Heard about this spot through some friends and had to check it out. The second floor is real…read moreaesthetic, and the whole space is quite vibes, which is nice. We tried quite a lot of things, like the wings, bun rieu, bun cha, shaking tofu, and broken rice. Honestly, the food is quite good, but particular standouts were the wings and bun cha. Wings are super crispy, and the sauce is excellent. The bun cha really reminded me of what we had in Vietnam, and it's really cool that they use that leaf that's real authentic, haven't found that elsewhere in the city. The service is quite fast, and the servers are generally pretty good at being waved down, though they don't stop by the table too often once the food arrives. Great spot, and honestly, fantastic bun cha.

I haven't found many spots in the city serving bun cha, so I was excited about this spot's grand…read moreopening. Came here on a wednesday around 6:30 PM, and there was plenty of seating available. The tables were a bit tight together, but otherwise, it was a nice ambiance. We tried the mango salad and the bun cha, which came out to be $30 per person after tip and tax. The mango salad was very unique, and I liked the various textures in it. The fish sauce and mint added good flavor too. We definitely enjoyed the bun cha more. The flavors in the dipping sauce were delicious, and the meats were juicy and tender.

This was so disappointing I almost had to laugh. Ordered the…read morepho ga (chicken) one afternoon recently and when it arrived I couldn't believe the size. It was literally kids size. Smallest pho bow I've ever seen! There was nothing but broth, noodles, tiny bit of shredded chicken and diced herbs. How the hell do they get away w charging $18 for this? I'm a small gal and I was still hungry when I finished. Complete and utter rip off. Stingy meat and stingy even on the noodles. Would never go back. I rather go to a hole in the wall for an adult size potion than ever eat here again. The service was nice/water was always re-filled. That's the only positive.

Visited Hanoi House on St. Mark's Place on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in June. During the summer,…read morethe stretch of St. Mark's between 1st Avenue and Avenue A is closed to vehicle traffic on Sundays, which gives many of the restaurants additional outdoor seating and creates a nice option for outdoor dining. A friend and I chose Hanoi House because they had outdoor seating available and a weekend happy hour. Happy hour runs from 3:00-5:30 p.m. on weekends and includes discounted cocktails ($11-$12.50), wine ($10), and several food items. Though during happy hour you are not able to order from the full menu. We started with the shrimp chips ($1.50), spicy garlic cauliflower ($14), a rosé, and a Hugo Spritz. The cauliflower was very good, a large portion with a flavorful combination of sweetness and spice. The Hugo Spritz was refreshing, though a bit sweeter than I prefer, made with a bit too much syrup. We were there past 5:30 p.m., and I ordered from the dinner menu. I had visited Hanoi House years ago and remembered the menu being larger. I ordered the lemongrass chicken wings ($19), which were perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside without being dry and had a nice sweet-savory flavor. My friend ordered a second serving of the cauliflower and we each also had another drink. Including tax and tip, the bill came to about $60 per person. That is not inexpensive, although it included two drinks each and enough food for a substantial meal, even if not quite a full dinner portion. Overall, Hanoi House is a good summer option, especially if you can take advantage of the outdoor seating on St. Mark's. They are also well known for their pho, making it a good choice during colder months, and they serve brunch as well, though the menu appears very similar to their dinner offerings.

I am impressed and in love with the pho from this restaurant! I love their housemate limeade soda,…read moreit was so good, we got it 2 separate times in one day This is the closest pho location I've been to that is just as good as the pho bang on Broadway in elmhurst that I grew up eating. The broth was mostly my deciding factor. Most pho places probably put in a little bit more spices for the broth making it too pungent for me. The vermicelli noodles were great, and the ingredients were fresh. The beef brisket was over cooked though. The packaging was very detailed and considerate which I appreciated. It was $15 pre tax for a bowl of beef brisket pho $16.33 after tax. There was a $2 price increase from the menu 2 months ago, this is a steep price jump. For a really good pho spot in Manhattan, this place is definitely worth the visit

Came here on a sunday around 6:30 PM. There was both indoor and outdoor seating available, and we…read morewere quickly seated. The service was very quick with bringing out drinks and food once we ordered. We ordered the house combo pho and the bun bo hue. The bun bo hue had great spice level, with ample meat. The pho also had good meat to topping ratio, but we found the bun bo hue to have better value. They initially only brought us a plate of bean sprouts, but brought us more once we asked. Overall, a no frills and affordable vietnamese spot that feels very authentic.

This was my fourth time dining here, and I've also lost count of how many lunch specials I've…read moreordered for delivery. Safe to say... Twilight Lounge has officially become one of my go-to spots! The atmosphere is such a cozy vibe. We were greeted and seated right away, grabbed a window table, and enjoyed soft jazz playing in the background while catching up with friends. Everything we ordered was a hit! The mapo tofu had the perfect spicy, silky kick, the braised beef tendon was melt-in-your-mouth tender, the eggplant with garlic sauce was packed with flavor, the farmhouse-style pork was crispy and aromatic, and the limited-time golden salted-egg rice cakes & lobster absolutely stole the show. Crispy, savory, rich... Add the dishes' sauces to white rice, my gosh, just writing this review is making me salivate... The service was beyond excellent. Huge shoutout to Lili! Even though the kitchen took a little longer (which we honestly didn't mind since everything was made fresh), she surprised us with complimentary pear and sugar cane drinks to cool us down. It was refreshing, light, and not overly sweet. She was incredibly warm, attentive, and made sure every table was comfortable--even while handling the entire front of the restaurant by herself on a Saturday afternoon! We even got to chat with her in our mother tongue, which made the experience feel even more special. THANK YOU, Lili, for your wonderful hospitality!We'll definitely be back. Highly recommended!

Very impressive restaurant coming from the same minds behind Birds of a Feather…read more Upon walking in, I noticed the wall art composed of real-ingredients! Goes to show they don't mess when it comes to flavors. The Salted Duck Egg Tofu is phenomenal--only complaint is that I had to share it. Otherwise, I would've finished it all alone. Love seeing an all tendon dish. USA needs more of this. Yummy, chewy texture. Very tasty broth--reminds me of Vietnamese pho. The workers are so kind and playful too. They definitely added to the experience. Would love to come back.

I kept hearing great things about this NYC restaurant with the unlikely name of Ha's Snack Bar. So…read moreI managed to line up outside the tiny spot at 4:45PM on a Wednesday afternoon and snagged a seat at the counter when the doors opened at 5:30. It's a small (24 seats) but full Lower East Side restaurant featuring Vietnamese / French inspired flavors, with a great vibe, friendly, helpful servers - and you can't miss the chefs at work in the microscopic open kitchen (Two inductions and a Rational). I kicked things off with Oysters with Green Chili which were a perfect starter. Next up was the dish I'd heard a lot about, Snails with Tamarind Butter. This lived up to the praise, absolutely delicious, with a warm chunk of baguette. Later, I realized, it's reminiscent of New Orleans style BBQ Shrimp! And that's a good thing. For my final plate, I ordered the Clams with Lemongrass and Chinese Bacon, and this seafood stew type dish was wonderful as well. I loved the whole experience at Ha's, which in a previous life was a well-known NYC Pop-up (Ha's Dac Biet) from Sadie Mae Burns-Ha and Anthony Ha. Now, in addition to Ha's, they also have a larger spot, Bistrot Ha. You can sure that's on my list now too! Ha's was the first stop in a three-day NYC visit for me, and a very memorable one.

Finally made it to Ha's Snack Bar! Maybe the recent opening of Bistrot Ha is making it slightly…read moreeasier to grab a reservation here? I paired my meal with a delicious glass of red wine (Beaujolais), which was served chilled. I don't know that I'd agree with the sentiment that this is more of a wine bar with snacks. There's good wine for sure, but the focus seems more on the food. Ordered: -Chicken liver pate with pickled rhubarb on toast: Good, but this could be a skip unless you're obsessed with pate or you have low iron. The vinegar/acid from the rhubarb kind of brightened up the dish. -Gulf shrimp with melon and shiso: Overall, I loved the flavors of this summery dish, from the ripe, sweet cantaloupe to the fresh bites of shiso chili-pepper spice that sneaks up on you but then adds an ever-present, warm buzz. But the shrimp were a bit rubbery. -Rice salad with green chili, peas, and herbs: This was maybe my favorite dish of the night, which was a surprise because we hadn't even considered it at first. Lots of umami flavor and the peas made it summery. The herbs on top were so fresh. -Snails with tamarind butter: Really interesting and different. The intense sweet-spice flavor of the decadent tamarind butter is memorable. The snails were tender. I wish we'd been given a little more bread to sop up the buttery goodness. -Plum and mint chip sundae: This dessert was soo good and refreshing! It was made of half plum ice cream (quite tart), half mint ice cream, with big, flaky chunks of semisweet chocolate, whipped cream, and mint pieces on top. And I think there were actual plums in there as well. The space is really tiny, one small room that was jam-packed with people on a recent August Saturday at 9:30 pm. The AC wasn't on, or it was broken, and the room was pretty warm and stuffy. It cooled down as people started to leave. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Flavorful food, fast and friendly service, capacious space and reasonable pricing - a great…read moreexperience even for our rushed time. Husband and I were looking for a quick bite before heading to our son's concert. Grandpa Thai caught our attention on Yelp search but it was in the opposite direction. The interior was quite spacious, with a semi-open large kitchen. After sitting down, we told our waitress that we were in a mad rush. She said that any stir-fry could be churned out within a few minutes, and recommended noodles or fried rice. We ordered vegetarian Pad Kee Mao (spicy drunken noodles) and Basil Fried Rice. Sure enough both dishes turned up within a few minutes. The portions were much bigger than we expected - well, no matter, we were hungry! And both dishes tasted fresh, flavorful, authentic and satisfying, with our votes leaning a bit more towards Pad Kee Mao :-). When the waitress mentioned "Tofu" we thought we'd get the usual cubes, but their version was the more fluffy Tofu puff. The menu is bilingual in English and Hong Kong Chinese, to which our Thai waitress explained that it was due to the cultural combination of the owners: one partner is Thai while the other Chinese. Quite a lucky find in the busy area of NYU, the Strand, and Washington Square!

I had high hopes for Grandpa Thai, but was sadly disappointed. The restaurant had an odd…read moreatmosphere where half of the space looked like a fancy takeout counter and the other half offered a casual, sit-down experience. We were immediately shown to a booth and scanned the QR code to pull up the menu. As we perused it, the waitress dropped off what looked like a personal, plastic water bottle for the table. It had cute stickers on it, but was like nothing we had ever been given before at a restaurant. Regardless, the water was so crisp and refreshing that we all commented on how good it was. After we placed our orders in the slowly emptying restaurant on a late weeknight evening, we wound up waiting an extremely long time for what should have been our quickly-prepared meals. Once they finally arrived, my Pad See Ew with Chicken was garlicky and flavorful, but extremely salty and oily. The included poultry was rubbery and not high-quality. I actually think it might have been thigh meat, as that had been referenced on some other menu items. My friends had both ordered the Stir-Fried Eggplant with Basil and agreed that it was similarly very greasy and full of sodium. The portions were generous, and we all took home close to half of our meals, but I had debated even doing so because of the unhealthy preparation. Overall, Grandpa Thai was mediocre, and we would not be rushing back there.

If you're looking for one of those places that instantly feels like home while serving food that…read moresurprises you, this is it. The atmosphere is incredibly relaxed--perfect for catching up with friends or just unwinding over an amazing meal. The octopus was easily the standout. Perfectly tender with just the right amount of char, it was cooked with the kind of care that's hard to find. Every bite was packed with flavor and beautifully balanced. What really makes this place special, though, is the Asian American fusion. The dishes capture those nostalgic flavors that so many New York Asian Americans grew up with--comforting, familiar, and authentic in a way that's difficult to explain unless you've experienced it. It's the kind of food that honors tradition while giving it a fresh, creative twist without losing its soul. From the welcoming vibe to the unforgettable food, this is the kind of restaurant you'll keep coming back to. Highly recommended, especially if you appreciate flavors that tell a story.

We went last night for jazz night and everything was incredible! The drinks were refreshing and…read morethe servers were super attentive and sweet. We had the chopped cheese, octopus, and the crab fried rice. The octopus was so tender and the crab fried rice was delicious. I can't say enough about the chopped cheese it was a hit! The music definitely added to the ambiance I'm so happy we were able to stop by. Definitely will be back

Food/drinks: can't complain! Everything was super solid!…read more Atmosphere: cute and not too big! Service: as expected Price: as expected for NYC Vietnamese food

I walked into this place and it literally felt like I walked into Vietnam. The ambiance is soooooo…read morecute and well decorative. It was also clean. The food - everything was good. The flavors are central Vietnam and well seasoned. Loved loved loved the Bo la lot the most. They made it with Wagyu which is interesting. The service was friendly and quick. Everyone was so nice and welcoming.