Kim Son Restaurant

MAN!!! was I impressed! Speechless. the Vietnamese eggrolls and theshredded chicken soup I forget the name was amazing. so fresh!!! loved it

It’s not often that you see a highly rated Chinese restaurant on Unilocal.I was very skeptical going into this because overall all the Chinese restaurants in Austin where I am from are basically the same thing. This was not the same thing.
We came here during dinner service and ordered the special which includes a soup and an entrée. We both got the egg drop soup which had vegetables in it like I’ve never had before including onions of the very sweet variety.
I’m going to talk about my meal in particular. I was to be honest very confused about the soup because when did egg drop soup have anything other then egg tendrils? Well this place does it differently and it was honestly delicious I cannot stand raw onions and vegetables in the soup were fantastic.
I played it safe and got the sweet and sour chicken which to be quite honest I’m upset that I don’t live anywhere closer to this restaurant to have again. I don’t know what they do different with the sweet-​and-​sour sauce that the chicken was delicious crispy and sweet and sour and magical. The service was friendly welcoming and patient while we try decide what you wanted and if I ever find myself in this area again this is one restaurant that while not your typical New Orleans Cajun food is something that I would have to visit again.

I haven’t had better Chinese is New Orleans. A great lunch spot. The mandarin chicken is awesome but I often get the BBQ chicken as a little bit of a lighter option.

Awesome place for Vietnamese food! The spring rolls are to die for with the peanut sauce!!!

The exterior and interior look as though they may have been spruced up as recently as 1982. I ordered the lunch special Sweet & Sour Pork, which came with a crunchy egg roll, that rivaled the ones at Fong’s in Kenner (which has the best egg rolls in the New Orleans area). The fried rice and pork was piping hot and delicious, and nothing was greasy. I’d like to go back and check out their Vietnamese offerings. RJT

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Kim Son, but from what I remember it is the best Vietnamese restaurant I’ve ever been too. The grilled beef, Kung Bo and the chicken vermicelli is to die for. Don’t leave without having some Vietnamese coffee… you’ll be awake for two days haha.

I have been eating at Kim son for 20+ years. Hands down best restaurant on the west bank. Salt baked anything is incredible!!! Other recommendations = green beans with sesame, fried rice, charcoal broiled beef, pork or chicken over vermicelli or rice, imperial rolls… the list goes on!

There are so many idiots that try to write a review when they can’t tell the difference between a hot dog and a hamburger. I have been going to Kim Som for over 20 years. Why? It’s absolutely the best Vietnamese Restaurant in the city. Always the same high quality dishes and soups. Their Salt baked Crabs, Scallops, Squid and Shrimp are amazing with the right spices but not over spicy. Their beef in any dish is truly the highest quality meat very tender and fat free. Love all the soups but the Hot and Sour Shrimp is my favorite. Their green bean and BBQ Chicken Grilled fish dishes are another example of very fresh ingredients and well prepared. Go there yourself and write those idiots to stop bashing a truly top notch restaurant.

Food was tasty, service left a bit to be desired. I had the beef phở. Not the best I’ve had, but not bad. Had larger portions elsewhere for the same price. My Mom had the Kung Bo shrimp, said it was pretty good. My major complaint here is the service. We came in after the lunch rush and still had to wait longer than what is acceptable to be greeted, though our food arrived quickly once we ordered. All in all, food is good, the service was «meh», will probably opt to go else where for Asian fare.

The worst crap I’ve had in a while. Location Location Location. Guess that’s why it’s on the Westbank! Bland and discussing. Don’t bother.

The Vietnamese is good, the Chinese is really bad. Every time I’ve gotten the Chinese I’ve regretted it. And don’t even bother with the soups-​terrible– the egg drop has chicken in it and the crab corn has no crab. I actually prefer not to go to this place at all, but when I’m overruled by the majority… Anyway, do yourself a favor and either go to August Moon or China Doll or just order the Vietnamese if you have go here. The Vietnamese egg rolls are good. Their bùn is good, too. They put peanuts on it and it’s not in the description on the menu, just in case anyone is allergic.

Amazing cuisine. SO much to choose from and the portion size is way more than anyone needs. My husband and I both got something different and shared and still had so much to take!.. definitely would recommend trying it out! Big bang for your bucks!

My boyfriend and I are always looking for new places to try. Read the reviews for this place and decided to try it out. I can’t say that I was impressed.
I’ll start with the outside appearance as that initially had us considering just turning around. The weeds are overgrown and dying, paint is chipped off, no lighting anywhere. This place looks dark, desolate and uninviting in the daytime. I would be scared to go at night! We were the first car in the parking lot and really thought that Kims was closed and abandoned after Katrina. At about 5:15pm we saw movement.
The décor inside is a transport back to the 80s. Service was decent. Shrimp toast app was actually pretty good and hot. The main dishes were forgettable… and cold. So forgettable that I don’t even remember what I ate and it hasn’t been but a couple weeks if that.

Mixed emotions.
1. No orange chicken. :(
2. Large not sketchy restaurant. :)
3. More vietnamese than Chinese. :(
4. General Tso’s chicken was perfectly crisp, white chicken chunks. :) The sauce was decent. :) The fried rice was decent. :) Corn and crab soup was good. Fried noodle things perfectly fried. :)
Overall I like Kim Son. I’d return.

Quick service, clean, and best shrimp I’ve ever had. I won’t ever be able to drive by again without drooling.

no no no no no. this is where Vietnamese food gone wrong, I think it went north to China. Not a single dish worth commending, not even their imperial eggrolls (which are simply just eggrolls, not sure why the fancy title). Hubby and I were eager to try out this restaurant due to the high ratings on Unilocal,but we were left with high disappointment and hungry stomachs. So bad that my hubby told me, «I couldn’t wait to leave the restaurant so I can go get some banh mi». Enough said.

I have been messaged and called names due to my last review of this restaurant. I’ve been told I didn’t give them a chance. I was told I didn’t understand food. I’ve been told that I was white so didn’t have the right to judge an Asian restaurant. Bigoted a-​holes.
To all those people, please allow me to give you a single fingered salute.
The menu is odd. The phở options are very much limited to «white» options. By that, I mean nothing exotic and «white» according to the people who messaged me about judging Asian restaurants… For me, it means no tripe or sinew or anything like that. Sad really. Still no Mongolian beef available even though it’s still on the menu. Very limited descriptions and those that had descs were NOT very good.
I went back tonight to give them another chance.
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Once again, the crab rangoons were pretty good.
But the crab and corn soup was just eggdrop soup with corn that was probably spooned into a bowl while being WATCHED by a crab… then fish sauce was added. It was horrible and is usually one of the Girly’s favorite things. Even the fried wantons were stale.
I ordered what I thought were lettuce wraps with beef and onion. What I got was these rolled up beef bits that were rolled around onion. Should have been good, but were so over-​cooked that they hurt to chew. My gums actually HURT 3 hours after eating there (The scary thing is that the Girly’s does too). They came with wonton wrappers that cooled down and were nasty by the third one. The flavors were like a bad phở. And for some reason, there were nuts all over the beef rolls. Ick. :(
The girly ordered the dish she did last time. The Honey Walnut Shrimp. I think she forgot that last time she ate about half and it got too sweet. This time she ate about 4 and it got too sweet… and gummy. Not good eats. She had to take some of my lettuce and veggies to mix in just to make it edible.
I’m such a huge Vietnamese food fiend and Chinese food fiend that I’ve had it in at least 30 states and 5 countries and I think I’m fairly open and educated about tastes and textures.
But we both left this restaurant uncomfortable… Withing half an hour, we were sickly… within 2 hours our gums hurt and we both wanted to vomit.
The girly even withdrew her support she gave last review and doesn’t ever want to go back.
I’m really thankful for that.

First time visit. The service was fair, but the food made up for it. Libations: I will try something different next time, but simple syrup would have been a welcome addition to my Singapore Sling over the granulated sugar that settled at the bottom of my glass… just saying. On to the Food: My partner and I split Summer rolls which were quite delicious and more than enough for 2. My benchmark order, Bun Thit Nuong, was thoroughly tasty despite lacking my favorite pickled carrot and daikon topping. The pork was perfectly grilled whilst neither stringy nor fatty and the vermicelli/​greens/​pork ratio was well-​balanced. Portion size was on point with my hunger level *starving* yet I didn’t feel like a complete glutton after polishing off the last bite. The price was right! Conclusion: Enjoyable experience — I would travel to the Westbank just to eat here.

I have been here quite a few times and really enjoy their food. They have everything imaginable here if you want chinese or viet food. I have only tried about a dozen items on their menu but I have never left disappointed in any way. Great vegetarian selections too!
The vietnamese hot and sour shrimp soup is the main reason I come here though :)
The best vietnamese and chinese food in the city!

Kim Son is the best Vietnamese/​Chinese restaurant on the Westbank. Their hot and sour soup is among the best I have ever had. Every entrée on their menu that I have tried has been incredible.
I like to stick to the basics but my dining companions have always gone for the more adventurous Vietnamese dishes.
The great thing is that this restaurant can accommodate picky eaters and more adventurous eaters at the same time.