3.8* (out of 5) Food: 4* Atmosphere: 3* Value: 5* Service: 3* Would I go back / Recommend?: 4* (Probably) Total check/person: $22 08/02/2025 While this place has an admittedly non-descript brick exterior and clean but average interior, I appreciated it most for what it was: solid Vietnamese food at a great value, served with a family-owned feel. Biggest disappointment was that while alcohol options showed on the menu, they were unable to serve any alcohol - claiming that their liquor license had not yet been renewed. I was craving a spring roll with peanut sauce, so to start things off, we ordered #90 Bo Bia steamed spring rolls with shredded shrimp, carrots and sausage served with plum sauce (see picture). While the wrap was thicker than the 'paper' wraps that I'm used to, they were very good - and I really liked the plum sauce. My wife was undecided and our very helpful waiter Archie, suggested #69 Com Ga Chien Xa Ot (chicken breast fried with spicy lemon grass - see picture). It was good, but both of us would have preferred a bit more spice, as we ended up adding Siracha at the table. I was considering #99 Banh Xeo Vietnamese style crispy pancake stuffed with shrimp, pork & veggies based on the menu picture, but Archie talked me into #97 Banh Tam Bi Xiu Mai udon noodles with shredded pork, steamed pork meatballs and veggies instead (see picture). I was impressed with the coconut milk and lemon sauce that he poured over it when served with the instructions to stir it all together - very tasty combination of savory, sweet and tart, with a very slight spiciness. If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow. read more

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Pho is an individual taste that checks all your palate boxes of freshness, well seasoned broth, a variety of herbs and veggies that sends the dish into obit. My chicken pho was good with the knowledgeable wait staff knowing which number would meet my needs. The calmness of the environment allowed me to enjoy all the enticing ingredients to the max. read more

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Owners are real dongs. Pho broth is good. Meat cuts are b- Owners are real dongs. Pho broth is good. Meat cuts are b- Owners are real dongs. Pho broth is good. Meat cuts are b- read more

Passing through Des Moine we found this Vietnamese restaurant. It was spacious and clean, especially the restroom was very clean! The service was attentive, friendly, and very good. We wanted to try something different from the usual Vietnamese dish we get back at home. We got pork stuffed squid, pork ribs with the restaurant's special sauce, spring roll, and sour lemon drink. I feel a bit of a mixed feeling with the food we ordered. The flavours were really bland compared to the flavours I am used to. The fish sauce dipping sauce (nuoc cham) almost tasted like water with a hint of fish sauce, which in my opinion was very off putting. Where I am from we have fairly large Vietnamese community so I can trust the flavours. I am wondering if the flavours here are weaker to cater to the non Asian palate? Anyway, the 4 stars is for the wonderful and friendly service this restaurant provided. read more

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I've been coming here for many years. Pho was $9 and now is $15. Still my favorite though! Miss the orchids, too bad they are gone now.

I went to A Dong one night by myself and got amazing reservations and service. I absolutely love the shrimp rolls and the recommendations of that in the salad I was given. I went back again and they remembered me and treated my family amazing. I am so impressed with the kindness of this restaurant and as well as the food. read more

I was very disappointed in the lack of flavors in my most recent meal at ADong. I hadn't been since before Covid. It was a Friday around lunchtime and there were a lot of empty seats--same thing when we left--that's worrisome for a business. My friend ordered the equivalent of crab Rangoon, and said they were tasty. They came with a lemony sauce. I had the iced tea which is actually a very lightly flavored lime drink. It was very refreshing. I then had a cup of hot and sour soup, which had one shrimp in the cup and lots of nice crunchy veggies. But it had none of the hot nor sour flavors that I'm used to. I had two spring rolls with a very bland sauce. I should've asked for peanut sauce; I just assumed that what it was. Each roll had three shrimp in it, quite a bit of lettuce and some rice noodles. I didn't even bother to finish them. The waitress was pleasant. The room is bright and clean. Perhaps you're supposed to ask for some heat/spices? read more

A Dong Restaurant - Hot and sour soup with two spring rolls. see the iced tea? Very refreshing. - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Been here a couple times now and it is consistently delicious. I get the pork vermicelli and my wife gets pho and we love it! Wait staff are great and very helpful. Great place!! read more

Have been here a few times and love it! It is a bit pricier than some of the other pho places. Their duck noodle soup was good but for the price I would've wanted more duck. read more

A Dong Restaurant - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

We had take out, we all enjoyed it. Great flavor and portions. There were adults and kids all liking the meal!

Good Food Good Service I really enjoyed my meal, this place is also super clean Will be returning read more

VEGAN a dong has a large vegetarian vegan menu selection covering various spring/egg rolls and a soup appetizers and plenty of entree selections that are authentic and pack plenty of Unami! Definitely one of my fav vegan menu options in the DSM area! read more

Went here for lunch for my birthday, what a mistake. Everything was tasteless & the server was pushy with getting our order in within a min of arriving. Even after we said, we needed a couple minutes to look over the menu. He literally kept badgering us. We ordered the spring rolls and they were absolutely disgusting. And everything else just had a bad flavor to it like it was left out or something. We feel a dong has went down hill the past couple years and will not be back. read more

Staff is amazing here! Everyone is so sweet and they are quick. I could imagine it is hard to find authentic ingredients in this area. That is understandable. I'm really happy I got to stop here while visiting. Their broth has great flavors and their meats are yummy. Worth the stop if you need a warm bowl of soup for your belly. read more

Am trying my best to ignore the blatantly obvious innuendo in the name just like a respectable adult person should. A Dong, the best authentic Vietnamese restaurant that you have never heard of. I kid you not the outside looks more like a sketchy cigarette shop than a nice sit down (if you don't believe me check out my picture). Don't let the look deceive you though. I walked in with no expectations and I was amazed by this place. Here are the facts. 1) The food is fast, really truly fast. 2) The menu is in Vietnamese but they conveniently number all the dishes so that basic white people like me can order without looking like a fool. 3) The prices are super low. A typical authentic place will run $10-$15 on a plate whereas here more like $6-$8 for the same great quality. 4) The food tastes great (some sort of unbelievably not bland beef based bowl!!). I can't really elaborate on this one, you just need to find out for yourself. In conclusion, go try this place out. I have concluded. read more

A Dong Restaurant - Looks extremely sketchy from outside. - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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My first visit. Didn't know what to expect, but was very impressed. Excellent food I had the vegetarian, tofu and vegetables. Sorry I don't remember the name of the dish, but it was outstanding will definitely return! I was with the small group and they accommodated us very well. They gave us a spot first to sit together and very attentive to us. read more

Agree with other reviews, nice staff but mediocre food. If you've had authentic Vietnamese, this is not it. Take the fresh spring road for instance. They were $5 or so for two of them and you can't have both pork and shrimp in them as you normally would, only one or the other. In addition to that they're not stuffed very tightly but fairly loose. The sauce was the most watery I've had and lacking in flavor. The fried noodles I expected to be the Chinese style that are crispy but as you can see from my photo they weren't. The dish was still tasty because noodles, seafood, and vegetables taste good together, and nothing was a weird texture, but it could have had more flavor. read more

A Dong Restaurant - Stir fried egg noodles with beef, chicken, shrimp, and veggies Shrimp spring rolls - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Decent food, but honestly have never understood the hype. Service was good and menu is authentic.

I was very disappointed with the pho here. The broth was lacking so much flavor that it tasted like the water used to cook the noodles. The slices of beef and pieces of meatballs were standard and the noodles were cooked decently. What surprised me the most was that the child size serving of pho was the same price as a regular adult size serving. I would not recommend this place to anyone, especially for first time pho triers. read more

A Dong Restaurant - Kid's pho portion - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

BREAK MY SCALE. So good. The customer service was so good they got us right in and the food came quick and hot. Everything was so fresh. read more

A Dong Restaurant - The spring rolls. PLEASE. The only ones and the best ones I've ever had. - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Best fresh Asian food in the Des Moines area! I have tried so many different dishes here & I'm never disappointed.

A Des Moines staple for a reason, amazing food! Favorites are 1c egg rolls, 16c curry tofu soup, 26c tofu and greens, 33c coconut sauce udon noodles with tofu. Meat dishes are good too but I especially love the huge vegetarian menu! read more

Ever since someone had posted about their vegetarian menu on one of the Des Moines food groups a few years ago, I have been so in love with their food since! Every time I go, I try to order a new dish off the vegetarian menu and it is always soooooo delicious! But my fav has to be the egg rolls. So perfectly crispy and the sauce they give with it is amazing! Portions are always huge especially to me. I always end up with leftovers the staff is always so kind and helpful when I have questions. Would definitely recommend! read more

This is a great Vietnamese pho spot in Des Moines. The menu is extensive and includes a variety of dishes besides pho. On this visit I had the shrimp spring rolls as an appetizer and the seafood and bbq pork with egg and white noodles as a main course. The spring rolls were awesome. They were served with a fig sauce, which I was very hesitant about, but it really made the dish. The pho is a large portion and comes with everything you can imagine. Mine had both egg and white noodles, several kinds of seafood, bbq pork slices, bean sprouts, lime wedge, and sliced raw jalapeño. The broth is also perfect. Overall a great spot for pho lovers like myself. read more

Pretty disappointing, unfortunately. I really wanted to try a wider range of Vietnamese menu items but this place was a letdown. Service was pretty bad. Took about 10 minutes before anyone even asked me if I wanted a table and they merely asked "can I help you?" The food itself was some of the worst I've ever had. I love Vietnamese food, but this was awful. For whatever reason, they served my food with two soy sauce packets tossed right on top even though there was soy sauce on the table. Others complained, too. Another gentleman walked in to remind the waitress that the manager insisted on comping him for a previous takeout order they had messed up. read more

Just wow. I haven't seen such a varied Vietnamese menu...ever. And our food was absolutely delicious. We ordered a kid's beef pho for our 2-year old, which they wisely brought out ASAP and served sans herbs and onions. The owner also stopped by with a fortune cookie to help entertain him while we waited for the rest of our food. What a sweetheart. I ordered the ground-pork stuffed tofu off the house specialties menu, and it was fantastic. A mixture of herbed pork, wood-ear mushrooms, and cellophane noodles is stuffed into fried(?) tofu pockets and topped with a delicious tomato sauce. I'm guessing this unexpected pairing of ingredients harks back to France's imperial influence in Vietnam. There was a yellowy tinge to the sauce hinting of turmeric. The stuffed tofu came with a generous side of steamed jasmine rice, crisp lettuce and sliced cucumber and tomato, plus pickled carrot and daikon radish. Each bite explodes in a series of contrasting texture and flavor - juicy meatball, tender tofu, savory sauce, crunchy vegetables, soft rice, and sweet, sour, and salty accompaniments. I skipped the dressing/dip over the top as it mostly tasted of Maggi sauce. We enjoyed our shrimp and pork summer rolls with plum sauce to start. I swiped a slurp of my husband's roasted bone-in duck soup and it was tasty with a rich, dark poultry-flavored stock. Prices were fair ($12-14/entree, around $5 for the kid's soup, and $3-4 per app) - a little more than we typically spend at lunch, but portions were also huge and perfectly executed. That's rare with a menu this broad and deep. We will definitely, definitely return next time we're in town. I'm salivating just thinking about it. read more

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A Dông is a Des Moines institution! Originally located in the now empty lot across the street from Smokey Row Coffee, A Dông has maintained a consistent high quality menu with an excellent mix for flavors. A frequent City View Best award recipient as both a choice Vietnamese and vegetarian restaurant, I have yet to order an item off A Dông's menu that I did not enjoy. For the non-vegetarian, a not health conscious, I highly reccomand and order of 86 - a great egg roll and dipping sauce. If you like it hot, ask for a side of chili oil. Noodles in cocnut sauce (33C), iced coffee with heavy cream/condensed milk, fresh-made lemonade... All delicious... Excuse me, I need to go call in my carry out order! read more

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The best dish you will ever eat. If I'm ever granted one last meal, this will be it. Will I drive from Omaha Nebraska to Des Moines for this? Yes. Yes, I will. read more

A Dong Restaurant - Rare beef salad Number 108 on menu - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Food was fabulous! We were so happy to have a whole vegetarian section. Also, the wait staff were thrilled to see our 5 month old baby and were so cute in interacting with him. We don't live here but would absolutely return! read more

I started going to A Dong when it was one of the only Vietnamese restaurants in Des Moines and when it was located across from where Smokey Row sits now in a strip of shops that has long since been demolished. I don't know if the same family who rabbit then has it now but I liked it then I I like it now. I see a lot of reviews with lower ratings saying it it isn't authentic and as a white person I can't say what is or isn't authentic Vietnamese food, but I do feel certain things have been adjusted to make them more user friendly for the American palate that has not experienced Vietnamese cooking before - case in point - their spring rolls which the diner must request the herbs be included in vs removed as to make them gentler for someone not used to eating mint. My favorite dishes are the curry chicken, lemon grass chicken, the rare beef salad, the secret soup at the end of the appetizer menu that does not have a aloha/number, their Pho tai and their chicken and veggie soup. They have always been great with me, offering extra ginger if in the chicken soup when they know we were ordering it because we were sick, their dipping sauce is still my favorite fish sauce condiment to out on everything. I also adore whoever took over their social media platform a few years ago and that they stuck up for the Asian community when their was a restaurant that wanted to open with a blatantly racist name and got that stopped and the name was changed. read more

I first visited A Dong in 2014. They've been around for a long time and so many people have raves about their food. I was curious about the hype. They have an extensive menu. Honestly, the first Vietnamese restaurant I've been to with this many items available. The restaurant staff is very friendly and the wait is never long. Their service is one of the better ones compared to other Vietnamese restaurants in the DSM area. The food: so far, my general consensus is that their flavor profile does not suit my taste. I have been consistently getting bo tai chanh. It's a rare dish to find around here and their is DELICIOUS. Every now and again I try a new dish: -pho: too bland, I prefer a more flavorful broth. There are too many Vietnamese restaurants in DSM to justify getting pho here. -bun rieu: again, the broth here does not taste authentic and there's fewer toppings/meats. I prefer Pho 515's bun rieu. -bun thit nuong (vermicelli)I don't like their fish sauce and meat. In my opinion, both of these are pivotal to a good vermicelli bowl. read more

I was very excited to try out A Dong. Coming from New England I'm not surprised or suffering in the cold, but I do know how to warm myself up. A nIce bowl of soup. Bun bo hue was on the menu so I knew it had to be authentic. Maybe I'm spoiled, but I thought it was just all right. I was left wanting more flavor. Overall, my friends seemed to really like it so I'll have to give it a second chance. I also noticed the prices had increased from the time they uploaded the facebook menu. Some dishes had gone up a few cents. p.s. the curry looked amazing. read more

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Restaurant was simple and clean. Food was delicious. Had the pork egg rolls, and chicken pho. Their iced tea is infused with Jasmine. Service was quick and pleasant. read more

A Dong Restaurant - Pork egg rolls - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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Pros: huge selection of food, plenty seating, east parking, reasonable pricing Cons: my vegetarian vermicelli was somewhat lacking of flavor...it was still decent enough to eat, but I couldn't say that I truly enjoyed it. It was fresh though read more

A Dong Restaurant - Vegetarian vermicelli #8C and coconut water with coconut "meat" #132(?) - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Completely disappointed. I have been going to this restaurant since before they were In this location. I have a few favorites. One is 105 with shrimp and cucumber. It normally is spicy and a very thin sauce. This time it had tons of chunks, small shrimp, over cooked cucumbers and the sauce was thick with no spice. I also ordered a steamed spring roll which I haven't tried. It had a weird flavor and texture. The cabbage was the texture of potatoes. In the past, I would have rated this a 5 but not today!! read more

A Dong Restaurant - Steamed spring roll - not my favorite. - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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The rest of my party loved the place. I doubt I'll be back. I like my food a little more Americanized. Haha there wasn't enough grease for me! Seemed much more authentic than most places in America. Which is actually a good thing read more

I've eaten here several times since moving to Des Moines. I realize it's a staple and that everyone is in love with it and etc. I give it 5 for consistency and really fast, always extra friendly service. The food is always good, but seems to be sorta like baby-steps to real Vietnamese. All the flavors are the most mild versions of what they could be. I'll blame that on the local majority palate that A Dong is successfully catering to. If they could crank it up on the sour, spicy, funky stanky side of Vietnamese, I would be all over it like white on rice, pun absolutely intended. For now, I'll keep coming back for pho because it's phocking cold outside and the only cure is more cowbell, I mean pho. read more

I have been enjoying the food at A Dong's for 20 years. A recent visit however was disappointing. A new menu made it difficult to find my favorites, then we I did find them and ordered them they were awful. The rice paper wrapping the spring roles was like cardboard and my favorite Hot and Sour soup was filled with cabbage and other inferior ingredients. Then the prices were higher. Very disappointing. I probably won't go back unless I hear that they have improved read more

By far and away the best thing about this place is the customer service! Everyone was exceedingly friendly and went above and beyond to give us a good experience. We started with a variety of egg rolls that included a shrimp and cheese that was out of this world, a veggie eggroll, a pork eggroll and a shrimp eggroll. There was not as much flavor with the filling as I was expecting but the crispy shell was spot on on all of them but the shrimp and cheese. For my main I opted for a tofu and veggie curry bowl with rice. I had mentioned that I liked fried tofu and the waiter had the kitchen fry some of the tofu slices on top. It was awesome! The broth had a lot of flavor but I think that a little coconut milk would have smoothed it out. They do fancy cuts on the veggies too which made it classier than you typically see. My cousins both ordered the coconut curry bowls; one with duck and one with shrimp. Their broth was incredible. For dessert I went with a pineapple boba tea with soda water instead of milk or sprite. It was much less sweet which made me like it more than I typically like boba tea. read more

A Dong Restaurant - Curried tofu and veggies. - Vegetarian Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

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WOWIE ZOWIE it has been 5 years since I last wrote about A Dong! I bet I have been here or ordered to go from here at least 25 times in the past 5 years, so how have they been doing since! WELL A+ as always! For a vegan on a budget there is no better option in town! The portion sizes are amazing, the price is always right and the amount of choices will blow your mind not your bank account! Im a huge fan of 15 C and 16 C. both our vegan soups with loads of fake meat, fresh veggies and a perfect broth! I love this on hot days and or cold days! Get the veggie spring rolls too, they can't be beaten! A Dong remodeled after a fire and it's less divey now and a bit more swank but you still get that great taste and it don't drowned the bank! read more