Dragon I
422 State St, Madison, WI, 53703
Dragon I Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Madison for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Madison for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Madison for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
422 State St
Madison, WI, 53703 - Phone (608) 287-1551
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 9:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : Yes
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Street
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Trendy
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Dogs Allowed : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
Chinese Cuisine
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
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Dou V.
I'm here currently and the two waitresses are on their phones. They were greedy with their condiments for the pho. Four of us got pho and they only brought enough for two. I asked for more and she rolled her eyes. To add to that, our waitress gave us a pitcher of water and told us to top off our own glasses. And finally.... We found a fly in one of the phos and she said it was from the basil we added to the pho. There should be no flies in the food to begin with. ACTUALLY, after I posted this we found a SECOND FLY, a bigger juicier one. I'm done with this place.
(1)Sarah Z.
Nope. All the food here is so, so, so bland. I've never had a meal here that didn't make me wish I had spent my money somewhere else. HOWEVER, they gain a star for very good bubble tea. I've heard the karaoke here is a lot of fun as well! But the food just isn't good.
(2)Snoppy E.
It's okay just. Since they changed the chef. It's not as good as before tho
(3)Lalita A.
The pho hit me at the right spot after an insane hangover. Also they definitely challenged me with the size of that bubble tea. One problem though, what is up with that tapioca? Either they are not boiling it right or just getting the wrong brand. But with everything else, I am quite satisfied.
(4)J. M.
Stopped here on a whim on they way to Noodles to try something new. It was better and more expensive than I expected. Not huge portions, especially for the price. The staff seemed eager to please.
(4)Studio L.
Seriously, I don't know why the reviews of this place are so mixed. It has a much nicer ambiance than most Asian restaurants. The staff has always been very prompt and courteous on all of my visits. The food is consistently tasty, reasonably priced and ample. The menu is very diverse and includes a great selection of Thai, Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. The bubble teas are chock full of bubbles and are pretty tasty in their own right. Plus, they deliver and are well located on state street. I definitely recommend Dragon I to anybody who wants a nice selection of well-prepared Asian food.
(5)Nelly M.
The have a good karaoke place! As for the food, I tried their beef plate and it was good. I don't really like their pho. My dining companion is crazy about their bubble tea.
(3)Nikooooooo C.
came back to this place last week again. the pai thai (hopeful spelling correct). i ask them to to put more egg and beef also veggie. its a lot for one person to finish. but the price was really nice. i like their ginger tea. it make you warm in this winter.
(4)Andrew S.
Dragon-I is pretty much all-around bad. Went in for dinner last night with a group of 6 people. Right away you notice that the setup is awful and cramped with no clear walking lanes. The service wasn't much better. Our waitress didn't know the menu, consistently forgot things, and would leave us completely unattended for 30 minute stretches. The food was just ok. The egg rolls were decent but the pho was completely devoid of flavor. Nobody at my table especially enjoyed their food and the word "bland" was thrown around quite a bit, which is shocking when you consider we were eating sweet and sour chicken and pad thai. I would avoid this place until they get their act together.
(1)Nick L.
Probably the worst dining experience I ever had. The rice cakes that I order were too hard to chew, sent it back to the kitchen because that's not how it should be. however it came back out with nothing changed and it looks like it was just sat in the back, while the lemongrass chicken wings were way undercooked, the only thing that was okay was the potstickers. Will never come back again.
(1)Jiaqi L.
This is a great place even you just go by yourself. I love the jade mountain bubble tea and pineapple chicken &shrimp rice.
(4)J P.
I have eaten there 5 times, this time the service was just not that good. Food is good, but the server made me feel invisible. 5 stars for the food, 2 star for the service
(2)Yuanzheng C.
weil i was actually hoping to get some real cantonese food here, but it disappointed me. however, in general, the foods here are good, just don't expect them to be authentic chinese foods. and i like the decoration here too. it didn't really feel like i was eating in a chinese restaurant. and the staffs were really nice. btw, if you are looking for a cup of real cantonese milk tea, you would probably not want to have it here. because it tasted like the one i make at home with mile tea powders..
(4)Luna Lynn F.
NOT FOR VEGETARIANS, I can say that for sure. We went in and were greeted by polite but somewhat immature waitstaff saying that we were the coolest couple that had came in there loud enough so everyone could here. Then we asked our waitress which Vegetarian entree she would recommend since they did actually have a vegetarian section. She mentioned she was a vegetarian when she started but then really struggled to actually recommend anything. This should have been a sign but I Though maybe she just had communication problems and gave it the benefit of the doubt. We ordered two dishes one was a cilantro Chilli entre and one was a mixed veggie and both were flavorless and terrible mostly consisting of Bok Choi which was under cooked and unchewable. One of the entres went back immediately because it was cold. Pretty disapointing considering we dont get out much and this was supposed to be a treat for us. The ambiance was terrible! Apparently they have Karaoke rooms upstairs that you can rent for $32 an hour (WHAT?!) in traditional Korean style. The sounds of flat off key singers coming accross terrible sound systems boomed through the building. Not only that but there was a table where all the restaurants office supplies were sitting out, like tape scissors, stapler and such. This was the right in the center front of the restaurant where your eye normally is focused on. I dont want to see your messy desk area, its unprofessional! The table we were sitting at had a split in it which came apart as we were leaving dumping my water all over me. I cant say that the meat entres arent good because I didnt try them but the ambiance issues and annoying staff are reason enough not to waste your money expecially considering there are so many great restaurants in Madison.
(1)William R.
It was an okay place to eat at. The restaurant was kind of small to me. Also, my friend got their food before me, so I had to wait and watch them eat before I got my food.
(2)Kathryn C.
I ate lunch here yesterday--or stated to--and realized pretty quickly that the pork chunks in my dish were raw in the middle. I alerted my waiter, who argued with me that the pork could not possibly be raw due to the fact that it was deep fried. Did not finish, not going back. Trichinosis? I'll letcha know.
(1)Valerie W.
I've ordered twice from this restaurant: once in person and once for delivery. I went there with a group of friends for a birthday and was disappointed with their service. The waiter was somewhat helpful in recommending us popular dishes but it seemed like he didn't really know what he was talking about. The amount of food you get for the price you pay, I'd say isn't worth it. My friend got the beef pho and he said it was really plain and definitely not worth the price and wait. The bowls used for the noodle dishes are unusual and very quite small compared to other places I've been to. I ordered delivery and I was told it would be an hour to an hour and a half wait, which made me rethink ordering online, but I was surprised when my order came within 30 minutes. I think that was the only plus because when I opened up my bag, the drink I had ordered had spilled in the bag. As well, the Pad Thai I ordered was very bland and didn't have much flavor. I also ordered the 6 pc potstickers and they were very greasy. Overall, I don't think I will be ordering from Dragon I again. There are other places in Madison where you can get the same dish for a better price and quality.
(2)Alice L.
The set-up of the restaurant is not so great. The front door doesn't have a second door so anyone sitting near the door was freezing. I had asked the waitress to move me to a table further away from the door since it was so cold and the place was relatively empty. She sat me down and said, "Oh, sorry for the weather." Um...k? I had the pho last night. It's actually pretty decent tasting, almost on par with the popular Saigon Noodles on the westside. However, the pho came in this ridiculous bowl that would make it difficult for anyone who really loves to eat the noodles with the broth, to eat both together. My dining companion's dish also came in a ridiculous bowl that didn't really work for her vermicelli noodles. The waitress wasn't that great; she forgot to bring me an actual spoon to use and left me with a ladle. She also forgot to bring out the condiments (bean sprouts, basil, lime, jalepenos). When I asked for it, she gave me a weird look and said, "Oh yea... I'll go get that for you." All in all, the pho was decent and I'd probably come back for it. The service wasn't great and the food is overpriced, but I guess it has to be that way since it pays high rent on State Street. I'd still be more likely to go to Saigon Noodles for pho and spring rolls over this place though.
(3)Jackie H.
Two words--surprisingly good. I had my suspicions as I walked in--the place looked too nice and the menu had very misspelled English. I sat down, looked around and saw the international students: aka people who actually know what is good food and what is bad. So, I ordered a dish and wasn't disappointed. I got the kimchi beef dish which was surprisingly good. They put the food in a small metal mixing bowl so yes--the portions were generous. I had no qualms about the food. Also to the reviewer who was upset about the lack of vegetarian dishes--it's an asian restaurant. What did you expect? Yes, the staff is pretty inexperienced. They are not very good at placing your order or filling your water not because they are rude, they just don't know what they are doing. Flag over the waitstaff and ask for what you need. They are pretty nice about it. I'm totally willing to forgive some UW students who don't know what they are doing because of the delicious food the cooks are making.
(4)K C.
My experience at Dragon I was a bit confused. The dining room and menus are beautiful and that, combined with the pricing (most dishes around $8-10 and up - pretty standard for decent Asian food in Madison, I think) left me expecting food that was better quality than takeout, but not exactly fine dining. I ordered the Korean Beef Kimchi Fried Rice and I was served within 5 minutes of placing my order, which means it had been made before and just reheated. Portions are also huge. It was pretty greasy and, although I wasn't expecting authentic Korean food, there was nothing kimchi about it. Furthermore, when I hear "Korean beef" I expect some pretty good quality beef, but the beef was a really poor, flavorless cut and I ended up just picking it out and eating the rice (and occasional radish). Not exactly worth the $11 I paid for it. As for the service... I don't think the servers are necessarily rude, they just haven't been trained at all and have obviously never worked in a restaurant. My server wasn't rude, but the whole experience was really awkward. All in all I would say that Dragon I is a beautiful dining room with high prices for takeout quality food and I probably wouldn't go back. There's much better Asian food to be had in Madison in this price range - and there's cheaper takeout, too.
(2)Margot L.
I ate here with my sister during the huge snow storm and I do so appreciate that they were open because we were hungry! I used to eat here when it was Chins and I was surprised at how different the space looked! Our server was very nice and really helpful. We ordered eggrolls and dumplings, both of which were really tasty. I ordered a rice bowl with beef and my sister got a curry dish. First of all the entrees came out about 5 minutes after the appetizers which made it hard to shuffle around the food and left both of our entrees lukewarm by the time we got to them. I thought my dish was good but just good. Heavy on the heavy sauce which left that as the only flavor left. My sisters veggie curry was so hot she couldn't eat it. She's not incredibly adventurous when it comes to heat but enough to be able to enjoy a standard curry. The waiter happily brought her something else (a veggie stir fry) which she liked better and appreciated very much. Overall, the place was fine.. it filled the need for the day but there are about 20 better Asian influence places to eat that are in that area
(2)Jed S.
I really wanted to like this place- I was counting on Dragon-I to bring good pho and Asian food to State Street, where there is a very hungry market for this kind of food. Getting right to it: Food Quality: D I have eaten at nearly every Asian restaurant in Madison, and being asian myself, I cook Asian food often. I enjoy all kinds of Asian food from splurges at Lao Laan Xang to very humble bowls of pho. Disappointingly, Dragon-I's food was appalling. I ordered a bowl of pho and the lemongrass chicken- Both were awful. The pho was scummy (it had remnants of leftover fat and other gross substances) because they hadn't skimmed the broth and cleaned the soup bones properly. This left a gross film of fat all over the bowl and my mouth. There is no question about it, this is the worst pho I've had ever, anywhere. Also, the pho was served with a bizarre ladle to sip the broth instead of the conventional spoon. Clearly Dragon-I is more focused on gimmicks than food quality. On to the lemongrass chicken: I ordered this with the pho but the restaurant served it to me way after I was finished with the pho. They brought out my check before the entree actually got to my table, because I had been done with my pho for a while and they thought I was done eating. The lemongrass chicken itself was disgusting. It contained no lemongrass whatsoever and most closely resembled a chicken dish you would get in a Chinese restaurant in a mall (it tasted EXACTLY like your standard-mall 'bourbon chicken'). It did not resemble a freshly cooked entre at all. Finally, I ordered a mango bubble tea. I watched my server make it from instant powder, it cost me $3 or $4 (I don't remember the exact price). Anyways, if you are going to charge someone this price for a drink, at least make it from scratch. You can go next door to the Tea Steepery and order the same thing for the same price and it is much, much better. Dragon-I is not aware of how much they are lacking competitively to other restaurants in the area. It is really sad that Dragon-I"s food quality cannot match that of their interior. Oh yeah, one more thing: MY PARTY (of 2) WAS THE ONLY PARTY IN THE RESTAURANT AND THEY STILL MESSED UP MY ORDER AND THE FOOD STILL STUNK. The food was not even mediocre- it was bad. It is disappointing that one cannot get a decent bowl of pho in the campus area anymore since Asian-One is gone (RIP Asian-One!!). Oh well, I guess I will still have to drive to willy street or to Saigon's to find pho-hapiness.
(1)Tom H.
We had enjoyed this location for years when it was Chins Asian fresh. We expected it to be as good or better. We were disappointed. When we arrived early on a Saturday night, they were not busy and their staff had finished mopping the floor and was trying to figure out why it was still sticky after it dried. The floor was sticky everywhere. The tables and linens and napkins. A nice touch. Server's uniform did not appear clean. We wanted to sit upstairs but they told us we couldn't until the first floor filled up on until more servers arrived. We ordered spring rolls as an appetizer. Entrées arrived and we still didn't have the spring rolls. The server told us that this happens often that they can't be ready before the entrées. When the spring rolls arrived they appeared cold. We told the server that we were used to having them cooked and hot. She said that's the way we make them sorry. She did not offer to do anything. I asked another server if the shrimp inside the spring rolls was cooked. he didn't know when went to the kitchen to find out. There appeared to be a lot of staff but not too many that really appeared to know what to do. The kitchen was noisy there was a lot of laughing and joking that carried out from the kitchen onto the dining room floor. The order of cashew chicken was good. The vegetarian vegetable plate was not what was expected. I asked for steamed vegetables and rice. Server said they didn't have that but she brought a vegetarian vegetable plate with brown rice. Brown rice was good but salty. There were few vegetables in it Along with what appeared to be chunks of bread. The menu lacks enough description about the choices. If you eat here and you're not familiar with what they're serving please ask for more details or you may not get what you're expecting. The restaurant would have been better with counter service instead of tableservice. The server took away from the enjoyment of the dining experience. The food wasn't what we expected. There were no fortune cookies. However the fortune for this restaurant is not good if they don't change.
(2)Cris D.
It is hard to find Chinese food that does you. You have your typical every day Chinese take out places that serves the same things and pretty much taste the same. Dragon Was good. Better than Chinese take out, but not quite that wow factor. We just ordered appetizers for this trip. Egg roles of sorts; ~ Fried Egg Role: good amount of fried and tasted like it had fresh ingredients ~ Spring Role: rolled tight so it did not fall apart. A definite plus. ~ Kim Chee Spring Role: Personally it could have used a little more Kim Chew but I am obsessed with the stuff. However it was flavorful. Lemongrass Chicken Wings: Great amount of crunch, not over battered. I was hoping for a little more sauce. The flavor was a little week. We saw multiple soup bowls go by and there were huge. I will update this review once I try more. The one down side was it was hard to get our servers attention when we were ready to pay.
(3)Jeremy S.
So, Dragon I looks nice, with dark wood floors and (oddly mismatched) furniture. It's doing the fusion thing, so essentially Korean/Thai/Vietnamese. I am seated by a hostess/server who does not appear to understand much of what I say to her and given a room-temperature, plastic water cup. I open the menu and decide I want to have some oolong tea, some kimchee, and the pad Thai with shrimp--"extra, extra spicy," I say while she nods along in empathy. The kimchee appears a few moments later. It's fine. I then note, with some trepidation, that the server is bringing a giant, steaming styrofoam cup from behind the bar. I pray silently that this is not my tea, but of course it is: around a quart of boiling water with a teabag, about which she helpfully instructs me, "Take this out in about two minutes." I let the urge pass to explain that at most restaurants, the staff makes the food and drinks for you. The combination of far too much liquid and the insulated cup means that the tea doesn't cool down enough to drink until I'm ready to go. The pad Thai arrives. It is big, but nothing else good can be said about it. It is oddly sweet, smothered in three times the appropriate quantity of crushed peanuts, barely features any shrimp, and appears to be the inverse of the spice level that I asked. As I grow tired of my molten tea and boring food, I await my check. But my server and another staffer are instead sitting at the bar having dinner two feet away from me, so I have to wait. The price for everything ($20) would actually have been reasonable if the food had been any good, which it really was not. And so, dear Yelpers, I have learned that I need to check with y'all before eating anything else on State Street in this town, as looking up the rating may have saved me. Tourist districts are always like this, building business cultures where hardly anybody tries hard, because they've got your money and don't care if you come back. There will be more tourists tomorrow and more students next year.
(2)Jane H.
Vermicelli salad tofu with tofu egg roll was ehh... Not tasty at all, very disappointed. Service was almost non existence. Good thing I'm just visiting...
(2)Elizabeth L.
Ordered Korean Beef Fried Rice with out the Spicy Korean sauce. This is not Fried Rice. It's beef with white rice. Called the restaurant and all they did was argue with me. Very disappointing.
(1)Alisa E.
Admittedly, I have never tried Dragon I's food. This is a review for those of you hipsters out there who can't get enough irony....and kind of like to sing. I was looking to try something new for my birthday bash last weekend. What I stumbled upon was a private karaoke lounge, tucked away in the upper lair of what I had previously assumed to be exclusively a bubble tea restaurant. Or an exclusive bubble tea restaurant, however you want to look at it. Recognizing that this was a chance to broaden my horizons as I entered into another year, I immediately walked in to put my name down for a room, which was then written on a scrap of paper smaller than a post-it note. Needless to say, I had my reservations about my reservation, but I also knew I was on to something great. The song selection keyboard was in another language; the songs available were from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, which means essentially anything post-Backstreet Boys was non-existent. The music videos to accompany these throwbacks were of bears climbing up majestic mountains or wolves howling at a full moon. The only downside was that the drinks were a little weak, but that didn't stop my friends and I from having a fantastic time. Overall, belting out karaoke classics at the top of my lungs in a private room made for an awesome birthday celebration. I consider this birthday party at the Dragon I karaoke lounge to be the most entertaining, and therefore, my favorite to date.
(4)Jon J.
Good variety of Asian inspired dishes with friendly servers. Decent seating on the sidewalk for small groups. Everything on the menu is numbered , so makes ordering easy... Just say which letter you want and it magically shows up. :)
(4)Vicki T.
A so-so place for Asian food. You can get Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean food here. Don't know if they are actually authentic, but try do taste good. Personal favorites: kimchi beef fried rice and all the congee.
(3)Sid P.
We came in for lunch here. The restaurant has two levels. We we're group of 9 adults and a kid. The place was pathetic. We were not given napkins or silverware. The green tea came in plastic cups because they said their dishwasher did not come today. The pho was poor and trying to eat with aplastic spoon was a challenge. Would not recommend this place for service or food!
(1)Kyara M.
Not sure how I feel about it contrary to the comments I made with the pictures I took. I ordered the Vietnamese spring roll. I really like them! They were fresh and I believe made to order. The dipping sauce had the right amount of spice and flavor. Now, on to my actually meal. I ordered fried fried with sesame chicken. For starters, my boyfriends soup came out a good 3 minutes before my food did but that was fine. No biggie. His soup was pretty good. My food on the other hand wasn't. My chicken was overcooked and very hard. I couldn't even finish half of the chicken. My rice was the same. Tasted old and was barely warm. Basically it was just white rice with soy sauce. No vegetables or flavor at all. Not only that, but no server came and asked us for drinks. Just gave us water which again wasn't a problem, however, if I a paying $30 for a meal for 2, I expect better food and service. I was sympathetic because it was only 2 servers and 1 person working the bar and it did get pretty busy but there wasn't much that I felt made me dining there a great experience.
(2)Belinda L.
I wished I had better things to say. I was so excited when Dragon I opened on State St, having a range of fusion food and serving bubble teas too! Unable to contain my excitement I organized a mini dinner session with 2 other friends. The first signs that something was weird was that our waitress did not take down any of our orders; she merely 'remembered' them. We decided to start with the korean spicy rice cakes. But we waited forever and our appetizer did not come. One by one the main course was served, and by the time we were all done, there was still no sign of our appetizer! I wish I could say that the appetizer was the only eventful thing that happened. But one of my friends ordered the korean spicy tofu soup (she's vegetarian). What they served her was korean spicy soup with beef. And so she spent half the time picking out the pieces of beef from the soup. Another of my friend had the Vietnamese stir-fry noodles, which took more than 25 min and we had to remind the waitress, otherwise we would go hungry. They did give us a complimentary fried rice, which we did not order. My guess is that the waitress probably 'thought' we ordered it, so the kitchen made it and decided to give it to us for free. By that point we were too fed up to even ask about our missing appetizer. Ever since that experience I haven't gone back for another shot. After sufficient time has passed for the memory to fade I might go return to give them a second chance. But right now I can't bring myself to say positive stuff about this place.
(2)Bernie C.
Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope. And not because I'm asian and I know good asian food. Just nope. I am capable of eating Americanized Chinese food and realizing it still tastes good, but this was just not delicious for anyone's palette. I got the appetizer spring rolls and the zhia jang mien or however the spelled it. It shouldn't matter how I spell it cause you just should not eat anything that seems like it could sound like that. So I know how these noodles are supposed to take. What I was served was nothing of the sort. I can't really explain what it tasted like, but it was not good. Furthermore, I asked for it extra spicy, and I think their extra spicy is milder that the chipotle medium. Which for an asian restaurant, is unacceptable. To make my dish edible I basically emptied an entire bottle of sriracha onto the plate. The appetizer was no better, When I bit into it, I couldn't identify any flavours or ingredients. I could see the carrot in the spring roll but nothing else was really identifiable visually either. The sauce was also watered down and not as tangy as it should have been. Oh how disappointed I was. I was excited, there were so many good old asian favourites on the menu. (they even had congee! albeit without english subtitles, how are people expected to know what theyre ordering?) Now, the excitement has left, and I am just left with a huge hole of disappointment in my stomach where homey asian food was supposed to go.
(1)Trit T.
The food here is subpar. Some of the dished were were too sweet while some were just tasteless. The service was also not great as there were only 2 waiter covering 10 tables. Not recommended if you have a choice to go to somewhere else.
(2)Ying C.
Horrible restaurant. I had good customer service here, but apparently the chef and the owner of this restaurant are horrible, dishonest people. We ordered chicken curry Katsu don and it came with a small curry bowl only. We requested for more curry, in this case it will means just another one of that tiny amount of curry. The cook rejected and asked us to pay more for the extra. This was ridiculous, we ordered the same thing for take out previously and the curry was more than enough! Apart from that a friend left her belonging in the karaoke room the other day and when we went back to retrieve it the next day, the owner did kept that bag for us but some stuffs inside the bag were lost! Ridiculously enough, that was just some big packs of asian coffee packets, left in a karaoke room with no customer afterwards. We left before the closing hour and the owner admitted he kept it right after we left but denied seeing any of the food. In the land of America where only asians drink and know about such 3 in 1 coffee, who else know about their values? Horrendous experience dealing with these arrogant liars!! I rated a one star here because of nice people you hired and not for you stupid boss. You people open an Asian restaurant here in the United States you should learn to operate with the American courtesy!
(1)Justin B.
Cool atmosphere, quick friendly service, sup par pad thai. Good meat, overcooked noodles, no heat.
(3)Britta S.
Went here with some friends to rent a karaoke room. The waitress showed us to our room and set it up but did not give us any menus for food until we asked. When we ordered we had to go downstairs and stand awkwardly by the bar for them to finish our drinks and then pay them directly. This wasn't a big issue but it felt unprofessional honestly. The waitresses were friendly enough but not very accommodating I honestly felt like we were unwanted there and the staff seem a bit careless. I didn't have food but the smoothie I got was alright though they ran out of tapioca bubbles.
(3)Joey K.
Although the service wasn't all that, but I think that's just part of our culture. We can either be REALLY FRIENDLY AND POLITE, or just unintentionally rude. They gave me a great suggestion which is their best selling fried rice the Korean Beef fried rice. On point!!
(4)Ashley H.
Dragon I has a wide-ranging menu; lots of favorites from Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese menus, as well as bubble teas and other sweet beverages. Food prices are average for State street. The place was packed on a Saturday night, and staff had trouble keeping up. Overall it seemed like they were not able to deal with dinnertime rush, which resulted in confusion about who was serving which table and a server having to go around to different tables asking what diners had ordered the dish in her hands. Plus, servers seemed confused about what to do when there were people waiting for tables. I saw a group of 3 waiting for a table and they were browsing through menus while waiting. Then the server told them that they wouldn't be able to accomodate their party and they left, clearly disappointed. As for the food, the food seemed a little off as well. For example, my Vietnamese rice noodle salad really should have come with more veggies to liven it up a bit rather than just lettuce, cilantro, and a bit of carrot. The pieces of beef would have benefited from being cut into smaller pieces, since you don't have a knife at the table and you are kind of strugglign with tearing off pieces of beef with your teeth. Overall, it was all right, but Dragon I can't seem to keep up with their customers.
(3)John K.
This place is a total joke. I can't believe they've lasted as long as they have. Service is terrible and the food appears and tastes like it's been sitting around. It's greasy, oily, and bland. I tried to be fair by giving it a second chance after a disastrous first attempt and it was even worse the second time around. When are places like Dragon I and Fugu going to realize that just because you have dishes from China and Vietnam and Korea that it's fusion. Fusion is when you prepare ingredients from one place with techniques from another. They should take down the fusion part of their sign and just say "we have a bunch or crappy food from all over Asia". I don't think anyone that gave this 5 or even 4 stars has any kind of discerning palate. Sorry. I just don't think it's possible.
(1)Hyun R.
We came here to eat because we had to drop off a friend back to school. The place looked nice inside. The decor was nice n appealing. The seating was a bit weird and confusing. We ordered Viet pho to eat. They all came out at different times. One took way long then the other. So while waiting our food got cold while 20 mins later out last meal came out. We were disappointed with our orders and asked what was going on. We talked to a couple waiters and the problem was not solved. Finally we got the manager. She was very nice. The waiter over heard our complaint again n with our own chopsticks he poked around our soup. At this point I was done and did t want anything to do with this place ever again. I ate two bites before our complaint n the food was just OK. Never again will I go here or recommend this place to anyone. Horrible service and horrible workers.
(1)Anonymous A.
Awful. Don't go. Horrible service. The chicken is sinewy or rubbery depending on the dish. Sometimes it's invisible. Worst Asian food I've ever had.
(1)Melibe C.
When they first opened they were pretty good, and I used to order from them all the time. They then switched chefs and now they are terrible. When I ordered over GrubHub, they did not read the instructions, and I ended up throwing up all night. I ordered a green tea latte with soy milk, and specified in capital letters that I, like 80% of Asians, am allergic to milk. When I called they said that they did indeed use milk and did not charge me for the green tea latte. But, I never ordered from them again. Also, their Korean food has really gone downhill. They are too lazy to use Korean sesame oil, and make all their non-Chinese food taste Chinese. I think they should try a lot harder to pay attention to detail and try to make a dish taste at least remotely like it's supposed to.
(1)Joy S.
The owner changed and food is really bad now. They also raised the price so it's not even worth it. Terrible and really dumb servers. I used to love this place but now just don't even go there!!!
(1)Tracy F.
There are so manny good asian restaurants in Madison - why would anyone chose this place? Even Nam's Noodle, the other restaurant by these owners, is ten times better. We went on a weeknight. There were many tables available, and we were seated quickly. However, the two dishes my boyfriend and I ordered (Salt & Pepper Shrimp, and a Bahn Mi) were both unavailable. The waitress let us know, unapologetically "Oh, yeah, i should have let you know the vietnamese sandwiches aren't available. They've never been available." Really? Then update your menu. The least you could do is cross out that page. The food we did get was ok - not horrible, but I don't see why anyone would pick this place over the other asian places. I was excited to try a karaoke place right on state street; I will not be going based on our first experience.
(2)Hejun W.
Dragon I serves dinner and it is as wonderful as lunch! We started with a hand made fried dumplings - juice and delicious, you can ask for different source. My dinner companions and I each had a different item off the menu: the pai thai ( i think so) it come with bamboo bowl,another dish the seafood pho with meat roll. Each dish was fabulous, savory and cooked to perfection. They have an alcohol bar, but we ask them for the thai tea and milk tea. they are really good with the bob a. So happy to have this restaurant in the state street - finally we can have good food in a fabulous place. P.S. so many people for dinner, there are second floor, ask them to take a seat there to enjoy the big screen for football game.
(4)Natalie P.
The food here is mediocre and at times the service is horrible. Multiples times when I've done pick up I've had to go back to the restaurant because they messed up my order. Last time I ordered there was soap in my drink (an expensive drink). The only thing good about them is that they're not super expensive and they bring the food out pretty fast. Some of the people who work there are terrible servers though.
(2)Vanyen P.
I had the sliced beef pho and it was alright, except it was $7.95 for such a small bowl. It makes it seem as if the bowl is bigger, but really it's cylindrical from the bottom and has a wider top. Maybe I would have gotten a better price had I gone to a legit pho restaurant, I'm not sure because I'm not from Madison. There was more broth than noodles and there may have been like three slices of beef in the size of elephant ears. Our first server who greeted my friends and I was generally nice, but her coworkers...not so much. Perhaps they were new, I wouldn't know. We had to ask for two waters at least three times from three different people. I honestly could have gotten up, grabbed the cups from the shelf, and poured my cup of water that was in the pitcher next to our table, in less than a minute rather than what? Almost five minutes, maybe longer? Plus, the staff are pretty rude to their chef too. He rings the little bell to let them know that food is ready to give to customers and this one girl snaps back at him, "CAN YOU HOLD ON FOR A MINUTE?" Like really? We're right next to you. Take it down a notch and he's just doing his job. If the food is cold, it's on you. It's also confusing when they refer to the number of the food rather than the name. Here's an example of my friend's order: "Who ordered an NS-09?" The heck is that?! It was a type of vermicelli Vietnamese soup. Are we supposed to remember the numbers? C'mon now. Not the greatest place and my complain is mostly about the staff. The pho again was okay. It just seems like another restaurant more tailored to American tastes and likings rather than ours. Just saying. Again, hope this helps :).
(2)Joshua J.
I'm a bit of a fan more than I was. First impressions of the place from 2013 were a bit lower but upon having it delivered tonight, I'd bump it from 2 stars to 4 stars. For vegetarian fare, I really can say the General Tso's Bean Curd(Tofu) was excellent. It also is one of the few places that have good vegetarian spring rolls. Bubble tea is always a plus too and I liked the different kinds I've had here. Only thing I find disappointing is it seems the orders are not completed properly. Like tonight we received rice instead of Vermicelli...nothing critical but to the wrong person on the wrong night, it'd probably knock it down to 2 stars. One thing also about the menu is the "fresh soy milk" for $1.50. I ordered it intrigued liking american style soymilk and also chinese imports like canned Yeo's or the black soy milk...to my surprise, it was just a can of Yeo's. "Fresh"...seems strange to describe this. It's a can from China...fresh kinda implies it restaurant made(soymilk/tofu isn't difficult to make believe it or not from raw soybeans)...Was disappointed but didn't ruin my meal or something.
(4)Onotse I.
I came here on a rainy Saturday. On a day like that the only thing that seemed right to order was the pho. I haven't had pho since moving here and to be honest I was a bit apprehensive about it because pho has to made just right to be good. Well this place had it right. The pho as phenomenal!! It was perfectly seasoned and the noodles were great. The meat was tender and delicious. The man ordered the pad Thai which he loved. He did remark however that though he ordered the highest spice level he could barely tell there was any spice in it at all. With that said however we both enjoyed this place. We enjoyed it so much that I would even venture back despite the fact that I generally don't court restaurants on State Street. I also ordered the strawberry and kiwi boba which I didn't particularly care for. I am used to boba being served almost like a shaved ice treat but this was more like a smoothie with boba in it, a big no-no!! All in all I loved this place and I will definitely be back!
(4)Mary L.
Yuck!! Just like any other Asian place. The Sesame chicken was fried and smothered in a sticky sweet sauce, with 4 pieces of broccoli. The Thai curry ended up being a bowl of rice, a few potatoes, breaded fried pork with very little sauce. I Won't be returning but they were very busy so something must be good.
(1)Jordan W.
On a whim, my coworker suggested we pick this up for lunch. I had already had a mediocre experience with this place and was a little hesitant, but my coworker was persistent. For $10.50 I was extremely hoping for something with a little more substance to it. That was before I tried it. After the first bite I was hoping for anything else at all. The two separate times I've purchased from Dragon I it was for chicken. Perhaps their beef plates provide less to be desired, however I should think not.
(1)Anna O.
Awful. Bathroom smelled terrible, no soap or towels, and when I alerted our server to this he told me to use the one upstairs. Never mind that I just watched one of the cooks leave the same bathroom where he couldn't possibly have washed his hands. The service was lazy and the tofu and vegetables that we ordered were soaked in oil and flavorless. The rice tasted like it was cooked in weird butter. There are so many better Asian places on state street, this place was worse than the Chin's it replaced.
(1)Nancy W.
I was skeptical to eat here since most of the reviews have at least one negative comment in them, but very glad I decided to! Our service was great, two different gentlemen waited on us and both were polite and attentive. I had the egg rolls appetizer and Basil Chicken and my companion had the fried dumplings and Red Curry with Squid. All of our food was hot and tasty. I loved the basil chicken, it had lots and lots of flavor and a little spice. Serving size was generous and I brought enough home for lunch today. The egg rolls were crispy and piping hot when they arrived. I tasted my dining partners curry and it had great heat and the flavor was yummy. The place is clean and I really don't have a bad thing to say except there are so many items on the menu it is hard to choose just one item! I will definitely go back to try a few more things. If you were disappointed with your first visit, maybe give them another try?
(4)Jesse S.
I really should have updated this review a long time ago. When Dragon I first opened the food was consistently good but the service was indescribably awful. Actually, it was pretty hilarious. I once waited for 45 minutes because, unbeknownst to me, they were waiting for a frozen block of seaweed salad to (partially) thaw. In any case, that's all in the past. The original clowns who were worked here are all gone and now it's really quite well-run. And the food is generally--though not always-- pretty decent. Definitely a good choice for a big bowl of pho.
(4)