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Viet Cafe
Categories: Restaurants Vietnamese Restaurants Breakfast & Brunch Vietnamese, Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
345 Greenwich St(between Jay St & Harrison St)
New York, NY 10013
Neighborhood: TriBeCa
(212) 431-5888
- Nearest Transit:
-
Franklin St (1, 2)
Chambers St (1, 2, 3)
Canal St (A, C, E)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 10 pm
Sat 12 pm - 10 pm
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
72 reviews for Viet Cafe
Review Highlights
"The "thousand leaves" coconut crepe cake was to die for."
(in 3 reviews)
"Love the banana flan and the Vietnamese lime lemonade."
(in 5 reviews)
"I recently got a $10 pork noodle bowl and it was delicious."
(in 8 reviews)
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72 reviews in English
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Review from Nameeta K.
New York, NY
2/8/2012
Solid lunch spot for folks working in the TriBeCa area!
The best priced options are the noodle bowls, Vietnamese sandwiches, and fried rice - under $15 including tax and tip! Well portioned servings too.
I almost always get the shrimp fried rice and it's pretty good especially with the chill sauce they have on the table.
TIP: Bring cash because they can be a little nitpicky about paying with a credit card (I think it's a $15 minimum, which is kind of a high minimum IMO). -
Review from Sara U.
1/15/2012
PHO SURE. Bet that has been said 6 million times, but has anyone opened up a Viet Cafe review with that? Doubt it. Not checking. Assuming.
Loved my food, and thought the prices were pretty reasonable for Tribeca. Wine was pretty standard, maybe even cheaper, but I am not a wine connoseiur, so don't really believe me. Anyway, they were about $8 - 14 a glass. Had riesling. I was happy.
Appetizer - vegetarian summer rolls. Only reason this did not get a 5 star review. I thought they were so f'in bland, to be honest. I'm sure they were healthy and etc things like that, but I ate one and felt like i was eating crumpled tissues wrapped in paper towels, wrapped in a plastic bag.
They also ran out of a bunch of stuff under broth entrees that my roommate was going to order, so that could be a bust depending on what you are looking for.
Anyway, I got the crispy noodle with beef... and that alone was like 10 stars. Everything on that plate tasted fresh and delicious. The plate was $19, but the amount of food was substantial. I ate a lot of it. I was satisfied.
My favorite part of the meal??? The vietnamese hot sauce. DEEEELICIOUS. Too bad they brought that out with the entree, because perhaps had I dunked my paper towel wrap in the hot sauce, it would have been more flavorful.
Like the setup, really cute inside. They have bench-type seating on the sides or traditional-type seating in the middle. Smallish bar, but I did not really see anyone sitting at it.
Def recommended. -
Review from Phil L.
Astoria, NY
12/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
When it's freezing cold outside and you want something warm inside, what do you go for? Well this day it was some Pho. We were walking around looking for a place to eat when a member of our group suggested this place. Now I'm not sure if brunch is a new thing for them or not, but it wasn't clear whether or not they were actually open for lunch due to their signs/menu they had posted. Thankfully they were open because I was starving.
Inside the restaurant it has a very warehouse type of feel to it since the ceilings must be 30 ft high. The interior was nicely decorated with a modern asian flair. Their kitchen is wide open for everyone to see, which I always view as a positive because it means they have much less to hide from their patrons. The downside to all of this is with their commercial grade hoods, a lot of cold air was piped into the restaurant so it was a bit chilly to be eating there in the morning. I ordered my bowl of Pho and a cup of Vietnamese coffee. Not sure what the cost of the coffee was but the Pho was $10.00 which is pretty darn good for this neighborhood.
The pho was served in a gigantic bowl, unfortunately there was mostly broth, over cooked noodles, and where's the meat! I doctored it up with a serious amount of bean sprouts, hot sauce, and whatever sauce they gave me. Was it tasty? Yes, could it have been better? Most definitely. At the $10.00 price point, I'm not expecting a heaping pile of meat, but give me more than the four slices thrown in the bowl, seriously, either that a dropped egg would have been nice to up the protein count. More noodles would have been nice as well since there was so much broth.
I've had much better bowls of Pho, but at $10.00 that's not bad given the neighborhood. -
Review from Brittany C.
Hoboken, NJ
1/24/2012 1 Check-in Here
Not my favorite Pho in the city but pretty good for the area. I eat here every other week or so. I love Pho and spring rolls. It's quite pricey though.
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Review from Rowena Y.
12/7/2011
After a cold morning run, my friends and I decided to hit up this Viet restaurant for brunch on a Saturday. Interestingly enough, they have a sign outside saying they are open on Saturdays from 5PM to 10PM. We thought they were only open for dinner, which is kind of weird for a Viet restaurant but then we also saw the brunch menu which was available for the weekends. We took a stab at it and opened the door and found that they were indeed open for business. Whew!
Of course, we were the one and the only patrons during the whole time there. My suspicion and fear of getting food poisoned began to grow on me so I took the safest route of ordering something hot like their Pho beef brisket bowl. The bowl was decent size but the quality was definitely not the same compare to the Viet restaurants I normally go to in Chinatown. There was definitely more soup than noodles in the bowl. I also ordered the traditional Viet coffee, which came with a French press. Traditionally, you would normally put condensed milk in the coffee but whoever made this coffee certainly overdosed on the condensed milk. It was the sweetest coffee I ever had and at one point, it almost tasted like drinking hot chocolate instead. Absolutely not my cup of coffee! -
Review from Ashwin M.
11/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
Completely agree with others in that Viet Cafe is overpriced for what it is. Don't think I'd come back unless I had a specific reason to be in the neighborhood, but the food, drinks and ambience were all good enough for a solid 3 star experience.
That said, $19 each for tofu noodles and lemongrass curry was a bit much. They were both tasty and satiating, but nothing to write home about.
Thai Basil Mojito and pear martini were great, def the highlight of the meal along with solid atmosphere and decor. I happened to be meeting a friend at WTC area so that's why we picked this place. Pretty posh part of tribeca, but it gets dead at night so that's my only hang up with the area, can be really hit or miss on non Saturday nights. -
Review from Priyanka P.
New York, NY
1/8/2012
It was a cold day and i was craving for some warm soup. Went here with a team mate . I had the coconut shrimp soup and the portion was really big. The ambience was trendy. This place is big and has a lot of seating. It was pretty packed and seemed to be a popular place. Definitely worth a try !
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Review from Brian Jin M.
Manhattan, NY
I had dinner with my cousins here last night and all I can remember was that their Sesame Beef (I believe it was $23) pure deliciousness and a new type of flavor I've never had before. The Shrimp Fried Rice and Sweet sausage rice was pretty good too (each $10-11) and portions were pretty generous. Oh yeah, I also had their herbal mint lime tea which was refreshing too. Overall, attentive staff and pretty romantic, a bit upscale atmosphere but prices are decent considering you're in TriBeca
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Review from Kimberly S.
Cleveland, OH
7/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
Overall - disappointed! Their cabbage salad was so boring - and this is normally my favorite dish across the board at Vietnamese restaurants! The flavors weren't interesting, and the cilantro took over.
Upsetting... -
Review from Celia Z.
Cambridge, MA
8/15/2011
All of the many places I tried in New York, Viet Café is probably one of my favorites. Because I had just gotten an internship offer that day, I decided to celebrate with a more expensive lunch, at my desk as usual, of course. So I ordered off of Seamless Web, and made specific note that I will be picking up and to call me when the food was ready.
Perhaps, that is the only part I was dissatisfied with. After an hour (I was busy anyway, so I actually somewhat forgot about the order), I had not yet received a call, so finally decided to call them. Turns out that my order had been ready half an hour ago; they simply neglected to call me.
I ordered the steamed shrimp crepe (with mint, pickled carrots, sliced cucumbers, and lime-garlic sauce). It was delectable--a perfect way to celebrate. When I first ordered, I thought the shrimp and veggies would actually be wrapped inside, somewhat like an egg roll, but it turns out that the dish was actually in a bowl with the rice crepe on one side and the veggies and shrimp on the other. But that made the dish taste even better, as I could choose the poportions of carbs and sides that I wanted to stuff in my mouth with each bite.
I found the carrots to be perfectly seasoned with just the right about of lime, and the sliced cucumbers were fresh and crispy. There was some kind of chewy texture to the noodles: they were layered and cut up in little squares, so each bite was fun. So it was a mix between the chewiness of pasta and the Asian-ness of rice noodles. Add to that the right amount of sourness and a tinge of garlic. I loved it. Even if they didn't call me, I still give it a five. -
Review from Emily R.
Washington, DC
11/17/2011
Went here last weekend as well on a Saturday night. Not too crowded and a nice atmosphere. Cute date spot. I just ate appetizers which were good but I think the highlight was the Iced Vietnamese Coffee...
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Review from Shuo L.
TriBeCa, Manhattan, NY
5/10/2011
Like here. They have the best green tea crepe cake I've ever had in New York City! I tried this dessert in many other places including Ippudo and Takahachi, but the crepe cake here is the best. They also have the coconut flavor crepe cake too, which my friend prefers. It's the must-try dessert in V-Cafe.
The noodle soup is pretty good. I also like the lotus salad here. Actually, their salads are all good... but it seems they serve less and less portion comparing with they used to do @@ (maybe due to inflation :$)
Overall, it's a nice place. Pricier than normal pho shops... but in TriBeCa, what can you expect? It's already one of the least expensive restaurants on Greenwich Street!Listed in: Impressive Sweetness
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Review from L W.
New York, NY
6/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
The place is cute, and it would have gotten a much higher rating if not for the horrid experience.
Food was good, but service was terrible.
Went on a Thursday for lunch at 1pm. The place was packed, so good sign. Takes us 5 minutes to be seated. All good so far. We sit down, order our food, and then start waiting. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes. I finally have enough, and ask the waitress. She said she would check.
She comes back and says they are making the food. Clearly they forgot about us, and not a word of apology. Just the food is coming out.
While we are sitting there, a bus boy drops a tray of glasses, so glass is everywhere.
And 5 minutes after we get our food (which was 60 minutes after we sat down), they come by and ask if we were finished. If I had to wait an hour for my food, the least you can do it wait a few more minutes before trying to kick me out.
Ridiculous! -
Review from Tiffany Y.
New York, NY
10/23/2010
I was in the mood for Vietnamese one day at work and Viet Cafe was the only option available at the time through seamless. I ordered their Beef Pho and shrimp summer rolls. The Pho really hit the spot and tasted how you would expect it to. I wasn't blown away by it, but it was good. I expected the summer rolls to be the same as the traditional shrimp spring rolls, but these turned out to be even better! The summer rolls are wrapped in lettuce and cucumber and they are amazing. Since then, I've been back to order several times, branching out to their chicken noodle dish, of which I've also become a fan.
The only reason I'm docking off a star is because their prices are pretty steep for Vietnamese staple dishes. Two shrimp summer rolls are $9, the Pho is $13, and the chicken noodle bowl is $11. Pho is usually $6 from what I'm used to, but if you're really craving Vietnamese like I was, you'll spend the extra dollars.Listed in: "Within a 1 Mile Radius"
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Review from Erica L.
1/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
I came here for a celebratory weekday lunch with co-workers and had a great time. I had the noodle bowl with pork and it was very tasty and a generous portion for just $11. I was disappointed in my lime-lemonade - I had ordered the ginger flavor but I think the waiter didn't hear me and just brought a regular one. It really just tasted like water with lemon slices in it, and it cost $4. Oh well.
The spring rolls were also quite good - nice to share at the start of the meal.
Make sure you put the hot sauce on any meat dishes you get! It's very delicious. -
Review from Tom C.
Manhattan, NY
3/22/2011
I stopped in for a chili tofu dish (19$). It was fresh and very good. Light yet flavorful. The place is nice, but not romantic or anything (but it's a real restaurant).
Viet Cafe charges real restaurant prices (18-25 for an entree). I mean it's not East Village cheap. However, it was really quite good.
I'll probably eat here often in the summer.
I think I prefer Vietnamese food to Thai food. -
Review from Elsa C.
Brooklyn, NY
4/5/2011 1 photo
If you are rich and don't care how much/little food you get for your money, this is the place for you.
I ordered from this place for lunch. Usually the Vietnamese summer rolls from most Vietnamese places are quite big, so I figured I'd just have that for lunch. Also the price of $8.50 seemed to me that it would be a good-sized appetizer. But I was wrong! When I got my food I almost thought it was an empty container! Two tiny rolls lay dead flat in my container! I am never ordering lunch from here again!
I have a picture to prove it, too! -
Review from Tim S.
New York, NY
7/12/2010
I live in the area and so naturally came here one day when I was in the mood for pho and didn't want to walk through chinatown to get it. The decor is nice, wide open space, clean surroundings, this isn't your normal pho shop. Of course, the prices reflect this and, as other have pointed out, while not insanely expensive, certainly aren't cheap (at least as far as a few items are concerned). This also isn't your traditional Vietnamese place, while they have a few staples (pho, crispy spring rolls, porkchops on rice, crispy spring roll noodle bowl) they certainly have a fair share of "reimagined" Vietnamese food. With that introduction, here's what you need to know.
The bad:
1) As others have pointed out - pillow dumplings are a ripoff - $8 for 4 mostly shell, little filling dumplings?
2) Same goes for the crispy spring rolls, I think you get 6 tiny rolls for $9 and it doesnt even come with lettuce as it's supposed to.
3) Don't come here for the pho, this was my first mistake, it's mediocre at best and not cheap compared to chinatown pho places ($12 for a medium sized bowl versus $7 for a giant bowl). They also don't give you all the trimmings (bean sprouts, jalapeno, mint leaves, etc) on the side, although they do include some in your bowl. I guess they figure the regular clientele won't know what to do with the extra stuff.
The good:
1) While there are certainly some pricier menu options, it's all about knowing what to get. Their noodle bowls are really tasty and decently priced. I recently got a $10 pork noodle bowl and it was delicious. Light, sweet traditional sauce with many chunks of pork on top of a bed of noodles that were so chewy I thought it was soba for a minute.
2) They have shrimp chips as a side ($2). This is awesome. If you have ever been to a chinese banquet, these are those little fried multi-colored chips that the put on top of the roast chicken. You're lucky if there are 5 pieces on that stupid chicken. When I was a kid I would try to steal them all, but would sadly lose, and I would wish I could just get the chips with no chicken. Now I can, at about 20 chips per order.
Now you may be asking, with so much bad, and a little good, why 4 stars? Surely the fact that they have shrimp chips can't be that awesome? Well you are wrong, they are awesome and therefore I am giving 4 stars, and my noodle bowl was tasty.
All kidding aside, I really enjoyed my last meal there and I have high hopes that I'll be able to discover more tasty items on the menu. I will be back and that is why this place gets 4 stars. -
Review from Elaine W.
9/15/2010
My friend highly recommended the green tea crepe cake so I decided to order dinner from Viet Cafe on Seamless. Picked the small lemongrass chicken entree, which was alright. Didn't exactly taste like authentic Vietnamese food, but then again, I didn't really expect it to anyway. Let's just say it wasn't worth a return visit.
The green tea crepe cake, on the other hand, was fantastic. However, it's not made in-house (I believe it's from Lady M) so it doesn't really count...
Conclusion: worth ordering from solely for the green tea crepe cake. -
Review from Renee R.
Brooklyn, NY
2/15/2011
Had a birthday celebration in their gallery space... space was great, but super disappointed in quality of food and price. Food was mediocre. Drinks and sauces were watered down...
Requested served apps and salads per person, and then ordered entrees off the menu. I only had 11 people show, they charged me for 20, said they passed apps for 20... we only had four trays come out, REALLY??!!!
Its too bad cause food in restaurant is pretty good. Beware of party prices and quality. -
Review from Jim U.
3/18/2010 1 photo
A restaurant I would never have heard of if it wasn't for Seamless Web. What is special about them? They are the only place in my delivery area that will bring me pho. I am so thankful that I can have pho brought to my door whenever the whim strikes me. Their pho is not especially great, but I find that to be pretty consistent around Manhattan. True pho heads go to Eden Center down in Virginia, but that can be a bit much for a weeknight meal on a cold night. But as far as New York standards go, I find the pho at Viet Cafe to be decent. I enjoyed the broth, and found the beef to be plentiful. I additionally added shrimp which were larger and more numerous than I was expecting. For the delivery, they even gave me a small cup of Sriracha -- very nice. Great takeout, but pricier than the Chinatown equivalent by about double. Take heed.
3.5 starsListed in: Eating Downtown with Seamless…, Vietnamese Please!
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Review from ashley S.
New York, NY
4/17/2010
Cute place, clean and simple decor. The restaurant had a pretty open layout and it was warm (which I was happy with because there is nothing worse than being cold in a restaurant) The waitress was great and got the drinks right away. The drinks were pretty stiff.
I haven't had traditional Vietnamese food before so I looked over the menu and going off suggestions decided on the steak frittes. We got the calamari and the chef special for appetizers. The special was pretty good fairly plain the calamari was very good though. My steak came out and it was good. It had a lot of flavor and spice it was over fries that were fresh and crispy. He had the duck, which was also very good. We had some coffee to finish and it was great, a little sweet for me, but very good. It is coffee over sweetened condensed milk. -
Review from geoff l.
8/11/2010
Went here for lunch with co-workers which was actually very nice. They sat us in the back room, which looks like it might double as an art gallery, at a long table under a slanted glass roof. It was quiet and sunny.
The food was decidedly hardly Vietnamese, but if you get past that it's pretty tasty. Main dishes came in two sizes: the $15 kind and the $22 kind. Sandwiches weren't cheap either at $11. I had the large spicy beef dish which pleasantly surprised me.
Viet serves a kind of cleaned up southeast Asian food that is appealing to the recreationally aventurous in order to charge Tribeca prices. Which still tastes good if you know what it is, just make sure someone else is buying. -
Review from Rebecca H.
Brooklyn, NY
3/26/2008
*ring* *ring* *ring*
Hello?
Hi, this is Rebecca, I just ordered off of http://seamlessweb.com. I just had a couple of questions for you.
Yes?
So, okay, your $15 minimum on seamlessweb, that's a bit arbitrary and capricious...don't you think? I mean I had to order two items to get this amount, and of course nothing is less than $8.00 so I ended up spending almost $20 for lunch today. That doesn't seem to be very nice of you.
Oh, huh, well...
Also, I just wanted to make sure that you knew that your "pillow" dumplings were $9.00.
Yes, we know.
Well, you know that means I just paid $2.25/dumpling, which kinda makes me sad/sick to my stomach/depressed. You know dumplings can be found for like $2.25/6, I just want to make sure you are aware.
Okay, well thanks for calling.
No, I'm not finished. I mean the dumplings are good, but seriously. I cried every time I ate one realizing how much coffee I could buy for the cost of 'a' dumpling.
Oh, and the spring roll noodle bowl, was actually really tasty. But, just wondering if the portion could *be* any smaller? I mean come on, while I'm petite, I pack quite an appetite and I think I got ten to twelve bites of food out of that. So, yeah, thanks.
Okay, well I've got to be getting back to work. I won't be ordering from you again, unless someone else pays, cuz this bitch can't afford you!
*click* -
Review from Amy Y.
New York, NY
7/14/2006 ROTD 7/17/2006
I'd almost have to categorize VietCafe as Viet-"fusion" since the food is not completely "authentic"; and I don't mean this in a bad way, but it's worth pointing out since it's being compared in a different category. The food here is light and healthy while the atmosphere and service are excellent compared to other Asian joints.
Weekday rush is during lunch hour when nearby professionals venture out on a good day; and I myself will also join the hike from WFC into Tribecca just for their Spring roll bowl*. I've also tried their soup noodles and some marinated entrees, which were all very gratifying. (!) Portions vary somewhat depending on what you order.
The Viet Lime-Lemonade was also tres excellent when I had it today. Unfortunately, can't comment on their cocktails since I haven't crossed over to working while intoxicated, but perhaps someday, someday.
* One of the most popular dishes there-- 6 half-pieces of fried spring rolls over rice noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro, peanuts tossed in a light and flavory fish sauce. -
Review from Hideki K.
12/6/2007
Overpriced Vietnamese.
I am not one who cares much about decor/ambiance or trying to check out trendy/hip/yuppie places. This would mean that dining in Tribeca is not my scene, unless the food is really good, and at Viet Cafe it is not.
I went in a large group last night (Wed) and the restaurant was very empty.
One person had the Viet Cafe interpretation of the French Provenal specialty Bouillabaisse (traditionally a delicious seafood soup). What he was served was a stewed slop for $28, not heavily loaded with seafood. One is better off trying this soup at an authentic Provenal restaurant.
I had the Chile Lime Sea Bass ($25) and was served two tiny pieces of bass in a slightly spiced sweet and sour sauce with one piece of roasted eggplant on top of a small bed of veggies. Absolutely not worth it, there was nothing special about it. I also had a lettuce wrapped duck roll appetizer ($10), with a minuscule amount of duck. I pretty much felt robbed.
Another person had the calamari appetizer ($12) and was given six pieces of squid, which was also nothing special.
The two best dishes that our group tried were the Steak Frites (though I did not taste it) and the Pork & Meatballs Noodles dipping-style ($15). The pork & meatball noodles can be had in Chinatown for a lot cheaper and it'll be a lot tastier too.
One thing that made our group laugh was the fact that deep inside our napkins (one would expect nice dinnerware), was a pair of your typical Chinese take-out disposable wooden chopsticks inside its red sleeve. This restaurant is almost blatantly rubbing it in your face that they are about to run away with your money.
Not sure why one would want to dine here (definitely falls under the fusion category, FYI: I am not a fan of fusion) over a more authentic Vietnamese restaurant, unless it is to impress a date. But with its sub par food, will it really impress? -
Review from Scott R.
7/16/2007
Stylish Tribeca restaurant that offers pleasant enough Vietnamild - I mean Vietnamese - food.
My friend and I ordered a couple appetizers and an entree but nothing really stood out.
The beef with green papaya salad consisted of five small rare strips of beef over a bed of thin papaya slices. While I would've preferred more beef, I could've lived w/ that if there was at least more heat. The papaya was nice but I've had more memorable versions of this dish.
The lemongrass chicken lettuce wraps came with two complete lettuce wraps. No DIY here. The wraps had a nice fresh mint taste to it but no other flavors - including the dipping sauce - particularly stood out.
The seafood 'pillow dumplings' proved to be the most puzzling of the dishes. The sweet/spicy dipping sauce was tasty but I'm not sure what is pillowy about fried dumpings. The dumplings felt more like Vietnamese empanadas when, come to think about it, isn't a bad thing. Might've liked this better if the description wasn't so misleading.
The sesame beef dinner served up a nice-sized portion of well-cooked beef but the sauce was quite dull. It was a brown sauce closer to Chinese than Vietnamese. Really could've used some heat/spice.
The VietCafe cocktail I had - which had a lemon/lime taste to it - was good.
All in all, I found the presentation and flavors here to be clean and simple - to a Hanoi-ing degree. Can't give more than 3 stars for a timid Vietnamese place - especially one that's not exactly cheap.... -
Review from Marisa B.
Chicago, IL
7/5/2007
Viet Cafe is a solid meal with good service. I will definitely be back to sample more of their menu, though Amy Y. is right when she mentions this is more "fusion" than pure Asian cuisine.
The pillow dumplings app is small (four pieces) but yummy -- crispy on the outside and tender in the middle, paired with a pleasantly spicy duck sauce. My entree of crispy noodles with beef was satisfying -- the beef was well done but still juicy, with a sweet taste suggesting some sort of fruit-inspired marinade. My husband's curried cod was also tasty and quite filling. Both entrees were large enough for leftovers.
The restaurant itself is lovely, with the occasional black and white photograph complementing cream-colored walls. A dark red ceiling adds some depth to the height of the room, and the mahogany furniture balances the large space well. The open kitchen is easy entertainment for the kids, though I can imagine the noise level reaching high decibels during busy hours.
Big plus for the takeout bags - their containers fit flat into a paper bag, and then everything goes in a clear plastic bag with handles. It's easy to carry and the sauces don't leak. -
Review from Lydia B.
New York, NY
6/29/2008
The Viet Café started out with such promise, it's sad to see the state it's in now. The physical setting is always impeccable, but I can't help but feel that they've spent more money polishing their chairs then they have buying their food. The prices have slowly risen, while the portions seem to shrink. I think the quality of the meal definitely depends on what time of day you go there. During peak hours, like at night or during lunch hour, they're more on their game. Any other time, and the dishes get sloppy and a bit, well, old tasting. And it's sad to see the people that come, talk to the bored bartender, and try to pretend that it's a hot spot. What's definitely more impressive, and paying the rent, is the art gallery next door owned by the restaurant. It features Vietnamese artwork, and is worth a visit.
The lime lemonade is where it's at. -
Review from Paul K.
Dallas, TX
1/28/2008
This is the most unauthentic overpriced Vietnamese I've ever had, and Vietnamese is one of my favorite cuisines. The only redeeming quality is the nice, upscale decor of the restaurant. The pho was tiny, tasteless, and barely with any of the add-ons like sprouts, etc, and the service was forgettable. There are 2 other places in Tribeca that I have yet to try but I can't imagine them being worse than this place.
Skip this place and make the trek to Pho Bang (or any other place in China town), or if you want a nicer atmosphere, try Saigon 48 near Times Square. -
Review from Alison L.
San Francisco, CA
8/20/2010
I wish they had more variety on their menu.
I ordered their lemongrass chicken from their take out menu once (which i think, correct me if i am wrong, is different than their sit down menu in their restaurant?), and I dont think it was real lemongrass chicken.. The flavor was all wrong.
And another time I ordered the chicken pho without cilantro. It came with cilantro so I had to send it back. Then it came back with only chicken, noodles, and broth. No bean sprouts? I totally could have just made it at home.
Their lettuce wraps are pretty good though. I would recommend those. -
Review from Justin P.
Old Bridge, NJ
2/4/2009
I think some of the most recent reviews of this place are overly harsh. While the food here certainly wasn't great, it wasn't horrible either. I think giving this place 1-star is overkill. With that written, onto the review.
Ambiance: The reason why I gave this restaurant 3-stars instead of 2-stars was the overall decor and atmosphere of this place. I actually liked the tables and chairs that the decorator picked, many of which were actually imported from Vietnam. I just think on a weeknight it's a really subdued, intimate and nice place to bring a girlfriend/date. When we were there, we were pleasantly surprised with the minimal noise pollution and engaging setting.
Service: Our waiter was pleasant, prompt, and professional. I have no qualms with the way he conducted himself.
Food: Now, as I wrote earlier, if my review was solely based on the food quality, I would have likely only given this place two-stars. No, I had never had Vietnamese food before my visit to Viet Cafe, but one doesn't need to have done so to adduce whether 1) the food tastes good or not and 2) whether a patron is given an appropriately-sized portion or not. While the dishes we ordered more-or-less were appetizing, the portions were quite small. I certainly wasn't famished after I ate my entree, but my appetite wasn't necessarily satiated either (which is quite rare after I order just an entree at a restaurant).
Nevertheless, since Yelp, for some odd reason, doesn't allow users to give 1/2 stars, I decided to give this place 3-stars instead of 2 because of our pleasant experience there and the overall ambiance.Listed in: My Rankings of TriBeCa Bars…
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Review from Lisa C.
New York, NY
3/20/2010
Ever since Hoi An closed, this is the only Vietnamese restaurant left in the area that is moderately priced. However, while the food isn't expensive, it certainly is overpriced! I agree with other reviewers here: $8 for 4 pieces of pillow dumpling??? The whole thing probably had 50 cents worth of ingredients.
The noodles are good, but I've had better pho (note: the restaurant formerly known as Pho Pasteur in Harvard Square). I think the problem is they put too much broth and not enough of anything else. The beef is rather tasteless, so I didn't eat half of it. What little noodle there is in the bowl though is absolutely delicious! I ordered fried rice from here before too and that was seasoned well and quite addictive. -
Review from Jando S.
2/22/2007
Perhaps I was just really hungry or in need of a real restaurant rather than homecooking or delivery, but Viet Cafe impressed me to the point where I really need to go back again. The service was outstanding with patient and quick wait staff who managed to hustle without the rude bustle.
The semi-trendy decor might suggest high prices, but it was consistent with most other Viet places which was a surprise given its location. I wouldn't however, expect super cheap prices like in most Chinatowns, but still cheaper than the severely overpriced options nearby. Above all, the food was stellar and easily the best part of the evening.
The appetizers (spring rolls, rice crepes) were incredible and the Bun Bo Hue was extra fresh that night. Definitely recommended for the Viet cuisine seekers and a true Tribeca delight. -
Review from Susannah R.
New York, NY
8/15/2006
Another good lemonade find (well, lime-lemonade). The food was pretty good. The space was very big. The service was fine. I consider a 3 to mean "No real complaints. I'd go back if someone wanted me to, but I wouldn't suggest it (and I'd probably suggest an alternative first)." That description fits this place dead on.
One exception: The lemonade. If in Tribeca, I might stop by just for the lemonade.Listed in: When Life Gives You Lemons...
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Review from Jessica M.
Norwood, NJ
11/12/2006
Not authentic but delicious nonetheless (its hard to find that anyways) a bit pricey but worth it-great area, beautiful ambiance, wooden chairs, long rectangle lamps that hang from the ceiling, huge selection on the menu, fantastic service, AND they have a gorgeous Vietnamese gallery in the back. (Make a left when you hit the bathroom doors)
Interesting drinks but didn't get a chance to try them..
Also wasn't too crowded- a nice cozy place where it isn't swarming with the hipsters. Very low key.
Loved it. -
Review from justin v.
NY
9/2/2007
I've just started working in Tribeca and coming from Midtown where you can eat anything under the sun within one block I was excited to see that Greenwhich street has a decent little restaurant row. A new co-worker brought me here and all we had is the noodle bowl or whatever it is and for $9 it is filling, good and a good way to get out of the standard deli buffet rut.
Got in there about 12:10 when it was empty and seemed that by 12:30 it was packed. -
Review from Vinay G.
Forest Hills, NY
5/20/2011
Little pricey for lunch but the food is very tasty. Try the chili shrimp, sandwiches, and soup bowls.
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Review from Arlene J.
New York, NY
12/11/2007
When my girlfriend sent me the review for this place as a tentative spot to eat at, it stated that one should not go there hungry. I wish that I had listened. We wound up ordering two meals instead of one because we were so dissatisfied with our choices. My dish had a tantalizing name (although I can't remember what it was). In actuality, however it consisted of luke warm rice noodles, pickled cucumber and around 5 slightly salty shrimp.
The service was good and the ambiance pleasant but I don't think I'd go back unless I had already eaten or if someone else was footing the bill. -
Review from camilla c.
New York, NY
7/18/2007
As if often the case when an Asian restaurant tries to go "fusion" and appeal to a more general palate, the true flavor and essence of the cuisine gets lost. And this seems to be the case for VietCafe, which is unfortunate given that there appears to be a lack of good authentic Vietnamese restaurants in the city.
I enjoyed my meal here but wasn't impressed by any of the dishes. Did anything remind me of some of the flavors and awesome meals I had during my trip to Vietnam several years ago? Umm... no, not even close. But it's all about managing expectations; thus, if you're looking for authentic flavors, this is NOT your place. If you want a decent Asian-influenced meal in a nice, open atmosphere with hardly anyone else around you (note that the place was dead on a Mon night while many of the nearby Tribeca spots were fairly crowded), then VietCafe will be just fine.
As for my meal... started with their signature cocktail: the VietCafe, which is limeade spiked with vodka, a nice refreshing drink, though a bit too sour. Then appetizers... the papaya beef salad lacked flavor, very little kick to it; the "pillow" dumplings were ironically not soft as I expected but instead, were overly deep-fried which masked the good seafood filling and the accompanying dipping sauce; and the lettuce wrap would have been bland if it weren't for the dipping sauce (did like the fact that they used bibb lettuce though since i can't stand iceberg). The roasted sesame beef entree was decent but the simple soy/ginger/sesame sauce could just have easily come from a bottle sold at a market. There were other items on the menu that sounded pretty good... but too bad, I highly doubt I'll be back here anytime soon to try those out.
