V Majestic Restaurant - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton164 Brighton Ave
(between Harvard Ave & Parkvale Ave)
Allston, MA 02134 (617) 782-6088
- Nearest Transit:
Harvard Avenue (Green)
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
18 Reviews for V Majestic Restaurant
This review is brought to you by the "What do you miss?" thread started by Jimmy:
I started going here in 1985. This was my first Pho, heck this was my Vietnamese period. I think I had every soup they had on the menu. The best thing on the menu was the Hot and Sour soup, I've never found anything like it since.
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I miss it dearly. Certainly the best, cheapest, cleanest, tastiest, most consistent and friendliest Vietnamese restaurant I have ever ate at. That goes for the ones IN Vietnam too.
The Hot and Sour soup was the best I've had, plus it was vegetarian. The Rolling Tofu was awesome, the whole menu was great.
I would always push the uninitiated to go to the bathroom. It was behind the counter, just before the kitchen, and then through the trapdoor in the basement! Then, in relative darkness, you walked 65 feet or so in a tight corridor of homemade 2x4 shelving past a children's daybed, wall to ceiling foodstuffs to the bathroom, it was IMMACULATELY clean. Not just the bathroom, the entire basement. To white people, it would probably be scary, but I was always simply amazed how organized, disciplined and clean the basement was.
I truly regret not talking to the owner more often and being shy around him before he got really old and learning his life story. Once I had not gone for 3 years, he totally remembered me and said, "Hey, haven't seen you for long time! How you doing!?"
I can only hope someone on Yelp can tell me me what he and his family are up to.
Some people open and run a restaurant. "V Majestic" made a career over half a lifetime. That's how you say it.
I ordered take out from here over the weekend and it was just a revelation in terms of taste. All three of us ordered dishes over vermicelli, and we found our various proteins (pork + shrimp, tofu, chicken) to all be totally delicious in their grilled or "glowing" states. We loved it so much we're going to drive all the way over there from Somerville to initiate our roommates into the glories of V Majestic.
The atmosphere looked pretty basic, and we didn't stay, but in terms of food, this is definitely my favorite Vietnamese place in Boston.
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EDIT: SO SO SO SAD THEY ARE CLOSED!! V Majestic, I barely knew thee!
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Tofu with fresh vegetable, spring rolls, and hot coffee with condensed milk, please.
V Majestic is my favorite restaurant in Boston. Friendly atmosphere with award-winning window displays.
Though they've recently re-upped with a new menu, they could benefit from further trimming down the selection and focusing on their strengths.
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Edit: Noooo, they're closed for good! *weep*
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Wow. Hubert H. wasn't kidding when he said that the beef noodle soup here is good. I ordered the house special beef noodle soup for something like $6.00. It was gigantic, I'm guessing more than a quart of soup. It also came with side garnishes including sriracha hot sauce, fish sauce, basil, and lime.
It was also the tastiest soup I have ever had in my entire life.
My instinct is to give this 5 stars, but I've only been once so I can't in good conscience. I'll definitely be going there a few more times, and who knows, I might update this to a 5. UPDATE: I've been here a bunch more times now, and the food is always amazing. Five stars it is!
Note that they're closed on Tuesdays.
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Here is an excellent cheap Vietnamese place. My friends and I ordered so much food that we needed another table to be put next to ours to accommodate the overflow.
Remember: substance over style. There's nothing fancy about the decor; just a few simple tables to accommodate about 20 people total.
The basic Beef Noodle soup special was one of the best I've ever had anywhere in this country, which is sayin' a lot, since I used to down this stuff over in Berkeley all the time. Unlike those on Shattuck Ave. and environs, the cook did not overly saturate their very beefy broth with MSG (I'm not drinking oodles of water 5 hours after the meal).
Others in my party had barbecued beef wrapped in rice noodle wrapper (excellent contrast in texture between the beef and the rice noodles) in an indeterminate sauce (I'm not sure what was in the sauce, but it tasted good); some porridge (which I could not differentiate from Chinese porridge; not a criticism just an observation based on experience); a tofu noodle soup (really excellent quality tofu was used), and a pancake stuffed with pork and ... um, what else was in that pancake? Anyways, the pancake was subtly flavored with coconuts, more like an omelet perhaps. I felt that the pancake didn't mesh well with the inner fillings, but I held the minority position among my party.
One last thing to consider - excellent service. We were hanging around up until closing, and folks who ran the restaurant, very sweet folks (looked like a family business) always came by with tea, an extra plate, extra cups, etc., etc. Again, substance over style. If I had a place like this to frequent when I was in grad school, these folks would be like my parents.
Contrary to Kit Y.'s experience, I did not find the place 'dirty'. Perhaps it's best to go when it's not so so crowded.
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For some reason I seem to like this place a lot more than my husband and friends do...I don't know what it is.
V is a tiny hole in the wall Vietnamese place in Allston...the dining room is bitsy and a little dingy, with almost zero charm, but the food is so good i don't care. i am in love with all things 'glowing' on the menu-- glowing chicken, tofu, beef...all of it is served with lots of fresh veggies and a yummy sweet sauce over rice vermicelli....sooo yummy. Their spring rolls are delish too.
The menu is vast and humorously specialized, with large sections for things like Green Beans and Squid...but i must say i always go with something Glowing...and i always leave full and happy. Really cheap too!
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CLOSED FOREVER 8-25-07
The family that owns V is taking some time off from the business. They sold the restaurant and a Chinese bakery will open up in the same space.
sigh. I loved this place. We ate there on the last night, ordered all our favorites...they were as good and fresh as always.
By far, my favorite place for Vietnamese food.
Tofu Pho: $4.25!
Beat that!
Fresh rolls are nothing special and the sauce sucks, but they're cheap and traditionally made, which means there isn't anything fancy in them.
I like the tofu curry too because they give you plenty and also there's a little hint of coconut which is nice and cuts the curry flavor.
V is dirty, there's usually only one person on the service floor so it can be slow, but it's pretty good and the cheap.
I also hope it exists forvever!
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Once again, the Yelp reviewers were dead on. This place is cozy, cheap as all get out, and delicious. The serving sizes were also freakishly large. The fresh spring rolls were the size of a cucumber. The pho might as well be served in gallon jugs.
I also really like how the broth they use in the Tofu noodle soup is very clearly chicken broth. I've always appreciated restaurants that do not understand vegatarianism. The notion of tofu as a meat substitute has never really settled right with me, especially since meat and tofu are so good together. Anyway, just be careful here if you are a vegetarian.
I had "fried rice and fried rolls". They lived up to their names and were filling, cheap, and delicious.
V Majestic you are my favorite restaurant in the world.
Does anyone know how I could reach the grouchy owner?
Please email me at mlopho@yahoo.com. Thanks!
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A good and cheap place to grab a quick bite to eat. The service is quick and the food is good.
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Reasons to love V Majestic:
1) best vietnamese food in boston
2) ridiculously cheap
3) the rice chowder beats all viet restaurants within 10 miles
4) most dishes are healthful - all are fresh, and well prepared - and nothing feels heavy or greasy
5) BYOB (liquor store within 40 yards)
6) works for vegetarians or omnivores
7) mom & pop place (literally), staffed by the whole family
8) service is always fast and welcoming
9) quality is 100% consistent
10) no frills, low rent, casual place to linger for 2 hours while the hot tea refills keep coming
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so cheap, so friendly and so yummy! I miss you V Majestic, so much
Great family owned Vietnamese. Friendlier and more authentic than Pho Lemongrass in Brookline. Nothing fancy, but great value for the money.
The spring rolls with tofu are the best!
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I love you V majestic!
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V Majestic is my favorite restaurant in boston. I hope it exists forever.
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