I was really excited to try Zadin based on the other reviews posted here, especially since the Mission is lacking good Vietnamese restaurants. Unfortunately, Zadin does not fill this void. The dinner started off strange. When we ordered tea expecting cups of green or jasmine typical at any Asian restaurant, we were given your average variety of tea bags with tepid water. What was good: the summer rolls (though we ordered the vegetarian ones and received shrimp instead) were flavorful and tender and the fried banana dessert was actually amazing. What was bad: the salt and pepper calamari's only distinct flavor was that of grease. The Land and Sea soup, my entree, was disappointingly bland, despite the blend of fish and meat floating around in the broth (which tasted of hot water and little else). My companion also ordered the same dish, but without the ""land"" (she doesn't like chicken). Nonetheless, she got chicken and pork in her soup as well. There was a 30 minute lapse between our appetizers and entrees, which seemed like a long time when waiting for soup and noodles, especially since the restaurant was only a quarter full. The crispy noodle entree that my other companion ordered was tastier--clearly the dish to choose. Despite all three of us leaving some portion of our food on the plate when our waiter collected them, when he came back later to take our dessert plate away, he remarked, ""Another plate with nothing left on it!"" triumphantly, as if to convince us that we had enjoyed our food more than we did. All and all, when the bill came--about $80 with tip--we all felt less than impressed with the value of our meal. Maybe it was just an off night.
more