Van's Vietnamese Restaurant

My wife and I shared the Spring Rolls that were fried crispy and delicious. With a pickled radish as a garnish that was surprisingly Tasty!
My wife had the Bun Tom Nuong, she enjoyed the grilled shrimp and the rice was cooked perfectly with a great flavor.
I had the Bun Bo Hue that was excellent and such a large portion that I was extremely pleased.
The host and server was very pleasant and the ambiance reminded me of kitchens in NYC!
Will return or order takeout when I can.

This is a standby for me... Nice & efficient service and consistently good food. My go to is the flank steak pho, goi cuon (summer rolls), Thai tea, the shrimp or chicken salad. Bring the warmth with you because aside from the food the ambiance is lacking it. I usually leave with leftovers so extra value there $.

Authentic vietnamese food. My Vietnamese friend and I go this place and highly recommended by her. Food is so good but my I like the pho and the pork with vermicelli. ... so yummy. Service is always at par. Our server is nice. The place is clean and can accomodate big groups.

Vans is delicious. Service is spotty.

Service isn't the typical American dining standards. Generally there is only 1 or 2 people working the entire dining room and the way they do it is all orders have to go through the one person.

We arrived on an early Sunday night for dinner. Sat at the table with menus for over 20 minutes after being ready to order but not being acknowledged and they weren't yet full. Don't go if you are in a rush but not to be missed for some of the best pho and Vietnamese food I've had and certainly Albany's best.

When we finished eating, we again had to wait an additional 20 minutes after they saw we were finished for person to come for the bill. It's strange but the fresh and flavorful food makes it worth it.

The service is slow but that's because there was one waiter for all the tables.
But the food itself was great and humongous portions. The spring rolls are battered and fried and come with extra large size pickled veg.
Almost everyone had pho for lunch and the meat and noodles in each bowl match the price for the meal. Friendly service, just ensure you have extra time because they do get busy, even on a Tuesday afternoon.

We drove over an hour to meet friends who love this hole in the wall-- the street has a sketchy Shaft vibe but maybe we're not used to Albany. Just one kind waitress handled the room, which was half full. Service was pretty quick, and we all ordered different dishes-- spring rolls were nice, beef pho was okay, bbq chicken got highest marks.Pricey for lunch but portions are ginormous. Good place for big eaters who live locally.

This tiny hole-in-the-wall has hands-down some of the best food I have ever had in my life. The menu is expansive and I don't think there are any poor choices.

I went to Van's with my coworkers for lunch. They were all regulars but it was my first time there. The waiter recognized them and greeted them like old friends. He recited their regular orders and then answered my questions about the menu.

I got to sample a little bit of my coworkers meals. To say everything was "amazing" would be an understatement.

Got: Vegetarian Bun
Price: ~$13 (slightly more expensive than a classic bowl of pho but the portion size justifies it! - see my hand in the pic below)
Value: 9/10

Never had bun like this before! Normally I'm used to having this dish with the noodles on a bed of lettuce, bean sprouts with a little bowl of sweetened fish sauce on the side. INSTEAD, no fish sauce but broth underneath the noodles? It wasn't fish sauce but rather a savory almost beefy broth/gravy. The spring rolls were on the heavier side, starchy and peppery (filled with a bean paste or taro mixture since I chose the vegetarian option). They could've been slightly less fried but were delicious nevertheless. The restaurant was crowded and new customers constantly rolled in as tables were vacated. Seemed like a popular local spot especially for RPI students.

Overall, a gem of Vietnamese restaurant in upstate NY! Would recommend.

I was passing by Albany and gave this place a go as it was the most highly yelp-rated vietnamese restaurant around Albany. I ordered cha gio as appetizer and got pho chin (beef pho with brisket) as my entree. I was very satisfied with my pho. Broth was clean yet beefy, meat was moist and fresh, and the noodle was very well cooked and had no stale taste. I really enjoyed the pho and will definitely revisit if I ever pass by Albany again. Highly recommend!

AUTHEN. TIC. Being in Albany, it's been hard to find a really good Vietnamese restaurant. That is, until I found Van's.

Food: 5/5 This hole in the wall restaurant provides some of the most tasty Vietnamese food of my life. Every time we go, we get the same thing: Pho Đặc Biệt and Cơm Thịt Nướng. The only thing I can complain is that it's a little pricey.

Service: 5/5 The staff is very kind and speaks Viet and English. They're very attentive to us and love talking to students.

Vibes: 4/5 like I said, it's a more hole-in-the-wall place so not too fancy. That's when you know the food is good though.