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i love apsara....i have been going there since i was little when it was recommended by a cambodian friend of the family. the menu has alot to choose from and they recently started serving BOBA!!! They also added a sushi bar not too long ago but its never used im not really sure what its there for.
I disagree with the fear of location. I recently moved down the street and dont feel its as bad as what people have described it as....open up to diversity a little !!!
FYI - BYOB ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The area isn't bad at all. It is a working class neighborhood that is ethnically diverse which some people interpret as "war-torn".
The Menu is huge. It covers most of your standard Chinese fare with a few Cambodian and Vietnamese dishes thrown in. There's something for everyone. Good sized portions and all the food was nicely prepared. I would recommend it. We spent 17 dollars each with appetizers and dinner entree.
A diamond in the rough.
Please do not let the war-torn location of this establishment scare you away. Once you step inside and have your car safely parked in their lot, you'll forget you're in the West End.
The food is delicious. The wait staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Their Cambodian and Vietnamese dishes are to die for. I can't think of anything off the top of my head to recommend; I love everything. Go in with a friend, order a sure thing (like Satay noodles) and then go adventurous on a new dish. The portions are generous as well! Definitely a great place to bring large groups.
They've recently renovated too so it's a very pleasant atmosphere. Highly recommended!
Great place to eat. Food and service were excellent. Value for money - 5 of us ate well for under $50. Rooms can get noisy with other groups.
I am opposite most people here. I kind of like food better at the Hope street location, but the atmosphere here is better.
I don't think the location is really as bad as previously described. I felt safe.
Apsara has the pedigree of a super-being; many superlative traits which in the tradition of any remotely interesting super-hero/super-villain history could lead in either direction:
- Grew up in a pretty bad neighborhood.
- Schizophrenic Asian Identity Disorder, serving Chinese, Cambodian, Thai and Vietnamese food.
Spoiler: Apsara is excellent, a Professor X instead of a Magneto.
Cleaner than it seems it should be, friendly and accommodating to large groups, attentive and reasonably brisk service, the location keeps them from being overfull all the time, and despite being cheap they even take credit cards.
My favorite dish is the Kainge soup (~$8), a meal-sized coconut-milk based treat with choice of meat, although more than one of my pale dining companions who prefer Americanized Asian food have independently said it smells and tastes like sunscreen. The Thai style chicken with lemon grass (~$8) was another standout, although the pepper on the menu indicating spicy was (pleasantly) seriously not a joke.
Over the years here I have never had anything bad... off the first 6 pages of the menu. My initial Asian dining companions were right - avoid the Chinese portion; mediocrity in a sea of greatness.
Apsara, in its own small way of overcoming the odds, reminds me that good can triumph over evil. It's the only place whose accessibility presents a challenge that I must go every time I am in Providence.
Due to the overwhelming popularity of Apsara on Yelp, I came here while visiting RI. Not sure it was a winner. Perhaps we should not have set our expectations high. I find this place comparable to Galaxy.
I got the Plear (cambodian) because the menu said it was "an aquired taste." It has apparently raw or slightly heated meat with anchovies sauce, big basil leaves, julienned carrots and cucumbers, jalapeno peppers and a lime wedge. I didn't think it was that unusual or funky flavored but I did like that it felt healthy.
I recommend the egg soda, just to try something new. It takes similar to egg nog.
My bf got the nime chow appetizer, which was good, not fantastic. I didn't think the shrimp had any flavor. He also got the safe entree of Lo Mein, which was unimpressive. Wish we had remembered Sean C.'s review directing us to stay away from Chinese fare.
My other dining companion got the Banh Hoi (vietnamese), which is a lettuce wrap of meat, noodles, veggies and peanut sauce. That is highly recommended.
This is one of my favorite restaurants of all time! I have eaten here more times than I can count and I've always had a great experience. The food is consistently delicious and the service is always great!
This is the kind of place where you can be in and out on a quick lunch or linger for a while enjoying your company.
My favorites are the Curry Singapore Noodles (spicy) and the Nime Chow. Their Pad Thai is also amazing and the Crab Rangoons are the best I've EVER had!
Also, last time I checked, this is a BYOB restaurant, which I think is pretty cool and there is a liquor store right around the corner.
I LOVE THIS PLACE!
We went last night to experience the exquisite cuisine of the apsara chefs. The food..spectacular as usual. I mean it...so delicious.
Apps: Nime Chow, Crab Rangoon, Seafood stew
Entrees: Hunan Seafood, Seafood Singapore noodle with curry, Vegetable and Tofu pad thai
The entire dinner experience lasted about three hours partly because there were only two servers on. It was exhausting trying to stop our waitress to remind her of a dish she had forgotten or water or our bill. In the end we waited 45 minutes after our meal ended to receive our bill. Normally I would be preparing an irate review of an establishment in which I experienced that type of service. For some reason, I can only smile when I think back to last night and the tastes that hit my palate.
They clearly need more help in the area of service...in the end our server seemed to just give up on many of the tables as she never returned. There were lines of people waiting for tables and I must say, this experience was not a deterrant for me..I will definitely be back...mmmm so good!!
I love it here. I frequented it while living in Prov in college. I loved the Curry Singapore noodle… Read more »
Best fried rice in the whole entire universe. Seriously, I crave it all the time.
Service is friendly and efficient, menu is large and varied, takeout is ready wicked quick, hours are accommodating, bathroom (though in the basement) is always clean, food quality is excellent, portions are massive -- honestly, zero complaints.
Okay, one -- I wish they delivered!
It's easy to miss.
I miss living up the street and just getting nime chow.
Why doesn't LA have nime chow?!
apsara is one of those hidden gems in provie.
if you like apsara, try galaxie II off of mineral spring in north prov. it's still decent. i love the pad thai. but what i really love/ miss is the scorpion bowls!
Not to be confused with the Hope Street Apsara Palace, this place is on our go-to list for Chinese/Vietnamese/Cambodian. The Nime Chow is fresh and delicious, with the mint very prominent. The Singapore Noodles were spicy and delicious, even in veggie and tofu form. The Stir-fried Lemongrass (Thai Style) was spicy enough to mix with a little rice to cut the heat.
I love Apsara!
They are always really friendly.
I order soups and scallion pancakes all the time from here!
When you order take out you only have to wait about 20 minutes everytime.
The thai iced tea is a great sweet summer drink and the soups are awesome!
No complaints.
This place is like a 9 life cat. It is in a war zone of Providence but day time or early night time is fine to go. It was a run down with torn up interior BUT food is always AMAZING. Menu consist of 300 items. BIG MENU. If you are familiar of South East Asian cuisine like Thai, Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian. Go there. (somebody flagged them as Malaysian?...not even close)
Order these stuffs
1. Lott (baby taro root spring roll) - so so good appetizer
2. Nim Chow - my favorite vietnamese fresh spring roll ----best that I can't find anywhere better. They will win Nim Chow challenge in NE.
3. Ban Chev - look at stuffed omelet but crispy crust (Vietnamese)
4. Bee Boong (Vietnamese)
5. Bun Hor (vietnamese)
6. Noodle soup (served with pile high bean sprout)
7. Rad Nar ( Chow foon noodle with chinese brocoli and light gravy)
8. Pad Thai and stir fried short round noodle.
9. vietnamese fish soup -sweet, sour, and spicy
Those are what I ordered often. But other dishes are so good too.
Most of all..... it is so cheap and food never disappoint me.
We ate here so often that the owner bought us a dinner as soon as he knew my sister was about to move back to Thailand.
And...too bad. Vietnamese food is Boston doesn't live up to my Apsara's standard. I still eat there since 1995. Go early. They are always busy.
Cheap and delicious with an ENORMOUS menu.
My favorite thing to get for munchies is the crispy rice cake with ground pork. I die a little inside each time I taste it, it's so good.
Other than that, I don't have specific recommendations. But you can't go wrong here, everything is fresh and flavorful.
OMG, want some right this second....
BYOB issue is solved by a trip to the store a few blocks further down Elmwood Ave.
I LOVE BYOB's with good food!!!!!! This restaurant definitely quenches my pad thai and nim chow cravings. I do think that for if you are in the mood for good pad thai...Apsara does not beat Sawadee but it is a close second and you can actually walk inside! I also think that the nim chow at Apsara is better than Sawadee. I have tried a few other things at Apsara and I enjoy everything. Prices are great and you can relax with your own bottle of wine...Great I am craving Pad Thai now!
I'm happy to see that there are lots of great reviews for Apsara. My (then future) wife introduced me to this restaurant about five years ago when we started dating. Since then, this place has become a fixture in our lives for great cheap food and good times.
To begin, Apsara Restaurant should not be confused with Apsara Palace on Hope Street (even though the menu is very similar). This Apsara is in West Providence. W.P. is not the best area of the city...time has definitely taken its toll on this area. Finding the place can be a bit hard too, because it's on this weird corner off to the left sort of set back from the street. The best way to find it is to pass the big cemetary on the left...a few minutes later, there is an Asian market on the left. Apsara is right past that. Park on the street.
Apsara really is just a big trailer, but they've done so much to fix up the place in the last ten years that it really looks good in there. It's still nasty crowded, but that's part of the fun. Going on weekend nights can be a challenge, but good things come to those who wait. The restaurant is also BYOB (which you should...duh! I recommend Singha beer, but any Chinese or Japanese beer will do in a pinch).
Service here has also improved over the years. The servers are more friendly than they used to be. They also used to screw up orders a lot, but that seems to be gone as well. Your server won't be a font of conversation and fine dining detail, but you're not here for that. If you're looking for razzle and dazzle, go to Federal Hill or Capital Grille or some yuppie enclave like that. We're here for the FOOD, yo.
The food is simply amazing. My only complaint, really, is that dishes with noodles (pad thai, for example) can be very greasy. Other than that, everything I've had here has been tasty, if not amazing. Some dishes on the amazing list are:
Beebong: a devilish concoction of meat or tofu with a million vegetables, onion, noodles, all drowned in nuoc cham (that sweet vinegar sauce present at most Vietnamese tables) and topped with peanuts.
Nime chow: the fresh spring rolls (we always get the shrimp-less ones) with nuoc cham and peanuts...it's to die for. Get at least 17 orders of this for your table of friends.
Pad Thai: as I said, greasy, but good. Great with chicken or shrimp.
Nime Nueong (sp?): basically it's make your own nime chow. They bring you a massive platter filled with rice noodles, meat, basil, mint, and sprouts, then give you dry sheets of rice paper and a big bowl of hot water for you to roll your own rolls. This is an involved process that takes some concentration, so don't do this unless you're ready to do some work. I get this with beef...(teen girl squad voice) sooooo good!
Daily specials: always good if you'd like to try something different.
The Chinese-influenced and fried foods are not always as good, so stick to the Vietnamese/Cambodian food.
They also have great lunch soups that are not available at dinner.
What else can I say about Apsara? Prices are cheap...another plus. It's just good food.
Oh yeah. I've always found Apsara to be a rather cleansing experience. The day after your meal, your...ahem. How can I say this politely? Your bathroom experience will be abundant and beautiful.
P.S. from the wife: if you get there and it's really busy, they may give you the option to wait for a table upstairs or eat in the basement downstairs. Wait for the table upstairs...don't ever let them put you in the basement!
Location aside, and Apsara is in the middle of one of the worst parts of Providence, the food is very good. I love the Vietnamese and Thai noodles as well as their assorted soups. I haven't been there in several years, which because of the location may have contributed to the fact that I am still alive.
I second that, Cassidy. The veggie and tofu Bee Boong kills me. I am like that youtube video of the snake eating a baby hippo trying to cram that large bowl chock-full off mini carrots, beansprouts, water chestnuts, and noodles into my mouth.
Nime Chow with Peanut sauce, I miss you, too.
p.s. It's BYOB, friends.
They constantly win Best Nime Chow in the City in various contests. I heartily agree with all those judges.
I had a birthday celebration here last year and they flawlessly handled our party of around 10 people. If you are planning to do a group meal here, I'd recommend calling a day or so ahead to let them know.
The decor could be, well, less tacky, but I suppose that the money they're not spending on making it look like Martha Stewart whipped up some Asian-inspired garden is what makes this great food so affordable.
One caveat-
Good luck finding it. I had to wait until I went on a bad first date there to learn where to turn Left onto the semi-unmarked Publick Street.
I came here a lot when I lived in Providence. It was in my neighborhood and everyone around raved about it. So bottom line, it is good for Rhode Island standards. Asian food is not Rhode Island's thing. Italian maybe, but not Asian cuisine. Apsara has a giant menu, and i've probably tried about half of it. The different dishes they offer start tasting the same after a while. I think they pretty much use the same sauce for most of the dishes. There's definitely great dishes. But not very authentic because there's way too much going on. They try to cover all of South east asia and thats just too much to do for one restaurant. But I have to say it is probably the only decent Asian (not Chinese or Japanese) restaurant in the city.
A byob with huge portions, great prices, and consistently tasty food. So far everything we've ordered here has been delicious. This is a solid choice for an evening out with friends, or just a night you can't face cooking but don't want to spend a lot of money for a good meal.
If you are a lover Pad Thai, Nime Chow, Thai iced tea, and/or all things Southeast Asian (or even if you don't yet know you are), I highly recommend Apsara Restaurant. Do not let the location scare you off, this restaurant is truly worth traveling of the beaten path!
One of the many great things about Apsara is that there is plenty of seating so there is hardly ever a wait. Also, take advantage of their BYOB policy, you can stop by Nikki's liquors before hand and mix a six pack of you favorite beers ;)
A big Cheer to Yelper Erin C for pointing out this fine Thai BYOB restaurant. See my Yelp list for other fine (and not so fine BYOB Establishments throughout New England.
I absolutely *love* their veggie Bee Bong. Can't find it in San Francisco, dammit!
I used to love Apsara's when I was a Brown student. This place is great - cheap food, great for big parties (you can sit a ton of people down on the lower level) and it's BYOB. Their fresh spring rolls were my favorite thing. The only reason it loses a star is because of the huge MSG cannisters they stash in the basement.
A huge selection, good prices, and most importantly, great food. I really love the Szechuan Beef. SImple, but great.
Most Amazing Black Pepper Shrimp . Pad Thai is to die for. Not the best neighborhood, but the BYOB policy is great, and the Takeout is a very quick process!
Providence, RI
Category: Chinese
Providence, RI
Category: Mexican
Providence, RI
Category: Indian
Providence, RI
Category: Italian
Providence, RI
Category: Thai
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