Caravelle Restaurant
Caravelle Restaurant
Cha gio chay (vegetarian egg roll) ($5 for two). Large and filling. Pretty good.
Five spice tofu ($15), vegan by default. Not bad, but slightly dry and gets boring on its own.
Outside the restaurant.
Curry tofu ($14), vegan by default. Pretty good. Nice array of textures. A bit oily.
The take out spread! Yummy! IG: @bettyeatsthecity
a variety of asian food
Sesame Chicken combo pork eggroll and fried rice
Beef and Broccoli with fried rice and eggroll (combo) IG: @bettyeatsthecity
Interior of vegetarian egg roll ($5 for two). Pretty good. Oily, though.
Kung pao tofu ($14), vegan by default. Super greasy, leaving slimy trails on my plate. But tasted all right, though.
Chicken with Broccoli
Pepper Steak with Tomato! So delish! IG: @bettyeatsthecity
71. Muc or Tom Xao Ngu Vi Huong (+tofu)
Egg foo yung
50. To Canh Chua Ca Bong Lao
1. Pho Tai, Nam, Gau, Gan, Sach
Sesame chicken
Sesame chicken with fried rice and eggroll (combo)! IG: @bettyeatsthecity
Ends completely open, leaving components to dry out and fall, especially given - repurposed shredded lettuce? That was a first. And a last.
Paper box for spring rolls - to stick to each other and tear upon handling? The awful 3.5 rolls were donated to a squirrel the next morning.
Paper box for spring rolls - to stick to each other and tear upon handling? The awful 3.5 rolls were donated to a squirrel the next morning.
Wiped down our table to find our napkins gray with grime. When was the last time this surface was actually cleaned since the place opened?
Menu as of Oct 2017 (5/9) - I personally wouldn't recommend this place between the taste, skimping, and sanitation I detailed in my review.
Menu as of Oct 2017 (2/9) - I personally wouldn't recommend this place between the taste, skimping, and sanitation I detailed in my review.
Hoa N.
Apr 19, 2022
First time back since the COVID pandemic hit. Food is still as good as prior to COVID but prices are bit more now. Two entrees and three appetizers is $60 without tips and so on tips is a little over $70. Service was quick and friendly. It was not very busy.
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Kevin O.
Jul 20, 2023
I have been here before and ordered sesame chicken combo, the price had increased and the portions was extremely good. The pork eggroll was crispy and delicious. I really enjoyed the sesame chicken, it was crispy and sweet flavored. Definitely going back here!Staff was extremely nice.
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Kedar D.
Jul 6, 2021
Caravelle is a slightly grimy hole-in-the-wall run by a bunch of friendly women. The menu is Vietnamese and Chinese and the prices are high, but the portions are huge.The vegetarian egg rolls ($5 for two) are pretty good---oily, crispy and savory on the inside.The five spice tofu ($15) is a bunch of fried tofu cubes with shards of onion in a semi-spicy dry seasoning. It's not bad, but will be boring if it's the only thing you order.The kung pao tofu ($14) is a greasy mess of oozing fried tofu, diced water chestnuts, bamboo shoot and peanuts. It's way too oily and left oil slime on my plate. That said, it doesn't taste terrible.The curry tofu ($14) is flavorful but also oily.Every time I've ordered, they tend to be 10-15 minutes behind the predicted pickup time. If you want better Vietnamese food, check out Jasmine 26, My Huong or Quang on Nicollet; if you want better Chinese, Rainbow on Nicollet is decent and so is Szechuan Spice on Lyndale. Caravelle will never be at the top of my list, but it's good for un-fussy comfort food purposes.
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Lynh V.
Apr 16, 2023
Every time I'm craving Canh chua cá and the 5 spice squid (with added tofu), I would go to caravelle. I think Caravelle, is one of the few restaurants that serve traditional Vietnamese family dishes like canh chua cá, and cá kho tộ. Food is consistently good. The pho had plenty of meat and not overkilled with noodles. Service is typical of any Asian women run shops. They cut to the chase and are quick and efficient. Some ppl may think it's not friendly but that's Vietnamese women lol. They know what they want and expect you to as well so if you're quick with your order then they'll speed away and be back with your plating and food in no time.
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Tim D.
Mar 19, 2023
Fantastic authentic Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese food. We were quite impressed with everything we ate, including egg rolls, egg foo yung, sesame chicken, fried rice and chicken with Broccoli. There were plenty of leftovers for the next day. Seems family owned and operated. I would highly recommend the food and service. The restaurant could use some updating.
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Sokim V.
Jun 19, 2019
My heart is kind of torn. I usually come for the pho but this time it was so warm outside, I decided pho would make me extra hot so I decided to get the Chicken Garlic or Garlic Chicken off the rice menu. It failed me miserably. I have not tasted anything like it. Spring rolls were on point, my friend's vermicelli dish had no complaints, and our service was great! I'll stick to what I know-pho!
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Alex J.
Oct 20, 2017
My guy and I wanted to dine out with my mom this weekend. Mom was craving sweet and sour soup and claypot catfish, two childhood favorites I grew up with mom making at least once every two weeks, so we came here. We found both as part of the four-person set dinner meal ($43.99 as of Oct 2017), so we ordered that to share. Meal options:APPETIZER: 6 egg rolls or 4 spring rollsSOUP: Sweet and sour soup with choice of catfish or shrimpPROTEIN: Claypot catfish, no choiceSAUTÉ: Mustard greens with choice of tofu, beef, or squidWe grabbed spring rolls, soup with catfish, and the squid sauté options to go with the standard claypot catfish. And proceeded to wipe down our table as we always do - to find our napkins gray with grime. Has this surface been cleaned since the place opened?Peering over at the drink and dessert refrigerator, I found racks of prefilled glasses with no lids on them. Even if they were to go through all of those in a single day, I would question the sanitation level of that setup - and I highly doubt they handle that number of those specific drinks in a day. I'll pass, thanks.The spring rolls came out first. My guy and I, both goi cuon fanatics, gave the plate an odd look. The choice of char siu slices of pork, while not traditional, was fine, though I imagine the choice was more a matter of what was convenient to the restaurant than the quality of the dish, particularly given everything else about the rather awkward rolls. The ends were left completely open, leaving the components to dry out and fall out upon being handled, especially given that the lettuce was shredded - that was a first. Clearly repurposed from an already-shredded pile meant for general use. Herbs, the most pricey element, were barely present or perceptible.This was the most pathetic roll I'd picked up throughout my childhood in southern California's Little Saigon, roaming streets in Saigon proper as a fresh college grad, and in my overall travels. Given I found a pretty legit goi cuon an hour out of Chicago with barely a Vietnamese community just weeks ago, this is just sad. By time the main dishes arrived, I'd had one bite and set the roll down immediately, and my Irishman had half of a roll where he'd normally devour a plate's worth. My mom didn't bother touching a single one. Smart cookie.I can't say it got better from there.The claypot catfish was way salty. In Vietnamese cuisine, there are several home-style protein dishes made on the salty-sweet side as a matter of course to force diners to balance the stronger flavors out with much larger chopstick shovelfuls of cheap, filling rice for every morsel of meat savored, every bite of seafood taken. Given the strong savory-sweet taste, these dishes tend to be very popular with children of Vietnamese descent. I was no exception and remain a fan of these still. For both my mom and I to put the dish aside to reseason in the kitchen ourselves is pretty bad. My guy didn't even bother with it after his first nibble.The squid sauté felt out of place at a family-style meal. The cornstarch slurry was too thick, the flavors too processed. Not surprisingly, my Irishman took lead on that dish - he likes squid enough not to mind the Panda Express element and had noticed that neither mom nor I touched it once after our first taste of it.The soup was the one salvation, decently balanced. We were amused to note that the bowl was brimming with the cheaper ingredients, such as bean sprouts, and skimping on ingredients critical to the soup that happen to be pricier in the TC area. This became particularly evident when I was fishing for even one slice of the porous, spongy vegetable stem known as ba.c hà early on in the meal to have my guy try something different - to find that even with my mom and I both searching, we came up with exactly one last slice. And we were swimming in tangles of bean sprouts and tomatoes while we searched, so we definitely hadn't reached even the midway point of the meal yet. The bowl was also full of okra nubs alongside okra slices - another first. Cutting corners that much?To make the ending just as hilarious as the rest of the meal, they gave us a paper to-go box to stuff the spring rolls in. Anyone who has handled rice paper knows what happens when you shove moistened rice paper against more moistened rice paper - it tears. Add to that the shredded lettuce and you may as well rename the resulting mess "deconstructed goi cuon salad." You guys *are* running a Vietnamese restaurant with goi cuon on your menu here, right? You shouldn't need Rice Paper 101.Not that it matters. By the next morning, the shredded lettuce with its many oxidating edges had browned, and the look of the ingredients overall warned my human trash compactor of a stomach gamble. My 6-year Marine veteran with the ironclad stomach gave the three and a half remaining spring rolls a pass - right over to a underfed squirrel neighbor we'd met a few days before.
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Lan L.
Mar 10, 2018
Place is good Vietnamese family style meals and pho. Common dishes we order are fried fish in nuoc mam, braised catfish, canh chua shrimp or fish, salt and pepper squid, shrimp egg rolls, and of course pho. I only gave 3 stars today because the service wasn't too great... and it wasn't even busy. Ate here with my kids. The server wasn't very attentive. Never refilled water and took forever to bring out the check. Gave me an old used plastic bag to pack leftovers. :( But the food was still tasty. If great service is not a big deal and just want delicious authentic Vietnamese food, this is the place to be.
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Lisa T.
Dec 28, 2016
5 star for what it is. A great place for large parties looking for good vietnamese food. Normally eaten family style, the portions are big and decently priced. The food-hot and sour catfish soup (Canh chua ca), one of the dishes they are known for and a main reason I come here. It's very flavorful with a nice balance of sweet and sour. -5 spice squid, delicious! Packed with flavor, cooked well and light crispy batter complimented by the stirfry onion makes it a must haves!-Everything else was good too!Has its own parking which is nice. I'll be back!
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Lou A.
Jan 23, 2023
This is a hidden gem, went to eat here today not expecting anything really great and my sister and I both were pleasantly surprised. The mock duck dish was delicious the spring rolls were fresh and tasted great. The service was very good, prices were comparable to any other restaurant. They have two new loyal customers.
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