Review Rice Bistro - Port Orange

With my time in the Daytona Beach area coming to a close, I had a list of local Asian restaurants to try out. This time it was Rice Bistro in Port Orange. Sad to say I was disappointed by the lack of care and kindness and outright experienced a condescending, snarky attitude and demeanor of the manager/boss. They are of East Asian descent, as I am too. I thought we would get each other, but nope.. When I walked in I grabbed a menu and saw the price of the combination pho was $17, and commented to her that it seemed pretty high, and I remember pho prices costing $9, $10 or $11 before. She said that was five years ago (2017), which is fair. However she then proceeded to belabor the point by saying: "Do you know? A pound of chicken costs $3.89/lb. at the grocery store. You would know if you went grocery shopping." I do, and I do not grocery shop at places where the chicken is $3.89 per pound. A better response to my comment? She could have either said: "Yeah it's tough, inflation is real," "Sorry that the price is high," or just not said anything at all and acknowledged/nodded to my comment/observation. I asked her if there was a lunch special for pho, and she proceeded to say with an attitude that there are no lunch specials on the weekends. Wow ok. She then proceeded to ask if I wanted to order, and I told her I would order to-go and showed me to the back. Originally I wanted to dine-in, but her behavior and demeanor warranted a to-go order. Even though the pho was plentiful and tasty, I do not recommend encountering this employee/manager at Rice Bistro. Her actions do not define the other employees. I'm sure the others are more kind and friendly and have somewhat of an empathetic character. If I am a first-visiting customer and who wants to try out the food and pay for it -- you do not operate, talk, or behave in that manner to a paying customer, especially a first-time visitor. I understand the pandemic has thrown a lot of restaurants, food, cost of living and inflation in disarray, totally get that. But to project that onto a customer is excessive. I get that I should not have made that reactionary comment to start with, but it would've been courteous if they had their prices published on their online menu, so I had somewhat of an expectation of the price. I have seen some previous reviews from others who have commented on the prices and/or one particular person's behavior, so I am glad I am not alone in this. The person may have been jaded, tired, frustrated, I don't know, but I sincerely hope they do better. Wish them continued success. In no way does this review reflect on the quality of the food and/or the employees.

It was good, a little on the pricey side. We will be back. They are able to make most options gluten free, which is great! I took a photo after I started eating..lol

Had the Shrimp Bun with Vietnamese spring rolls they were great! I had a nice and friendly server as well! Highly recommend this place!

Stopped here on a roadtrip going home and they had amazing service and delicious food!! I ordered the dumpling noodle soup with clear broth and it was so filling and tasty. Also got a Hong Kong milktea boba and it was really good too!!

I had Walnut Coconut Shrimp. It was delicious as was the food that our other 3 diners had: Korean Ribs, Mongolian Beef, dumplings and soups. The sticky Jasmine rice was perfect. Well worth the visit. A 2021 update. This place is still as good as ever. Excellent menu; excellent food; fresh fish; all good. Update: 12/31/21 went back for another meal. This time it was Lamb Hot Pot, Thai Basil Chicken and Melon Soup. More yummm.

As an Asian myslef, I highly recommend this restaurant as your stop for Asian cuisine. Customer services are really professional and friendly. I and my husband usually come here and get summer rolls and calamari salad as an appetite. You can never find anywhere else which has amazing pieces of fried squids with fantastic mixed vegetable. For the entree, we usually get Basil seafood Thai, Bugogi, and Bibimbap. Let me tell you, they are wonderful. The restaurant has various food from most Asian countries (Vietnam, Thai, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese), so they will make you just want to eat all of the dishes. 😋😋 The Asian lady is always nice to us everytime we come. She also said Happy Birthday to me on my birthday. I really can't stop giving compliments about them. SO I hope you guys have a good time here like we always do. ❤❤

The best service ever and an amazing menu with fresh food that is out of this world!

Excellent staff. And the food was delicious. Been looking for a go to place since moving to the area and I have found it.

My husband and I went for dinner and we had a great time, the service was the best and the food was amazing! We recommend everyone to go and try any dish the flavor, presentation and quality of the food is awesome!

Absolutely wonderful experience! We tried the bulgogi, cantonese style crispy duck, and crab rangoons. The food was delicious, and the service was amazing. You can really tell that they put their all into making every experience one-of-a-kind. Rice Bistro is the best new asian-fusion in the area and we will be back very soon!

Our new favorite place! The pho' is delicious and plentiful. All fresh ingredients. The chicken satay with peanut sauce, the Bun ga nuong, the Korean dish Bulgogi was all very good. And more importantly, the service was great, clean, and great ambiance. Will definitely be returning.

This was a pleasant surprise to find. Excellent service and food! The boba tea (green and Thai) were amazing!! Ramen noodle soup, drunken noodle with seafood and duck soup were all excellent! Would definitely recommend and we will be back!

Had dinner here tonight with a total of 11 people. The food was excellent and we all actually got to eat at the same time! We were greeted graciously and the service was terrific. Will definitely return and definitely recommend this establishment.

Delicious food and wonderful service, I would highly recommend this place

Give this place a try. You won't be disappointed. We had hot and sour soup, clams with black bean sauce and pork pad se ew. The food was outstanding and the staff even nicer!

This place will be a regular restaurant for our family! We loved everything about and are happy to encourage others to visit. The service was impeccable and the food was fresh and perfectly portioned and served. Can't wait to go again!

Nice place!! Definitely recommend for anyone who love Asian dish

Fresh amazing food. Beautiful place Friendly upbeat staff. The way people should be treated when they go out for a meal. ThanKYou :-)

Food is sooo sooooooo delicious. Customer service is beyond amazing! Alice, Bryan, and Sammy are super friendly and accommodating. Love this place a lot! I need to try every single food on the menu ���

Our meal was delicious, the service was excellent, and the personal attention by Manager Alice was beyond anything we have seen in the Daytona area. Alice is a delight to meet and will make sure you have a good meal.

I'm here right now with my dad for the second time, it's kind of hidden away so we didn't notice it at first even though we live right here. Sushi is my favorite food and the stuff they make here is so good and the prices are good also. Everyone who works here extremely nice too. Definitely recommend!

The food was amazing and server was very attentive. The manager, Alice, even stopped by to help us with menu questions. Can't wait to go back!