Lotus Vietnamese Restaurant
Twin Cities, Minnesota

This place is really not anything special. I only ended up here because I was in the mood for Vietnamese food but Jasmine Orchid (across the street) was closed.

The spring roll was simply lettuce with rice noodles and tofu (where were all the typical spring roll ingredients, like mint, basil, cilantro, or sprouts??). I did appreciate that they have the option of mock duck or tofu for the spring rolls.

I ordered the curry mock duck, and this was incredibly salty and overwhelmingly brown--not at all appealing to the eyes. It was described as having lemongrass and ginger, but I could not detect these flavors in the sauce. I would have appreciated more vegetables in this dish, but there were only onions.

The interior is equally uninspired. I feel like I'm eating in an interstate truck stop, with all the neon lighting and dingy walls.

I don't think I will ever return to this restaurant. Life is too short to eat such mediocre food! You're better off going to Jasmine Orchid across the street.

Really average. The food isn't bad, it's just not awesome. The spring rolls are okay, it's nice that they put mock duck in them. I've only had the rice noodle salad with mock duck. It's tasty and pretty cheap and fulfills my craving of rice noodles. The only reason I go to this restaurant is the walking proximity to work and the campus and it's cheap.

But my overall review so far is: meh. Maybe it will change after I try a few more dishes.