MC Restaurant & Lounge

I’d say this place is overated. Furnishings are «meh», atmosphere is blah, tables were too close… and the menu tends toward the very eclectic. I guess if it’s chicken skin you want, that’s what you can get. There were about 4 menu items that seemed palatable. And that’s what we ordered.
I almost forgot: overpriced, too. $ 85 for 4 small dishes and a couple drinks. You can do much better for less.

Service was really slow. We walked in and there was nobody to wait on us, the waitress-​slash-​hostess was in the kitchen and didn’t realize we were there. Eventually she did come out and we got seated. She was busy tending to all the tables and eventually got us the menu and water.
The phở was delicious and I can’t complain about the food. I do wish it had a bit more grunge like places on Argyle but let’s not compare because of the location.
Like all other reviewers said about the décor, it’s pretty strange looking. It’s okay. The food is good so if you’re in the neighborhood and wanting Vietnamese, this is pretty solid.

Its a good place, their spring rolls are fantastic to start. Not sure why people are surprised by the décor, it says it is a Restaurant & Lounge. Their Phở is pretty tasty and their lemongrass chicken is delicious.
Seems most of the complaints come from angry hipsters, stop being so ironic, get a real job and enjoy the food

I’m surprised that this place has such high marks. We stopped in for some impromptu Phở and fried rice last weekend, and the entire affair was pretty gross.
We were seated at a table in the back with sticky white vinyl table coverings. The floors, what I’ll call «Burger King Chic» (faux ruddy bricks over peeling black grout that collects food particles) looked like they hadn’t been mopped in a week. Beneath each table, a collection of crumbs, dried noodles, etc. I was waiting for a mouse to run along the wall and tickle my flip-​flopped feet.
To top it all off, there was one of those Crest tooth pick/​self-​flosser thingies sitting on the seat next to me! I couldn’t tell if it was used, but combined with the rest of the vibe in the place let’s just say it didn’t inspire thoughts of sanitation. More so, the important bits — those that I’d actually be using to place food in my mouth weren’t clean. I’m looking at you, dirty chopsticks and glassware.
On to the food:
The Beef Phở was OK, but not in the same ballpark as most Argyle spots. It tasted like it was made with veggie broth and not beef broth. The Chicken Fried Rice was bland, greasy, and comprised of all the gristle-​bits of chicken. Sadly, the pot stickers were the only highlight of the meal.
The proprietor was friendly, but seemed defensive after we overheard her in a bill dispute with the table behind us, and then came over to us and basically forced us to take home the leftover Chicken Fried Rice. Why? Her barback/​assistant server/​water guy was definitely trying hard, and probably the reason I’m giving this 2 stars. I feel bad trashing his restaurant, but he can probably do better.
Definitely an awkward experience, and one I don’t plan on repeating.

MC Bisto is one of those places that you would love to love, but it just doesn’t make the list of those spots you would recommend to friends. Good food, but just falls a bit short on the other intangibles… décor, service, consistency, etc.
Now don’t get me wrong. We had a very good meal last night. The salt crab was absolutely delicious. A huge dungeness crab cooked in an onion sauce and served with a salt, pepper and lime dipping sauce that was simply delicious. Tons of flavor in the onion sauce, but not so overpowering that it diminished the beautiful delicate crab flavors. Our server even brought over a plate of rice that went perfectly with some of the onion sauce.
We started with the french onion soup, which had a nice, typical flavor profile, but was a little atypical from a texture and visual standpoint. I’m used to denser, more onion and cheese heavy french onion soup, and this style seemed much lighter, and a bit leaner than I am accustomed to.
We also ordered the spring rolls to start, which were wonderful. Tightly wrapped and plenty of shrimp, they went perfectly with the accompanying dipping sauce. Yum.
We also ordered the papaya salad, which I found to be average and didn’t really have the citrus and crunchy texture that I adore in Thai papaya salad. It wasn’t bad by any means, but I would opt for maybe the noodle salad to compliment our crab next time.
Finally, we tried to order the large, fried banana desert, but were told they were all out… oh well. Kind of annoying and they didn’t really offer us a substitute or comp us a different dessert after we ordered, but we were so stuffed by the crab that we were probably better off without.
Overall we had a nice meal. I will definitely head back and maybe next time narrow in on some of their best dishes.

Wow.
I live very close to this restaurant. I was walking by today and finally noticed that it was open. I had no idea what kind of cuisine it was nor if it was going to be any good. So I took down the phone number, checked my trusty Unilocal,and found out it was a Vietnamese place.
So I took the plunge. I basically just called and ordered two of the dishes I saw in the Unilocal reviews for the place, since I didn’t have a menu. I ordered the phở and the lemongrass pork… For take-​out.
And wow. The phở was delicious. I’m not even done eating it yet, and I’m already racing to get this review up. The restaurant owner was so nice, the staff was very friendly. There was a black-​tie event going on in the place when I walked in, but the second I walked in, they were eager to serve me, which I really admire, especially in a new restaurant.
The lemongrass pork was so tender, and all of the food had this delicious spicy undertone that didn’t overwhelm, but you knew it was packing some heat.
Down sides? Not much. They didn’t have any take-​out menus (Who can blame them? They just opened). The prices were a bit high (Phở and lemongrass pork were $ 20 together), but I feel like it’s a higher quality of cuisine than you’d be getting from a typical take-​out/​delivery place.
In all, I’m floored that a restaurant like this has been open for a couple of weeks across the street from where I live and I hadn’t yet tried it. It looks like a cool little lounge to hang out and have a couple of cocktails in as well.
I’ll be back for sure. This place has some staying power (I hope).

I have visited twice. The first time I had the noodle salad and it was so different that I had to like it. It was like a bowl of noodles minus the broth. They dressed it up with some beef and an eggroll. I burried it with some hot sauce and it was a cool little meal. The poor guy serving us was sweating his balls off though. It was probably 10 degrees too hot in there. The atmosphere was lacking for a weekend night as well. It seems like it’s a better lunch joint. I could have chosen a tastier wine, because what I picked was hot pile of shit.
My second visit was for lunch. I ordered the Vietnamese Fresh Sub. The sandwich overall was pretty tastey. However, I was expecting some kind of shredded pork and I got some kind of pork cold cut. I was dissappointed. When I reviewed the menu, it clearly stated «pork roll». The fault was mine, but the sandwich would have been epic with some real pork. All the rest of the ingriedients were fresh and tastey. All in all, I’ll probably go back because they have a very interesting menu and I have to give the Phở a try to see how it stacks up.