Kim Ngan

The past few times I’ve been here the quality of the food has changed a little bit… I’ve raved so much about this place to friends and family that it’s quite a bit embarrassing when they come to town. The pork is bland and the egg cake is dry and old. Both times, quiet a bit disappointing. It’s very difficult to find a 5 star amazing Vietnamese restaurant in the area. I will come back and try again. Perhaps I visited them on their «off» days. If anything changes I will update again!

Now I don’t know about you, but when I see a plain looking Vietnamese restaurant occupying the remnants of an old Burger King in a borderline sketchy part of town I just gotta check it out. And rarely am I disappointed.
Kim Ngan is no exception.
Oxtail phở?! Yep, they got it. Banh mi’s on super fresh and crunchy french bread? You better believe it. A wide assortment of roasted and fried animals? Chyeah dawg!
There are whispers of a hotpot dinner special that will wash your worries away like a quiet ocean of fire.
Staff is really personable, everyone speaks good English and can give you intelligible descriptions of the food if you need help picking what you want to eat like a big boy/​girl.

Let me start by saying that I’ve been to most of the viet places in Stl. Just love the cuisine.
the location is sort of sketchy, but the food is incredible. Phở is up there in the top 3. Plenty of veggies, great broth. The grilled pork banh mi is hands down, the best in Stl. probably, the best i’ve ever had. Bread is crusty and always fresh, the size and filling are top notch. After this sandwich, i won’t order one anywhere else.

Great place, the banh mi are legit, they are filled to the brim with meat and veggies. The grilled pork banh mi… so good. I’ve eaten banh mi all over St. Louis and this place does it very well.

Kim Ngan is probably the closest you’ll get to good, authentic Vietnamese food in St. Louis. Located in «Dutchtown» close to a lot of the Vietnamese establishments, this hidden gem is one of my favorites restaurants to satisfy my hunger with when I’m in an adventurous mood.
I’ve had multiple items on the menu in my trips to Kim Ngan, but being the «adventurous» person that I am usually go for their Phở (:P), which is one of the best in St. Louis. The portion sizes are huge and the amount of meat is appropriate (which is one of my pet peeves at some other places). The Phở soup base flavor is rich, but not overwhelming. I usually go all out and get the Phở with the sliced beef, tendon, omasum, flank, and oxtail.
On my most recent trip here, I decided to try out their Bun Bo Hue instead. When it came out, I was slightly disappointed at the level of spiciness. Granted, our nice server asked me how spicy I wanted it and I requested the normal level of spiciness, but I think they still toned it down nonetheless and gave me the «white person» level of spiciness. It wasn’t a big deal, as a little bit of the pepper paste sauce made me start sweating. To be fair, I’m not as familiar with Bun Bo Hue so I can’t compare it to the other restaurants in the area, but I thought the flavorful soup was a was a nice contrast to the Phở that I usually get.
The Banh Mi here is also really good. The bread is the right kind of bread, just the right level of crispy.
Kim Ngan will surely make you become «one with the bowl» as your head won’t leave the delicious bowl of soup until you’ve completely exhausted the last drop.

This place is creeping towards my favorite Vietnamese spots. Every time I’ve been (about 5 times) its terrific. Tried something Ive never had today and loved it. Pork belly with eggs braised in coconut sauce with rice and vegetables. Wow!

Excellent! I finally made it in and wow it puts a few Phở restaurants to shame on Grand. Great broth and meat quality. Yep it’s definitely in my top 2, easily. They are closed on Thursday and remodelled 2 months ago.

Kim Ngan is re-​opened! And the management (the owner) has changed. I have gone there about 4 times already since the re-​opening. Food quality is still the same but heavier MSG taste on some night.
Service really need improvement as the new servers are not attentive at all nor do they know what they are doing most of the time. I have 2 young kids, no high chair offered when we enter as before (we fetched the highchair ourselves while they just stood there). For taking out order, first a man pick up the phone, we said what we want in both Vietnamese name and number then he passed the phone to a woman who I assume is the manager, we have to say what we want again. It happened 2 times. I don’t see the point why the man has to pick up the phone and take our order if he doesn’t know what to do instead of asking us to hold.
I really like Kim Ngan’s food, I just hope the service can keep up.

Phở was delicious. The broth is superb, the noodles are decent, and the quantity given is great. Good price too.

I would’ve recommended this place (maybe 4 stars), but my waiter purposely over charged my card thinking I wouldn’t catch it. The menu is in Vietnamese, so I’m assuming they thought I wouldn’t remember what I ordered. When I confronted my waiter he stammered a bit and said I didn’t have to tip. Just ridiculous.

#midacbiet has to be my fav bowl beside the oxtail phở bowl! Gotta love this place everytime i visit. Severs are very nice and helpful, they will get you any thing u ask (: definitely coming back if im in the area xD

This might be the phở place I have been looking for in the STL area.
The atmosphere: not a date place, go to the other phở places for that.
This is the phở place for when you want something as close to Little Saigon phở as possible. The broth was light and flavorful, unfortunately a little salty, I did find myself drinking a lot of water afterwards. But their broth here I think was great, compared to other places. They provide a generous portion of food for the price, and a good amount of meat. I also got a Banh Mi to go and I thought it was pretty good even later in the day.
I would definitely come back here again.

Let’s begin the review with the ambiance. It’s not really an amazing layout or great décor, but it’s clean and was warm, on a very cold night. It’s large and on a Saturday at 7, rather slow.
On to food, the Phở was on point, as good as any other I’ve had in the greater St. Louis area. The young man that provide our service was excellent. He was helpful to share the details of the menu and the cultural nuisances related to the menu items. The service alone makes me want to return asap! It so happened there was a football game on and they were gracious enough to put it on for us to enjoy. The only reason I can’t push it to a 4 star it the décor. Again it’s really clean and comfortable, it just doesn’t standout in a way that makes it a great date place. I am looking forward to returning soon!

Best phở’ in STL! Was greeted kindly & started with a slow drip coffee with condensed milk. So tasty! Had the fresh spring rolls & egg rolls. Also very yummy. Mr. Server recommended Phở’ so I ordered the #37 which included meatballs, beef strips, & osuman. The greens they brought us were very fresh and flavorful. I was very satisfied with this Vietnamese hidden gem! We will be returning.

Vietnamese checking in here. This place has the best Phở in st Louis! And yes, I’ve been searching. (I’ve been to phở grand, truc lam, the phở place on olive, and mai lees) The broth was super flavorful and clear. There was a perfect amount of noodles and meat too. The vegetables that you get with the phở was fresh — more so than phở grand.
$ 7.95 for phở tai bo vien
$ 8.95 for phở dac biet
Our waitress was friendly and we got a water refill, nice! Relatively clean for an Asian restaurant but then I don’t expect too much.
Definitely comparable to the phở places in Westminster aka little Saigon.

I’ve eaten at this location for the last couple of years, back when it was St. Louis Phở and a few times now that ownership has changed over. I always get crispy egg rolls and a giant bowl of phở. This place has always been consistent in their cleanliness, great & friendly service and quality of their food. The phở bowls are HUGE and come with plenty of beef (I usually get sliced beef & meatballs), broth and noodles and fresh accompaniments (sprouts, fresh jalapeños & herbs). All your condiments are on the table. I suggest a bit of hoisin and fresh chili’s. I know my soup is at the right spice level when I have to step into the restroom halfway through my meal to blow my nose and wipe my brow. I’m sure I’ll be frequenting here more now that the cold weather is approaching. Looking forward to the phở much more than the weather. Enjoy.

Excellent service and authentic Vietnamese food. Our party ordered the
Chao long — dad said it was tasty. This is a compliment since my mom is a fantastic cook
Vegetarian vermicelli with tofu curry — delicious
Bun mang vit — very good bamboo but would be even be better if they had the duck smaller
Bun rieu –good
Com plate –tasty
Phở dac biet –OK
Overall, big portion, good price, friendly and fast service. Most importantly, authentic good food. Highly recommend!

+ Super yum broth in phở & noodle soups
+ Split checks!
+ Private parking lot
Always a good sign when the restaurant is not only off the beaten path but also across the street from some sketchy abandoned lots the size of football fields… and the customers are 90% of the same ethnic origin as the restaurant you are visiting. Kim Ngan is pretty far down on South Grand well past the westernized versions of Vietnamese food in the Tower Grove area. This is just about as real of a deal as you can get in this part of town and worth the drive down.
I had the bun bo hue and my girlfriends had phở and some banh mi. The bun bo hue broth was rich and tasty and the cinnamon pork patties were just the right amount of sweet and savory. It also comes with various cuts of beef and congealed blood cubes so if you’re faint of heart/​stomach, you may want to ask for a substitute. The jalapenos that came in my gf’s banh mi were really super spicy so if you’re not a fan of the heat, ask them to put in less.
Food is very well priced and much more authentic than the likes of Phở Grand in Tower Grove or Mai Lee in Brentwood. If you’re looking for a place that can accommodate larger groups, Kim Ngan is a good place as there are several larger tables available seating 6+. There is a parking lot for the restaurant, which looks like it could have been a converted Sizzler’s or other failed American chain restaurant at some point in time. If the parking lot fills up, there is easy street parking just around the corner. Our waitress was a super sweet high schooler who did a really great job taking our orders and double checking to make sure they were correct. They also do split checks here, which is very much appreciated.

Another good Vietnamese restaurant in St. Louis!
The phở was tasty and the seafood egg noodle soup was also delicious. I like the broth of the egg noodle soup more than the phở, but I would say that this could be my second favorite Vietnamese restaurant here (behind Truc Lam).
Nice portion sizes. I don’t feel like I’m being jipped or ripped off.
My only complaint would be that I got more protein than carbs, but most people would love to have that problem. LOL.
Great service! Younger wait staff so you can speak Vietnamese or English with them. They also come up and check on you in the middle of a meal unlike other ones.
Good prices, wide selection! I’m coming back! I don’t know how the food at St. Louis Phở (the previous restaurant in this location) was, but I’m happy with what moved in.

I didn’t discover this until I arrived at the restaurant, but St. Louis Phở has recently changed management and has reopened as Kim Ngan Vietnamese Cuisine. It still has the old signage, though. It’s a surprisingly large restaurant — apparently it used to house a fast food joint, but has obviously been overtaken and redecorated since.
I arrived in time for an early dinner, so it was quiet. I took a look at the large menu, which even offered Chinese items like Hunan beef and Kung Pao chicken, and simply opted for Phở Tai. The soups only come in one size, and mine cost a little under $ 8.
After it came within a few minutes, I noticed a few unusual points — the garnishes came on a much bigger plate than usual. There was lemon instead of the usual lime, and the cilantro was on the side instead of already in the phở. There was saw leaf, but some of the basil was a bit wilted.
Starting to eat, my first impression was, where are the noodles? The portion seemed really small, but turned out to be more than I initially thought. The broth had large bubbles of oil floating on top and was okay. There wasn’t much flavor depth, but it wasn’t bland. The meat was a little too tough — I’d say it was overcooked in the broth, as once again, I never saw it pink. People have named St. Louis Phở the best phở in St. Louis, but I would just consider it «pretty good.»
The service was very good, though. It certainly helped that I was the only person there for a while, but I was checked on a few times and I appreciated that.
Rating Breakdown:
Taste (9.5÷14):
Broth flavor– ³⁄₅
Noodle & meat quality– ³⁄₅
Garnish selection– 1.5÷2
Portion size– ²⁄₂
Restaurant (¹⁵⁄₁₆):
Service– ⁵⁄₅
Cleanliness– ⁵⁄₅
Atmosphere– ¾
Speed of arrival– ²⁄₂
Total: 24.5÷30
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