This authentic Vietnamese restaurant is an oasis within San Francisco's downtown concrete jungle. In the 1980's, when Nouvelle Cuisine was on the rise, trendy restaurants were quite staunchly more about ambiance than about food - great for the bar patron, not so hot for the diner. However, as long as designers, financiers, and restauranteurs are in cahoots, there will exist imbalances in their respective treatments of atmosphere, service, and culinary art. There is no debating that Le Colonial is a beautiful space. The outdoor veranda is a long, heat-lamped row of dark wicker tables, chairs, plants, and low lights.
Sunshine pours through the glass roof on a clear day, rain sheds off when it's wet out.
The old black and white photographs of Vietnamese folks are chintzy, but they add visual legitimacy to the decor. The owners and designers of Le Colonial certainly have achieved both the look and the feel of the exclusivity of private dining clubs of days past. Le Colonial feels stuffy, but that is part of the fun of going out to a fancy restaurant. It is a superb place for cocktails on any occasion. For a business meeting, probably a good choice if your colleagues are not perfectionist gourmands.