In the first half of the century when the French were still in Vietnam, restaurants in Saigon must have looked dazzlingly simple like Le Colonial. Palms, shutters, ceiling fans, dim lights, wicker furniture, walls hung with softly-blurred photographs of the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s and beautiful Vietnamese women dressed in native garb serving exotic drinks. Most guests have a pre-dinner cocktail and appetizers in the crowded second floor salon, which is much like a parlor. Every table in the first floor main dining room is taken, too. New York has given this little-known food a big welcome.
Vietnamese cooking is delicate and refined.
In the family of Asian cuisines, it's the cousin who went to finishing school. Spring rolls were light and crisp and filled with chopped vegetables that kept their crunch. You could easily eat upstairs, making a meal from those little dishes. But we recommend trying the entrees. Except for the desserts no French influence invades the kitchen.