The Mekong Cafe Buffet Is Back!

The corner place on 60th and North Avenue features the inconspicuous Southeast Asian grocer, cafe, restaurant and, once again a buffet well known in the community for years.

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Mekong Cafe’s popular lunch and dinner buffets are officially back, and people are excited about it! The corner place on N. 60th and North Avenue features the inconspicuous Southeast Asian grocer, cafe, restaurant and, once again a buffet well known in the community for years. It features popular ingredients, baked goods, fresh produce and dishes from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

Chef and owner Sichanh Volp gave me a bit of insight into the cafe’s history. “It was Mom's dream as an immigrant to have her own restaurant after working at numerous places throughout the years. So she chose Mekong Cafe, a name that reminded her of her homeland. We've been open since 2008. Mekong Cafe is a family-operated business where we strive to offer authentic Thai and Vietnamese cuisine on the menu. Our buffet options would be more authentic items, something we would normally eat at home with sticky rice and spicy chili dipping sauce.”

I walked in at noon on the day after the grand reopening of the buffet and the first Saturday it was back. Luckily, they saved a table for me because there were people in and out nonstop all day. I mean, what’s better than having access to all the flavors and dishes on the menu without having to rely on other people to order with you? Seems like a lot of people share my sentiment!

Weekday Buffet (11 a.m.- 4 p.m.) *drinks excluded; no outside beverages; 2-hour limit

  • Adults $17.95
  • Kids (6-10 years old) $10.95
  • Kids (3-5 years old) $6.85

Weekend Premium Buffet (11 a.m.- 4p.m.) *drinks excluded; no outside beverages; 2 hour limit

  • Adults $23.95
  • Kids (6-10 years old) $11.95
  • Kids (3-5 years old) $7.95

Buffet To-Go

  • $6.95 per pound lunch items (weekday)
  • $9.99 per pound seafood items (weekday)
  • $9.99 per pound lunch items (weekend)
  • $12.99 per pound seafood items (weekend)

Now, you gotta do a few laps around a buffet to asses what they have, what you like and how you want to best attack. For me, I went with the fried food to start—crab Rangoon, spring rolls and fried chicken. Then, I went for the soup station which featured four different options. And finally, I tried a little bit of everything on my next two plates. It’s hard for me to tell you what I had and what’s what because it all ended up in a pile on my plates, but let’s just say you can’t go wrong. There are vegan, vegetarian, seafood and meat options across the board and variety of sauces to accompany any dish.

But, if I’m being honest, my main mission was to test out their Bahn Mi sandwiches, which are actually the Loas version called Khao Jee Pate. I ordered the Mekong Classic which was a traditional Saigon bahn mi with Vietnamese ham roll (cha lua), head cheese (gio thu), BBQ sliced pork roast, pate served with mayo, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, sliced cucumbers and jalapenos, all served on freshly homemade French bread. This was by far the best one I’ve had in Milwaukee and I’ve been on the hunt. Plus, it was only $9.95!