Hoa Bien Vietnamese Restaurant

I’m surprised with the reviews that got on here. Everyone there was so nice, the tables were spacious, very clean place. The service was superb, we ordered and seriously all of took less that 10 minutes to come out, we were shocked in how fast everything was ready. I wanted just phở broth to sip on but my waiter said he would just add veggies to my broth so that I had something to snack on lol so nice of him, and he put it down as a wonton soup so you already know this bowl was cheap and it was def good, I’m happy he did this for me. Ordered the spring rolls bummed it had mint in them, I’m not a big fan of mint so next time I know not to have it in there. I would definitely come back the next time I am in need of broth.

There is a pervasive smell of garbage water in the spring rolls. I also noticed a dish pan on the floor of the kitchen, which some would say is unsanitary. The tables are very small and crowded. A table for four should actually be a table for two. The portions of the catfish in the hot pot were super small, but it was about the best fish I have ever tasted. Damn expensive though… about 15 bucks for two to three small pieces of fish and a GIANT bowl of rice. They need to offer free refills. A can of coke does not cost more than a dollar. Iced coffee is bomb, but less ice and more coffee… Also offer some refills. Also, the menu has more than a hundred items with limited descriptions. Change all this stuff and you will become a better restaurant.

Very unorganized, took over 50mins for simple appetizer and phở. Had to flag down waiter after 50mins. Friend paid for his food and left, then they tried to charge friends food on our reciepts

Ordered some takeout phở here the other night.
The restaurant itself is really nice and the staff was great. Unfortunately, the food was not. We had an order of cream cheese wontons, and two different phở orders (meatball and tendon).
The cream cheese wontons were the best part of the meal — generously portioned and pretty tasty, but a bit on the too-​greasy side for me.
The broth was pretty good, but the noodles were overdone and the meatballs were barely edible. The rest of the meat was barely cooked.
All in all, it was pretty disappointing. We’ll stick with Phở Ca Dao.

I would give this restaurant a 3 stars, but one major incident I couldn’t forget is the fact that I ordered pork dumplings and the inside wasn’t fully cooked. I mentioned it to the server but they refused to acknowledge the fact that it was. They told me they cook the pork before they put it inside the dumpling. I had another dumpling that wasn’t really cooked well, it was still pink in the inside and that’s when my husband mentioned to the server and they finally fixed my food. All they did was reheat it until it was less pink. I was upset, since it was my first time eating here.

This is our go-​to Vietnamese restaurant in St. Paul. When they first opened this new store in 2006, it was a bit slow. They’ve made a very concerted effort to improve the speed of service. It’s now as good as any place. The lunch specials are amazing. Had the hot and spicy chicken. It was not all that spicy but it sure was delicious. Wife had sweet and sour pork. It was delightful and so cheap. For $ 17, we will get two meals for two people today. Highly recommend stopping in here. It will not disappoint.

I love this place I’ve been going for about 4 to 5 years and I always get the same thing and the staff knows it to 47 /​chicken phở spring rolls with just shrimp with sweet and sour sauce and a hand made freshly done when you ask for it lemonade I love it everyone is so nice good people great food fresh made drinks

Came in for lunch. Place was about half full on a Tuesday at 12:30. I ordered Phở Tai Nam, but received phở tai. Service was fast. The iced coffee drink was great. The phở however was really disappointingly small. I would estimate the bowl capacity to be something like 20 ounces. The broth was ok, but nothing special — lacking in aroma. The meat was pretty good and in good proportion for the overall serving, not mystery meat like sometimes happens. The sides (bean sprouts, basil, lime and jalapeño) were also a smaller portion. Just can’t give more than two stars because of the overall value here. Much better values out there.

This has the best pork fried rice that I’ve ever had and I’ve tried a ton of fried rice from other restaurants!

I stopped in on a whim while waiting for a train. The restaurant is clean and the staff was friendly and attentive. I ordered phở, which was served quickly and was very good. It came with a lot of FRESH cilantro, sprouts, and jalapeño. I will stop off at the Lexington train station more often.

This is were it all started for me this place! where I was first introduced to Asian food when I was just a little pea!
I have been coming here since it was house looking restaurant were the bathroom doors swag open like a country club where the floors were uneven where the staff was so young (now they grown) and when they prices were dead cheap
Well let me tell yall something they remodeled it big! and my family has been coming that long that some of the family still knows us its funny they prices did go up but well worth the food still taste exactly the same I always order Egg Rolls and spring rolls and this yellow bean drink that is to die for !

Came here twice and had phở one of the times. Fairly average.
The workers are nice and I never had to wait both times I came for lunch. I like their selection and their prices are good.

For some reason, I have it in my head that a good Vietnamese restaurant has to be a small, dingy, dive in order to be good. For this reason, I have never gone to Hoa Bien. Its a beautiful, newer building.
I love the interior of this restaurant, so different than most others, in that they do not cramp tables too closely together. You have privacy in the booths and the tables. They also have a few round tables that seat 8 – 10 which is nice for a group dinner. Conversation seems to flow much better when you can all see each other in a circle.
The service was top notch. The food was great! I am so happy to have found this place because I usually run to Minneapolis for my Broken Rice Chicken fix.
What we had–
Egg Rolls– Loved them! The best I have had in St Paul.
Spring Rolls-​Super fresh and full of Cilantro.
Broken rice with Grilled Chicken-​This was amazing! The chicken was perfectly grilled and the rice appeared to almost have been grilled a little bit as well. The cucumbers, carrots, sprouts, that accompanied the chicken, again, was super fresh.
I love the fish sauce! Not sure what makes it different than any where else, but it appeared to be better. I also loved the sauce for the Spring Rolls as well.
I usually feel so rushed at Vietnamese restaurants but not here, the pace was nice and slow. I could have stayed all night.
I already have been back twice to get takeout since dining in. Check it out. I know you will not be disappointed!

I gave this place 3 stars because the service is ok but the food is not good at all we had spring rolls to noodle dishes and phở the noodle dishes we had were bun boa hue and for some reason the blood cake in it was really fishy and the soup was not hot (TEMP) at all luke warm at best. we also had Vietnamese crepes who’s was filled with 95% bean sprouts. Ill have to be honest their service is decent the food just isn’t that good.

First time here, and I was around when it was first built after it was an empty lot for years. I got the sweet and sour shrimp. It was in a delicious bright red sauce and had chunks of onion, green pepper, pineapple, and tomato. I like the look the tomato gave it, really the whole plate was a picture. Basil had the seafood special. It had giant pieces of squid in it. I loved the peppery delicate sauce, and would be tempted to get that next time. We’re on a 4 week summer lent period, so what is really tempting us is the 7 course meat dinner when it’s over. They have a nice jasmine iced tea. I got the fresh limeade, which was a perfect balance of sweet and tart. John, our waiter was awesome, and very knowledgeable of the huge menu. In this case a huge menu works. Glad we finally got around to trying it.

Rice paper on the spring rolls were kind of dry and tasted bland. I ordered Bun Bo Hue, it was OK. It wasn’t terrible. Not that it makes a difference in taste, the block of blood wasn’t a cube, it was kinda looked like a smooshed and long. It made the appearance less desirable lol. Flavor was ok, haven’t tried bun bo hue anywhere else in Minnesota so I can’t tell you if this is the best I’ve tried in Minnesota or not. Server was attentive and quick though.

They use to have a tiny location back in the 90s. their golden era if you will.
Since the new building sprouted up though, the food has gone to the crapper.
Their egg rolls are frozen and deep fried in old oil. The last time I was here, I could tell that they didn’t even let the egg rolls thaw, straight from the freezer to the deep fryer. The center was still cold despite the outside being hot and crispy.
Their phở use to have flavor, now its so bland and generic.
The hot and spicy beef is still good, which is redeeming.
The roast pork friend rice with their egg roll sauce is still an excellent experience.
The actual eating space is quite tiny considering it’s such a big building. Most of the square footage is allocated to the reception hall, which never seems booked (on the weekends at least).
Not gonna lie, the building is an eye-​sore for the area and doesn’t quite make sense being where it is.
Went from my go-​to spot to my distant thought spot over the course of a decade. Oh well, the memories…

I found this place to have nice friendly service and pretty good food. Nothing too special though. The phở was decent and a good size but a little bit bland.
We visited on a Saturday evening and it was kinda quiet, no complaints though as we got a nice table and fast service.
The menu was a good size with plenty of choices, the waitresses recommended a few of their favorite dishes too.
Food was brought out in a reasonable time, not to fast, not to slow.
My only complaint with this place is that the food was a little bland. The best thing I found was the fried rice and spicy tofu. These were actually packed with flavor and vertu enjoyable. Overall I would say this is a nice place but nothing to special. If you want some good Vietnamese food then definitely check it out

This is another one of my go-​to noodle joints in saint paul that
I remember this place back when it was actually a hole in the wall.
(Honestly, it was more of a shanty-​like structure).
That is when I truly believed they had the most magical phở in the cities. With their new digs — it seems to have lost some of it’s luster — or maybe it’s just got more competition now.
It’s really hard to say where has the best phở, but Hoa Bien has never been far off the mark for me.
In short — this place serves LEGIT viet food, that is now white-​people-​friendly.
Fantastic, affordable, approachable food
(I recently had the Com tam = a perfect choice if you are hungry).
FYI: they do NOT serve beer or wine (as of August 2013)

Best place for Vietnamese food in the MSP area! They also serve the spring roll dishes where you get to cook at your table. Whether it’s shrimp paste on sugar cane or thinly sliced beef, you can grill them on the grill right in front of you… roll it yourself with rice papers.
Their phở is also very yummy. It’s a bit more on the oily side but the broth is rich and just the thing to get when it’s cold outside. Also the ambiance of this place is a place that is date-​worthy. Not a dive and not cash only. They also have a larger space for larger groups too.