Le Colonial

Loved the food here. The tiger shrimp was really nicely breaded and fried (they even left the heads on!). Since it was still shelled though, it made it a bit messy to eat, but otherwise the appetizer was really tasty and the restaurant gave generous portions.
The Chilean sea bass came wrapped in a leaf and the sweet flavors were so light that it really let the fish shine. It was perfectly cooked as well. I’d highly recommend it! I rounded out the meal with the mille Crêpe cake, another delight.
The place seems more Vietnamese than French, so the «fusion» part isn’t too apparent in the menu or the taste of the food. But it’s a nicely decorated, well rounded restaurant — definitely with a visit!

I don’t post that many reviews for restaurants but felt I need to review Le Colonial after having read some of the reviews on this site. From the moment we stepped foot in the restaurant our experience has always been excellent — the maitre’d is always super attentive, our waiter has been great and the food has been excellent.
We’ve done both the pre-​fixe dinner and the a la carte. The pre-​fixe with wine pairing is a tremendous bargain. A la carte is still a good value and the food options expand a fair bit. There is definitely lower priced Vietnamese food available in this city that is great, but the prices here seem very fair for the whole experience.
I consider myself a «foodie» and will definitely be coming back to Le Colonial again!

Very disappointed with our dinner. What was on the Unilocal menu no longer available. Desert was fantastic though and the brandzino was grilled to almost a perfection! The duck supposedly a specialty of the house was a bitter disappointment and overpriced at $ 30.00???

wait did my review just got removed or something?
ok I’ll say this again, overpriced food, terrible waiter!
Ye maybe it’s authentic but does not worth the whole thing!
we went for a bday party, after reading the menu for a little while (waiter came by and asked us at least 2 times if we are ready) my friend the bday girl decided to go order a fish dish and the waiter rudely said «no! we don’t have that»
I mean if you run out wouldn’t you remind us while we are reading the menu?!
anyway we all got out food and the noodle dish I got is just overly salty and greasy period.

I want to start off my saying that the service in this restaurant is ABYSMAL. I have never met a worse manager, nay, human being, than the man that is the current manager. He is rude, uneducated, and completely lacking in any social skills. Make sure to ask zero questions, unless you’re cool with being treated like some sort of food terrorist. I was with a friend who was gluten free, and he made sure to let him know how unwelcome he was. My friend ended up with some lame excuse for a salad because the waiters know nothing about the menu and the manager could not care less about the people eating in this establishment. Here’s a tip– there’s something called customer service, courtesy, and general human decency. Learn anything and everything you can about this subject. Maybe it’ll teach you how to speak to your customers, maybe it’ll show you how to treat the unsuspected just looking for some dinner, and maybe, just maybe it’ll help you keep your job, because in a place like NYC, there are millions of servers and restaurants, and no restaurants reputation deserves to be destroyed by arrogant and lazy employees.
Aside from that, the food is absolutely mediocre, bland, with no substance or creativity. I can get the same food at a local Vietnamese restaurant for an eight of the price. My Stir fry was dry and the seafood overlooked, everything tasted of salt, and the coconut pudding has the weirdest texture, I do not recommend either.
There is a reason why this place is ALWAYS empty. And it’s because it’s awful, no secrets here, the whole thing is just awful. AWFUL.

Truly, one of the most beautiful dining rooms I’ve ever seen. The atmosphere is stunning. The food is superb. Every dish was delicious and unusual, especially the banana-​leaf-​steamed sea bass, the shiitake sticky rice, and the multi-​layered green tea crêpe cake. The service was a little rushed but very attentive and friendly. We will be back for sure, and definitely would recommend Le Colonial!

I give this restaurant 2 stars only because the food was great. I’d likely give it 4 stars but hate to mislead people into thinking the service matched the food.
The service was absolutely terrible. Terribly understaffed on a Friday evening when there were no elements to keep diners from visiting this establishment.
We chose to sit upstairs and it took forever to order a cocktail. The food order and delivery was easier. But God forbid you want to get a check and leave? Forget it! A couple of drinks, entrée and 3 hours later we are trying to leave. Finally we take the check to the bar to pay and are advised that we should speak to the manager named «John». We wait for quite a time at the front desk to be acknowledged by «John» and it was like talking to a wall! He didn’t care at all about our experience and just said «thank you». Maybe he didn’t understand English??? We found this an unacceptable response.
Having visited other sites owned by Le Colonial, I will never return to this location and will think twice before visiting others.

I love Le Colonial, I’ve visited the restaurant many times over the past ten years and I’ve never been disappointed. The food is always good, always fresh and flavor-​full. I don’t think the menu has ever changed but you come here for comforting dishes you want to get back to. The phở is delicious, the spring and summer rolls a classic to share.

Beautiful, classic New York environment. Warm, inviting on a cold winter’s night. Service was attentive but this is where the 3 stars came in. Server, a excessively refined gentleman with a Euro accent, was very pushy to increase wine prices (on Chardonnay of all things) and trying to push more appetizers or deserts than we made clear was wanted. It got old after awhile.
The food was very good overall. I had the cod which was nicely prepared. My wife had the duck, she loved it (loves duck). Brussel sprouts were very nicely flavored. Fried roll apps were good as was the braised pork app.
I liked the atmosphere very much. Drinks were overpriced with short pours. I don’t mind the price but gimme a nice pour.
If not for the up-​selling hard push, snarky server, this would be 4 stars for sure.

Overall, I had a fantastic experience at Le Colonial. Honestly some of the best food I’ve had in a long time. We sat upstairs, which is a bit more casual, kind of a lounge setting. I thought the restaurant had a really cool vibe and was definitely unique. Great spot for a few friends or date nights. The service was friendly and very professional.
We started with the best spring rolls I’ve ever had, Tuna tar Tar and busses sprouts. For entrees, we all tried different stir fry/​curry dishes with filet mignon and different veggies. The drink options were very good as well.
We finished with amazing Vietnamese coffee and green tea and chocolate cake.
Highly recommend this place.

Going back to 1972…
That is the last time I was in Saigon and Da-Nang…good old day we were younger and having a lot of fun…
So I decided, continuing my food marathon, to visit Le Colonial and definitely we made the right decision.
The first thing that i spotted were two large table occupied by person that to me look vietnamese, that was the sign that we were on the «real» place.
The food was very interesting, very well prepared and served.
Good wine list and with a good selection of moderate priced wines.
Waitress and busboys on top but not invasive.
The surprise was the Maitre d’hotel…in Indochina they were all from the Island of Corsica, the people from this island were controlling all the food supply and distribution,…instead the Gentleman that assisted us to day was from… Bulgaria…nice change and very professional.
Bottom line… I repeat General Macarthur…“I SHALL RETURN“
au revoir.

I’m so disappointed in this restaurant. My expectations were so high going in. You see, last winter, I was in Chicago for a conference and a friend who lives in the Windy City recommended Le Colonial’s Chicago restaurant. He said that it was great. He was right! I kept on going back. Couldn’t stop! It was one of the best eating experiences ever! Even the pre-​fixed menus were out-​of-​this-​world. I can’t tell you exactly what I had, but one menu that stands out in my mind included an appetizer that consisted of delicately fried shrimp rolls, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and bursting with flavor, even the beautiful garnishes that surrounded the rolls were delicious, followed by a dish of scallops on a bed of salad, perfectly seasoned, tender, juicy, and the presentation – a delight. Everything was in a charming wooden dish in the shape of a box. My dessert consisted of a two-​flavored pudding that was perfection. Every night, I would leave the restaurant with a smile on my face and satisfied stomach.
Fast forward to the NY restaurant. What a monumental disappointment! I ordered a pre-​fixed menu that consisted of boiled shrimp rolls, cod fish and tapioca pudding. The spring rolls came and they were worst than fast food restaurant rolls as they were tasteless and cold. Evidently, they kept them in a refrigirator before serving them. They were in a regular dish, no garnish, no presentation. Bland as can be, when I looked inside, it was basically white rice and a tiny sliver of shrimp that was totally undetectable. The codfish wasn’t bad, but no presentation and the portion was so small, you could eat it in a few bites. The worst was left for the last. I’ve had better tapioca pudding out of a can.
I left disappointed, unsatisfied and worst of all hungry. I had to get a bite somewhere else in order to feel satiated and mine you, I’m thin and certainly no glutton, but the portions were tiny.
How can two restaurants owned by the same company be so different? The NY restaurant is an absolute insult to its Chicago sister.

The food was decent, ambiance was on point, the host (sometime waiter) was very tentative which border on obnoxious when he kept suggesting add-​ons.

Fabulous place for a romantic dinner. French colonial décor is enthralling. Venture upstairs for a drink in the cushy lounge and get away from the bustle of the tourist crowd. Entrees are light in portion so definitely order an appetizer or two.

We chose this restaurant recently for a birthday celebration. Our group was composed of New Yorkers all of whom had been to this restaurant several times in the past. We all recognized that Le Colonial has turned into an overpriced tourist magnet but it was still a favorite of the birthday celebrant.
We were seated next to a table of European’s with a crying baby. The tourists ignored the baby and let the baby cry. This went on for an hour and the restaurant did not care. When one in our party complained to the manager he shrugged and walked away. At that point the charming Europeans started harassing us.
When our meals arrived they were short a meal. We were told the order was messed up. A half hour later everybody was done and still no meal. We complained but nobody cared. Eventually the meal showed up and the fish was raw. We complained again and just got a shrug.
Do not go to this restaurant. It is overpriced, filled with tourists, the food is marginal and the staff is not interested in service.

After 6 years, I came back to NYC and made dinner reservations for my daughters birthday on Christmas Eve at LE COLONIAL. I reserved at the upstairs lounge which was empty. The menu had changed completely. Dinner was awful and nothing special especially for the price! The fried rice had nasty hard bits of I don’t know what, the spring rolls were just okay, and my daughters chicken tasted like a glade plug in candle. The manager passed by and I mentioned the chicken my daughter didn’t like which he removed from the bill. I also reminded of him it was her birthday which was the reason we were there. Not even a little dessert with a candle was sent over like every other restaurant I’ve ever been to would’ve done. The French wine was the only thing that was good. Never again will I be back here unless it’s only for a glass of wine at the lounge. It’s very unfortunate the lack of service and how depressing the vibe was at this place which use to be one of my favorites.

Please do not waste your money nor time on this wannabe restaurant. However, if you like waiting 20 minutes or more to get menu, waiters attention, Luke warm food, mediocre food, poor service, etc. then this is your place.
Seriously, I was so upset that we spent far too much money and had a very poor experience on all levels. When we took our concerns to the manager he did not even apologize and seemed very unconcerned. With management like this it’s no surprise that your experience would be poor and completely disproportionate to the high cost. You will be disappointed.
We go out to eat for the whole experience and this place fails on every level, even the seating in the lounge is ridiculous. They must be still in business based on fumes only because there is nothing there. Go grab a PB&J!
Never Again. Save yourself, I wish I had. I don’t want to give this place even one star, but I have to. Unilocal needs a 0 category.

After eight years I came back to Le Colonial. The best is the décor, a beautifully crafted Vietnam scene. Cozy and by night might be charming. On the other side, it was boring, the food was nothing special, short ribs, spring rolls, generic, even the cabernet sauvignon by the glass was vinegarish. The service was absent.
A half empty restaurant… A place that exists by inertia. One more lost cause.

Having been to Le Colonial twice now, I’m pretty confident in giving it a fair rating.
The restaurant certainly has its merits. It’s a unique find in the area of Midtown East, an above-​casual venue that offers its take on French-​Vietnamese. The interior is two-​storied, and tables are elegantly set and spaced while the use of multiple bamboo plants and mirrors gives off an air of elegance.
My first visit was for a dinner with friends a while back. I recall getting their Classic Phở as an appetizer; it’s elegantly presented in a small soup bowl, with the necessary wedge of lime and a side of sriracha. The broth is very fragrant and light, with the necessary oxtail broth base filled out with rice noodles, sliced beef tenderloin, and bean sprouts. Simple and tasty, yes, but I couldn’t quite justify the $ 10 price tag given the plethora of better phở options just a subway ride away. I also tried a basic Com Chien, or fried rice, with vegetables, eggs, and Chinese sausage — nothing particularly noteworthy nor memorable either.
The same theme was present during my second visit, where I opted to visit for the two-​course prix-​fixe lunch. The Cha Gio, or Spring Rolls, were served three to an order, with a filling of ground pork and shrimp (which was very sparse) and a side of lettuce and Nuoc Cham sauce. They were well-​seasoned and crisply fried, but the skin was too thin and almost broke apart first bite. The Rau Mi Xao Dun, a dish with a base of crispy egg noodles topped with Stir Fried Vegetables, was even more forgettable. The vegetables were under-​seasoned and lacked any true flavor, which actually made the egg noodles the better part of the dish for me; some parts of the noodles which were under the vegetables had softened, which gave it some variety in texture and crunch.
My final takeaways from Le Colonial encompass the fact that the venue and ambiance are wonderful, ideal for a business lunch or dinner or a nicer date option but the food isn’t particularly noteworthy, nor does it live up to the claim of being «French-​Vietnamese». For those in the area or with a business expense account to utilize, it’ll certainly fit the bill… but there are better options to be found just a walk away.

I really like this place. A nice Vietnamese and French combo. Nice location near 5^th ave.
The service was very good. The food was all good. And the atmosphere reminded me of the French side of the Island of St. Martin.
For dessert I ordered what the waiter described as banana «pudding». But it was actually a cake. Not what Americans call pudding, but it was not bad.
The phở was very good too. So were the Brussells Sprouts.

If you want a neighborhood place with good food go here
Great for a night out with your family I do recommend

Love the improved upstairs ambience., however we sent our meal back twice for not being hot enough. They couldn’t get it straight. Food horrible.
We were very surprised as the past dinners here have been wonderful. They explained that the chef had changed. Better fix this.

I have been here several times but this will be MY LAST… made reservation for Saturday night for 3… not too crowded… seated quickly… waitress is red came by to ask our drink order… water and 1 Coca-​Cola ordered… we then waited 26minutes before someone came to take our order… waitress in red took order… I clearly stated“I’m allergic to all nuts”…ordered steak… manager came by stating… I can’t have due to nuts.
We order eggplant, spare ribs… shrimp scallops no sauce… duck…and pre fix menu…
Let’s just say I was able to get 1 refill of my water… in order to get check we needed to find waitress… AND GUESS WHAT???
Yup. I had an allergic reaction… rushed to store. got allergy meds because I could talk and didnt require epi pen…
Spent memorial weekend due to hives all over. thank you very much… never will myself or my aunt and uncle return…
Staff could care about their well paying customers!

I went here on a rainy work day to meet my friend and her mom who was visiting from Malaysia for lunch. There were plenty of seafood options for her, seeing that she only eats halal food. The host and servers were pleasant and attentive. It’s a fancier place then I’m used to but décor and ambiance was comfortable and they did get a «colonial» feel in the warm wooden furnishings and art. I’ve been wanting to come since I saw an ad about their foie gras phở (yes, guilty as charged PETA — sorry!), which is actually an appetizer but was big enough for an entrée for me. They try to be authentic as possible and this can also be seen in the way they serve their Vietnamese coffee.

I dined here last night with family, we were in a group of about 12. I liked the ambiance, which was slightly relaxed, yet formal enough that I will say jacket required, guys.
A lot of us ordered apps, I had the ribs for my app, which were great but a little steak sauce would have been nice. Then for my entrée, I ordered steak. It was yummy and served with a sauce this time which was ginger like teriyaki sauce on the side.
Job well done! The dessert which I ordered was a tart with ice cream, quite a delicious end to a very pleasing meal! Go check it out, dimly lit, romantic atmosphere and fun!

Asian — Vietnamese restaurant. quality food and great wine offering (a bit expensive but ok).
We went there for diner and food was good.
Service very nice and with a smile!
Don’t hesitate to order different plates and share it; we did because couldn’t decide what to order and we did well!
Great overall experience

Asian restaurant done classy, with prices to match.
I popped in here for lunch. I’ve been once before for drinks upstairs, but never eaten in the main dining room. At first glance, it looks slightly intimidating, with the white tablecloths and corporate clientele that is probably 15+ years older than me. But I ignored the stares and settled into my table.
I ordered the Le Colonial Phở and a salad which I forgot the name of and now seems to be disappeared off their website menu. The phở is an appetizer here, so you need to cross off any expectations of those big bowls from phở noodle joints. The presentation was spot on. They bring it out beautifully plated and pour the broth separately from an individual pot. The foie gras sits atop the ball of noodles over a layer of perfect beef. Sauces on the side.
The flavors were delicious, and I couldn’t get enough of the melty foie gras and rich broth. Portion was tiny, but I expected that. My salad was a plate of marinated beef cubes on a bed of greens, dressed with yellow tomatoes, onions, fried lotus slices, and pepper dressing. The portion also looked small, but it was filling! The beef was cooked medium rare to medium and complemented the delicious dressing.
Overall though, it’s too expensive for the amount of food you get, but it certainly is quality food. I might go back once in a while.

As a regular to the Le Colonial in Chicago for years, I felt the need to finally check the one in Manhattan out to see not only how good it is but how it compares.
The interior and décor is exactly what I expected. It’s a nice, intimate space that is great for a date or a night with some close friends. As I got to the bar, I noticed nobody was there which is completely fine. As I sat at the bar, nobody said anything to me for 5 minutes even though it was not busy and the bartender was not making any drinks. I was not even given or offered water. The bartender did not really say much at all to me in fact and kind of just stared at me upon the first interaction. I don’t think he is pretentious, but probably just very inexperienced. By being a regular at the one in Chicago and having friends who work there, I know what goes on and not a lot was going on at the bar. Even the other stuff around the bar who saw me staring at them did not do anything. The service I received was completely and utterly unacceptable.
Anyway, onto the food.
* Classic Phở — I was excited to try this because the one in Chicago is far and away the best bowl of phở I’ve had in the world. I have it in good knowledge that it’s also a very famous/​well accomplished chef’s favorite bowl of phở in the entire world (including places in Vietnam) as well. HOWEVER, the one in NYC’s Le Colonial is far inferior to the Chicago one. Not only was it too salty, but it was very one dimensional. The soup was bland and while it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t that great. On its own, not even comparing it to others, it is average and not as comforting as phở should be.
* Lobster Galanga — I was expecting more. The foam and side vegetables/​fruit were slightly above average but nothing to write home about. I’ll most likely forget I ever had this dish within the next few days. The lobster was nicely cooked but very bland with almost zero flavor. For the price, I was expecting something more really (even more lobster — I’ve had lobster rolls with 2X more lobster than this dish for half the price).
I know I didn’t have a lot, but based on my experience, I probably won’t be back which pains me since the one in Chicago is one of my favorite restaurants in the world. I hate to say this NYC, but the one in Chicago has you beat by about 10 miles.

I went during lunchtime on Restaurant Week. The service was spotty. I had a hard time finding my server and it seemed like everyone was running around and unprepared for the crowd. The food took much longer than it should have.
The menu was very interesting and you can tell they take pride in having a classy interior. The food tasted great too!