Kettles Vietnamese Bistro has opened in Santa Rosa. A sister restaurant to the two Boathouse Sushi locations (Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa), the restaurant features Banh Mi, Pho, Clay Pot Chicken, Vietnamese Crepes and other Vietnamese specialties.
The restaurant at 1202 W. Steele Lane replaces Panda Palace.
More details to come….
I have really high hopes for this place as I love Boathouse Sushi. However on my first visit there I was completely underwhelmed by the food. If we didn’t have such great Vietnamese places here already I might not have known the difference. But because we do the bar has to be set higher. Not that the food was bad, but just lacked flavor or any life.
I started off with a spring roll with shrimp and pork. It looked good and was rolled well. Texturally is was good. Personally I like the pork to add a little flavor and texture, but that wasn’t the case here. The veggies added a nice crunch but seemed to lack basil or any herbal backing. The peanut sauce wasn’t working for me either.
I was thrilled to see Bahn Mi on the menu with different meat options, I chose the BBQ pork ( my go to meat). It came out and covered the plate, it is a good size. But it seemed to be mainly bread. Few veggies, a little pate, few veggies with one thin sliver of jalapeno. But the two things I missed were whatever dressing should be on there (sweet vinegary goodness) and there was very little meat. Which was actually OK in this case because it wasn’t anything spectacular. I was just left feeling full on bread.
Should I have such high hopes for this place? Yes and I’ll tell you why. 1) We have such great places here in Santa Rosa for reference. And 2) Boathouse Sushi has some of the best flavor combinations I’ve tasted, so I know you guys aren’t afraid to try things out. Don’t skimp on the flavor here
I have really high hopes for this place as I love Boathouse Sushi. However on my first visit there I was completely underwhelmed by the food. If we didn’t have such great Vietnamese places here already I might not have known the difference. But because we do the bar has to be set higher. Not that the food was bad, but just lacked flavor or any life.
I started off with a spring roll with shrimp and pork. It looked good and was rolled well. Texturally is was good. Personally I like the pork to add a little flavor and texture, but that wasn’t the case here. The veggies added a nice crunch but seemed to lack basil or any herbal backing. The peanut sauce wasn’t working for me either.
I was thrilled to see Bahn Mi on the menu with different meat options, I chose the BBQ pork ( my go to meat). It came out and covered the plate, it is a good size. But it seemed to be mainly bread. Few veggies, a little pate, few veggies with one thin sliver of jalapeno. But the two things I missed were whatever dressing should be on there (sweet vinegary goodness) and there was very little meat. Which was actually OK in this case because it wasn’t anything spectacular. I was just left feeling full on bread.
Should I have such high hopes for this place? Yes and I’ll tell you why. 1) We have such great places here in Santa Rosa for reference. And 2) Boathouse Sushi has some of the best flavor combinations I’ve tasted, so I know you guys aren’t afraid to try things out. Don’t skimp on the flavor here