This was my first time eating at a Vietnamese restaurant, and I wasn't disappointed.
The restaurant itself seems very quaint and would be easy to overlook if one doesn't know about it. Upon entering we were greeted by a friendly waiter and immediately seated at a table. The waiter disappeared and a few seconds later returned with water for all of us and our menus. It was a pleasant surprise that we didn't even have to ask for the water. The waiter then asked whether we would like something else to drink other than the water. We declined and were then given a few minutes to look over our menus.
The prices seemed to be reasonable, with most of the foods falling into a price range of around $7.00 to around $10.00. After much contemplation my father and I settled on ordering Vermicelli with egg rolls and charcoal broiled pork ($8.30) and my mother ordered Vermicelli with chicken and lemongrass ($7.25). We also agreed to share a small noodle soup with chicken ($6.80). Once we had placed our order I was able to glance around the room. The furniture was very simple with chairs and tables around the single room, some pictures hanging on the wall, and dimmed lights. The atmosphere was casual and there was some modern music playing in the background. The overall noise was also minimal so it was easy to converse with the people I was sitting with.
The restaurant was also very clean. The bathroom was stocked with paper towels, soap, and toilet paper, nothing littered the floors, and while the building was obviously older it appeared well taken care of.
Our waiter returned after placing our order and we were asked whether we prefered chopsticks or forks. After requesting the former we were each given a pair of plastic chopsticks as well as a soup spoon (both of which were once again very clean).
In only minutes we received our food. When it was placed in front of us I was first off very surprised at how huge the portion was. It was big enough that two people could easily share. The small soup we ordered was also quite large, and even after dividing it three ways we all ended up with a good amount. The second thing I noticed was that care was obviously taken to prepare and present the food, it was artfully arranged on the plate and looked delicious.
The food itself was tasteful and unique, but because this was my first time eating Vietnamese cuisine I can't vouch for its authenticity. Although I wasn't a big fan of some of the food I tried, it wasn't because it was poorly made, it was more that it just wasn't suited to my tastes. In fact, some of the food that I didn't like my other family members did and vice versa. I personally really enjoyed the charcoal broiled pork and would consider ordering that again if I ever return.
While we were eating our waiter made sure our drinks were always refilled and everything was in sufficient supply. By the time we were finished, no food was left untried and we took what was left over home in a to-go box.
We didn't even have to wait for our bill as it was brought to us right after we'd finished eating. The overall price we paid for the food was $35.25 (including a 15% tip). Considering the quality and size of the food this price was an amazing deal.
Overall this is a nice, local restaurant with good food, friendly service, and affordable prices. read more