Bia Garden
154 Orchard Street, Lower East Side, NY
map & more
Neighborhood
Lower East Side
Cuisine
Pan-Asian
Vietnamese
Nearby
Arlene's Grocery
Mercury Lounge
Pianos
Rockwood Music Hall
212-780-0010
When our office has a show on the LES, everyone always wants to hit Georgia’s for some BBQ. For the sake of this website, I deny the people what they really want so I can selfishly try something new that we haven’t already written about. This plan has a tendency to backfire when the new place sucks and I’m left with unhappy dinner companions who are pissed at me for depriving them of ribs.
Bia Garden is definitely a place I’d go back to, I just wouldn’t eat. The back Outdoor/Patio Situation is a good hang and a dope spot to meet friends for beers. The tunes were straight off what could have been my own personal iPod. Choice selections from Muse, The Verve, Pearl Jam, Cold War Kids, Silversun Pickups, Franz Ferdinand and Band Of Horses fueled a solid two hour music debate about the merits of each band and whether they’ll matter twenty years from now. I really wanted to back this place, as the vibe and service were both friendly and welcoming. Sadly, the food borders on terrible. Bia tries to make up for low quality ingredients by over-seasoning Vietnamese food. A lot of their meat dishes taste like bad takeout, and they somehow make crab dumplings taste like something from midtown office catering. Also, what’s up with a beer garden being cash only? Known fact: cold bottles of beer go down easier when they’re paid for on plastic. I’m ready for these cash only places to start using Venmo so we can pay with our phones. The future is here people.
Food Rundown:
Crab Spring Roll
As discussed in the review, these were a big-time failure.
Vegetable Summer Rolls wrapped in rice paper
A couple of cucumber leaves and chunks of mushroom in tasteless paper. I could go to Cafe Duke and get a more flavorful summer roll.
Shaking Beef
Nothing to see here people, keep it moving. This is pretty much just a big bowl of unsatisfying beef slices. All you could really taste was the spicy mustard vinaigrette.
Clay Pot Pork
It’s tough to not order something called “Clay Pot Pork”, but we wish we didn’t. This was the worst thing we tried, partially because the meat just wasn’t good and partially because it was way too spicy, and we dig spicy food.
Salt & Pepper Shrimp
Again, way too spicy and the shrimp were tough and dry. That chili salt packs a serious punch.
Crispy Red Snapper
Unlike the rest of the table, I actually really enjoyed this dish. The chili sauce the fish was served in was really good, and the presentation was definitely fun – they wrap what’s left of the snapper carcass around the crispy chunks of fish .
