Gion Restaurant

I have been a customer here since the place opened, in the smaller space facing HWY 169.
The spring rolls have always been very good. They may cost a pinch more than they used to, but for the size and quality, they are good value. Hoisin/​peanut dipping sauce is solid, although not what I would go with at home.
Chicken phở is my obsession here. I am not a huge beef phở guy, so I am pleased their chicken phở is… pleasing to me. I suppose it is kind of gringo style in that the meat itself is all boneless white meat, but I am good with that.
The rice noodle salad bowl with tofu stir fry is great! I don’t even use much dressing with the stir fry, as the sauce flavors it all up well! The grilled meats on this dish taste fine, but seem a bit scant for the cost.
Grilled beef banh mi is tasty, but slightly high in price in my opinion. Bread is often a tad dry. Better value elsewhere on that item, but I still order it sometimes. I am a sucker for a sandwich! I have been known to dip one into either spring roll sauce, or noodle bowl salad dressing!
Sweet basil str fry is great when they do it right. Vietnam, meets Thailand, meets canned pineapple, in a highway cloverleaf strip mall in New Hope MN!
Other dishes are really pretty solid, if not creative. Sesame chicken, basic stir fries, lo mien, curries, are all totally decent.
Others have pointed out the suburb slanted «general Asian» style menu, but I would say whether you go Thai, Vietnamese, or Chinese style here, You could do FAR worse elsewhere.
Once in a while, I do get a crappy meal here. Always in the form of a stir fry, or the tofu stir fry on the noodle bowl (NEVER the phở). It will be (and taste) greasier than usual, or be bland for some reason. Just lacking in goodness. Not too often though, and nobody is perfect. Still 4 stars overall in my book.

Went there for the Phở, and ended up getting spring rolls too. Everything was really good, and authentic. Nice staff, many/​most of whom are Vietnamese. Fairly priced, nice simple atmosphere and close to where we live. We’ll go back for sure.

Tasty fresh food, clean & quick to feed a hungry couple. The beef in the phở was tender and flavorful and the tofu noodle salad was fresh and filling. Glad to find Gion and plan to return.

Working in St Paul a good bowl of phở is never far away. On the west side of town that is not the case, until now! There is not the varieties that you might find on the other side of town, but still delicious. My 6 year old son loved the kids menu. Sesame chicken was good, but I’ll be honest I couldn’t go there for that. Next trip I’ll be trying the bahn mi.

Really loved it here! I had tried their egg rolls before when someone brought some at work. Delicious food my boyfriend fell in love with the Phở. Service was also super fast and friendly

Move over Nicollet Ave! Dare I say «best phở this side of the river»??
I’ve been to this place a few times. They are consistently serving fast and friendly service with good to great food and top notch phở. They also have excellent Viet style egg rolls, however the banh mi is a bit weak. The remainder of this review is dedicated the soup I can’t live without…
Every phở connoisseur might have different preferences for each aspect that goes in their bowl, but I guarantee you will not be disappointed in this one. I’ve only had my typical beef and meatball here, but I’d bet every other version pays off. The serving is hefty, the ingredients fresh, the broth stands alone without the need to get sauced up, and the meat is of good quality and generous portions. If this place was on Nicollet in Uptown, I would choose it over all others for my beloved soup. Although the clean and fresh interior of the restaurant is nice, I wouldn’t mind if it was a dump like most of the Eat Street spots… do I have an association of great food with little dirty dives? You’re damn right I do. Rude restaurant owners? Well, they just piss me off. You get the friendly service that you expect in the burbs here.
I digress
Try this spot!

Looking for a the perfect bowl of Phở on the north side of town? Look no further! This local joint is destined to satisfy that craving. It’s a perfectly portioned and proportioned noodle to meat dish. The broth is flavorful but light at the same time. You’ll eat the whole bowl no problem! Another must try is the Beef Stew (Bo Kho). Get it with the egg noodles and Banh mi (French bread) on the side. Hearty with a bit of spice and perfect for a Netflix snowy day! I usually don’t get egg rolls, but theirs are pretty decent. Nice and crispy and the meat filling is soft, not dense like a lot of places.
Now, with all of the good stuff out of the way, I have to give my two cents on the bad (womp womp)
The Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) is basically one of the most Americanized and generic ones around. They use American mayo and the pâté is definitely seasoned for the general public. By that I mean, for the gringos. Don’t take it personal, but it’s true. But hey, If it works for you, go for it! I’m a Banh Mi snob anyway, don’t listen to me.
A couple of others to be cautious with; Saigon wings and Lemongrass chicken. The wings are loaded with fish sauce. I’m Viet and it was too much for me. The Lemongrass is extremely oily and over sauced. And if you get either with spice, TREAD LIGHTLY. It will be over done and you’ll ruin yourself for anything else you have lined up. If you want the unicorn of Lemongrass chicken, go to Que Viet in northeast Minneapolis. Although, they call it Hot and spicy Chicken there. And that’s where I stick to when I’m in the mood for real egg rolls — Legitimately the two best Viet items in all of the metro. Well, now it sounds like I’m moving onto a Que Viet review so I’ll end this and leave you with a Julia Child quote: «The people who love to eat are always the best people» — so eat on and prosper! #nomnomninja

simple environment, exceptional flavor! for those with discerning palets and health on there conscience I am proud to recommend the sweet basil. they did not withhold on this veggie filled dish… the dish is a delicious delight… ENJOY!

Authentic Vietnamese food. Fast service. I had pepper steak and the sweet basil chicken. Fresh, healthy, great tasting food! Couldn’t stop eating. Good portions and reasonable price too. Simple, but very clean environment.

Very quiet and small place. Not very busy. I had a very nice waitress. I ordered spring rolls ($ 5 for 2) and was still trying to finish them when my phở ($ 8.50) arrived. Very quick service and the food was great. I also ordered banh mi ($ 5.50) to go. I plan on coming back! :)

This is a great neighborhood restaurant! It is cheap and one of the only Vietnamese restaurants I know of west of the cities. The phở is good, but the broth is lacking the same depth of flavor compared places like Quangs. The egg rolls, bahn mi sandwiches and Vietnamese noodle salad are on par though. Definitely a must try if you live in the area!

Horrible service, wait to be seated sign, Sat Down to wait. They looked my way a couple times. Another couple comes in they seat them right away. Completely ignored me.

Gion serves up some simple but delicious Seattle-​style teriyaki. The service is a little slow even when the place is dead so I would definitely recommend calling ahead for takeout if you don’t want to be waiting 10 – 15 minutes for food.

nothing good or bad about this place. I order seafood noodles and the broth was very bland. (Feel like water with MSG and can broth) Service was alright. She gave all your food and left and will be at your table again when u are ready to pay and that’s it for her service.

When they first open on the other end facing Hwy 169N, the food portion is regular. In less then 6 months, they raised their prices on the menu 3 times and the food portion became less and less! Totally don’t make sense at all and a very bad idea!
Ex: grilled pork chop rice, regular order comes with two regular size pork chops. they cut their portion by increasing the price and changed from 2 regular chops to one piece chop but cut into half to make it looked like 2 pieces.
Ex: Beef Phở. They give u 4 small square slices of beef and lots of bean sprouts and and other phở vegetables.
The service is bad also! Only one person taking orders and also serving dine-​in customers. When you called in to place an order during lunch time, your call might never reach a live person to take your order even if you make 3 calls. Because the ONLY one person at the counter is busy serving maybe 2 – 3 table of dine-​in customers.
Several sometimes I walked in to make my order since they don’t answer by phone, I was upset that they were not busy at all and only one table with two customers.
For the above reasons, I don’t go there anymore!

First time for this restaurant. Ordered Hot & Spicy chicken. It was so salty, that it was almost inedible.
I won’t be back.

I’d go back phở sho.
I’m not a phở-​king expert,
but this is my fav.
Sorry, I can not write a review of a place where I ate phở without incorporating at least one phở-​king reference. Came here today based on the urging and review of my Unilocal buddy, Darcy W. Gion did not disappoint. Thanks for the recommendation, Darcy!
Gion does not look like much from the outside or the inside. The location is in a nondescript strip mall just off of Highway 169 in New Hope. Often, the best places are in these strip malls that you would otherwise never thinking of going to. The inside is spartan, at best. However, they have added some artwork to the walls but the concrete floors remain. Kinda felt like a big storage locker converted into a restaurant.
Walked in quite a bit past the lunch rush, and there was hardly anybody in the place. Waitress came over right away and was chop-​chop, Johnny-​on-​the-​spot getting me seated and taking my order. I was advised that phở was the way to go here, but they do have an extensive menu. Got the chicken phở with a side of the cream cheese wontons.
The cream cheese wontons came out in a matter of minutes. They were just OK for me. The cream cheese was kind of clumpy and not melted the way that I like. Will pass on these and try the spring rolls the next time that I go instead.
Phở came out before I had even finished the wontons. Based on the picture that Darcy posted, I was expecting the broth to be somewhat darker but this broth was pretty crystal clear. This phở was pretty plain Jane, but I mean that as nothing but a compliment. Oftentimes, simplicity and few ingredients make the best dishes. First, time I had phở at Ngon, I got it with oxtail which was fatty and gristly. Second time, I got it with beef at Phở 79 but it came with too many vegetables. Third time is the charm. Just right today. Giant and tasty bowl of chicken soup Vietnamese style. The only vegetables they put it in it, I think, were onions, chives and parsley. Perfect for my tastes.
As mush as I liked the phở, this place is a minus one. If they get a liquor license, I could see bumping it up to a five.

We had the spring rolls, the traditional Phở, and the Bun Bo Hue. The spring rolls and the dipping sauce were so very delicious. Wanted more since I had to share with my wife. The Bun Bo Hue immediately hit me with the kind of heat that makes you cough from the back of your throat. Once I got over the initial shock it was delicious. The Phở was also very good. Flavorful and yummy and filled with delicious things. The vegetables provided to put in the soup were fresh and added a great deal to the soup. We’ll be back.

This is my first experience with Vietnamese food and it was amazing! The spring rolls and peanut sauce are a must. I am already planning my next trip there to obtain them! Very fresh veggies, sticky rice roll, and a cruch to eat bite. Shrimp and chicken full of flavor.
On the recommendation of the waitress, I ordered the Classic Phở which was great! She brought bean sprouts, basil, lettuce, and jalepino and advised I add them to the soup if I wanted… and I did. Great suggestion to make it exactly what you want as the diner. I will return to this great little restuarant.

This is tucked in a strip mall in New Hope. My hair dresser shared that they have fantastic fresh spring rolls… Of course, I thought to myself I will be the judge of that?!
Gion Restaurant did not disappoint! The spring rolls are truly fresh and tasty! I truly love fresh spring rolls and this is not far from my house.
I can also report… The Phở is great. The Pad Thai is ok, but it’s not as flavorful as I like. You cannot go wrong with the cheese puffs… Just yummy!
Gion Restaurant is extremely stark, not a cozy feel at all. Cement floors and not a picture on the wall. It is very clean though.
Note to all… They DO NOT serve any booze? As you might have guessed its a lunch or take out spot for me.