Wondrous Azian Kitchen

Over-​priced and too loud

The food is expensive and nothing to brag about. I was so excited to try it, but was utterly disappointed and the Groupon I had wasn’t good for happy hour plates. The drinks were probably the only good thing there.

The Wondrous Azian Kitchen. One of the more hit and miss places that Hennepin Avenue has to offer. On a recent visit, it was a spectacular miss.
Service started out strong — our waiter was friendly, funny, and attentive, filling up water glasses as fast as we could empty them. Once dinner was ordered, he kind of disappeared, and we were relegated to dealing with the food runner.
Our drinks and appetizers were fabulous — I would go back for spring rolls and drinks, but not at their full price. More likely, during happy hour.
After a fab round of tasty bits, we were eagerly anticipating dinner. It arrived, and we were reeeeeally disappointed. One of my friends ordered a Caesar salad, which was a soggy pile of limp lettuce that was absolutely sopping wet with dressing. The chicken on top of it was really poor quality, and it was burned to a crisp. Phở was next on the table’s tab, and it was really flavorless, and had withered regular basil instead of fresh Thai basil, as the menu boasted. Lastly, my softshell crab burger was thickly breaded, over-​fried, and largely gone. I ate more breading than I did crab. The fries were crispy and burned, and only stubby little bits of potato instead of long pieces.
Not a one of us was able to eat more than ¼ of our meals. No boxes were offered, they just gave us our check. Even with an $ 80 groupon, we still owed nearly $ 30 each after tip! For four drinks, two appetizers, and an entrée each, that’s just ridiculous.

Yep — should have listened to the reviews.
The service was actually pretty good — the staff was nice and attentive.
The food was below so-​so and but not worth the price.
Lunch for two
2 — soda’s
spring rolls — 1 order
1 entrée each
$ 55…this was lunch:) and before the tip… so really $ 65 because they did a good job with service.
I give this place less than 6 more months — people in MN won’t pay this for Asian food when there are so many great spots that are affordable. I could taxi back and forth to frog town… have a better meal… and spend less.

My boss is in town for a week and I’d impressed him two lunches in a row at Hell’s Kitchen and Ike’s. I was hoping to go three for three and send him home with an appreciation of Minneapolis’s great restaurant scene. I know he likes sushi so we decided to head over to Thom Pham’s Wondrous Azian Kitchen of Many Happy Food Delights Made by Thom Pham who is Amazing.
Well the biggest disappointment is that they don’t serve sushi anymore. I won’t hold that against them in this review, but it was a letdown. What did factor into my rating was the condescending server who adopted a tone that let me know I was an absolute idiot for not being aware that they stopped serving sushi.
The place was pretty dead for being lunchtime downtown. Still, the service was below average, especially the looooong period we waited with our menus closed on the table for the guy to come take our order.
Before I get to the food I need to mention the drinks. I had just sipped my lemonade and found it was bottom of the barrel Sysco type lemon flavored drink #12 when my boss made a face after trying his ice tea. He first said it was «interesting» before deeming it «horrible» after his second (and last) sip. This is not a cheap establishment so it’s crazy that they’re serving cheap store bought crap.
The food was good. I had Phở which I enjoyed quite a bit. I know some people get really into their Phở so I should mention that I’ve only had it a couple times and am far from an expert on what makes good Phở, I only know that I liked what I ate. There was a fair amount of each ingredient and the beef stock was seasoned well. They gave enough peppers on the side for me to make the entire dish fairly spicy. But again, it was just good, not great.
$ 18 (before tip) for some decent Phở and a terrible lemonade is an insult. I had not hopped on Unilocal ahead of time to read the reviews, but seeing them now it seems like I’m not alone in my opinion that this place is best skipped.
Lastly, this is probably the worst name for any place in the entire metro area.

I do believe that Thom should rename the restaurant and leave Azian out of it. I went with a friend to use a Groupon only to find that the menu had been completely revamped. What is going on? I did not expect to see burgers and franks on an Azian menu, when the question was put to the waiter the response was «Thom just came back from a trip to N.Y. and was trying to mirror some of the restaurants that he visited.» Well let me tell you he fell short of the mark.
I will say that the cocktails were still very good and so were the appetizers but it ends there. I am sorry to say that after many an enjoyable visit to this restaurant I knew after last night I would not be back.
I can only hope the Thom’s new restaurant (when it opens) will be much better. I can only hope that it will be somewhat like the old Azia!

I saw a groupon that if you paid $ 35 you recieved $ 70 worth of food and drinks. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I was glad I didn’t. I loved this place. I thought the food was really good. I loved the Pad Thai and the Cranberry Stuffed Wontons. I don’t like much spice on my foods and I really appreciated that they could accommodate me and make things less spicy if I wanted them too. Overall food and drinks were great.
I do think this place is extremely pricey. Don’t go if you are going on a tight budget. If you are in the mood to go downtown and splurge this is an awesome spot! Great location too and really neat atmosphere!

Wondrous Azian Kitchen. Well… they get one thing right. The kitchen part. Because this place wasn’t wondrous… and what the heck is «Azian» anyway?!
The restaurant earned a meh on a scale of bah to MMM. It didn’t strike me as anything special — the prices were high and the food was mediocre. The coolest part was that it was nicely decorated… something I’d put last on my list as far as being able to make or break a restaurant.
Highlight of the 5 course meal were the wings — lightly battered and oyster sauced-​up — these were great. The pot stickers were ok. Although very well cooked (pan fried with a caramelized outer skin) and tender, the problem was the flavor. There was no explosion in my mouth! I’d rather the place took a risk with bold flavor (chilis, ginger, ie flavor city) rather than the conservative approach of settling for something bland.
The Singapore noodles were decent, as was the «Azian» fusion plate of chicken and pineapple. Don’t get the papaya salad. It didn’t taste mouth popping like it should, and you’d be wasting your time filling up on something sub par. The almond and coconut ice cream dessert was also only ok. The ice cream had that mouth feel of being thawed and refrozen, that crystallized taste.
I’ll commend the staff here. They were attentive and courteous. This place may be worth checking out if you go with friends and you have a Groupon. I’d stick to the apps and more Americanized offerings. I’ve heard the ribs are good.

Hmm… What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Not much really…
Even after reading the reviews, there was a part of me that was really hoping that the food would surprise me, but nope it didn’t… To be quite honest it was pretty awful…
We ordered the calamari for starters which was awesome. After that the food just went down hill. The «crab cake» (if u even want to call it that) was just plain awful. The «nutty» with pork wasn’t any better. It’s pretty rare to hear me say I’ll never go back to a restaurant, but I can’t ever see myself going back here…

I am in town for business… arrive late and need some food before bed… this was one of the few places open on the Wednesday night.
The place is almost vacant when I walk in, but in the very back where folks are drinking and dancing to the DJ.
The bartender gets to me quickly and shares the menu for late night orders in addition to offering me a drink.
The food comes quickly and off I go. So, all and all a good experience.

I recently discovered this place thanks to an $ 80 Groupon deal. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have wandered in (due to it’s overly-​hip, glaringly obnoxious entrance). Secondly, as a Chinese person, I think I’ve truly found the few good Chinese restaurants there are in the city (and this wasn’t one of them). Nevertheless, there was a Groupon to use!
At first, I didn’t think I’d be able to use up all $ 80 in one sitting… that is, until I saw the prices. For just two people, I ended up paying a bit out of pocket at this place — yikes!
As for the restaurant: While our service was great and the ambiance decent, the pricing for Chinese food was ridiculous. The food was decent, but you could get much better bang for your buck and a higher quality, authentic Chinese meal at P.F. Changs. This Asian doesn’t need to go back.

Ok, I’m Chinese, so my post will be very biased.
Here goes…
I had dinner here on a Saturday night (made a reservation on
) and we were seated immediately after arriving. The décor is good, but the lighting is SUPER dark, hard to read the menu with the light from your iPhone and the tiny candle at the table.
The prices on the menu are mid-​range, about $ 15 a plate; which I would consider average for downtown Minneapolis for dinner on a weekend. We ordered the Peking Duck and a Chicken Curry Dish.
The Peking Duck was fine, but not «real» Peking Duck; not even close. It was basically a roast duck cut in half, plated with two bread rolls. The duck good, but I’ve had better and after having the real thing in China, this dish doesn’t compare. Real Peking Duck doesn’t have bones and is sliced thin, served with small wonton wrappers and sauce.
The Chicken Curry Dish faired better. It had good flavor and was presented well.
After spending $ 80, I walked away full, but I’ve been to places in the Twin Cities that serve the same dishes with deeper flavor, more authenticity and lower prices.

Whyyyyyy would you charge $ 15 for phở. Or say beef dishes are $ 16.95 but then charge me $ 21.95? No, you don’t get to serve such overpriced, oversalted, oversugared dishes just because you have a glossy exterior and an ostentatious décor.
The steak and potatoes dish was so insanely sweet even an extra cup of rice (which costs $ 2 by the way) couldn’t balance out the flavor. The service was abrupt, too. My disappointment in this joint is exacerbated by the fact that it’s just grossly overpriced. If you’re going to make your patrons pay for a good experience, you’d better deliver. This restaurant didn’t.

Very hit or miss. A lot of people in my group didn’t finish their food. I guess even for Minnesota standards, the Asian food didn’t really cut it. I was okay with what I ordered (sesame chicken), although I still probably would’ve preferred if we went somewhere else.
On the other hand, the service was really great, but maybe that’s because most of the restaurant was empty.

«You know what they say about dim sum? I’ll have dim sum, and dim some more!» (Sorry, random Will & Grace quote there). Although I didn’t try Thom Pham’s dim sum, I will definitely be returning to his newest Azian incarnation in the future.
This past Saturday night, I went to this «wondrous» restaurant for the first time for a bachelorette party. I totally agree with Nicole G. that this place is «Asian Chic” – it is absolutely beautiful and inviting.
Our server John S. was so nice – I swear, Thom Pham has the most friendly waitstaff I’ve ever encountered. John was so patient with us, and he knew the menu very well so he was able to answer all of our questions. We ordered cocktails right off the bat, and I started out with the «Spanish Fly», which is some sort of spicy martini with red pepper flakes and sugar on the rim = so good! Later I had a glass of sangria, which was the perfect sweet flavor after the spicy kick of the Spanish Fly.
We ordered a few starters for the table: some oysters and the cranberry puffs… and OMG they were both AMAZING! Best oysters I’ve had in Minneapolis, and there is no comparison for the cranberry puffs – they’re just so good! For dinner, I decided to try the lobster roll. It was also delicious, and I look forward to trying more of the sushi here. Because many of the portions were so large, we all sampled a little bit of everyone else’s dishes, which included the Singapore Noodles, Ahi Yellow Fin Tuna, and Cranberry Curry. My favorite was the tuna – (prepared rare and seasoned to perfection on a bed of steamed veggies). I think I know what I’m getting next time!
Thom Pham himself came by our table and informed us they were preparing a special dessert for us (on the house). Shortly after, he delivered a GIANT platter with two banana rolls on it (deep fried bananas w/​ginger ice cream) – afterall, it wouldn’t be a bachelorette party without a phallic dessert!
At a place like this, you get what you pay for. Sure, some of the dishes are a little spendier than other places, but the quality of the food as well as the service commands the price. Plus, some of the portions are just down right huge! From what I hear, the menu has been trimmed down to highlight their best dishes now too, so if you were previously unimpressed, perhaps you should give it another shot.
After we finished, our server brought us separate checks (which was perfect for a large group), and then we were ushered off to the Caterpillar Lounge in the back, which is this awesome little dimly lit lounge that totally has a modern speakeasy feel to it. There’s a different drink menu than in the restaurant, so we just asked the bartender for her recommendation. Her specialty is apparently a honey-​infused tequila drink served in a flute with an orange peel that’s called something that translates to «Mayan goddess of honey». It was absolutely delicious – I would totally recommend it, and you should ask them to light it on fire for you. After we finished those, Thom came by to check on us again, and offered us a round of Citron shots (again on the house). He was so great to us all night, and you can really tell he wants everyone to have a great time at his restaurant. I know we sure did, and I am going to recommend it to everyone I know! Thanks Thom for a WONDROUS evening!

Food is actually not bad though. Drinks are decent. Service was decent. Décor really is funky, fun, and a little Asian-​kitsch. It kinda reminds me of a Chino-​Latino for the late 20s crowd with money. If you must go, it’s alright. If you must pay for it yourself, it kinda rapes your wallet.
I must say. I’m never going here again unless someone else is paying for me because, I’m being serious, the food prices are double that of all other restaurants with food equivalents. Not cool.

Went for dim sum they didn’t have a large selection of choices and I’ve had plenty better around the other dim sum restaurants which none have out beat mandarin kitchen in bloomington. I say pass up going downtown and go to one in the suburbs cheaper on the parking, and the salty dim sum they offer here.

Given the amazing Asian food available in the twin cities (read: Jasmine 26, Roat Osha, Kindho, etc), I can’t justify going back to this restaurant. I got the Vegetarian Fantasy, which was smothered in a sauce that must have been half corn starch. And the portion was small for the $ 16 they charged. I tried the mashed potatoes of someone else I was dining with and they were bland and tasteless and presumably from a box. Another person had to send back her sushi, but was apparently pleased with the substitution.
On the positive side, it is downtown in a cool spot with good service and a varied menu. That might be enough for some people, but not this woman!

Had high hopes for a place with such an amazing name but sadly we were very disappointed.
A local friend and I dinner here back in September before the Louis CK show at the nearby State Theatre. We tried the kung pao chicken and the beef basil supreme, both from the wok menu, and just didn’t find them to be particularly interesting. Too sweet, barely noticeable basil… everything just kind of tasted the same. Eh.
Cocktails were very small as well. especially for the price. Booooo…
Our server was sweet, though and did her best to accommodate us. One star for her.
We also had problems with parking validation at the nearby garage, (as in, they would not accept it) … which — for a few dollars wasn’t that big of a deal to me — but my friend was irritated and the miscommunication is a pain in the ass. Wish they’d straighten that out.
All things considered I’m sure there are better meals to be had elsewhere. Sorry… not so wondrous. :-/

Blah blah blah…
Very nice service… blah food… expensive blah food…
I could go on and on… but really… why bother… I’ll be blown away if this place is around a year from now.