AnQi Gourmet Bistro

Always a good time, food is consistent and made w precision. Excellent happy hour. Good cocktails. Fun environment. Service is always superb. Love
The tuna tacos are to die for

Awesome vibe. Great food. Friendly staff.
Wonderful variety of cocktails.
Everything is very moderately priced.
Would come back for sure!

So annoyed. Watch out for the lady at the anqi bar. I ordered the garlic noodles with chicken and she gave me garlic noodles and chicken satay $ 25 but I order garlic noodles with chicken not two different dishes. Feels like she was out to get me. I suggest you confirm with me what it is that your ordering. She ended up taking the chicken off as I didn’t eat the chicken because I questioned her before hand. Won’t be back. The noodles didn’t taste right either. Maybe they changed the way it’s made.

Decided to celebrate Father’s Day lunch here on a Saturday afternoon to avoid the obnoxious Sunday rush. So glad I did too because the restaurant was half full when i arrived but I could see folks were slowly but surely filling in the space at a fairly rapid pace. I was running about 10 minutes late and I called in advance to let the restaurant know. The gal on the phone gave me no fuss in regards to that and as soon as we stepped inside, we were immediately seated, which I appreciated. What I hate most is when you arrive about 5 – 10 minutes late for your rez and the folks in the front feels it’s right to punish you for about 20 minutes or so by relegating you to the bar for an obligatory drink. Luckily, that didn’t happen here and we were kindly escorted to a more private section of the restaurant where we could talk and not feel other dining guests were breathing down our necks. Our server Pavlina was fantastic I might add. She was friendly, courteous and incredibly helpful in regards to the menu and very thoughtful by acknowledging my dad’s special day. She offered us a beer on the house and my mom and I enjoyed mimosas with a small selection of dim sum bites as we perused the menu. I ordered the lobster with garlic noodles, since crab was only available on Tuesdays. Let’s face it, the lobster was no «also ran» IMO and it was a perfect accompaniment to the mouthwatering garlic noodles. Next up were our entrees, which included the Misoyaki butterfish with broccolini, rib eye steak with whipped buttery mash, and Crustacean’s special Shaken Beef with sautéed Chinese broccoli. The ribeye was cooked to perfection with a perfectly pink medium rare flesh that was supple, tender and juicy. The butterfish was fantastic, as well. It was buttery, fluffy and melted in my mouth. The secret sauce of the shaken beef elevated this dish to new levels with a tangy lip smacking flavor that made it so irresistible, you simply couldn’t take just one bite. Following our entrees we enjoyed two lovely desserts, which included the Vietnamese bananas fritters with banana caramel over handmade vanilla bean ice cream and the flourless chocolate dome cake with bailey’s ice cream and port reduction and hazelnut brittle.
Overall, I had a very pleasant experience at Anqi and based upon the smiles on my guests’ faces, there’s no doubt I’ll be back soon for more of their inspiring cuisine and impeccable service.
Happy Eats!

My first impression is very poor. My mom has been here with her friends and really enjoyed it.
The layout is confusing if you’re coming in from Bloomingdale’s. There are two bars it seems. One at the «front entrance» and one inside the mall. We came from inside Bloomingdale’s where you immediately see a bar on your right. We tried to enter the restaurant, however we were redirected by the waitress «it’s on the other side for table seating». She didn’t even ask if we were looking for bar seating/​table seating to better direct us. Better instructions would have been, «the front entrance is located outside the front Bloomingdale’s store».
Finally found the front entrance. The host was nice. The front entrance is beautiful. Once we were sat, immediately I noticed dirty utensils. My mom ordered tea and her pot of tea you can see has crusts of old food on the lid and side (pictured). Unfortunately we had the same waitress that was unfriendly and gave poor directions! She did not ask if we have ever been there or explained anything about the menus or items we ordered. I wasn’t hungry so I just ordered the Tuna Taco. Plain and simple I was prepared for what I ordered. My mom on the other hand order spicy crispy beef wonton; we got a beef taco. Seriously how is a wonton a taco?! Both were good regardless of the name, however the beef could be a bit warmer (temperature wise, but that all personal preference. If your thinking cute juicy beef taco, this is not it. I’ve had worst though: 3 stars).
Don’t think I would come back any time soon. I’ve had way better service at less high end spots. It’s a pretty place to eat/​try once/​take a picture to show you’re there, but atmosphere and décor does not take place over delicious food.

I grabbed lunch here with a coworker and sat at the noodle bar because we were trying to grab a quick lunch. There was no wait at the noodle bar or for inside the restaurant at 12pm but all the seats at the noodle bar did fill up by 12:30pm.
Our waitress was nice and attentive in the beginning. We got our waters right away and ordered An’s Famous Garlic Noodles with Prawns and Mr. Johnson’s Chow Fun Noodles.
My Chow Fun Noodles were delicious — especially the steak pieces! It was flavorful (just as the waitress said it would be) and also had vegetables in it in case you were wondering. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat it again but I was hungry and it did fill me up.
My coworker had the Garlic Noodles and was disappointed. It was literally noodles and 4 pieces of prawns. To be fair, the waitress did mention that there wouldn’t be any vegetables but I don’t think he expected just noodles and prawns. He wasn’t blown away by the garlic sauce either, which the waitress referred to as having a «secret» recipe.
Our waitress got slammed with other diners and didn’t get a chance to stop by and check in on us or refill our water but another server came to fill our water once. The water cups are unfortunately very small so it would’ve been nicer to get more refills.
It was a quick and filling lunch which is what we needed but I’m not sure if I’ll be returning to the noodle bar anytime soon. I will return, however, to check out dinner inside the restaurant!

Good food and nice service and beautiful inside!!!

Came here on Mother’s Day with my mom and husband.
We ordered the Rock Shrimp Tempura, Tiato Roll, Farmer’s Market Salad, Mongolian Lamb Chops, Shaken Beef, and the Sole.
We also ordered dessert, which wasn’t impressive so I guess we’ll start off with sweets before savory!
We ordered the Kumquat Crème Brulee. I didn’t really like it, but I’m not a citrusy, creamy type of person. Like, I don’t like key lime pies or lemon meringue whatevers. We also ordered the fried banana with vanilla ice cream. It was alright. But I’m biased because my family always makes it during holidays and I like it better at home :)
However, everything as a whole was pretty damn good. Break down of my favorites:
— Rock Shrimp: BOMB. We couldn’t stop talking about it after the meal. So crispy. So good.
— Mongolian Lamb Chops: Holy shit. I’ve never had lamb like this before. The meat literally fell off the bone and the sauce is so delicious, we mopped it up clean. Do yourself a favor and order this!!! Can’t wait to come back for this.
— Sole: Very delicious. I suggest not ordering this if you, your significant other, friend, or anyone else is getting the Lamb Chops unless you will not be sharing plates because I felt like it didn’t do it justice when they were side by side.

Mid week is great at Anqi. Great food, amazing drinks and on Wednesdays they have jazz music by a DJ.
The taco and garlic noodles with lobster is a must!

First off, the service here is terrible. Came on a dead Wednesday night, and received no service. Had to hunt down our waiter multiple times. Also frustrated that he had to walk around our table multiple times due to drink mix ups, our waiter left our drinks in a cocktail mixer and walked away without pouring.
That said, AnQi’s food and drinks are amazing, hence still the 4 stars. My favorite drink is the Pink Lotus Martini, which is a grapefruit vodka drink poured over cotton candy. Sounds gimmicky I know, but it was not too sweet, and was quite citrusy and refreshing. The Garlic Noodles are tasty as well.
Though the service was an epic failure, AnQi certainly redeemed themselves with their food and drinks, and I’d actually return.

I love coming to anqi I’ve been to this location a few times it’s right next to Bloomingdales in the South Coast plaza. They also have a noodle bar adjacent to the mall which is pretty cool. It’s open I believe only for lunch.
I came here Friday night for my sisters birthday and we got a really cool private room for our party of 20. Which was really nice they also let us play our own music which made it more entertaining. Thumbs up to our waitress for letting me bump Drakes new album lol.
On to the food /​menu everything at anqi is meant to be shared at the table for a more hands on experience. From small plates to big plates. I got Ann’s famous garlic noodles, Chicken Satay, and the No carb large entrée. All the food was phenomenal. My favorite item was unfortunately taken off the menu :(it was the lobster wonton with couscous. It was soooo good I wish they didn’t take it off. Besides that our sever was amazing and overall had a great experience yet again. I got to tipsy and forgot to take pictures of our other dishes haha, and you get a FREE cocktail when you checkin. Which I’m sure all you Unilocalers do!

I’ve gotta say this place sure is unique, they take vietnamese dishes and twist them into something so creative. Some dishes, I couldn’t believe would ever be able to replicate the way they did. Somehow they made cultural vietnamese dishes unique and I enjoyed dining here. The Vietnamese coffee here is bomb and strong, prepare for your heart to skip a beat

The five stars is for the beautiful décor, cool ambience, and mainly for the green tea tiramisu dessert. Omg it was perfection with the light fluffy matcha cream with Vietnamese coffee soaked lady fingers. It was surprisingly light and not overly sweet. I would definitely come back for drinks and dessert here. Wish it still turned into a nightclub/​lounge!

I’ve been to Anqi several times and it is consistently tasty. They have changed the menu and removed the ‘molecular gastronomy’. I really enjoyed the Asian Fusion style with the added adventure of the molecular gastronomy. I had the oysters prepared in the manner and I can say, that that is the only way I will ever swill down a raw oyster. I didn’t have the usual texture and was really good. Unfortunately, they don’t serve those anymore.
They did keep the garlic noodles — I love them with the shrimp. So very good.
We went here for dinner for an anniversary celebration. Having to wait 15 to 20 minutes for the server to take our cocktail order and then another 30 minutes to receive said cocktails is a bit over the top. Our server apologized for the slow service as it was due to the fact that the other table was having a difficult time ordering. Not sure why that was a factor. The cocktails were good once they arrived.
I will definitely dine here again — I just hope they don’t change the menu again and that the service is better next time around.

Attached to the Bloomingdales, this restaurant is elegant, classy, and the food is incredible. In the same family as Crustacean in Beverly Hills, I’ve found that I love them both equally, although I think the garlic noodles at AnQi are superior. My favorite dish here is the crab out of shell with the garlic noodles as a side, paired with a Pinot. The Pink Lotus was one of the drinks I tried last time and it was definitely unique, even though the sugar rush it gave me reminded me of when I was seven.
You’re not allowed to order take out, but when sitting at the bar and ordering drinks, you can order a side of garlic noodles to-​go for $ 10, which is how the pink lotus situation came about.
The ambiance of the place is one of the best parts of this experience, it is absolutely incredible if you’re trying to go out for a special occasion. I highly recommend dressing up and trying some of their drinks, taking advantage of a special night!

Came here with two girlfriends for dinner on a Tuesday night. There were no available tables, so we sat at the bar area. I really liked the bar area (there was couch-​like seating, which made it very cozy and comfortable. I actually preferred this to sitting at a «real» table). The ambiance as a whole was very nice, upscale, and modern — it actually reminded me of Tao in Las Vegas!
The reason for the 2 stars is 1) service (or lack of), and 2) food (especially for the prices they charge). The service was terrible, with the exception of the sommelier. When we sat down, there were still two empty wine glasses waiting to be cleaned up. Once they cleaned that up, it took them forever to bring us our menus. Then it took forever for us to flag someone down to take our order… and on and on and on for the rest of the night. It was a Tuesday night, so I can only wonder what the service is like on weekends. The sommelier was a breath of fresh air though — he was very knowledgeable with wine, and I loved his explanation of how the same wine might taste different depending on the size and makeup of your wine glass.
As for food, we ordered a few things to share —
1) Garlic noodles — could taste the hints of garlic, but was really mushy. I think half of what makes noodles stand out is the texture, and the texture here really didn’t do it for me. Wish it was more al dente.
2) Kimchi fried rice — enjoyed this dish, and liked the bits of bacon, seaweed, and kimchi topped with a perfectly cooked egg. They really fancied up a traditional Korean dish.
3) Misoyaki Butterfish — My favorite dish of the night. I love butterfish.
4) Calamari — unmemorable. I didn’t like the way they breaded the calamari.
5) Shrimp — these were giant shrimp pieces with some sweet & sour sauce. It reminded me of something I could probably get at Panda Express.
Despite the hiccups in service, I still had a fun because I had wonderful company, and a really good red wine, but would probably not come back on my own. I really don’t like paying high prices for mediocre food, and even more mediocre service.

House of An = where food is served with the lights basically off… & where every man/​woman experiences a bit of their wild Asian fantasies (talking about the food here!)
Basically, AnQi’s menu is a hodgepodge of all types Asian food with an elevated twist (e.g., Chinese inspired entrees, Japanese sushi appetizers, Vietnamese noodle entrees…)
*YES — make reservations, especially on weekends
*YES — fast service
*YES — friendly service (3 visits in total, great service)
*YES — fun for big groups OR romantic date night
*YES — small portions
**GET — G A R L I C N O O D L E S = simply a bowl of garlic & noodles and simply amazing
*GET — S h a k e n B e e f = incredibly tender beef paired w/​heirloom tomatoes & Chinese broccoli all drenched in brown sauce
*GET — T u n a C r i s p y W o n t o n s = comes with 3 tacos per order; super tasty fried wonton stuffed with avocado, Apple splice, tuna tartare & caviar on top!
*AOK — M a n g o S h r i m p = didn’t really like the sauce, which sort of tried to mimic a sweet & sour sauce but leaned heavily toward the sour side. Huge shrimp pieces, lots of mushrooms, & mango bites.
*FYI — small portions, steep prices $$$
*FYI — dimly lit interior
*FYI — Unilocal Check– In only applicable between 4−7pm
*FYI — try to avoid sitting by the entry way; we got whiffs of cigarette smells throughout dinner every time someone opened the door
Despite the lopsided price to portion ratio, I’ve had fast & delicious service every time I’ve come … so I would definitely recommend!

I am an Anqi Junki. Please, I don’t need intervention! This is one addiction I’m keeping. ‘Fusion for the soul’.

I’ve been enjoying AN’s creations for the past 6 years. I must thank her for creating such tendencies in me.
Anqi is conveniently located in the South Coast Plaza, on the end cap of Bloomingdales, closest to the 405 Frwy.
The interior’s colorful lighting that is throughout, has purpose. This unique contemporary design with Asian influences and open floor plan are partitioned nicely by a beautiful glass Cat Walk, very detailed wooden tables and decorative trees. I’m so glad they increased the bar/​lounge area. What a big improvement. More lounge to enjoy the fun creative libations such as the PINK LOTUS w/​cotton candy, satisfying two cravings of vodka and sugar, or the Pat Raymond, a mixologist concoction w/​Makers Mark. He is a veteran dealer that will make you trip over whatever libation you desire.
My uncontrollable cravings here at Anqi begins with the COLD TAPAS and my favorite, TOMBO TUNA CRISPY WONTON with White Truffle and Black Tobiko Caviar. The Yuzu Kosho gives the tuna light heat with so much flavor.
The SALT & PEPPER CALAMARI with AN’s secret seasoning, you just can’t stop eating.
The KALBI HANGER STEAK LETTUCE WRAP, a sliced tender marinated steak with accoutrements such as Roasted Onions, Kimchi, Toasted Sesame Rice and Ginger scallion sauce. I have flashbacks thanks to this dish.
So many amazing Vietnamese fusion creations to choose from.
The head turner is a HALF MAINE LOBSTER with AN’s famous GARLIC NOODLES… Dressed to make you salivate… noted to have a very high street value… due to is fulfilling and pleasing nature.
The MISOYAKI BUTTERFISH is sweet, moist, light and flakey. Wait, shouldn’t this be on the dessert menu.
The ORGANIC CHICKEN SALAD with five spiced chicken breast topped with a perfectly flavored coconut dressing. When you try the chicken breast you’re going to be very curious on how can a breast have so much flavor, and be also very moist.
The CRISPY LOBSTER DUMPLINGS with the sweet chili honey… So heavenly! Keep in mind, there are only 4 on a plate. So if you bring a date, remember the element of distraction.
Unfortunately, because I’ve experienced practically everything on the menu, both lunch and dinner, rather than go through each one, let me just say that AN’s creations have me hooked, like some type of aphrodisiac. Curses, now I’m thinking about Chocolate. I know just the fix that will give you that rush… FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE DOME CAKE w/​Baileys ice cream comes to mind. So simple yet so decadent and moist! You can’t go wrong with any of her desserts.
In the HOUSE OF AN, you will find a such a variety of beautiful creations that will surely create inner food dependencies. I know, because I am an Anqi Junki.
*Note to AN family and management. The reason why I am giving you 4 stars rather than 5 is because of inconsistencies in your food and service. Starting with the Hostesses. More warm in their welcoming, less mechanical. Servers should be more knowledgeable, attentive and most of all, pleasant. The Food quality, portions, plating, how it’s cooked, and taste are not the same each visit. Quality assurance in the kitchen should be addressed. I have loved coming to Anqi for years, and have personally experienced these inconsistencies. Some visits a solid 5 star experience, others a 4, and some a 3.
On a good note, I will return… you can count on it.

Came for dinner. service is good… food was delicious!
Started off with some cocktails. my favorite is the indochine. gin with cucumber. etc… ordered some small plates — the calamari (delicious — a must try), the ahi taco (it was okay — i would pass on it the next time) and the chili shrimp (plump, fresh, mango — very refreshing).
We decided to do family style and ordered many items to share —
— Organic chicken curry — chicken oysters! yum — crispy — curry flavor and the curry was not overpowering — lots of good flavor — i’d do without the okra
— Misoyaki butterfish — my favorite dish. i love butterfish. this just melts in your mouth. it was served with red rice and broccolini — i would definitely come back just for the butterfish.
— Mongolian lamb chops — delicious! i saw the couple next to us eating it and i had to order it. 4 lamb chops coated with such a great flavor! did not taste gamey at all. i would do without the shitake mushrooms
— An’s famous garlic noodles — normally I like this — and its a must order every time i come here, but this time it wasn’t that good. the flavor was a bit bland and it didnt pack the normal garlicky flavor.
We ended the night with the flourless chocolate mousse cake with bailey’s ice cream. loved the hazelnut brittle.
Overall a great dinner experience. a bit pricey — would definitely come back for a special occasion or for happy hour.

I had a private event at AnQi this week. The private events manager Talayeh Hamibi was extremely helpful and did a fabulous job. We booked the beautiful and spacious Q Lounge in the back, and it was beautifully decorated with rose decorations both in the table and even with hanging ceiling decorations.
Talayeh worked with us in creating a menu at our requested budget. All our guests said the food was fabulous and thanked us for this great event.
We were assigned 2 waitstaff for our room and they worked expediously and even paid attention to refilling water without us asking.
My wife and I couldn’t be any more delighted with having our event at the Q Lounge @ AnQi. We’ll definitely have more here in the future!

My favorite restaurant in the South Coast Plaza!
Highly recommended for lunch/​brunch (in order of preference):
Garlic Noodles with Lobster (half lobster $ 29, full $ 55) — the lobster juice makes it taste better than the noodles with prawns.
Garlic Noodles with Prawns ($ 19)
Pork Belly Lettuce Wrap (if you’re trying to watch the waistline)
SKIP:
Crispy Lobster Dumpling — hardly any lobster in it.
Don’t forget to try their unique craft cocktails. I always try one of the Mixologist’s Special.