Cyclo Vietnamese Cuisine

I visited Cyclo and had absolutely the worst food. I ordered one coke, pho tai, and spring rolls. The... more

I went to this restaurant twice and I had tried the chicken soup and the beef noodle soup. The chicken soup was mediocre, and the beef noodle soup was bland ... too much noodles with a few beef pieces as garnish. I'm vietnamese and I think the food at this restaurant is altered to suit the caucasian taste buds. It's time to visit some other authentic vietnamese restaurant in chanlder. Also, I agree with some of the reviewers that the wait staff/owner's attire is over the top and trashy. Ditched the ""streetwalker"" attire and dressed in some thing more professional and classy. What are you trying to sell? Food or ""other services""? Pros: lemongrass chicken, spring rolls, not for kids Cons: chicken soup and beef noodle soup more

Cyclo is fantastic. It's truly a restaurant gem in Chandler. \r \r The owner, Justine, is great too - vivacious, fun, witty and mostly attentive. I've noticed previous commenters have said her and her family/sister/wait staff are in ""street walker"" attire at times and discriminatory against Asian clientele. I've never noticed that ... in fact I've seen them carry on conversations and sit down with most regulars in the restaurants regardless of race. That comment was idiotic. Street walker attire? Well, it is Arizona, it is hot and a girl needs to keep cool. I've never been offended nor has my wife by anyone in this place.\r \r Everything my wife and I have ever had here has been fantastic. The pho is sensational. The beef salad appetizer is spicy and amazing as are the spring rolls. The Pad Thai - wonderful. Spicy Lemongrass Chicken - killer. Everything I've ever had here has been out of this world fresh, healthy and tasty.\r \r They recently did a great upgrade to their interior turning from slightly drab to minimalist, sheik and cosmopolitan. You'd expect to see this place with this quality of food in New York, Chicago or LA. \r \r If you haven't tried it, beware - you'll get hooked. Pros: Food, Pho, new urban enterior, good service. Cons: So small the wait can sometimes be long - but carryout is always quick. more

A friend introduced me to cyclo over a year ago, and I have been numerous times. To start off with, the food is delicious. For starters, the spring rolls and crepes are delicious and so fresh! The green beans are also utterly amazing and a must have with any meal. In fact, I would come here just for the green beans! Now I can't pass up a good pad thai, so I can't seem to order anything else... however, I have tried numerous other entrees that other people have ordered, and you can't seem to go wrong. Finally, save room for the desert because the jasmine creme brulee is spectacular... light and sweet and delicious! \r \r Now that the food discussion is finished, I must also comment that the ambience is perfect, all thanks to the sassy Justina. She never ceases to liven up the dinner. And, as a young professional struggling not to conform to the super-conservative, male dominated professional arena, it is refreshing to see a hip, but classy, well-dressed lady taking your order in stylish pumps (most professional women wear pumps to work, right?!). \r \r I am a woman and have eaten at cyclo with parties of numerous sizes, with individuals of both sexes and different ethnicities, and have never witnesed any discrimination or questionable behavior. Granted, the staff may not go out of their way to be nice to grumpy, rude, or clearly pretentious/judgmental patrons, but what server would? Pros: everything Cons: kinda far from where I live, but I'll make the trek regardless more

I am not one to criticize a restaurant that I serves excellent food but I cannot help it if I see blatant discrimination. I agree with a previous reviewer, that the few times I was there, the hostess(s) were dressed in very flamboyant skin tight (street-walker) outfits. However, the last time, they were now dressed in more understated and subtle suits. They also were not as flirty to the male clientele. Now, I see this as a great improvement but as I sat there with my friend, we noticed that they paid no attention to their Asian customers. They were primarily focused on their caucasian clientele. I, myself, am Asian and when my table was obviously ignored (they passed right by) I felt very discriminated!! There are obvious improvement (attire) but continue to make improvements by trying to address and interact with all customers not just the white ones! more

I really like the food at Cyclo but, Justina's attitude has gotten old and is not funny anymore. She needs... more

We were introduced to Cyclo by a couple of friends that described the person who ran the place (Justina) as ""sassy"". We would have to agree and after our first dining experience at Cyclo almost two years ago we keep coming back for more. \r \r The food is consistently fresh, fun and delicious. You should definitely try the Black Pepper Shrimp (if you like shrimp) as an appetizer. One of my favorite dishes is the Pad Thai, which always leaves me satisfied (and some for lunch the next day). Other places I have tried Pad Thai always gives me an upset stomach, but not Cyclo. They always use the freshest ingredients and have the most delightful spices and fresh mint, cilantro, etc. to add to the dish. \r \r Cyclo is our permanent spot for birthday dinners and we introduce as many people to the great atmosphere and food as possible.\r \r The person who wrote about the service and how the wait staff was dressed obviously has some personal issues that need addressing. He or she is missing out on a great dining experience with people who know how to make a person feel welcome. We have dozens of friends who love the whole group of great people that work at Cyclo and no one understands what you are talking about. \r \r We?ll be at Cyclo again this week and look forward to another great meal with our friends at Cyclo.\r Pros: Fresh fantastically delicious food, Fun dining experience, Great place to go with friends, great prices Cons: Sometimes we forget to make a reservation - don't forget to make a reservation for dinner more

The food here is amazing. Love, love, love the rice noodle cake, the black pepper shrimp, the green curry, crispy lemongrass chicken.....yes I've been here quite a lot!! The service is great, always entertaining - it feels like you're in someones home. And to top it all off ""The Price is Right"". Definitely worth a visit and don't forget to BYOB!!!\r Pros: Great food, great prices Cons: Sometimes a wait on a Friday or Saturday night. more

I love this place! Have been coming here weekly for 4 months now and it is great. The atmosphere is fantastic and the setting is very romantic. From the first time my gal and I came here we felt right at home. The owner is very friendly and went out of her way to help us with our selection since it was our first Vietnamese dining experience. We even received instructions on how to properly eat and enjoy what we ordered. This has been going on ever since. The owner Justina has even ordered for us so we could experiment! We have tried almost everything on the menu and it is all good. Three of our favorites are the Lemongrass Chicken, the Fried Rice and the Black Pepper Shrimp just to name a few. If you go...experiment! Prices are excellent and the staff make you feel right at home. Justina is a hoot and it is fun to watch her work the tables. Don't be surprised if she sits at your table and shares dinner with you! My gal and I do wonder if there is an aphrodisiac in the food though....give it a try and you won't be dissapointed! Justina should be proud of what she has done with this place! Pros: Great food, great service, great prices Cons: Wouldn't change a thing! more

So I heard all the reviews on this place and was delighted to go in and eat great food. I do have to say the food was okay - I ordered chkn breast w/ egg noodles (not the most exciting, but if you can't make a basic soup tasty, what does that say??) and was a bit surprised to see it come out, brought out by some heavily-perspiring (his shirts neck-line was drenched in sweat) guy that didn't even give eye contact or talk. It seems they were saving $ on A/C cuz the whole time we were there, It was like being outside (in AZ, that's not good). So, my dish was okay, not delicious. \r Service: our waitress was nice - young, pretty girl and she was quick, however I noticed that two other ladies working there (supposedly serving or acting as wait-staff), were just standing around, talking (one was heavily flirting w/ every customer who came in.. which was a bit over-the-top considering she was scantily-clad, super high heels, wasn't wearing a bra, and took any chance to talk to male clientele.. which leads me to my next topic - that's probably why there were significantly more guys that girls there - by the looks of these girls, they all thought it was a ""happy-ending"" vietnamese massage parlor in the back...).\r In short:\r Service: our waitress was good; others looked like they were waiting to get ""picked-up"" (aka, not ""waiting"")\r Food: my dish was nothing I'd ever order again (I also ordered spring rolls which were also tasteless and bland)\r Atmosphere: the place is quite nice inside\r Price: prices are agreeable\r Would I ever return? Probably never. Oh yeah, my bill was $20 (not including tip, which i left in cash) and I looked at my bank statement the next morning, they had charged me $27... which reminds me I need to call my bank!\r \r So, if you want to get a little bit screwed - no, not physically - but financially, check this place out. Pros: nice atmosphere; good prices Cons: sweaty cook brings you food; food is 'ok' more

The soups and noodle dishes are extremely good. I'm not so hot on the other items, but I like the Lat Na,... more

I once wrote a glowing review of Cyclo; however, due to repeated visits I'm starting to see that all the excitement over this restaurant was more hype than reality. I am Vietnamese and I am always trying to find good Viet restaurants to introduce to my friends. Many of them have fallen in love with Cyclo, but I've found better places to spend my money since then.\r \r If you must come to Cyclo, I would recommend the Pho Ap Chao ($10) - I especially liked the veggies. The crispy lemongrass chicken ($8) was good, but one dimensional. It was just meat and rice, so veggies or herbs would have been a nice addition. I've been here on 4+ occasions and like the dinner atmosphere a bit better than the lunch. Sometimes, it can get extremely hot and sweaty, I felt like I was dining in the kitchen itself. I really appreciate that the place has good, clean decor: glowing candles, mural on the wall, and a creative hut-looking area over server station. It?s a cozy place for a date. \r \r My good friend called to make a reservation for a large party, but when they arrived they still had to wait over an hour to be seated - fake reservations!\r \r It would have been nice if the owner stopped and said hello to our table on multiple occasions when she is clearly super-friendly with many of the other diners. Maybe she's biased against Asians as other reviewers have pointed out :-( That's a shame, especially since I'm constantly introducing friends to new restaurants. Too bad Cyclo, I'm taking my business elsewhere!!! \r \r Pros: good variety of dishes to try, cozy ambiance Cons: hot and sweaty dining room, biased service, slow seating more

Best in phx, bar none - Justina manages a mean restaurant, and she is always at the top of her game. The crepes are too die for, and the short ribs are the stuff dreams are made of. Any of the pho will lift your spirits quicker than Pr*zac. It's byob, but that saves you money - more money to eat at Cyclo - if they only made Vietnamese sandwiches........... more

Happiness. There should be a Cyclo on every corner. The owner is super happy and fashionable; makes everyone feel easy. Try everything, bring your cousins. more