Description: Le Cheval, established in 1985, is indeed a very popular restaurant of Vietnamese cuisine. The place has a cavernous open-seating space. On the way in we noticed an Asian restaurant on the corner of the block that was empty, a Mexican grill place that was also empty, and Le Cheval, which wasn't full either (to about a third of their capacity, which is about the full capacity of each of the other two places). Afterward, when we were leaving, the place was about full and the other two places on the same block still had not one customer that we were able to spot.
This is a more upscale restaurant, with white tablecloths and cloth napkins for dinner. Our wait person came by for our orders promptly after we were seated. Their ordering system is quite efficient; using an assigned swipe card, the worker enters our order via a touch-screen terminal. Soon another person comes with our order. No one came by a few minutes later to see if everything was okay, nor was any dessert offered. On a subsequent visit, someone did come by to ask if everything was okay as they presented the bill. The white tablecloths were soiled under glass top and need to be cleaned.
I ordered Thai iced tea with milk and steamed striped bass. My colleague ordered iced coffee with milk and beef with mixed vegetables. The beef dish was tasty and a generous portion. The fish came in about 15 minutes and was a good size, tasty as well. One of the lunch special
"Claypot Rice" was nice with prawns, beef, chicken, zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli and rice, pan fried then baked. I had tasted their curry chicken in coconut milk, which was a spicy dish. I usually refrain from eating spicy foods, but this tasted so good that I used the sauce that was left on the white rice and it was so flavorful!
Weekdays Monday-Friday 11am-3pm for their lunch specials which is a tad easier on your budget. If you go early-ish for dinner, before 7pm, during the week like we did, it's probably okay to go without a reservation, but otherwise, be prepared for a wait between 12pm to 1pm when most typically dine for lunch or about 7pm to 8pm for dinner, 285 seating capacity.
Monday-Saturday 11am-9:30pm, Sunday 5-9:30pm, credit cards accepted, 18% gratuity are added for parties of six of more, street parking, city garage and private parking lots nearby.
BART Oakland City Center 12th Street station exit 11th St.
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