I swear to god that all the hostesses were wearing Prada. The downstairs restaurant is narrow and almost cramped, but definitely in a chic kind of way. From this piece of real estate, I had expected almost double the prices. I ordered a lot and enjoyed everything. Chef is Hoc Van Tran, from the original Le Colonial in New York, and the restaurant, deviating nicely from the expectations raised by its name, features only Vietnamese dishes, with no French items or accents.
Dinners are served family style, so everyone can share.
It was the favorite at our table. I would like to caution you all not to overlook the lowly vegetable sides that are offered. For dessert, I ordered the most tantalizing-sounding item, the Le Colonial float, even though the float is Venetian vanilla ice cream with coffee syrup and espresso powder and I am afraid of caffeine after a certain time at night. Better than you think a float could be. Le Colonial wins hands down in the Cool Drinks department, and the upstairs Salon convinces me that cocktails aren't dead yet.