We only had Pho Ga, but the broth was fresh, the chicken well cooked and the condiments ample. Pick up time was quick and the server was delightful. The menu looked great and will go back to eat a full meal. Nice and clean restaurant. read more

When COVID-19 mitigation closed dine-in options, Grain River jumped on social media to let neighbors know that they're still open for carry-out. We ordered the other day, and my partner asked for more spice to his pad thai. Got it home and, oh yeah, happy camper! I ordered the milder version that I prefer, and we also ordered a veggie fried rice that served as lunch for 3 days! Good food, ample portions, and open for carry-out! read more

This is our 2nd visit. We were unimpressed the first time but we alway like to give a second chance. None of the dishes had any sauce. None. Totally lacking in flavor. I don't understand how they have 4 stars. Must be the stupid snowbirds because this place is not good. $90 and we threw most of it away. read more

Appetizers were great Had pad Thai and Mongolian with house special recommend this restaurant to all read more

Grain River Asian Bistro - Vietnamese Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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I would strongly recommend avoiding this establishment unless you condone or enjoy seeing cruelty to wildlife. Shockingly, they had videos of traps being set to catch wolves and mountain lions and mountains lions being attacked by hunting dogs playing on their television. I politely asked the waitress if the channel could be changed, but she claimed she didn't have control over the remote because management takes it away after setting it in the morning. This excuse felt like nonsense, and frankly, it's baffling why a restaurant--not a bar--would play such inappropriate content in the first place. Since they refused to change the channel, we decided to leave. read more

Every time I find a place that's this good, I'm almost mad at myself for taking so long to come check it out. The place is super cute, clean, the menu is full of very popular famous Vietnamese dishes. The Mi Xao (E1) was next level, I have no idea what's in the sauce but it was just outstanding. Service was fast! read more

Apparently this place used to be a crappy Chinese place, but in its resurrection is easily the best Vietnamese in the Tucson area. Vietnamese is one of my favorite styles of food and have eaten it all over the country, so I feel the bar is pretty high. I got my usual bun with BBQ pork and egg roll and my girl got beef pho. Both were phenomenal. The broth for the pho was especially a standout; with some sort of secret ingredient. We talked with one of the owners that said her dad makes the broth for something like 15 hours. Additionally, they have shaken beef and Vietnamese crepes, which most places do not. The only downsides were 1) they charge a small surcharge for paying credit/debit, 2) they charge $7 for Vietnamese iced coffee (?!?!?!) and 3) they're kinda up in the hills. All in all, I recommend anyone make the drive up there. Well worth it! read more

Our experience to the restaurant under the new ownership was horrible. The wait time for dinner is ridiculous, we waited for over an hour for two dishes one was a sandwich... The service was super slow. We had to ask to get water. The food was mediocre. If you want a Banh Mi, Banhdicted is way better and you can easily find other places serving better Vietnamese restaurants in Tucson. I'm not sure why anyone would comment saying this was the best Vietnamese food in southern AZ?! What? Don't be tricked and we will never come again. read more

We really enjoyed our meal here. The food was super fresh and yummy. They have an excellent assortment of curry's, this is why we chose this restaurant. Owner was very nice and chatted with us a bit. We will definitely be back when we are in the neighborhood. read more

Grain River Asian Bistro - Curry and Kung Pow chicken - Vietnamese Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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For last year Grain River has been under new ownership and is now 90% Vietnamese. 3 of us had lunch there today. It was OUTSTANDING!!! The spring rolls were big, fresh and delicious,as was the peanut sauce!! We all 3 had the bun Bowls, 2 pork one Shrimp. Really outstanding. Very fresh, very flavorful and huge. Great value too. Can't wait to go back read more

I'm a Vietnamese person who lived and grew up there for 21 years of my life, so I can definitely tell you that the chef puts a lot of love into making this food because it's always amazing every time I come. read more

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Me and my hubby decided to try this 4 star Asian food place and it turned out total disappointment! My pho was so greasy and the beef was so dry and deformed before I added to the broth, they forgot to add bbq pork to our Lo mien but they still didn't forget to charge us extra $4 for that, it was a pick up order and they still charge me for the service as well, come on where are you guys coming from?! This is not a3rd world country this is America!!! So embarrassing the way they make food and serve here never go back and don't recommend this place to anyone!! read more

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The Pho is amazing, and the salt and pepper shrimp is next level. The bun was a little sweet for my taste but still good. If you are a fan of the fresh and vibrant flavors that are distinctly Vietnamese please give Grain River a try, you won't be disappointed. If you have never tried Vietnamese food do yourself a favor and start with the banh mi sandwich and work your way across the menu. You won't regret it. read more

Delicious fresh Vietnamese food! Best I have had in Tucson!!!!! Very clean. Great service

New ownership. Been there a few times now. We finally have an authentic Vietnamese restaurant close by. It is better than the other major places that are also more than 30 minutes into town. Note to the management.... keep it authentic and true. Do not americanize too much. read more

Great food and new owners as of 2-1/2 weeks ago. Don't be in a hurry during peak times but definitely worth the wait. Most Pho places have so much salt they make your heart race. This one is just right and the food is fresh. Sad an ex employee put a bad review on here. Shouldn't be allowed. We will be back. Thanks again. read more

I am beyond thrilled with the meal I got from Grain River! The service was excellent! I ordered the house Singapore noodles, and they were perfectly balanced with the right amount of curry and the right amount of spice. I got a ton of meat and the noodles were flawless! Not to mention, the vegetables were still crisp.I highly recommend this place! read more

Seasane chicken was terrible tasted like cornstarch and very crisp . Okay Sesame Chicken

Grain river is Asian fusion. The menu has a little or some might say a lot of everything! Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese. We opted for the Chinese potion of the menu and ordered the Mongolian beef, fried rice, and General tsao's chicken. We ordered online- super easy and picked up with In 30 minutes. The dining room is still closed. The staff were super friendly and the pick up was seamless. Our favorite was the Mongolian beef. It was just spicy enough and flavorful. We did not find that the food was too heavy. Portions were just right. A great spot for locals living in the oro valley/marana areas. read more

Finally! A new Asian restaurant with all of the great Vietnamese dishes that are so HEALTHY and delicious. They are so nice and helpful. Please try new dishes if this cuisine something you are unfamiliar with. read more

Truly wish I started coming sooner! The food has always been delightful and well seasoned. I also appreciate that they have a fairly light hand with the oil with all the dishes! (This is given that I've had their dumplings, fries rice and also Thai Drunken noodles on another occasion) The owner and staff are always so kind and always make sure everything is perfect. Thank you so much Can't wait to come back. read more

Grain River Asian Bistro - Fried rice, dumplings, pad thai - Vietnamese Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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Rude! Seriously! We ordered through Grubhub and forgot to ask for chopsticks. My husband called and Lee said it was extra, she became irate when he tried to explain and told him (I quote, because I heard it on speakerphone), "You go take your 53 dollars and shove it somewhere else!". WTF?!? read more

Always LOVE my Pho! Shrimp my favorite followed by chicken, mainly because I don't eat beef. Large portion, fresh ingredients and great price. We try and go at least once a week. read more

Just moved to AZ in Oro Valley area. Just happened to see this Asian Bistro in our neighborhood when I was going to our local ups. Had out-of-state visitors just leaving this morning, so unprepared for how to create a cozy newly wed first year Valentine Celebration. Researched the Grain River & decided to give it a try. Was amazed how easy it was to order online. Their amazing "setUp" to serve their customers in midst of COVID RESTRICTIONS made everything completely comfortable! Regret not getting the lady's name... but she was delightful! Went ABOVE &BEYOND to make us feel WELCOME!!! Food was amazingly flavorful and delicious!!! Can't wait to visit them when we can eat indoors! Love to be a FREQUENT CUSTOMER!!!! read more

Food is OK. Prices about average. Fast and friendly service. Tight surroundings. Atmosphere is OK, not noisy. Only complaint is the 3.5% surcharge for using your credit card. That charge should have been included in their food pricing. read more

Maybe we order the wrong meals, but the shrimp was over cooked and tough, the chicken was dried out and was tough. The rice was cold, so sorry we were looking forward to an excellent meal. It appeared people sitting around us were enjoying their food. The waitresses were kind, thoughtful and attentive. I have been there twice now, my first and last time. read more

Service is great, quality/care of the food seems good, and I really want this place to reach its full potential. I've been here twice now and thought the food was very bland. Maybe Oro Valley people don't like spicy savory food but I requested spicy and got ZERO spice and zero heat. I then added chili oil and whatever chili sauce they had, but even that had no spice to it. I've tried the Pho, which had a decent flavored broth but the beef slices were super chewy and hard. Pho beef slices should be tender and basically rare when they put them in the hot liquid that cooks it slowly. This felt like they boiled the beef in there overcooking it. The best pho is that little Vietnamese place next to Lee Lee super market on La Cholla. I also tried the beef pad Thai and the sauce had a very strange strong eggy-fishy flavor that somewhat grossed me out, and I typically like eggs. Maybe there was too much fish sauce in there, I'm not sure but it tasted strange, yet edible. Can't quite explain what it is about the sauce that is weird. The beef in this pad Thai dish was tender but bland. Finally I've tried the Thai crispy chicken and this dish is very good but the portion felt small with too many peppers, not enough chicken, so my friend didn't get full. He had upgraded to fried rice and it was not that good, overpriced for the upgrade, just stick to white rice. The food is expensive but that seems typical in Oro Valley. Maybe I'll give it another try later and stick to the Vietnamese menu (seems to be their speciality) but for now, I'm giving up on Asian food in north Oro Valley. More central Tucson has the consistently best Asian food, plus the places by Lee Lee supermarket (Vietnamese and Japanese) are better. Last thing, Ambiance is good here, very clean and pleasant. Give it a try and judge for yourself, maybe I'm not ordering the right stuff here. read more

I do not recommend this place. We ordered two noodle dishes and 2 different egg rolls for appetizers. There was no flavor present in the food and the noodles were mushy. The egg rolls had no taste. We added soy sauce and some other sauces to make the food eatable but to no avail. We couldn't eat this food. To state that they offer Vietnamese dishes is a joke. The waitress was nice but forgot to fill our water glasses. There is zero atmosphere. The place seems dated. They also add 3.5% to your bill when you use a debit/credit card. One star is a generous rating. read more

Great food. Very eclectic selection. Everyone found something they were looking forward to and no one was disappointed.

I ordered food for delivery when my husband was out of town. I ordered Kung pao chicken and the portion was huge. I had 3 meals out of it.

We returned recently having heard there had been a change in ownership. The menu is new and still features various Asian cuisines. We found the Chinese noodle dishes to be exceptional. The same for the Vietnamese entrees. This is not the ordinary suburban Chinese food. New ownership has greatly improved the scope of entrees . Service was quick, efficient and pleasant. Restaurant is small and nicely furnished. Pricing is fair for the quality of the food. read more

I think that this place is good, but could be great, quaint, great people, great customer service, has been in Oro Valley a long time. They do some good dishes, some ok, but their ingredients seem fresh, a plus. There's something missing, and I can't quite put my finger on it. It's worth a visit, judge for yourselves, you might love it. read more

First Chinese food ever in my 70 years we barely ate it and didn't bring it home either . We won't go back read more

Ordered takeout for the first time from Grain River last night via their website. Was told the order would take 15 minutes. Drove down to the place after about 20 minutes. The order was ready a full hour after I turned it in. The staff didn't offer even a glass of water while we waited for the order. It didn't appear that they restaurant was understaffed - was just told that they were "slammed" with 7 orders about the same time. Got the food home and it was just OK. Definitely a lack of spices - the curry seemed to be a little bit of red curry mix and coconut milk, very bland. The salt and pepper chicken wings was about the same - just OK. Maybe other items on the menu are better? read more

Horrible owner!! She is always such a bitch I will never go back!! It's to bad...because the food is soso She needs to change her attitude! It seems like anyone that works for her ends up leaving read more

We have been coming here for over 10 years. Love how they treat us like family and go above and beyond for us. Their food is delicious!

Highly recommend. The orange chicken is bright and fresh, and their salt and pepper wings were surprisingly good.

Grain River is my favorite Chinese restaurant in Tucson. Being Chinese and a hard core foodie, my standards for Chinese food are very high. Not only is the food outstanding (fresh, authentic taste), the owner Lin could not be more friendly, accommodating and sincere. I'm partial to the Grain River fish, steamed fish fillet with ginger, scallion and soy sauce prepared as it would be in Hong Kong or San Francisco. Their version of 'young chow fried rice', another Cantonese classic, is also outstanding. I recently brought a Chinese graduate student friend of mine there and he commented that the food was "just like home cooking!" I don't know that I've ever known a restaurant owner with the quality standards of Lin- she simply refuses to serve anything other than what she feels is A+ quality, freshness and taste. Too bad all restaurants can't be like Grain River. Thanks Lin! read more

Grain River Asian Bistro - Grain River Fish- delicious! - Vietnamese Near Me - Tucson, Arizona

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Just ok for me.... the food was fine but not great. If it's convenient for you I might go there.

Well found another item that was not good at all. Pad Thai was not good and tonight the sweet and sour chicken you couldn't even chew