've found that compromise can be less painful since I've discovered Mekong Cafe. I love Thai food. All of it. Ee-Sane on the east side is my favorite restaurant in the world. Nothing can live up to it. But almost everything I've tried at Mekong is very good. I've tried all of the curries and they're all delish. I love red curry, but I think the green and yellow are better at Mekong. Especially the yellow with potatoes and onions and the thick delicious coconut-milk sauce. The soups are GREAT. I love Tom Yum, but if you go to Mekong you gotta try the Tom Kha. Again, coconut milk but this time with cilantro and lemongrass and mushrooms and your choice of meat. So so good. Salty and tangy and creamy and hard to describe. You just gotta try it. Lunch is a phenomenal deal. You can get an an entree, soup, rice, and an app for like five bucks. It's crazy cheap and one of the best deals on this side of town. I still go to Ee-Sane whenever I can, but Mekong is good enough to keep me from doing something stupid like trying to cook my own curry.
(4)
David L.
Love their lunch buffet. Varied selections, Curries, Taro Tapioca, Fried Plantains, Stir Fry Tofu, and countless yummies for under $10. Owner always greets us. Service wonderful. Good for dinner also. My favorite is the fried tilapia with stir fry vegetables. Another unique restaurant in East Tosa.
(4)
Leigh A.
I have never actually been in the restaurant, so I cannot comment on service. I can only comment on food and delivery. The first delivery was a complete disaster. I would have given them zero stars. We had Mekong Chicken, beef larb, papaya salad and cucumber salad. The food took almost an hour to arrive (promised in 45 minutes or less and we live less than 2 miles away. The two main courses tasted fine. But the cucumber salad had a large piece of sharp metal in it. I couldn't even call them to report it because it had been thrown away. Decided to give them one more try two nights ago. I am glad I did. I ordered beef pho and spicy mekong chicken. Again, delivery was promised in 45 minutes or less and took over an hour. But the food was very good this time. No metal pieces in it. They could really improve on delivery time for their delivery charge. If they are that busy, they could be realistic about the timeframe. I did send an email about the metal piece and have not gotten a response yet.
(3)
Jen Y.
Portions are generous. Food is hit or miss, had some bland veggie dishes and some really great ones. I'd stick w/the curry. Salads are decent, I like the dressing!
(3)
Jeff O.
An update: order the Yum Woon Sen. You won't regret it. It is one of the best Thai dishes I've had anywhere. Also, I highly recommend the Vientiane School Noodle.
(5)
Sarah W.
We didn't even realize this place existed so close to us until my boyfriend was strolling around the area and noticed the sign. Its not super noticeable (which might be part of why some reviewers commented on how empty it can be). Soup was our mood, so we did an order of the veggie Tom Kha bowl and the chicken Pho to go. The pho was a couple dollars more expensive than the tom kha, but both were on par with each other. They were both very tasty and filling, but not the greatest value. Our soup was ready to be picked up within 15-20 minutes of calling in, but ultimately I was glad that we decided to do carryout, because it smelled vaguely like nail polish remover (maybe from a cleaning product that they had just used?) and also was very empty, considering that it was lunch time. I just wish the prices were a little less overall. Its not a place that I could make my regular lunch out for that reason.
(3)
Linda T.
My husband and I went as they opened for the day so there were no other diners yet. Even though we were the only ones, we waited about 10 minutes for the server to come even give us water. After we ordered, the food didn't come out for another 45 minutes. Really? There was no one else there! And the whole time we were waiting, the server didn't even bother to come and tell us what was taking so long. My first experience there was so bad, I don't think I'd ever go there again.
(1)
Kenyatta Y.
I called Mekong Cafe for a takeout order after reading the reviews on Yelp. After eating half of my order, I'm already full. I got the sample plate with egg rolls, a kind of chicken on a stick and a shrimp salad with noodles. There were three types of sauces. I foolishly ordered a dessert. It's nice to have quality restaurants in my neighborhood. They have revised their menu so it will be interesting to see some of these other dishes like Crying tiger (a grilled medium well done steak). I'm certain that if I was younger, I would still be eating.
(4)
Matthew E.
Ordered during a long evening in the office. I called shortly after six, and placed an order for the whole team. We kept working, and 2hrs waiting we were still waiting. I called the restaurant a couple times, but they told me the delivery person had already left and didn't have a cell phone (Who delivers food without a cell phone?!). I expressed our concern, and was told that the manager would give a return call when she return, but I'm still waiting for that call a week later. The delivery person did finally arrive, and the food was average, but I'd never order from here again.
(1)
Mark S.
I've had take out from here probably at least 10 times so yes, I like it... But it's also just a few blocks away. In general the food is very good. If I were to have one gripe it would be that they could use more veggies in their curries. If I were to have two gripes, include some more rice. The appetizer sampler platter is a good place to start, and it is a lot of food. The huge crab rangoons are probably the best I've had. The spring rolls are refreshing, but you have to be able to withstand cilantro and anise. The noodle dishes are good. One dish which I forget the name of, had very thick noodles and was very good. The curries are also good, but I was unimpressed with the curry roast duck. The skin simply was not crispy, and it was possibly the worst duck that I've ever had... not that I've had much.
(3)
John G.
Let me start out by saying that I so wanted to love this restaurant. Milwaukee does not have that many good Thai Restaurants (we love EE Sane on the East Side but it's so far). This place is huge in terms of space and we were there at a really odd time around 3pm shortly after they opened on a Saturday. It was kind of a combination late lunch early dinner. The decor is nice, the staff was extremely friendly. Our waitress was a sweetie and the young man who helped her as kind of a second waiter was also very attentive. We had 2 appetizers including the coconut shrimp and Bahn Cuon which is supposed to be a very popular street food in Viet Nam. Both were exceptional so we were off to a stellar start as this was our first visit. My other half had the Larb which he felt was as good as EE Sane, I beg to differ. It was good but not exceptional. I had the Stir Fry Clear noodle with shrimp. The clear noodles were overcooked. The veggies in the dish were tasty, perfect slightly crispy freshness and the heat (in terms of spicy) was right on to how I requested. But, I love noodles and was really disappointed that they were overcooked. The shrimp were big but they just didn't have a really fresh taste. I'm really picky about my noodles and am a freak about fresh seafood or at least the most fresh that you can get in the Midwest. We will definitely return particularly to try their well loved lunch buffet. But, they need to stop overcooking the noodles and Empire Seafood (no I don't work for them) might be a better, though probably more expensive, provider of seafood. This restaurant made the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel list of Best Restaurants in Milwaukee for 2014 and they would be better to serve less shrimp but of a higher quality. We liked so many things about this place that our return is guaranteed but I hope the owners do a little fine tuning.
(4)
Ashley J.
This place is phenomenal! I try not to go to restaurants more than once because of all the other places waiting out there, but Mekong is one place I can go to over and over again. If you go, order the red noodle curry--you won't be disappointed!
(5)
Marianne F.
Update: they really improved the service. It seems they are serious about their business. They also improved the decor by adding a waiting area for carry-out and a Case for desserts and pastries. It's one of our favourite place in the area and a nice walking distance from home. The food is delicious!! ---previous review **** ----- Slow and uneven service but really good food and prices. The decor is not necessarily intimate or interesting. It's clean and open and tables are not too close to each others. The service can lack of professionalism most of time but they're not rude. The food is long to prepare and you must not be in a hurry to eat. If you're alone, grab your sketchbook or a book... or make sure you're with someone with whom you can have a nice conversation. otherwise, the food will make everything better. We keep going back. They also offer carry-out, but, I suggest you order by phone before.
(5)
Ramona R.
3 1/2 stars if Imay.been here before for the lunch buffet which I must say is most excellent; for $7.95 you get a selection of curries; salads; soups and extras (ie egg rolls; crab rangoon; plantains); rice and/or noodles. Tonight due to our restaurant.com certificate we decided to try out dinner. Apparently we were the only people in the area that wanted Authentic Laos ; Thai & Vietnamese Cuisine ; since we were the only folks dinning there.The waitress/hostess told us to seat ourselves and was prompt bringing water and taking our drink order however the no longer serve hard liquor so my kiddie cocktail was on the menu but not available due to no cherry juice.I believe they still have beer and wine however since the table had a beer advertisement place card prominently displayed.They also have soda ; thai tea and coffee and bubble tea in a variety of flavors.I got strawberry. It was standard bubble tea and I would rate it a solid o.k. The menu is the size of a novel!! Broken down by region and food type such as noodles ; rice ; soups etc.I was only on page two of the novel when the waitress returned to take our order.My man ordered the crab rangoon and I mistakenly said I needed more time.Our waitress then vanished ; disappeared ; poof gone for a LONG time.When she finally returned she had 5 very tasty crab rangoon on a plate.Hot ; full of cream cheese and a few green onions and crab.Darn good! For dinner my man ordered the Laotian kabobs and I got the mussamun curry.I was looking for something spicy but when I tried to order a 3 on the 1-4 hot scale the waitress brought me down to a 2 telling me otherwise it would be so hot.Thank you waitress cuz yeah a 2 was hot but just right.When my food arrived I was shocked.The portion size was enough to feed a small village.There had to be 3 chicken breasts cut up ; 3-4 potatoes ; several carrots and an onion.And it was good.Very strong flavor that could easily get overwhelming quickly and a little sweet maybe for some folks but I liked it.My man liked his kabob which tasted like it had been cooked over an open flame so had a real grilled flavor to them. Low points ; SLOW service , no cherry juice or liquor and cold temp but maybe they didn't think it was worth turning on the heat for just 2 of us?! High points ; nice waitress, portion size , the same to make a lot of their sauces and apps from scratch (including a delish peanut sauce) and huge menu selection.
(3)
Zouyan L.
Went here for dinner with a large group. The curry ordered by my friends looked delicious. And the portions were generous for the price. Service was a bit slow, but they were nice enough to accommodate us as we stayed a bit later. I ordered the Pho (By the way I've been searching for good Pho in Milwaukee, would appreciate recommendations). It was disappointing. The noodles were overdone, the broth didn't taste right. There was also no fresh basil, just some iceberg lettuce on a plate... Oh well. I'll have to try the curry next time.
(2)
Brian S.
I LOVE the food at Mekong but the service has been pretty bad. Waited over 45 min for 2 simple dishes and one wasn't even made correctly. The tofu on the other dish was so dried out and baked under the heat lamp that it was not even edible. I don't want to sound too negative, cause I'll definitely be back, but most likely for carryout only. In the 3 times I've been to Mekong, I've consistently experienced long waits, but usually the delicious and authentic food makes up for it. Just be cautious of their 1-4 spicy scale.. They're all pretty spicy!
(3)
Britta J.
I would give this place 3 and a half stars. The food is great, the service needs help. I have eaten here probably 6-8 times for lunch in the last year, I'm always amazed at the food but disappointed with the slow and forgetful service. They need to have more than one waiter serving over the lunch hour. Make sure to ask for things before you need them, or you might not see your server for another 10 minutes. Or, eat at the bar.
(3)
Insun M.
WOW. That was not a wow as in "wow that food was fantastic!" It was more like a "wow...I can't believe I wasted my money here" I should have known, I came during what should have been the lunch rush hour but there were only 3 diners in the entire restaurant. I ordered the pad thai with shrimp and an order of pho and both were horrible...not sure which one was worse. It was so bad I can't even write about it. Lets just say I love love love spicy food but their level 3 (of 4) pad thai literally burned a hole through my stomach. Completely inedible.
(1)
David B.
Called in a takeout order on a Sunday night. Although 25 minutes was a little slow for my taste, the service was friendly and I could actually converse easily with the person on the phone (often difficult in busy Asian restaurants where language and ambient chaos can be an issue). The panang curry was excellent, with a generous portion that easily made two meals costing $10. Their spice rating system is rather generous, so if you prefer food mild, stick with 1 out of 4 on their scale. "Two" was a bit hotter than one might expect, but though not unmanageable for the tender tongued among us. Definitely worth the time to spice up a weeknight.
(3)
Kaitlin B.
We went to this restaurant on a Sunday night. Aria had seen an article on it in the Shepherd Express and lets just say that it sparked an interest in her taste buds. We got the combo platter for starters and the Chicken Satay was off the hook. For dinner, we had the Panag Curry, which was tasty and spicy, with a hint of nuts. There is a little discrepancy with the rating of hotness you would like your food to be: Aria- I got something that was a 2/4 and I thought it was very spicy for a 2. Kaitlin- I tried the 2 and didnt think it was spicy at all; but then again, i crave the spice*. *this does not reflect Aria's ability to handle spicy food, to each his own. We had two guys with us, who also enjoyed their food almost as much as laughing about the names of some of the dishes. Though one of them is a prominent chef in Milwaukee, neither have any culture. Atmosphere wasnt really anything special but the food came out fast and hot, and the smells while we were waiting were good. Our waiter's mother was the cook, and it was nice to have a very informed staff. Again, with the allergy aspect, the waiter had no problem asking the chef about ingredients. Probably one of the best places to go for Asian-ish food in Wauwatosa.
(4)
J T.
In my opinion, this is the most authentic Thai/Vietnamese/Laotian food in the Milwaukee area. Our group had fun ordering several different take-out options and sharing the meals with each other. My only complaints would be the slow service and the relatively small portions you get for the price paid. That being said, recommend a visit.
(4)
Chuck K.
I went for lunch. I love asian food, and was happy to have another option in this neighborhood. The service was a little slow. Bringing the food, and then the check took too long. I think that it was because there were so few in the restaurant during my meal. The food was good, better than the average Chinese meal. I hope their customer base has grown. I feel to have great food, you must have a big turnover. (This is why Chicago has so many good restaurants.) Update on Mar 7, 2013. Enjoyed their noon buffet. Love their soup (and it's not too spicy).
(4)
Samantha C.
I've been to Mekong several times and haven't ventured away from the Thai portion of the menu, but this is by far the best Thai food I've ever had in Milwaukee, and is nearly as good as what I ate when I lived in San Francisco. In fact, I think half the reason I moved from the east side to Tosa was to be closer to Mekong! Everything that I have tried has been fantastic and everyone who I've introduced to this restaurant have raved about how good it is. My only complaint is that although the service is good it isn't very fast. The food is worth waiting for, but don't plan on squeezing in a fast dinner - I've never been finished in less than an hour.
(5)
Elizabeth L.
We tried the take-out because we had a gift certificate, but we would probably go back. Menu has some good variety and quantities are plentiful. Dining room was empty at 5pm on a Sunday, but the take out order was ready quickly.
(4)
Laura V.
What I like about this place: the tastiness of food, the veg-friendliness and the fact that it is right down the street from my brother's house in an area where I find it hard for me to find acceptable food. What I found almost laughably bad about this place was the service. First of all, I must say that everyone was very nice. The waitress, the people that brought food and some nice young guy (chef? owner) that chatted with us before we left about our experience. However, it took FOREVER to get anything accomplished in terms of ordering drinks, food, getting more water... etc etc. The one thing that didn't take long was getting our food after we ordered which was a godsend! It is always sad to see a front of house holding up the kitchen though. And the place was not crowded at all. Anyways, service aside, the atmosphere was very nice and the food was excellent. The portions were gigantic and everyone had leftovers which makes the value for money very good here. Next time, I think people will be splitting a lot more food. I think I would use this place more for takeout than the dining experience just because the wait was excruciating and unnecessary. However, the food made up for everything and I will certainly be back.
(4)
Sean Z.
Best Thai iced tea in the city. Pud Kee Mow is a great noodle dish I order frequently and their crab rangoon is top notch, gourmet even. The rest of their menu can be hit or miss and it sometimes feels like their vegetarian options are just made up of whatever vegetables need to get used up. The atmosphere of the restaurant is great, super high ceilings and one whole wall is unpainted though you'd swear it was a piece of art. They avoid my number one pet peeve of authentic restaurants: they don't play pop music. If there is any music at all it is quiet Asian music that fits the mood and doesn't distract from your company and the food in front of you. All in all a decent restaurant worth trying and supporting.
(4)
Grace J.
Looking over other yelper feedback this place seems to be hit or miss. I am glad I seemed to come on a "hit" day. This place was great! I had the pad see ew and the noodles were thick and fresh and the sauce flavorful and spicy. Mom had the panang curry. The portion was huge. It's going to last her 3 days I'm guessing. Go here. It's good!
(4)
Leo L.
I tried the pho today as it was my first time at this place. Honestly, the pho wasn't the best. The broth tasted over seasoned, a little bit much on the salty side. I can't really comment on the other food since I've never tried it. The service was ok but it could have been faster considering that we were the only customers there. I don't think I would eat here again unless a friend is taking me out to eat here.
(3)
Jackie N.
I'm Vietnamese and my husband is Thai and Laos, so I think I know good Viet, Thai, and Laos food. This place is horrible. The Banh Xeo is nothing like it should be. It's supposed to be a crispy pan fried crepe with pork and shrimp with bean sprouts, cilantro and mint. What I got was a pancake with shrimp and ground pork on top, which was horrible! The pad thai wasn't any better. It was super dry and had no flavor except for hints of sweetness. The price is good, but the food is horrible! I would not recommend this place at all! Save your time and money!
(1)
Angela H.
I've been going to the Cafe for some time and have always had a great experience. They have a fantastic lunch buffet too - nice variety of dishes, always fresh. The servers are friendly as well!
(4)
Nate R.
After reading reviews on Juniper 61, we decided to go somewhere a bit quieter. Decided to give this place a try. We expected service to be slow, but WOW was it slow. We ate a bit slow, but not ridiculously, and we were there for an hour and 45 minutes. It was a 1/2 hour before we even ordered. 45 minutes before I got my soda, which was in a can, so they didn't even have to pour it. It was 10 minutes before we even got menus. We even contemplated calling in a to go order from our table and leaving, since it was taking so long! We went on a Friday night, and there were only 2 waitresses for about 15-16 occupied tables. There's probably 25 tables in there, so it's not even like it was full! The waitress certainly wasn't hurrying, either. She also didn't know the menu, didn't take the order correctly, and was just a complete idiot! Frustrating. Ordered my soda twice before I got it, and my wife was given the wrong side dish. The food, on the other hand, was pretty good. We ordered the Sample Platter for an app. Everything on it was decent. Good taste, not too messy, etc. Presentation was better than expected as well. The food came out almost right after the appetizer. Too soon. I ordered the Pud Oyster Sauce w/ Pork. (T3) The pork was decent, not all fat or anything, and seasoned well. The oyster sauce, mushrooms, broccoli and onions were good. Texture was good, flavor was excellent. Broccoli wasn't too hard or too soft. My wife ordered L2, Grandma Chanta's Special. The description in the menu makes it sound like it's sausage AND a cut of meat. Really you're choosing whether you want chicken or pork sausage. She wanted the Papaya Salad, but was brought the steamed vegetables. Eventually she was brought the Papaya salad, but only after it was taken to the wrong table, then back to the kitchen, then came back out to us 5 minutes later. She ordered spicy (3 *) but only the papaya salad was spicy, nothing else was. Their spicyness system was confusing. They have a range of one to 4 stars, but some of the menu items have one star, the rest have none. It wasn't clear that you were to select the level of spice when you ordered, and it didn't even seem what we got correlated to what we asked for. All in all we thought the food was great. But, they needed at least another 2 people working the tables. The waitresses had too many things to do and were way too swamped to even make it possible to give halfway decent service. I'd come here a lot in the future if I knew it wasn't going to take ages. Based on the other reviews and our experience, the lack of service may kill this place. Which is a shame, since the food is excellent.
(2)
private p.
Awful. Seriously awful. I've been here twice, separated by many months, and both times it was awful. It's very nearby to me, so I really wanted it to be good (or even passable), which is why I went back a second time, but it was awful both times. I'm a foodie from NYC, so I know what good asian food is, and I know what it ain't. This place definitely ain't. Pad Thai is one of my standard dishes I use to compare restaurants because it's ubiquitous and usually yummy even if it's done wrong, but this place's pad thai was pathetic. It had almost no resemblance to actual pad thai. Even as an inauthentic pad thai dish, it somehow managed to also be a loosely-asian-ish noodle dish that wasn't reasonably tasty, which is a pretty hard task to accomplish. -- I also had a vietnamese sandwich, which also is a difficult dish to mess up, but they managed to do it. Both the fillings and the bread were all wrong. On the second time I went I asked for a simple vietnamese roast pork over rice dish (like you can get at EVERY vietnamese place in the universe), and what they served me was what appeared to be naked, boiled pork that was a disgusting pale grey, boiled in absolutely no glaze or sauce or seasoning or anything, just a pale grey wet lump of (supposedly) pork. -- This was sitting atop what seemed to be generic supermarket spaghetti noodles, not even supermarket vietnamese-style noodles, just generic American-style supermarket noodles. These bizarrely incorrect noodles were absolutely SOAKED in a concoction of gross oil mixed with massive MASSIVE amounts of MSG which together created a broth that was simultaneously tasteless and yet repulsive tasting. -- On the side they gave a giant container of general sweet and sour sauce, which had nothing to do with any vietnamese food I've ever had, and which must've come out of some giant barrel of "asian style" sweet and sour sauce that they apparently think is appropriate for any and all asian foods. I also asked for the simple appetizer of fried tofu with plum sauce. Because no matter what, any halfway decent asian restaurant will be able to take a piece of reasonable quality tofu and lightly fry it, and put a yummy plum sauce on the side (which usually tastes good even when it's scooped right out of a store-bought jar). The objects they served to me were stupidly thin slices of tofu that were seriously overcooked so that there was almost no tofu flavor or texture present at all, the only sensations left to be had in these triangles of soaking rubber was the taste of whatever bland-yet-gross cooking oil they use in their big deep friers. -- On top of which, I ordered this as a takeout to eat when I got home. Well, about two minutes after entering my car I heard a *slump* noise come from the plastic shopping bag that was holding the food. It turned out that the buckets of oil slathering the fried tofu managed to immediately melt the wax bag that the tofu was housed in, ripping the whole bottom of the wax bag out, and these oily rags of tofu flopped out as a giant mess all now swimming loose at the bottom of the shopping bag. Since I'm not rich at the moment, I decided that since I spent money on this meal I should at least shovel enough of this food-like stuff down my throat until I'm not hungry anymore, despite the repugnant taste. Wow, I was sorry I did that. Whatever amount of msg and oil and salt they put in there must be right at the limit of human consumability, because for the rest of the day I was crazy thirsty, my mind was slugish, I couldn't concentrate on my work at all, and I was really low energy. So what can I say that's nice about this place? Um... the location is good. The servers seem to be nice (even though they are completely unknowledgeable about any asian food). Um, the decor is kind of nice looking. Um... I think that about all. If any of this restaurant's owners or managers are reading this - please, PLEASE *completely* redo your menu (and fire your head chef if you have to). I really, REALLY want to have a great (or even good) pan asian restaurant around here - so despite my scathing review, I truly am on your side and I truly am pulling for you to succeed, which is why I'm being totally honest about my experience at your restaurant. You need to make your menu about a quarter of the size it is now, but make ALL those fewer dishes you serve be good tasting. I eat a LOT of asian food, so if you could make even good quality thai and vietnamese food then I would wind up buying a LOT of food from you. And if you could add good quality sushi to the mix then my orders at your restaurant alone would entirely pay for all of your children's college tuitions. But perhaps that's a dream too big for the moment. For right now, please get back to basics and just try to provide a small number of dishes that are all delicious, instead of what you have right now which is a huge number of dishes that are all disgusting.
(1)
Amber S.
I've given the restaurant 3 tries, and each time I think "I probably won't order from there again". This time I'm certain, though I really want to like the restaurant. My order was incorrect (I ordered one fresh vegetarian egg roll with my meal and got two shrimp ones), and there was a huge sprig (stem and all) of basil in the roll. I like leaves, but the stem not so much. Noodle dish was mediocre. Sorry Mekong!
(2)
c. b.
Service hit and miss. If you during the buffet they will leave you alone, which is great for getting in some reading. The buffet itself is cheap $7.95 and the selection is great except for the fried rice. It is not the real fried rice! hey have vegetarian and healthy options at the buffet. For dinner, the pud kee mow and any of the curries are great. The larb is good but doesn't beat E e SANE.
(4)
molly d.
Note: this is Laotian, Thai, and Vietnamese food, not Cambodian. This website has no category "Laotian." We eagerly awaited the opening of Mekong Cafe in our neighborhood, which is somewhat under served and certainly lacks good cheap eats. After almost a year of eating in and carrying out, we are not disappointed. This restaurant consistently serves tasty,spicy food at reasonable prices. We were particualrly impressed on an evening when a group of five of us--famished after a day of pulling out carpeting, staples and tacks--required a large special order with no fish sauce, oyster sauce or seafood of any kind. The chef had to modify every recipe but did so quickly and successfully. The food was great and, judging by my companions continuing good health, truly fish free. The dishes that I find particularly good are Yum Nua (A10), an appetizer with grilled meat, cucumbers, and onions on lettuce leaves--slightly sweet and vinegary. My favorite noodle dish is Mee Hang (N1). It has smooth egg noodles served with the meat of your choice and soaked in a tangy citrusy sauce, topped with peanuts and mung beans. It has some of the flavors of a pad Thai but is not so sweet. Another favorite is pud prik sod with chicken (T5) or shrimp (SS1). This dish can be hot, and features hot pepper and aromatic basil. The chicken larb (L8), a sort of spicy chicken salad with a hot and citrusy flavor, is also very good. I have found that these dishes are always good, but that food is not always prepared in exactly the same way. Each chef must have her own ways of doing things. Sometimes the chicken larb is ground meat, other times it is grilled and chopped as it was last night(yummy). Spiciness and heat can be inconsistent--four stars can range from medium to blazing hot. However, I like this--it reminds me of my mother's best dishes--always good but also always prepared according to what vegetables looked best at the farmer's market that day. No surprise--this is a family business. We are fans.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Street Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
D L.
Their Laotian/Thai/Asian food is delicious! We typically get their food delivered, and it is always delicious. I really like their curries, including curried noodles. Pho is also nice on a cold day or a sick day. I have heard they have a weekday lunch buffet that I want to try one day.
(5)Josh D.
This place is awesome. My favorite lunch buffet in the city, $9.50 all you can eat thai. Can't beat it. Walk in grab a plate sit down, grab another or 2 and then head out at your leisure. Dinner is even better. I've been ordering delivery since it opened up and this is a regular spot for my family. Some of the best thai noodle dishes I've had. Curries are excellent as well.
(4)Lori N.
We have come here every other day since we discovered they have awesome buffet! The food is pretty authentic and so delicious.
(4)Elissa B.
I had a rough week at work and needed Thai to pull me through. My favorite place was closed! Disaster! Calm down, time to try one from the bookmark list. No one answers the phone! Drama ensues! Elissa throws a damn fit!! Luckily my boyfriend is cool as a cucumber when I'm having a toddler meltdown and suggested Mekong since it's close and delivers. If Rick R gives it a decent review, that's a good enough sign for me. (Because Heaven help us all if this food turned out not to be good - I was in a dark place) GREAT NEWS, KIDS. Mekong has delicious food!! Angels sing, sun shines upon me, and balance is moderately restored to my world. I had the panang curry, which is a fave of mine at all Thai restaurants. It was peanutty and spicy, with perfectly cooked tofu and veggies. My heart wanted to eat it all in one sitting, but luckily my stomach filled up quick because Thai leftovers are beautiful. Boyfriend had one of the noodle dishes (I forget which, forgive me), which was very good as well. My only note is that delivery took kind of a long time. Not unreasonable, but I don't usually wait 45 minutes on a Tuesday, you know? But it wasn't a big enough deal to me. I will definitely be getting food from Mekong again.
(4)Dorothy A.
Food is good but there is a loooooong wait even for appetizers. I must not mind that much as I keep coming back. Don't come here if you are in a rush to eat or have somewhere to go. Recommend: Pud Kee Mow with pork and Pud See Ewe with shrimp. Of course try the Mango Bubble Tea.
(4)Carrie M.
We REALLY love this great place across the street from Wauwatosa and Washington Heights. It's nice enough for a "date night" yet casual enough to bring the kids. With three cuisines to choose from, Thai, Laotian and Vietnamese, there is literally something for everyone. Among my favorites is the Pud Kee Mow, or "Drunken Man's Noodles", a rich, savory dish with thick, chewy noodles, veggies and your choice of meats, including chicken, tofu, pork or duck. Panang Curry is a tiny bit spicy, but deliciously nuanced with coconut milk, carrots, straw mushrooms and again, a choice of meats or tofu. The Tom Kha is my favorite soup there, at least now that their special Mekong Soup is no longer on the menu (hint, hint, owners). Grandma Chanta's special homemade sausage is a delight as well, as is the different varieties of duck on the menu--I'm especially fond of the lemongrass duck. For the less adventurous, there are several varieties of fried rice. Mekong Cafe just introduced a juice bar, and tonight we sampled both the Vigor Juice, which includes beet root, apple, strawberry and orange juices and Pineapple Zing, pineapple, lemon, orange and apple, both sweetened with honey. Yummmmmm. All in all, this is one of my favorite Asian places in the city, and what I love best is that every single dish has its own distinct flavor and character. Reasonable prices, good portion sizes, delicious food, what's not to like?
(4)Dylani H.
I am kinda torn in opinions about this place. After going through the long long menu of. Thai, Chinese ,Vietnamese and generic items i feel that this restaurant lacks identity . Having said that here is my overall review; Ambiance - don't expect this place to be a fancy restaurant. This is an a-ok place with ample space and basic seating. Service- friendly staff Food- thai food was sub par and non memorable Beef fried rice was ok Crab Rangoon were actually awful and over fried brining the overall rating to about 2.5 however"........ ----Must try---- rated 5 Beef Pad see Ew - yummy-licious Lettuce wraps- holy mammoth...these are huge portions !!
(3)Batilly H.
I've been here a few times - the food is on point although only until recently have I ordered anything else other than the Pud See Ew. At least they're consistently good! I would recommend dining-in, since ordering to-go always takes a lot longer than anticipated. They are generous with their food portions, so I don't mind dining in and taking rest (most) of the food to-go. This is going to be a review of all the food tried up to this point. Pud See Ew - Delicious! Thick rice noodles with plenty of broccoli and chicken for now and later. I would add a little heat to it, but I'm a wimp so 2 is about as hot as it gets. If you like mushrooms, adding the straw mushrooms is a plus! Larb (Chicken) - My friend loves this dish. It's cooked, yet served cold so I thought that was a bit odd. However, it's seasoned well and has a nice balanced palate. A little dry when you compare it to the rest of the dishes tried to date. Seafood Pho - I've ordered this to go, and the thing is huge. Everything comes separately so your noodles don't get soggy by the time you get it. They are pretty generous with their toppings so there is definitely enough to share. Or just drink that whole broth by yourself. Whatever's your pleasure! The broth is seasoned slightly different than the regular pho, almost preferred - less MSG or something. I dig it! Stir-Fry Pineapple - My gf ordered this and we were both pleasantly surprised by how deliciously sweet and saucy it was! Not normally a fan of cooked fruit, I thought it was well-seasoned, not too pineappley - it adds just enough touch of sweet for the salty. There was a good balance of sauce (however it kind of went away when she ate it the next day) But still, she was glad she branched out! Pud Oyster Sauce - To me, this is pretty much the Pud See Ew without the noodles. Tastes are pretty similar, this once is saucier. They're both so delicious. I order this when I don't feel eating noodles Mekong Sizzling Platter Combo - Okay - I saved the best for last. This piping hot plate of lightly battered chicken with a tenderized steak drizzled in spicy volcano sauce is the fruit to my loom. My friend ordered this when we dined together and I hadn't been able to stop thinking about it. Finally, I dragged my gf to dine in the following weekend and I was not disappointed. It's the dish that turn heads when it exits the kitchen. There is ample food for two on that platter. I love how crunchy the chicken is, drenched in that chili garlic sauce, adding to my mouthful of rice. And then you want a slice of that steak (you can practically slice it with a butter knife except there is no room on that platter to cut it!). I would probably recommend getting that steak cubed before bringing to the table, but maybe keeping the steak is what keeps it tender? AND THAT SAUCE THOUGH. WHO ARE YOU? WHO CREATED YOU? WHY ARE YOU SO DELICIOUS? It's a cross between chili sauce, garlic sauce and fish sauce...and a whole lotta mmm Mmmm Mmmm. Basically, don't visit this place WITHOUT ORDERING THIS DISH. They have chicken/steak, steak/shrimp, chicken/shrimp options - it'll cost ya about $20 but it's damn well worth it. I must add that their juice bar is pretty yummy too. I am so glad there is finally a boba place in the Tosa area. And they use real fruit for their fruit smoothies, none of that weird powder crap that make you question your life choices. If you follow them on Facebook or sign up for their mailing list, you know about their monthly specials - this month, all boba is $5.00! YUMMY YUMMY! I also must add that half the time, their service is slow. Our server took forever to take our orders, didn't come to ask us how the food was and then I had to flag him down to pack the food up. However, the previous time, the server was great. I think if you get one that doesn't speak very good English, it's gonna be a minute. Drink some water...or something. Hence the four stars instead of five. Such a shame.
(4)Rick R.
I'm still a big fan of this place. It's been too long since my last visit, but I was off work yesterday, so I felt I should see if the food was still good. it is. In fact, it was even better than I remember! I've dined here with a large group before, ordering off the menu, but the food in the buffet tastes just as fresh, and oftne is fresh if you go at the right time. There are a lot of options for $8.95. Yesterday's included Chicken Tom Kha soup, Veggie Tom Yum soup, Pork Larb, Beef Pud Prig, Tofu Pad Thai, Tofu and Veggies, Garlic Pork, fried rice, white rice, Yellow Curry with chicken, Veggie Spring rolls, crab rangoon, fried plantains, and at least three other entrees I can't recall. Everything was hot and delicious! I wish they offered a Saturday or Sunday lunch/brunch buffet. It;s just too hard to pick one item from the menu. I love getting a few bites of several items instead. Lunch or dinner, if you're craving Southeast Asian food, Mekong Cafe is tough to beat. It also made Carol Deptolla's Top 30 Resturants list for 2014, so at least one professional critic loves it, too!
(4)Aubrey G.
Though we live close by, my honey doesn't like Thai food nor Chinese food that much, so.... I went by myself for lunch. I've been wanting to try this place for a couple of years, now. I was surprised at how large the dining area was and the ambiance. Very nice space with quiet southeast Asian music and decorations. I was also surprised to see a large buffet table. (The regular menu was also presented to me when I entered the location). I checked out the buffet before I decided what to order. Wow! Great stuff. (See my pix). Getting the lunch buffet was a no brainer; and only $8.95. Can't remember what the names of everything was, but I tasted about 75% of the offerings, including but not limited to cabbage salad, Thai/Vietnamese noodles (accompanied by a really delicious cocoanut, peanut 'gravy/sauce' in a separate bowl), Crab rangoon, two kinds of chicken, crispy pork, tomato/cuke salad, fried rice, etc... I REALLY liked this place and will definitely be going out of my way to eat here from now on.
(4)Mog Y.
My husband and I always drive by this place but we were always hesitant to try it. After much yelping and looking over the menu we decided to try their lunch buffet. And it was more than we had expected! The variety of food was very good. Everything was well seasoned, not too overly salted. If you're hmong you know the dish with beef boiled with tripe and tons of herbs.. well to our surprise, they had it! It was really good, just as good as homemade! And their chicken laab/larb was really good, very moist and full of flavor. Their curry was on point as well and all the other dishes were delicious! I have been dreaming of going back and I cant wait to order other items on their menu! For lunch buffet, you cant go wrong with $8/person!! Going back forsure!! Btw their strawberry bubble tea was the prefect amount of sweetness!!
(5)Sarah K.
Walked in and placed an order to go. It took less than 10 minutes to get two different orders for a friend and myself. I absolutely LOVE the Green Curry with tofu! As with any Thai-Viet restaurant, you never know what kind of heat you are going to get on a given day. The peppers are biting and mouthwatering. Not the best area, but I think it is definitely worth a try!
(4)Sarah D.
I have been here many times in last few years and quality has gone down a lot!! I ordered the beef red curry and the beef smelled so bad and tasted so funky and chewy. Pretty sure the beef was bad or old. Totally turned me off and needless to to say I tossed everything. Sad to take this place off my list of options.
(3)Mary M.
this is my first time I ever visiting the cafe. I thought that the interior was very calming and inviting. Perfect for a lunch date with your significant other or one or two friends. it was hard to choose what i wanted because the menu was so versatile. I decided on soup because I wasn't feeling that well and head congestion all that day. it was served piping hot just like I liked it! the flavor was very tasty. and have a good gaming background to the soup. next time I think I'll try their sandwiches.
(3)Amanda H.
After moving to Tosa this summer, I was delighted to find that there was actually a place nearby that serves Pho! I've ordered take-out from Mekong several times and they're always quick, friendly and the food is delicious. It's such a treat to be able to order carry-out that isn't your usual Chinese food fair. Mekong has so much to choose from (meat, curry and noodle dishes) and a few different cultural cuisines that always afford you try something different from the last time. It's on a very busy intersection of 60th and North Ave, and sometimes finding parking takes a bit, but it is so worth it! I'd definitely recommend this little cafe to anyone in the Tosa area.
(4)Steffany X.
When I got there, my friend and I weren't greeted but stared at by the staff that were talking about their lives. Once they were done talking, we finally were seated. After being seated, we waited about 10 minutes until someone came and took our order (we were the only people there). After the waitress took my order, she started walking off until I stopped her because she didn't take my friend's order yet. It was awkward because the waitress didn't even apologize, she just thought that my friend and I were sharing (I ordered an appetizer and an entree). When our food came, the waitress almost dropped the food on me, which she did not apologize. The food had no flavor, my larb tasted like black pepper with some kind of soy sauce and my friend's fried rice was all greasy. This was the first time I had bad Thai food, I will not be returning.
(1)Lacey A.
3.5 stars, based on buffet only. While the flavors are pretty good, the food on a buffet was only lukewarm and had been sitting for quite a while without being refilled or stirred. A couple dishes were almost completely out, tom yum soup had little of anything left in it, some dishes had had the meat picked out, and the rice had dried, hard grains in it. We had arrived 1.5 hours before the end of the buffet, too, so it's not like we just caught the tail end. We asked if things were going to be refilled, and the server immediately went to the buffet to see what was needed and told the kitchen, who proceeded to refills things. So A+ for following through and service (everyone was always ready with water refills or dirty plate taking, though tables could have been cleaned better before the next customer). I like that the buffet has a number of salads every day, since I love Vietnamese and Thai salads. The noodles in the bun were completely stuck together, though, so they were a little difficult to navigate, though once you got it on your plate it was delicious. The nuoc cham was a little on the sweet side, but that's nothing more fish sauce from the condiment bottle can't fix. Chicken Laab was also refreshing. Favorites on the hot side were the crying tiger beef (really, just because of the sauce) and Thai grilled chicken and potatoes. The potatoes were amazingly creamy with a little crunch on the exterior. It was more of a dry stir fry with a deep curry flavor which was fantastic. I did not like the sweet and sour chicken, but I have never liked that ketchupy pineapple sauce and this version was no different to me. I did wish there was a stir fried noodle dish available. The crab rangoon were giant with a ton of filling, but it was mostly plain cream cheese and lacked seasoning. Overall, the flavors were good, but I wished it was all Thai dishes instead of some Chinese things thrown in. No one was really attending to the buffet, stirring items to keep them hot and from drying out, or watching what needed refilling (If I had not asked about it, I don't think things would have been refilled). I've been to a couple other lunch buffets that were operated better (Indian Buffet on 76th and Royal Garden on Silver Spring). That will not prevent me from trying Mekong again, though perhaps I will either go earlier during the lunch hour, or order from their regular menu. Because the buffet items change every day, I am excited to try new things again.
(3)Quinn P.
I ordered Bangkok noodles and Banh cuon for to go. The moment I got home, there was no soup in the container since it was all spilled into the plastic bag and some got into the dry noodles box. Luckily enough it did not get in banh cuon box. However, one of 2 fish sauce containers spilled inside the banh cuon box. And trust me I am no racer. I am giving them 1 star since my $20 bucks got wasted and I had to clean up the mess.
(1)A N.
This is my favorite Thai place in Milwaukee. I judge Thai places based off the deliciousness of their Pad Kee Mao (my favorite dish). Mekong Cafe makes their noodles from scratch, and the Pad Kee Mao noodles are super thick rice noodles which end up slightly crispy on outside and chewy on inside. It is so amazing that it reset my bar for awesome. I don't know if I will be able to eat at another Thai place again without wishing for Mekong Cafe... FYI: Their hot is REALLY hot. The papaya salad made me cry multiple times (way too hot for me, but so good I couldn't stop eating it.)
(5)Dallas W.
Since the temperature was below zero today in Milwaukee, all I was craving was a hot bowl of pho. Went ahead and gave this place a shot, and (almost) everything was on point! For an appetizer, we had the fresh spring rolls with shrimp. It is served with your choice of a peanut sauce or red chili sauce, and we enjoyed both. The hint of cilantro is nice in the rolls. Since it was delivery, they brought the ingredients for the pho on the side, which was great because the greens and such weren't soggy or overdone by the time it got to us. My only Complaint with the pho is the pork was a little dry. For our main dish we ordered curry panang with duck. I love curry, and this was on point. We ordered the medium heat, which was perfect. It came with white rice. But we also got a side of pork fried rice-- a little different from your traditional Chinese rice. It was also delicious. We will definitely be ordering from here again.
(4)Mina V.
My husband and I never got served. They took our order, left us, and then we slowly watched everyone else around us (who arrived later than us) get their food before we did. It was a very painful experience. We waited 35 minutes and no one checked up on us. I don't care how their food is because we will never come back to try it. Oh yeah, and parking was a pain. Mekong Cafe is located in such a busy corner of town. But good thing we don't have to worry about that anymore because we are never coming back. And one last thing: it smells like nail salon in there. Lost my appetite the minute we walked in.
(1)Kal M.
Delicious! We ordered a delivery and it was delivered quite fast. Food was very fresh and delicious. I ordered the Ramayana veggie- veggies were fresh, loved the peanut sauce. My husband ordered the Mekong chicken and for once, compared to other restaurants, it was as spicy as he requested it to be. The delivery guy forgot to bring the juices (which were buy one get one half off) so he gave us the food, didn't take our money and said he'd be back. He came back with two delicious cold pressed juices! So happy to have finally tried this place.
(5)Peter B.
Pho-mazing! Ask your server for recommendations! the pan noodle appetizer was something id never had before and it rocked my noodle world. And chicken and seafood Pho were also flavorful and very generous portions. I'll definitely be back!
(5)Chad M.
I love this place! Seriously, like everytime I get a curry craving it's off to Mekong. Of course they have the staples like Pud Thai, Tom Kha soup, Spring Rolls and other dishes, but the Mussamun Curry with Chicken is my favorite. The staff is always friendly, but it's a small business so there usually aren't too many people working there and they have a lot of tasks. The decor is minimal, but comfortable and it's a great place to go when a craving strikes.
(4)Randy B.
My wife and I really enjoy Thai food and try it almost everywhere we go. We went for the lunch buffet and really weren't impressed. We tried nearly half the dishes and really can't say much stood out as excellent, let alone good. Perhaps it was because it was the buffet. If so then they should stop serving it. If you can't do something well, then don't do it's all. Either way, we won't be back. There are at least three better options within the greater area - Sticky Rice, pacific Bistro and Thai-na-mite.
(2)Andy F.
Really really loved my experience today! I went to Mekong Cafe with my fiance after an extensive search for local Thai food. We saw this and decided to give it a try. The location is kind of difficult to maneuver and we were forced to find street parking, which is typical for the city. Nonetheless we came in with high expectations, and as we walked in the restaurant is very spacious, well organized tables with a presentable set up. You select your own table to sit in, which I found kind of odd but whatever. As soon as we were seated, we weere served water and given menus. The menu was fairly large, with the selections of Thai/Vietnamese/Laotian cuisine as well as a small kids meal section, vegetarian options, and the reknown drinks from Vietnam. All of the options in the menu were well described, and the waiting staff were well educated of what the dishes consisted of and the optiions. Although we weren't asked if we'd like drinks I can kind of see why when our meals finally came around. We ordered crab rangoons and they were very creamy and no crab in them (from what I could taste) and it came with plum sauce which was absolutely amazing! Great overrall, would definitely have again. One thing you must note is that the wait time here from when the wait staff came around to ask us for our orders (when we first were seated), the appetizer arriving and then the main course was quite the wait but my fiance and I didn't seem to care at the time but I can see possible issues arising from it. Regardless we loved our meals, nice and spicy and very generous portions at that! This is definitely a place I would visit again with friends and family!
(4)Matty P.
I enjoyed here for the first time today. Their lunch buffet is vivid and changes daily, which is really neat. It was very quiet, and you seat yourself. The staff is polite and helpful. I will certainly come back! Also, they deliver to our neighborhood. New joint: approved.
(5)Mikal P.
Consistently great SE Asian food for lunch. Buffet has expanded and includes a good mix of American favs and "native" fare. Good service and fair prices make this one of my favs.
(5)Michelle T.
First time getting delivery. Delivered in time frame quoted. Got Pad Thai with chicken and crab Rangoon. Delicious!!!! Would definitely order from again!
(5)Elizabeth J.
We have only ever ordered delivery from here. We are fortunate to live close by. This is, by far, the best Asian food with delivery that we have found. And my parents always want to order when they come to visit because they have nothing like it where they live. We've always had good service and food but last night we had a bit of an order mishap. We ordered two types of pad thai and somehow they only delivered (and charged) for one. Since we were feeding a lot of people, my husband called up and reordered our other dish. They very quickly made it and sent it over. The service after this miscommunication was great and just cemented us even more as regular customers.
(4)Nicole W.
I was really not impressed with this place, although my friends seemed to enjoy their meals. Although we had a reservation, the place did not seem prepared for our group of 10 at all. The food came out over a 20 minute period, leaving some people half way through by the time others had gotten their plates. The thai iced coffee had clearly been brewed long ago and was oxidized and stale. Although the menu says they have bubble tea, I was informed when I ordered it that it was actually more like a smoothie (what?) I cancelled the order so I can't tell you if it was good or not, as I had been expecting tea. Finally, I ordered pud thai with tofu and it was pretty much inedible. The tofu was cooked really nicely but the noodles were undercooked and tasted as though they'd been soaked in vinegar. Now, I'm one of those people that drinks apple cider vinegar for fun, so for me to say it was too vinegary is pretty bad. The restaurant was big enough to accommodate our group, the service was attentive, and the portions were generous, but I think that about covers the positive aspects of my meal here. I left hungry and cranky.
(1)Krust N.
So much yum. The pho is delicious. Their weekday buffet is fresh and tasty. My fav. Dinner dish is the ginger noodles. They best way I can describe it is fresh.
(5)D. M.
Pretty darn good food, a decent selection of dishes from Laos too which is always a treat. I like that when you ask for 4 out of 4 star heat the food is spicy! The restaurant is big, relatively clean, and the servers friendly and informative. I'm definitely coming back to this restaurant and would choose it over many in Milwaukee proper.
(4)May B.
I ordered a ton of takeout food from this place and got to try quite a few things. We got the sample appetizer platter - which was a ton of food in itself. Some of it was a bit greasy, but overall good deal and pretty good variety for a sampler. I ordered the Bankok Noodles. It wasn't as hot (temperature-wise) as I would have liked, the soup was tasty, but not quite what I was envisioning. The red curry we ordered however was the best part of the meal. The curry was spicy, great consistency and very tasty. I'll have to try some other items off their menu next time, but their curry is definitely worth the trip.
(4)S V.
Took my mom here for dinner a couple nights ago and the food was delicious yet again! The crab rangoons are creamy, warm and the pastry is crunchy yet melts in your mouth. The tom yum soup is flavorful and light with just a touch of spice. Mekong now also has a juice bar- I tried the jungle juice and it was surprisingly good for something with spinach and cucumber (there's other ingredients in there, too). For entrees, mom had the lemongrass duck (nice tangy sauce but the duck fat stays on the bird and some of the crispy pieces were a little dry) and I tried something with chicken, stir fried tomatoes and zucchini and a brown sauce, very tasty and fresh. The staff is always friendly and prompt, offering to pack up your food at the end of dinner and the portions are so big I've got leftovers for a whole other meal.
(5)Brittany R.
Ugh! Terrible! TERRIBLE! We ordered delivery from Mekong tonight, because our normal Thai restaurant wasn't answering their phone. We ordered the Beef Pad See Ew and Chicken Pad Thai. (Pud Thai). The noodles in the Pad See Ew were gummy and WAY overcooked - almost the consistency of a gummy bear or other gummy candy. The Pad Thai was chopped up like a chop salad, and even dishing it up you could tell it was extremely overcooked - it was dry, dry, dry. They provided a HUGE portion of Pad Thai to us, which I can only guess was their way of unloading the not-wanted leftover food in their kitchen, as it tasted and looked as if it had been sitting out for hours. SO disappointed. I've been suggesting we try this place for a long time, and due to it's location my husband never wanted to give it a shot -- because Pattaya wasn't answering their phone (??), and we were both in the mood for asian style food, we finally tried it. Never again.
(1)Anton K.
Ate there for lunch on a Friday and had their buffet for $8.95. They had a great assortment of salad and appetizers, soup, entrees, and dessert. We'll definitely return on a different day to see if they change up the offerings. Tried the papaya salad, curry beef, spring roll, Mekong chicken, and other items. I'm new to Vietnamese cuisine, but enjoyed all the offerings, some spicy, which I enjoy, but the dishes were not overpowering.
(4)Yeng C.
Even though I find Mekong Cafe to be more expensive than other Thai restaurants, they are the only Thai restaurant in town that delivers to my house in Washington Heights. Thai food is one of my favorites and I have to say that Mekong Cafe's yellow curry is one of the most authentic and delicious I've ever had. I have also dined there before and the service was great and the portions were huge. I look forward to trying their buffet soon!
(5)Angela D.
Always love Mekong Cafe and their family recipes. Good service and fast delivery. Kahn the manager is always friendly and helpful. Last night favorites Crying Tiger sliced steak limes, basil cilantro and a special chili sauce, lettuce to make a wrap. Nam Kow is rice lettuce wrap filled with great flavors of curry, coconut, ham and peanuts. Crispy salty goodness. A go to if you are hung over. Chicken Larb. Is a great low carb meal.
(5)Ling C.
Get the pud kee mow!! Our waiter was wonderful and made the best recommendations. Ask for Kahn... He's the nicest guy. My boyfriends parents got Lad Na and Larb. They loved it and it tasted wonderful with the sticky rice.
(5)Mindy N.
I've been here 3 times, the menu features a wide variety of Asian dishes such as Laos, Thai and Vietanamese. The service is wonderful. It has a neighborhood feel, large portions and good value.
(5)Terra C.
Great portion sizes. Yellow curry was delicious. Crab Rangoon was really tasty. Nice spot to try. Will definitely go again!
(3)Lei L.
Really the only Thai food in Tosa, it's not bad! We come here when we need a Thai fix. The restaurant itself is in a busy street corner, dining space is okay and moderately sized. The food generally is pretty good though not the best Thai ever, but it hits the spot. Pad thia is decent. The Tom yum was delicious. Their jalapeno fried rice is one of our favorites! This place also is convenient because they deliver and also sells bubble tea! Though I think their teas are made from a mix, when you need bubble tea, it doesn't matter, it's still super yummy!
(4)Tex T.
Came here on a Sunday afternoon ( Yelp hours on here are wrong, would suggest checking restaurant website) between lunch and dinner times, so the dinning room was more or less empty. I liked the decor/ layout/music (peaceful and calming) of the restaurant and imagine that the ambiance would be wonderful when the place has some other dinners in it. Service was excellent- fast and attentive. Husband and I both loved our food- Mekong tofu and the Larb with tofu. Having been my first time at Mekong and my first time trying Larb, I was seriously happy with how much I was enjoying the food and the restaurant. The only issue with the entire experience was the spice level on the cucumber salad we ordered- in the future we will definitely get a 2 or less, 3 was way too hot. Nothing a few visits worth of experimenting can't resolve. Level 3 was perfect for our entrees though. Even though we will be dining in again, it would also make excellent takeout as well. We can't wait to try it again!
(4)James D.
Huge portions and expensive. We got pud thai which was that florescent orange color and way too sweet, and other flavors not there. Also got the Pud Kee Mao which had very few vegetables, and extremely thick, bordering on either raw or day old noodles. The flavor was interesting but couldn't get past the condition of the noodles. Don't bother with this place.
(1)Alice L.
I'm giving four stars for the lunch buffet only. It was so good! Really authentic flavor and a good selection including pork laab, tom yum soup, sliced steak with tomato pepper sauce, and fried shrimp chips. I would highly recommend this place for a good authentic lunch.
(4)Nicole A.
Good thai food is challenging to find in this city. Mekong Cafe was excellent in food, presentation, portions, and service. Started with the shrimp spring rolls (non-fried version.) The vegetables were very fresh and crisp. Main course included the volcano duck and pineapple fried rice. Don't be fooled into thinking volcano means hot. The sauce was tasty sweet, the duck perfectly tender, and was accompanied with carrots and cabbage. The pineapple fried rice was a huge portion. The tofu could be a little better, and could use more cashews, but all in all a decent fried rice. There seemed to be a slight delay in service at one small point, but only noticeable if you're on a big time crunch. Since it was my birthday, they brought out a nice vanilla ice cream dessert, which was drizzled with honey, and had small deep fried plantains. I found it to be very generous. The prices might seem a $1 or $2 higher than some places, but the pineapple rice portion could probably feed a family of four.
(4)Maura M.
My husband and I moved to Milwaukee's west side this summer. We loved EE-Sane on the east side, so we were very happy to find another Thai place close to our new home. We've had them deliver three or four times and have eaten there once. We are technically out of their delivery area, but they always seem happy to bring us our food. They generally say it will be an hour wait for delivery, which I think has been the case once. They've generally been closer to a half hour though, in our experience. Our one dine-in experience was great. The waiter was extremely friendly and helpful. He seemed like a guy I'd want to go get a beer with, and the fact that he was bringing me tasty food made him that much more appealing. So yes, the best part: the food. Mekong has a huge variety of dishes, including a bunch of stuff I've never seen at any Thai or other Asian cuisine restaurant before. We get the spring rolls almost every time. They're light and fresh and the dipping sauces are flavorful and complement the rolls well. In an attempt to find something similar to basil noodles, we ordered Pud Kee Mow with chicken. It is definitely not a basil noodles substitute, but it is delicious. I think next time we'll order it with beef (I think the dark sauce will lend itself better to beef than chicken) but it is so good, we will definitely be ordering it again. The noodles really make the dish - they are homemade and completely addicting. I'm not sure I'd describe the dish as having a "bold flavor" as their menu does, it was a little subdued in my opinion, but still delicious. The Bangkok noodles are also good. I was skeptical about the noodle + tom yum combination, but it was really the best of both worlds. I got to have both without overstuffing myself. The tom yum was comparable to EE Sane's. Again, the noodles were homemade and just so, so good. When we dined in, we both had beef pho. It came with tons of garnishes that you could add to adapt the flavor exactly to your liking. The bowl was gigantic, but I ate the entire thing because I just couldn't stop myself. Definitely a place we will keep going back to.
(4)Denise M.
I was so excited to try this restaurant because I love love love to try various Asian dishes. This restaurant does Thai, Vietnamese and Laotian. The menu is very big and divided by nationality. We tried two appetizers thinking one didn't list cilantro (one of the diners doesn't care for it) but everything has cilantro there - I wasn't complaining. We all ordered soup. two of us ordered Tom Yum and I ordered Tom Kar Kai. The soups were very spicy hot, almost too hot, but had delicious flavor. One guest ordered Larb and it was terrible. No flavor. I ordered the Crying Tiger which would have been like beef lettuce wraps. It came with a chunk of iceburg lettuce that made it difficult to eat. The best dish at the table was my friend's sizzling plate; it was also the most expensive at $20. The three of us drink hot tea which was brewed perfectly. I might go back and give this place a second try just because I want to like it. will update review if I go back.
(3)Nidhi K.
A couple of weeks ago, we ordered take out from Mekong Cafe. I had a bad experience once before but decided to give it another try based on positive reviews here. We had the Pad See Ewe and the red curry. The Pad See Ewe had a huge clump of noodles at the bottom that had all stuck together. The red curry was overwhelmed by the taste of fish sauce. You couldn't taste any other flavor. I have no complaints about speed and service, but if the food doesn't taste good that stuff doesn't count.
(1)Sara H.
My hunt for great Thai food is over! A few friends of mine were craving Thai food and decided to try out Mekong cafe this evening. Food: Apps - I ordered the veggie Tom Yum soup. Veggies were fresh and soup was flavorful although for those individuals that can't handle spice please note that it does have a kick. Also shared an order of fresh shrimp spring rolls which were delicious crisp and mild. Main dish- Vegetable curry - Perfect blend of spices with fresh veggies! Wonderful dish for a colder fall day. Portion was also generous so I have left overs for lunch tomorrow! One of my friends who can not handle spice ordered the pud thai (mild) and said that it was also excellent. Service: Went on a Thursday evening and thought the service was prompt and the waitstaff was friendly and engaging. Will be back - great food, good service, overall wonderful casual dinning experience.
(4)Charlie W.
The best! Service is friendly and social, the delivery is quick, the dining area is clean and beautiful, and best of all the food is unreal. Fresh, real flavors and a huge menu.
(5)Nessie V.
Been wanting to try this place for a while. Glad I finally did. To sum this place up, the food it worth the wait. And you will wait. We get in, sit down, and we have 3 menus for 9 people. We manage to all get a chance to look at the menus and decide before we get asked about drinks. At which point we order apps and main courses. The food comes, and it is a LOT of food. Gordon Ramsay would have conniptions about the huge portions. The appetizer combo was like 3 appetizers worth of food. My mom-in-law got the chicken, and it was fit for Jake Blues ("one whole fried chicken"). Everyone had doggy bags. They had plenty of vegetarian options. Though I do wish they had more distinctly Lao or Vietnamese ones. Or some mulberry leaf tea. I did love the unassumingly-named Mekong Tofu, which was served on a sizzling hot platter. The veg red curry was really good too. Parking is a little tough here, so leave a little extra time for that.
(4)Lori G.
Disappointing. First, they messed up our order and said it was a glitch in their system. 2of the dishes were in edible. Red curry flavor is good but hardly any chicken or vegetables.
(1)Marc T.
A group of us tried Mekong Cafe last Friday and all thought it was pretty good. Although I was interested in a few of the menu items, I ended up getting the buffet like my companions. I thought it was pretty good, probably on par with King and I. Our whole group were also fans of the fact that the buffet contained crab rangoon. I'll likely return to try an entree and appetizer from the menu.
(3)Steve G.
I've ordered take out a from here a couple times and have been pleased with the quality of the food. The pud thai with chicken is pretty good while the mekong chicken and crab ragoons are about average. The prices are reasonable and the people that work here are very friendly and helpful. The only thing that keeps me from eating at this restaurant is that the place has been dead when I stop in. I can probably count on two hands the number of people I saw in here over two visits during normal dinner hours. If you're looking to feed a large group, however, I know where you can find enough space...
(3)James B.
It's not easy being an ethnic food junky recently transplanted from the vibrant east side to not-so-vibrant Washington Heights. On the east side the decision was "Do I want falafel or curry? Or maybe vindaloo. Oooh, sushi!" Out here in the sticks it's more along the lines of "Do I really want to drive twenty blocks for fried rice?" It's sad, but we all make sacrifices. At any rate, I've found that compromise can be less painful since I've discovered Mekong Cafe. I love Thai food. All of it. Ee-Sane on the east side is my favorite restaurant in the world. Nothing can live up to it. But almost everything I've tried at Mekong is very good. I've tried all of the curries and they're all delish. I love red curry, but I think the green and yellow are better at Mekong. Especially the yellow with potatoes and onions and the thick delicious coconut-milk sauce. The soups are GREAT. I love Tom Yum, but if you go to Mekong you gotta try the Tom Kha. Again, coconut milk but this time with cilantro and lemongrass and mushrooms and your choice of meat. So so good. Salty and tangy and creamy and hard to describe. You just gotta try it. Lunch is a phenomenal deal. You can get an an entree, soup, rice, and an app for like five bucks. It's crazy cheap and one of the best deals on this side of town. I still go to Ee-Sane whenever I can, but Mekong is good enough to keep me from doing something stupid like trying to cook my own curry.
(4)David L.
Love their lunch buffet. Varied selections, Curries, Taro Tapioca, Fried Plantains, Stir Fry Tofu, and countless yummies for under $10. Owner always greets us. Service wonderful. Good for dinner also. My favorite is the fried tilapia with stir fry vegetables. Another unique restaurant in East Tosa.
(4)Leigh A.
I have never actually been in the restaurant, so I cannot comment on service. I can only comment on food and delivery. The first delivery was a complete disaster. I would have given them zero stars. We had Mekong Chicken, beef larb, papaya salad and cucumber salad. The food took almost an hour to arrive (promised in 45 minutes or less and we live less than 2 miles away. The two main courses tasted fine. But the cucumber salad had a large piece of sharp metal in it. I couldn't even call them to report it because it had been thrown away. Decided to give them one more try two nights ago. I am glad I did. I ordered beef pho and spicy mekong chicken. Again, delivery was promised in 45 minutes or less and took over an hour. But the food was very good this time. No metal pieces in it. They could really improve on delivery time for their delivery charge. If they are that busy, they could be realistic about the timeframe. I did send an email about the metal piece and have not gotten a response yet.
(3)Jen Y.
Portions are generous. Food is hit or miss, had some bland veggie dishes and some really great ones. I'd stick w/the curry. Salads are decent, I like the dressing!
(3)Jeff O.
An update: order the Yum Woon Sen. You won't regret it. It is one of the best Thai dishes I've had anywhere. Also, I highly recommend the Vientiane School Noodle.
(5)Sarah W.
We didn't even realize this place existed so close to us until my boyfriend was strolling around the area and noticed the sign. Its not super noticeable (which might be part of why some reviewers commented on how empty it can be). Soup was our mood, so we did an order of the veggie Tom Kha bowl and the chicken Pho to go. The pho was a couple dollars more expensive than the tom kha, but both were on par with each other. They were both very tasty and filling, but not the greatest value. Our soup was ready to be picked up within 15-20 minutes of calling in, but ultimately I was glad that we decided to do carryout, because it smelled vaguely like nail polish remover (maybe from a cleaning product that they had just used?) and also was very empty, considering that it was lunch time. I just wish the prices were a little less overall. Its not a place that I could make my regular lunch out for that reason.
(3)Linda T.
My husband and I went as they opened for the day so there were no other diners yet. Even though we were the only ones, we waited about 10 minutes for the server to come even give us water. After we ordered, the food didn't come out for another 45 minutes. Really? There was no one else there! And the whole time we were waiting, the server didn't even bother to come and tell us what was taking so long. My first experience there was so bad, I don't think I'd ever go there again.
(1)Kenyatta Y.
I called Mekong Cafe for a takeout order after reading the reviews on Yelp. After eating half of my order, I'm already full. I got the sample plate with egg rolls, a kind of chicken on a stick and a shrimp salad with noodles. There were three types of sauces. I foolishly ordered a dessert. It's nice to have quality restaurants in my neighborhood. They have revised their menu so it will be interesting to see some of these other dishes like Crying tiger (a grilled medium well done steak). I'm certain that if I was younger, I would still be eating.
(4)Matthew E.
Ordered during a long evening in the office. I called shortly after six, and placed an order for the whole team. We kept working, and 2hrs waiting we were still waiting. I called the restaurant a couple times, but they told me the delivery person had already left and didn't have a cell phone (Who delivers food without a cell phone?!). I expressed our concern, and was told that the manager would give a return call when she return, but I'm still waiting for that call a week later. The delivery person did finally arrive, and the food was average, but I'd never order from here again.
(1)Mark S.
I've had take out from here probably at least 10 times so yes, I like it... But it's also just a few blocks away. In general the food is very good. If I were to have one gripe it would be that they could use more veggies in their curries. If I were to have two gripes, include some more rice. The appetizer sampler platter is a good place to start, and it is a lot of food. The huge crab rangoons are probably the best I've had. The spring rolls are refreshing, but you have to be able to withstand cilantro and anise. The noodle dishes are good. One dish which I forget the name of, had very thick noodles and was very good. The curries are also good, but I was unimpressed with the curry roast duck. The skin simply was not crispy, and it was possibly the worst duck that I've ever had... not that I've had much.
(3)John G.
Let me start out by saying that I so wanted to love this restaurant. Milwaukee does not have that many good Thai Restaurants (we love EE Sane on the East Side but it's so far). This place is huge in terms of space and we were there at a really odd time around 3pm shortly after they opened on a Saturday. It was kind of a combination late lunch early dinner. The decor is nice, the staff was extremely friendly. Our waitress was a sweetie and the young man who helped her as kind of a second waiter was also very attentive. We had 2 appetizers including the coconut shrimp and Bahn Cuon which is supposed to be a very popular street food in Viet Nam. Both were exceptional so we were off to a stellar start as this was our first visit. My other half had the Larb which he felt was as good as EE Sane, I beg to differ. It was good but not exceptional. I had the Stir Fry Clear noodle with shrimp. The clear noodles were overcooked. The veggies in the dish were tasty, perfect slightly crispy freshness and the heat (in terms of spicy) was right on to how I requested. But, I love noodles and was really disappointed that they were overcooked. The shrimp were big but they just didn't have a really fresh taste. I'm really picky about my noodles and am a freak about fresh seafood or at least the most fresh that you can get in the Midwest. We will definitely return particularly to try their well loved lunch buffet. But, they need to stop overcooking the noodles and Empire Seafood (no I don't work for them) might be a better, though probably more expensive, provider of seafood. This restaurant made the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel list of Best Restaurants in Milwaukee for 2014 and they would be better to serve less shrimp but of a higher quality. We liked so many things about this place that our return is guaranteed but I hope the owners do a little fine tuning.
(4)Ashley J.
This place is phenomenal! I try not to go to restaurants more than once because of all the other places waiting out there, but Mekong is one place I can go to over and over again. If you go, order the red noodle curry--you won't be disappointed!
(5)Marianne F.
Update: they really improved the service. It seems they are serious about their business. They also improved the decor by adding a waiting area for carry-out and a Case for desserts and pastries. It's one of our favourite place in the area and a nice walking distance from home. The food is delicious!! ---previous review **** ----- Slow and uneven service but really good food and prices. The decor is not necessarily intimate or interesting. It's clean and open and tables are not too close to each others. The service can lack of professionalism most of time but they're not rude. The food is long to prepare and you must not be in a hurry to eat. If you're alone, grab your sketchbook or a book... or make sure you're with someone with whom you can have a nice conversation. otherwise, the food will make everything better. We keep going back. They also offer carry-out, but, I suggest you order by phone before.
(5)Ramona R.
3 1/2 stars if Imay.been here before for the lunch buffet which I must say is most excellent; for $7.95 you get a selection of curries; salads; soups and extras (ie egg rolls; crab rangoon; plantains); rice and/or noodles. Tonight due to our restaurant.com certificate we decided to try out dinner. Apparently we were the only people in the area that wanted Authentic Laos ; Thai & Vietnamese Cuisine ; since we were the only folks dinning there.The waitress/hostess told us to seat ourselves and was prompt bringing water and taking our drink order however the no longer serve hard liquor so my kiddie cocktail was on the menu but not available due to no cherry juice.I believe they still have beer and wine however since the table had a beer advertisement place card prominently displayed.They also have soda ; thai tea and coffee and bubble tea in a variety of flavors.I got strawberry. It was standard bubble tea and I would rate it a solid o.k. The menu is the size of a novel!! Broken down by region and food type such as noodles ; rice ; soups etc.I was only on page two of the novel when the waitress returned to take our order.My man ordered the crab rangoon and I mistakenly said I needed more time.Our waitress then vanished ; disappeared ; poof gone for a LONG time.When she finally returned she had 5 very tasty crab rangoon on a plate.Hot ; full of cream cheese and a few green onions and crab.Darn good! For dinner my man ordered the Laotian kabobs and I got the mussamun curry.I was looking for something spicy but when I tried to order a 3 on the 1-4 hot scale the waitress brought me down to a 2 telling me otherwise it would be so hot.Thank you waitress cuz yeah a 2 was hot but just right.When my food arrived I was shocked.The portion size was enough to feed a small village.There had to be 3 chicken breasts cut up ; 3-4 potatoes ; several carrots and an onion.And it was good.Very strong flavor that could easily get overwhelming quickly and a little sweet maybe for some folks but I liked it.My man liked his kabob which tasted like it had been cooked over an open flame so had a real grilled flavor to them. Low points ; SLOW service , no cherry juice or liquor and cold temp but maybe they didn't think it was worth turning on the heat for just 2 of us?! High points ; nice waitress, portion size , the same to make a lot of their sauces and apps from scratch (including a delish peanut sauce) and huge menu selection.
(3)Zouyan L.
Went here for dinner with a large group. The curry ordered by my friends looked delicious. And the portions were generous for the price. Service was a bit slow, but they were nice enough to accommodate us as we stayed a bit later. I ordered the Pho (By the way I've been searching for good Pho in Milwaukee, would appreciate recommendations). It was disappointing. The noodles were overdone, the broth didn't taste right. There was also no fresh basil, just some iceberg lettuce on a plate... Oh well. I'll have to try the curry next time.
(2)Brian S.
I LOVE the food at Mekong but the service has been pretty bad. Waited over 45 min for 2 simple dishes and one wasn't even made correctly. The tofu on the other dish was so dried out and baked under the heat lamp that it was not even edible. I don't want to sound too negative, cause I'll definitely be back, but most likely for carryout only. In the 3 times I've been to Mekong, I've consistently experienced long waits, but usually the delicious and authentic food makes up for it. Just be cautious of their 1-4 spicy scale.. They're all pretty spicy!
(3)Britta J.
I would give this place 3 and a half stars. The food is great, the service needs help. I have eaten here probably 6-8 times for lunch in the last year, I'm always amazed at the food but disappointed with the slow and forgetful service. They need to have more than one waiter serving over the lunch hour. Make sure to ask for things before you need them, or you might not see your server for another 10 minutes. Or, eat at the bar.
(3)Insun M.
WOW. That was not a wow as in "wow that food was fantastic!" It was more like a "wow...I can't believe I wasted my money here" I should have known, I came during what should have been the lunch rush hour but there were only 3 diners in the entire restaurant. I ordered the pad thai with shrimp and an order of pho and both were horrible...not sure which one was worse. It was so bad I can't even write about it. Lets just say I love love love spicy food but their level 3 (of 4) pad thai literally burned a hole through my stomach. Completely inedible.
(1)David B.
Called in a takeout order on a Sunday night. Although 25 minutes was a little slow for my taste, the service was friendly and I could actually converse easily with the person on the phone (often difficult in busy Asian restaurants where language and ambient chaos can be an issue). The panang curry was excellent, with a generous portion that easily made two meals costing $10. Their spice rating system is rather generous, so if you prefer food mild, stick with 1 out of 4 on their scale. "Two" was a bit hotter than one might expect, but though not unmanageable for the tender tongued among us. Definitely worth the time to spice up a weeknight.
(3)Kaitlin B.
We went to this restaurant on a Sunday night. Aria had seen an article on it in the Shepherd Express and lets just say that it sparked an interest in her taste buds. We got the combo platter for starters and the Chicken Satay was off the hook. For dinner, we had the Panag Curry, which was tasty and spicy, with a hint of nuts. There is a little discrepancy with the rating of hotness you would like your food to be: Aria- I got something that was a 2/4 and I thought it was very spicy for a 2. Kaitlin- I tried the 2 and didnt think it was spicy at all; but then again, i crave the spice*. *this does not reflect Aria's ability to handle spicy food, to each his own. We had two guys with us, who also enjoyed their food almost as much as laughing about the names of some of the dishes. Though one of them is a prominent chef in Milwaukee, neither have any culture. Atmosphere wasnt really anything special but the food came out fast and hot, and the smells while we were waiting were good. Our waiter's mother was the cook, and it was nice to have a very informed staff. Again, with the allergy aspect, the waiter had no problem asking the chef about ingredients. Probably one of the best places to go for Asian-ish food in Wauwatosa.
(4)J T.
In my opinion, this is the most authentic Thai/Vietnamese/Laotian food in the Milwaukee area. Our group had fun ordering several different take-out options and sharing the meals with each other. My only complaints would be the slow service and the relatively small portions you get for the price paid. That being said, recommend a visit.
(4)Chuck K.
I went for lunch. I love asian food, and was happy to have another option in this neighborhood. The service was a little slow. Bringing the food, and then the check took too long. I think that it was because there were so few in the restaurant during my meal. The food was good, better than the average Chinese meal. I hope their customer base has grown. I feel to have great food, you must have a big turnover. (This is why Chicago has so many good restaurants.) Update on Mar 7, 2013. Enjoyed their noon buffet. Love their soup (and it's not too spicy).
(4)Samantha C.
I've been to Mekong several times and haven't ventured away from the Thai portion of the menu, but this is by far the best Thai food I've ever had in Milwaukee, and is nearly as good as what I ate when I lived in San Francisco. In fact, I think half the reason I moved from the east side to Tosa was to be closer to Mekong! Everything that I have tried has been fantastic and everyone who I've introduced to this restaurant have raved about how good it is. My only complaint is that although the service is good it isn't very fast. The food is worth waiting for, but don't plan on squeezing in a fast dinner - I've never been finished in less than an hour.
(5)Elizabeth L.
We tried the take-out because we had a gift certificate, but we would probably go back. Menu has some good variety and quantities are plentiful. Dining room was empty at 5pm on a Sunday, but the take out order was ready quickly.
(4)Laura V.
What I like about this place: the tastiness of food, the veg-friendliness and the fact that it is right down the street from my brother's house in an area where I find it hard for me to find acceptable food. What I found almost laughably bad about this place was the service. First of all, I must say that everyone was very nice. The waitress, the people that brought food and some nice young guy (chef? owner) that chatted with us before we left about our experience. However, it took FOREVER to get anything accomplished in terms of ordering drinks, food, getting more water... etc etc. The one thing that didn't take long was getting our food after we ordered which was a godsend! It is always sad to see a front of house holding up the kitchen though. And the place was not crowded at all. Anyways, service aside, the atmosphere was very nice and the food was excellent. The portions were gigantic and everyone had leftovers which makes the value for money very good here. Next time, I think people will be splitting a lot more food. I think I would use this place more for takeout than the dining experience just because the wait was excruciating and unnecessary. However, the food made up for everything and I will certainly be back.
(4)Sean Z.
Best Thai iced tea in the city. Pud Kee Mow is a great noodle dish I order frequently and their crab rangoon is top notch, gourmet even. The rest of their menu can be hit or miss and it sometimes feels like their vegetarian options are just made up of whatever vegetables need to get used up. The atmosphere of the restaurant is great, super high ceilings and one whole wall is unpainted though you'd swear it was a piece of art. They avoid my number one pet peeve of authentic restaurants: they don't play pop music. If there is any music at all it is quiet Asian music that fits the mood and doesn't distract from your company and the food in front of you. All in all a decent restaurant worth trying and supporting.
(4)Grace J.
Looking over other yelper feedback this place seems to be hit or miss. I am glad I seemed to come on a "hit" day. This place was great! I had the pad see ew and the noodles were thick and fresh and the sauce flavorful and spicy. Mom had the panang curry. The portion was huge. It's going to last her 3 days I'm guessing. Go here. It's good!
(4)Leo L.
I tried the pho today as it was my first time at this place. Honestly, the pho wasn't the best. The broth tasted over seasoned, a little bit much on the salty side. I can't really comment on the other food since I've never tried it. The service was ok but it could have been faster considering that we were the only customers there. I don't think I would eat here again unless a friend is taking me out to eat here.
(3)Jackie N.
I'm Vietnamese and my husband is Thai and Laos, so I think I know good Viet, Thai, and Laos food. This place is horrible. The Banh Xeo is nothing like it should be. It's supposed to be a crispy pan fried crepe with pork and shrimp with bean sprouts, cilantro and mint. What I got was a pancake with shrimp and ground pork on top, which was horrible! The pad thai wasn't any better. It was super dry and had no flavor except for hints of sweetness. The price is good, but the food is horrible! I would not recommend this place at all! Save your time and money!
(1)Angela H.
I've been going to the Cafe for some time and have always had a great experience. They have a fantastic lunch buffet too - nice variety of dishes, always fresh. The servers are friendly as well!
(4)Nate R.
After reading reviews on Juniper 61, we decided to go somewhere a bit quieter. Decided to give this place a try. We expected service to be slow, but WOW was it slow. We ate a bit slow, but not ridiculously, and we were there for an hour and 45 minutes. It was a 1/2 hour before we even ordered. 45 minutes before I got my soda, which was in a can, so they didn't even have to pour it. It was 10 minutes before we even got menus. We even contemplated calling in a to go order from our table and leaving, since it was taking so long! We went on a Friday night, and there were only 2 waitresses for about 15-16 occupied tables. There's probably 25 tables in there, so it's not even like it was full! The waitress certainly wasn't hurrying, either. She also didn't know the menu, didn't take the order correctly, and was just a complete idiot! Frustrating. Ordered my soda twice before I got it, and my wife was given the wrong side dish. The food, on the other hand, was pretty good. We ordered the Sample Platter for an app. Everything on it was decent. Good taste, not too messy, etc. Presentation was better than expected as well. The food came out almost right after the appetizer. Too soon. I ordered the Pud Oyster Sauce w/ Pork. (T3) The pork was decent, not all fat or anything, and seasoned well. The oyster sauce, mushrooms, broccoli and onions were good. Texture was good, flavor was excellent. Broccoli wasn't too hard or too soft. My wife ordered L2, Grandma Chanta's Special. The description in the menu makes it sound like it's sausage AND a cut of meat. Really you're choosing whether you want chicken or pork sausage. She wanted the Papaya Salad, but was brought the steamed vegetables. Eventually she was brought the Papaya salad, but only after it was taken to the wrong table, then back to the kitchen, then came back out to us 5 minutes later. She ordered spicy (3 *) but only the papaya salad was spicy, nothing else was. Their spicyness system was confusing. They have a range of one to 4 stars, but some of the menu items have one star, the rest have none. It wasn't clear that you were to select the level of spice when you ordered, and it didn't even seem what we got correlated to what we asked for. All in all we thought the food was great. But, they needed at least another 2 people working the tables. The waitresses had too many things to do and were way too swamped to even make it possible to give halfway decent service. I'd come here a lot in the future if I knew it wasn't going to take ages. Based on the other reviews and our experience, the lack of service may kill this place. Which is a shame, since the food is excellent.
(2)private p.
Awful. Seriously awful. I've been here twice, separated by many months, and both times it was awful. It's very nearby to me, so I really wanted it to be good (or even passable), which is why I went back a second time, but it was awful both times. I'm a foodie from NYC, so I know what good asian food is, and I know what it ain't. This place definitely ain't. Pad Thai is one of my standard dishes I use to compare restaurants because it's ubiquitous and usually yummy even if it's done wrong, but this place's pad thai was pathetic. It had almost no resemblance to actual pad thai. Even as an inauthentic pad thai dish, it somehow managed to also be a loosely-asian-ish noodle dish that wasn't reasonably tasty, which is a pretty hard task to accomplish. -- I also had a vietnamese sandwich, which also is a difficult dish to mess up, but they managed to do it. Both the fillings and the bread were all wrong. On the second time I went I asked for a simple vietnamese roast pork over rice dish (like you can get at EVERY vietnamese place in the universe), and what they served me was what appeared to be naked, boiled pork that was a disgusting pale grey, boiled in absolutely no glaze or sauce or seasoning or anything, just a pale grey wet lump of (supposedly) pork. -- This was sitting atop what seemed to be generic supermarket spaghetti noodles, not even supermarket vietnamese-style noodles, just generic American-style supermarket noodles. These bizarrely incorrect noodles were absolutely SOAKED in a concoction of gross oil mixed with massive MASSIVE amounts of MSG which together created a broth that was simultaneously tasteless and yet repulsive tasting. -- On the side they gave a giant container of general sweet and sour sauce, which had nothing to do with any vietnamese food I've ever had, and which must've come out of some giant barrel of "asian style" sweet and sour sauce that they apparently think is appropriate for any and all asian foods. I also asked for the simple appetizer of fried tofu with plum sauce. Because no matter what, any halfway decent asian restaurant will be able to take a piece of reasonable quality tofu and lightly fry it, and put a yummy plum sauce on the side (which usually tastes good even when it's scooped right out of a store-bought jar). The objects they served to me were stupidly thin slices of tofu that were seriously overcooked so that there was almost no tofu flavor or texture present at all, the only sensations left to be had in these triangles of soaking rubber was the taste of whatever bland-yet-gross cooking oil they use in their big deep friers. -- On top of which, I ordered this as a takeout to eat when I got home. Well, about two minutes after entering my car I heard a *slump* noise come from the plastic shopping bag that was holding the food. It turned out that the buckets of oil slathering the fried tofu managed to immediately melt the wax bag that the tofu was housed in, ripping the whole bottom of the wax bag out, and these oily rags of tofu flopped out as a giant mess all now swimming loose at the bottom of the shopping bag. Since I'm not rich at the moment, I decided that since I spent money on this meal I should at least shovel enough of this food-like stuff down my throat until I'm not hungry anymore, despite the repugnant taste. Wow, I was sorry I did that. Whatever amount of msg and oil and salt they put in there must be right at the limit of human consumability, because for the rest of the day I was crazy thirsty, my mind was slugish, I couldn't concentrate on my work at all, and I was really low energy. So what can I say that's nice about this place? Um... the location is good. The servers seem to be nice (even though they are completely unknowledgeable about any asian food). Um, the decor is kind of nice looking. Um... I think that about all. If any of this restaurant's owners or managers are reading this - please, PLEASE *completely* redo your menu (and fire your head chef if you have to). I really, REALLY want to have a great (or even good) pan asian restaurant around here - so despite my scathing review, I truly am on your side and I truly am pulling for you to succeed, which is why I'm being totally honest about my experience at your restaurant. You need to make your menu about a quarter of the size it is now, but make ALL those fewer dishes you serve be good tasting. I eat a LOT of asian food, so if you could make even good quality thai and vietnamese food then I would wind up buying a LOT of food from you. And if you could add good quality sushi to the mix then my orders at your restaurant alone would entirely pay for all of your children's college tuitions. But perhaps that's a dream too big for the moment. For right now, please get back to basics and just try to provide a small number of dishes that are all delicious, instead of what you have right now which is a huge number of dishes that are all disgusting.
(1)Amber S.
I've given the restaurant 3 tries, and each time I think "I probably won't order from there again". This time I'm certain, though I really want to like the restaurant. My order was incorrect (I ordered one fresh vegetarian egg roll with my meal and got two shrimp ones), and there was a huge sprig (stem and all) of basil in the roll. I like leaves, but the stem not so much. Noodle dish was mediocre. Sorry Mekong!
(2)c. b.
Service hit and miss. If you during the buffet they will leave you alone, which is great for getting in some reading. The buffet itself is cheap $7.95 and the selection is great except for the fried rice. It is not the real fried rice! hey have vegetarian and healthy options at the buffet. For dinner, the pud kee mow and any of the curries are great. The larb is good but doesn't beat E e SANE.
(4)molly d.
Note: this is Laotian, Thai, and Vietnamese food, not Cambodian. This website has no category "Laotian." We eagerly awaited the opening of Mekong Cafe in our neighborhood, which is somewhat under served and certainly lacks good cheap eats. After almost a year of eating in and carrying out, we are not disappointed. This restaurant consistently serves tasty,spicy food at reasonable prices. We were particualrly impressed on an evening when a group of five of us--famished after a day of pulling out carpeting, staples and tacks--required a large special order with no fish sauce, oyster sauce or seafood of any kind. The chef had to modify every recipe but did so quickly and successfully. The food was great and, judging by my companions continuing good health, truly fish free. The dishes that I find particularly good are Yum Nua (A10), an appetizer with grilled meat, cucumbers, and onions on lettuce leaves--slightly sweet and vinegary. My favorite noodle dish is Mee Hang (N1). It has smooth egg noodles served with the meat of your choice and soaked in a tangy citrusy sauce, topped with peanuts and mung beans. It has some of the flavors of a pad Thai but is not so sweet. Another favorite is pud prik sod with chicken (T5) or shrimp (SS1). This dish can be hot, and features hot pepper and aromatic basil. The chicken larb (L8), a sort of spicy chicken salad with a hot and citrusy flavor, is also very good. I have found that these dishes are always good, but that food is not always prepared in exactly the same way. Each chef must have her own ways of doing things. Sometimes the chicken larb is ground meat, other times it is grilled and chopped as it was last night(yummy). Spiciness and heat can be inconsistent--four stars can range from medium to blazing hot. However, I like this--it reminds me of my mother's best dishes--always good but also always prepared according to what vegetables looked best at the farmer's market that day. No surprise--this is a family business. We are fans.
(4)