Mekong

This used to be a favorite restaurant. Has never been very clean, but the food was tasty and cheap. Things have changed. Our party Ordered two of the same dish. One was fine and the other was beyond spicy. Couldn’t even eat it. Out of cilantro and they substituted mint– not a good combination on the dish I ate. Hadn’t been Ina long time and won’t be going back. Try Mai Lee. Cleaner and much better

Serious concerns about sanitation and whether or not the business was a cover for unrelated activity. Food was Americanized and bland.

Cons: Bland phở, stale spring rolls and warm beer. Pros: Good service and outdoor seating.

The server was so rude. It was about 9pm when we arrived in Saint Louis. My family and I traveled all the way from New Orleans that day. Even though it was late we figured 3 bowls of phở would be easy for the restaurant to make. Immediately the server was rude and wanted to take our order right away. We quickly placed our orders and the check was given to us right when our food was delivered. The server then stressed to us that we needed to pay for him to clock out. Phở was mediocre:/ probably will not be going back.

I’ve loved Mekong for a long time. It used to be a regular haunt about a decade ago. A friend and I decided to go back with our families for lunch today and I’m glad that it mostly hasn’t changed!
They don’t really have options for kids — smaller portions or something similar, so that’s mostly my reason for 4 stars instead of 5. The food was delicious and well-​portioned. Our server was knowledgeable of the menu, friendly, and attentive.
It won’t become a regular hangout again, since I live further away from downtown now, but definitely will go back more than once in decade!

Mekong is wonderful. The service is phenomenal. The wait staff is friendly, genuine and very helpful. The food is great and can be altered to your level of spice. I like things very spicy and anytime I request it, they make my dish hot hot hot. My favorite dishes: the crab rangoon (they’re not at all sweet, very savory) and the chicken curry.

Great food. Great prices ! Had shrimp rolls and beef spicy soup. It’s was awesome. A lot of fresh herbs made it supper yummy

My partner and I have a habit of counting customers here each time we walk by this joint on our way to PhoGrand, Natasha’s, Mangia, Lulu’s, Absolutli Goosed, etc… We live in the neighborhood and don’t know a soul who likes this place. We’ve NEVER seen more than 13 customers here on any Friday or Saturday evening. I swear we’ve been counting. This should be everyone’s first clue to the quality of a business: is it busy on a weekend night? NO — and for good reason. We joke that there must be some other business going on here unrelated to serving food to permit this place to have stayed open SOOOOOOO long past it’s prime. Would be great to clear out these folks and make way for something else cool for South Grand. Reviews posted don’t add up.
Was contacted by a friend or family member of the business and feel compelled to add an extra star. Extra karma :)

The décor was definitely not what I expect for a Vietnamese place — it’s like an old corner diner. But the food was amazing! Loved the beef salad so much that U ordered a second plate. Definitely recommended!

The food has been pretty consistent since I ate there as a kid 16 years ago. Chicken bahn mi and egg role have been my go to.

I really enjoyed my experience at Mekong. We were on the hunt for a good lunch place on South Grand. We wanted something a little more exotic than normal, but at a lunch price. We went into Mekong and asked to see the lunch menu. Unfortunately, they didn’t have one, but their regular prices were lower than what we were expecting to pay for lunch. The waiter that gave us the menu was nice as well, so we were sold, we decided to eat there.
My girlfriend got chicken grilled with hot peppers and lemongrass, and I got chicken curry. Both of these dishes were absolutely fantastic. I’m kind of inexperienced with curries, but, despite my lack of experience, I know that this dish tasted GOOD. It had potatoes and carrots, along with perfectly cooked large pieces of chicken. It also came with a side of really well cooked steamed rice.
The heat in the curry was perfect for me, it wasn’t immediately evident upon tasting but it built up throughout the meal, which is perfect. My girlfriend’s dish was great and extremely flavorful.
I usually don’t like to say much about the service in my reviews, because I think people expect too much out of their servers, and I really just require the food to be sat on my table, and I’m happy. This waiter however, had a great recommendation. He made a sauce of lemon and lime juice, with salt and pepper and advised me to dip the curry chicken in that. It was amazing!
I was blown away by this place, especially the value. I will pay a bit more for good food, but this place being in the same price range as McDonald’s definitely helps.

This is a decent place to get a cheap, quick lunch/​dinner. I’ve eaten here more than once but this is my first review of Mekong. This is a little restaurant on Grand blvd.
I want to start out by saying that there are several better Vietnamese restaurants in St. Louis (a couple on the same street).
I got the the beef combination Phở. It was pretty bland and not very hot (but a little Sriracha can fix about anything). Portion size was good. comparable with other local joints. My friend got some type of meat on a stick. He said it was flavorful but nothing to write home about. My biggest complaint was about the spring rolls. They were warm and unnecessarily chewy. It seemed as if they were not fresh and had been sitting out for several hours. Like many other Asian restaurants, this place is fairly cheap… so I wasn’t too angry with the iffy food quality. Anyone who has driven down Grand knows that parking can be a pain. I can’t hold this against the restaurant but we had to park a few blocks down and walk.
The best part of the meal was the Vietnamese coffee! I highly recommend this. Overall, the service was good as well.
2.5 stars — there are better Vietnamese restaurants (go to Mai Lee).

I think I first went to Mekong something like 20 years ago. It’s still in the same place, with the same slightly seedy décor. The food offerings are solid — well-​prepared Vietnamese standards like phở and hu tieu. The spring rolls are always delicious and fresh. You can’t go wrong by going here, although the menu’s a little more limited than some Vietnamese places. But hey, pick what you’re going to do and do it really well and you’ll still be there in 20 years.

Another eclectic Grand eatery. Mekong is another place that serves Vietnamese fare. The place itself is a bit old, dated… and odd. What’s with the giant PA system and club paraphernalia… I guess this place turns into a rave at night. I didn’t want to look under the table as I’m sure I would have surely found a burnt out glow stick or pacifier.
Anyway, the food was pretty good. The postickers were fresh and the sauce they serve with them was yummy. I got a fish dish seared with lemongrass. It too was good.
All in all, Mekong was ok. But the food down the street is better (Phở Grand, Ban Mi So, STL Phở, etc.).

I enjoy coming to Mekong for a quick, hassle-​free lunch, or for a late-​night bite to eat.
Nothing overly impressive, or over-​the-​top great, but a full, modestly priced menu in a very chill environment.
I recommend for a nice place to stop for a good taste of Vietnamese cooking!

I’ve been going here for about 4years now. At least once a month. Also have to get the spring rolls. The combination fried rice is the best in the St Louis Metro area.

Disco globes? Vietnamese food? Old rap videos? This is all in a day (or night) at Mekong.
Though the booths may not all not be completely filled during dinner time on a given night. Do not be misled. This place transforms in the late evening into the Upstairs Lounge. It is quite disconnected from with what impression you may first get of the place. Food, foreign servers, and of course chop sticks and fortune cookies!
Mekong provides a full bar. It as well has some great food dishes to chose from. I’m usually partial to their pad thai and spring rolls. I do enjoy venturing out of my bubble from time to time, but these tend to be my default foods for a reason. That would be because it is so friggin’ good! Especially with their homemade lemonade that they provide free refills on. SCORE!
It is located in the little strip with the rest of the South Grand Asian scene/​cuisine. Don’t pass it up! Prices good. Food is great! Upstairs Lounge… enter if you dare. Don’t get there before midnight though, it will be just you and the DJ.

Mekong has good «miscellaneous Asian» food, for the lack of a better term. I don’t love the phở here. The other Vietnamese noodle dishes have been just meh to me as well. But the stir fry is fantastic! The portions are big and they have a ton of items to choose from on the meny. It is dead most of the times so you definitely will get the waiter/​waitress’ attention (ha!)
And one huge plus. They open and serve food late into the evenings. I want to say they stop at 1AM. That’s important because not many Asian restaurants with decent options open that late.

Since starting «meatless Mondays» my boyfriend and I usually find something different to cook at home but last night we felt like a change and decided it would be a good challenge to go out to eat and bypass our normal meat choices.
The place was pretty dead inside, just 3 other booths were filled but that was ok with me because the server was able to be super attentive. There was a slight language barrier but he was friendly, quick and efficient from the start which set the atmosphere nicely. For a drink I decided to have a Sapporo which was light and satisfying. We went with the Cha Gio Chay (vegetarian egg rolls) for an appetizer and they were outstanding. Crispy on the outside with a delicious, steaming filling but what really stole the show was the sauce they were served with. Slightly sweet with a kick of spice… so delicious. Even my boyfriend who is not a «sauce» fan commented multiple times on how the sauce really complimented the egg rolls and made them great instead of just good.
I had a really hard time decided what to order for dinner, because so many things sounded good. I finally decided on the Dau Hu Xao Xa Ot which was stir fried tofu with lemongrass and hot peppers. The main reason I settled on this dish was because I have a cold and thought the spiciness might help me breath a little bit. The waiter warned me when I ordered it that it was «really spicy» but has someone who grew up eating whole jalapenos I wasn’t too worried. While the dish was delicious and presented beautifully with a fantastic bowl of sticky rice on the side, I would categorize it as only moderately spicy. That being said, I couldn’t have been happier with the flavor of the sauce or consistency of the tofu and I ate until I was stuffed and very satisfied. I will definitely be back to Mekong and even if it’s not one of my meatless Mondays I will most likely order the same fantastic dish.

Yum yum SUPER yum!
Went here for lunch on a Saturday, and the place was dead. There was one other couple there. I guess no one knows about this little gem of a place! Good… more yummy food for me!
I’m not a huge fan of spring rolls (I like egg rolls much better), but after reading all of the glowing reviews of Mekong’s spring rolls, I decided to bite the bullet and try them. They came out quickly, with some sort of peanut sauce that was just heavenly. The rolls were pretty good. Spring rolls still aren’t my favorite thing, but these were probably the best I’ve had.
For my entrée, I had the fried chicken in Mekong sauce (I think it was some sort of fish sauce). Oh my goodness. When I say that this was DELICIOUS, I really mean it. Just wonderful. Orgasmic. When my plate arrived at the table, I swear my heart skipped a few beats. I immediately fell in love. It just LOOKED good.
And boy, it tasted amaaaaazing. It must be the American blood coursing through my veins, but I couldn’t stop eating it, even after I was disgustingly full. It was THAT good. The portion was HUGE. Definitely enough for two nice meals. How I managed to stuff it all into my belly? The world may never know.
Service was fast and friendly. My waiter was quiet, but nice. He always kept my water full, he was very attentive, and when I ran out of fish sauce, he quickly brought me some more. Nice.
Food is really cheap here. All of my food came to less than 15 bucks, which isn’t bad for a huge lunch.
Oh! Mekong also has a late night appetizer menu, from 10pm-​2am. Not bad!
So why 4 stars instead of 5? It smells REALLY funny in here. Like… a fishy urine-​y smell. It’s not overpowering, but the scent is definitely there. That might be off-​putting to some.