Van’s Chinese Seafood Restaurant

Came here for lunch around 12 o’clock and it was dead but around 1230 the place really picked up the food was fantastic would definitely come back again everything was fresh and made to order definitely recommend a drop soup is very delicious

One of my favorite spots near Broadway. It’s got the best price for sushi in San Antonio. I haven’t tried the other dishes but the do have fresh lobster last time I was there.

Just going to start off by saying, don’t eat here. We stopped in on a Sunday after craving phở on a cold day, and the restaurant next door was closed. We decided to give Van’s a try.
First off, the service was awful. After being seated and waiting for nearly 15 minutes, we felt like we were being ignored by the wait staff. We had to approach the manager for service.
When we finally ordered, our food did come out pretty quickly, and the fried spring rolls were alright, but not the best. When our phở came out, we asked for soup spoons and condiments and the same waiter who failed to acknowledge our presence proceeded to serve a huge party and handle other guests while waiting for a simple request. We couldn’t even get his attention and sat for another 5 – 10 minutes waiting for our spoons.
On top of that, the phở was flavorless and bland. The meat tasted funny and they skimped on the noodles + meat. I took a few bites and couldn’t finish it. All in all, that was $ 30 bucks down the drain. Try the restaurant next door.

When you walk into a restaurant on a Friday night and the tables are empty, that tells it all. If this is the best Cantonese in town, it is a sad sign. They have a wide source of wine and they do have some fresh seafood for a high price, but the phở is mediocre and the wait staff are poorly trained. The shelves are covered with bric a brac and cheap candy.
Another sad moment for San Antonio. If you want great Asian you have to drive to Austin.

The take out here has always been delicious and on point! The menu is creative and extensive. I’ve never been disappointed, especially given that yummy and authentic pan-​Asian places are a little tougher to find in San Antonio than other large cities.

Most people don’t get Van’s. They don’t realize that the true VALUE lies at the upper end of the menu where the French contributions to Vietnam’s fabulous cuisine become more noticeable.
For a fraction the cost of your average downtown steak houses, you can have crab and lobster that are swimming when you order. Prime steaks, locally sourced rack of lamb, gulf shrimp. you get the picture. Prepared in an amazing variety of styles by old world masters that fled the country around the same time as the U.S. Army…
The real deal is the WINE. Huge selection, a lot not on the menu, at the most reasonable prices I have ever encountered in a restaurant. Some of the older wines are shockingly reasonable.

Well, the food here was only average. But what makes this a One Star Place is the service. Our Mexican waiter rolled his eyes at us for no reason several times, like when we ordered, requested glasses of water, etcetera. When he brought out our egg rolls, one of them fell on the table, and all he did was pick it up and throw it back on the plate. Unbelievable! He did not even know what was in the sushi rolls on the menu. This would have been almost forgivable had he been new. But he has been there two years!

My hubby and I were looking for some real estate investment opportunities in the area and decided to try this place out. We LOVE Hung Cuong and will be living too far away to have our weekly visits. In other words we were scoping out the Viet restaurants in the area.
Parking was a total pain, but we managed to find s spot. We walked in and were greeted immediately. As we were bring seated, I noticed that the place was rather small but pretty busy. However, there were quite a few Vietnamese families having lunch there. So u thought we chose a good place.
We had to go with the Vietnamese Iced Coffee. It was good and one of the few places that bring the slow drip to your table.
We started off with Vietnamese fried egg rolls. They were not the best, but not the worst. They had a nice fry to them, but the filling was bland. Side note, they serve them with lettuce so you can wrap the egg rolls and make a lettuce wrap.
For my entrée, I ordered the «Mi Wonton» (egg noodles w/​wonton) and the noodles were good, the broth was decent, but the wontons were bland. I was disappointed. The entire dish was disappointing.
My hubby ordered the «shaken beef» and when he took his first bite, he never really touched it again. The beef had the strangest flavor to it and I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. It was just strange!!! I got to a point where I was thinking the meat has gone bad. It was terrible!!!
Never in a million years would I go back. I was so disappointed. Giving this place 2 stars for the good coffee and ok egg rolls.

Amazing experience overall. I ordered sliced beef lemongrass w vermicelli and spring rolls. Came out within 10 mins and I was blown away by how much flavor each item had! Their fish sauce is the right balance between sweet and strong. Spring rolls were very crispy and not over filling to where I have to take two bites for one piece. The beef vermicelli is the best in town I’ve tried! Packed with many flavors & textures to compliment the dish — garlicky crisps, spiced jalapeños, crunchy peanuts, pickled veggies & fresh bites of cucumber — phenomenal! Lastly I ordered an iced coffee which really set their game off, because I’m a huge fan of Vietnamese iced coffee. Even though it’s Van’s Chinese — I give their Vietnamese menu two thumbs up. I hear their Phở is one of the best in town too… winter is coming!

The place is disgusting, food is gross, and totally over priced. A cockroach actually crawled up the walls during business hours.

I placed my phở order to go. Van was very nice and answered some phở questions I had to. The broth was packaged separate from the rice noodles, beef, and onion, which was great. The portion was very generous. For $ 9 I have dinner for tonight and lunch tomorrow. The beef phở was very tasty, definitely hit the spot.

First things first– the beef phở here is delicious. Spot on.
However,
They no longer serve sushi anymore, even though their menus and signs all proclaim that they do. Their seafood tanks are empty– do they even serve seafood any more? I tried to order a simple california roll and was told they no longer served sushi and had issues with the menu printer… etc. It would have been better to inform me of this before I looked at the menu.
Phở normally comes in 2 – 3 sizes S M & L and ranges from $ 7-​$ 10. They charge 9.50 for a medium bowl of soup which is ridiculous. Phở also normally comes with a side plate of veggies such as jalapenos, sprouts, basil, and mint. The only veggies that come on the soup itself are a few shavings of white onion.
My phở here came covered in cilantro and red onion, when it was advertised as coming with mint. I like cilantro, but would have been very disappointed if I didn’t. I had to ask for sprouts and basil (which they grow there! cool!), which were provided no problem.
Other simple noodle dishes cost upwards of $ 16/​$ 17 dollars, prices that don’t fit the restaurant or the service. I love supporting mom and pop holes in the walls, but this one seems to be trying to distance itself from that label with its outrageous prices and folded napkins.
I’d be there again in a heartbeat if the menu and prices were realistic, but as is, I sadly will not be returning.

It’s Sunday and next door restaurant was closed so I went here. Service was poor after I was seated. After 5 minutes I decided to leave when no one came back to take my order. I can only comment on the service since I never ate the food.

Okay… So came here for Phở, walked in the restaurant and was immediately overpowered by an old and dungy smell. The type of smell, which suggests the restaurant hasn’t been thoroughly cleaned in weeks or even months. My fiancé and I sat down, when were promptly greeted by a server. Only problem, the server had a bit of «razor burn» on his upper lip area (at least I hope it was razor burn). With the possible herpes on the waiter’s lip, the pungent smell, and the lack of free refills on ice tea: sarcasm: we decided to leave. Went right next door and it definitely did not disappoint.

We were looking for a good soup place and this place seemed to call us. We were their first customers of the night and the owner was training a server whom scurried away from us each time it seemed, but very polite. There was another odd member of their staff trying to make awkward conversation with us while we ate, kind of uncomfortable especially when your trying to enjoy an evening with your family.
I ordered a seafood soup, which hit the spot for me, delicious, not too salty! My husband ordered sushi and egg rolls. Sushi was a great price ($ 9)! The food was super tasty, too bad the service wasn’t as good!
Here’s why:…had to ask for straws, what restaurant doesn’t use any? I asked for lime and got lemon. I asked for a another lemonade and then they took like 20 minutes before I got it denied. No wonder they brought me out a water. Didn’t even offer an explanation why, just that they didn’t do any refills on lemonade!?? (I’m thinking it’s because it was freshly squeezed… then they should charge per lemonade! Please put this on the menu so we do not ask for another!) Staff if not serving you should not be trying to make awkward out of the blue conversation, we should be left alone to enjoy the food and to our own company and conversation.
In conclusion, the three stars are for a beautiful restaurant and great food. Staff needs a lot of work on social skills, they didn’t have anyone answering the phone, horrible for business!

Not a good experience last time I visited. I called ahead and ordered shrimp and chicken lemongrass. The food was ready when I arrived to pick it up; I got home, started eating, and there are LOTS of shells (from the shrimp) in the dish :/​I expect the tails to be on occasionally and gladly remove them myself. But I don’t expect any shells on the rest of the shrimp when i’m paying $ 12.99 for a meal.

Everything taste old and gross. Not fresh food!
Cashew chicken: chicken was tough. Week old leftovers.
Duck soup: more like bones in a bowl of water. Where’s the duck and broth?
Fried rice: bland, soapy taste
Spring rolls: crust rolls. There was no filling inside!

Well, I have had time to explore the menu and get to know a little of the staff along the way. I have certainly begun to fall in love with the place a little for sure.
First of all if your a wine lover this place has absolutely no shortage on wine whatsoever the place is super stocked with all kinds of wine the list would probably go on and on so just ask for a suggestion maybe.
I personally love the Phở at this location and haven’t found one to match its excellence.
Bin all over the city and nope this place has the best Phở fo sho! I had the round steak Phở. Noodles were perfect not stuck together and the flavor was splendid.
The Crab Rangoon was cooked perfectly light and crispy plus the red sauce taste excellent it’s not the cheep cornstarch one most chain places utilize it’s the good stuff.
The coconut ice cream is pretty cool it’s served within its mother coconut. Just wow.
My favorite Vietnamese coffee drink I order from here is served with the strainer on top of condensed milk. I stir it and pour it over cold ice, it’s perfection. A must try if you like coffee. Favorite Vietnamese place in the city by far. Houston is the only other place I have had food like this good. Its a quaint and the service is always friendly and though slow at times I personally believe it’s because they pay mind to the details and are being through. Once in a while they may forget the silverware or be slow to bring out water here and there but they are only human be patient it is worth the wait.
Love this place

The wings and spring rolls deserve 11 of 10 stars both are great. The service here is also great and there is a huge wine menu.
The reason I gave it 4 stars is that the phở is very good but others I prefer more and it is the main thing I go here to eat. All in all this is a great place and good value.
Went back and had the pork rice stuck which was very good and the garlic shrimp and that was f’n awesome. If you go there and have made it through this review get the garlic shrimp.

Delicious fantastic great tea and just love the Spring rolls they are awesome place is been here more than 25 years