Café Asean

117 W 10th St. (b/w 6th Ave. and Greenwich Ave.)

Café Asean in Greenwich Village was suggested for dinner on Wednesday evening. Sir Fancy Pants and I arrived at the Southeast Asian restaurant to a packed dining room seating maybe 30 people. We were shown to the back patio, also seating for about 30 and covered in glass due to winter (apparently the back patio requires reservations during the summer). After a couple minutes, the server informed us space opened up inside, so we moved indoors.

To get started, I ordered hot sake and Sir Fancy Pants, a Japanese beer. For my meal, I had egg noodles with vegetables and tofu covered in peanut lime sauce; Sir Fancy Pants had a pork dish. The name of the plates escapes me as they were highly unusual.

Overall, the food was ok. My meal arrived in a big, white bowl. It featured two huge chunks of fried tofu with mixed vegetables, including two half slices of tomato, green beans, and carrots laid atop egg noodles. The peanut lime sauce was good, but I could not taste the lime and the server did not offer any. The tofu was great, oversized, and fluffy. Prices were cheap for the Village; my meal was only S10.50.

Space was cozy and the ceiling was littered with different colored Chinese lanterns. I doubt I will be back despite some of the appetizers looking very tasty. Although the restaurant was cute, the food was decent, and the server was attentive, nothing was noteworthy enough to warrant my return.


DAMAGE ~ $40 (before tip) CASH ONLY
VERDICT: PASS