Vietnam Restaurant
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
30 Reviews for Vietnam Restaurant
I forgot how good the food is here.
We usually go to Vietnam Palace across the street because of it has a wider range of vegetarian menu items. But today I shook things up and had lunch at Vietnam. Veggie spring roll vermicelli and a Vietnamese iced coffee is a delicious lunch. Not healthy, but thoroughly and completely delicious.
The decor is beautiful too.
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I'm Vietnamese and when I go to these places, I'm hard to please, however, this restaurant have yet to disappoint me.
When living in Philadelphia for six years, I went here almost four times a month and each time that I come here for dinner I always order the BBQ platter. If it's just for two, this platter is more than enough. The dish is a "make it yourself summer roll" filled with spring rolls, chicken stripes, mixed veggies, rice noodles, and meat stuff grape leaves to die for. If you're unsure as to how you would make this mouth watering masterpiece, just ask and they will show you the way. You mix and match the ingredients provided and once wrapped, you dip and eat. I usually dip mine in their lemon/pepper fish sauce, but others like to dip theirs in the peanut sauce provided.
Their other dishes are good too, I love their clay pot cat fish, it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Their other noodle soup dishes, like the bun bo hue, are delightful and is great during the winter.
Upon looking at the prices you might feel that it is over priced, and I do agree, however, for the environment and the quality of food, I feel that it is all worth it (this is the only reason why I'm giving it a 4 star). Their service is prompt, but they do get extremely busy, so if you don't want to wait, call ahead!
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BBQ platter. that's all you need to know. it's somewhat of a misnomer, so you might not know if you haven't had someone else force you to try it... but the BBQ platter includes an array of meats, fried spring rolls, stuffed something-leaves (grapeleaves?) served with rice vermicelli, rice wrappers, fresh veggies and that yummy vietnamese dipping sauce. you can split one platter between 2 hungry people for an entree, or between 3 people if you get something else to supplement. i first tried a BBQ platter as a college freshman 9 years ago, and since then i've always been looking for reasons to go back to this restaurant. a trip to philly isn't complete without my BBQ platter.
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Surefire winner on most any day here. Interior has a warm and inviting feel since their updated French colonial renovation years ago-- skirts the balance between atmospheric and convivial. The diverse, clean flavors evident in the cooking are consistently well-executed: rich and vivid w/o feeling heavy-handed. Had an amazing meal of fish in a clay pot here; would recommend just about anything in a clay pot! Great Bun (vermicelli), Goi Cuon (summer rolls), Cha Gio (spring rolls) and soups. Very affordable, and way better for food and decor than rival Vietnam Palace across the street. Indelibly wedded to my love of Vietnamese food...
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They have a stocked bar for cocktails, which is not common in vietnamese restaurants (most of us are lightweights). They've been mentioned in several magazines, which is apparent at the entrance, but probably just for being the one of two vietnamese restaurants in philly with the other one being directly across the street. Other than that, the've got nice napkins...?
The service was average, and the vegetarian eggrolls were way below average. Veggie in this case means "no meat," and doesn't mean "vegetables." Go figure! It was a fried not yet golden brown roll, with vermicelli, a mushroom or two and pepper...everywhere. It was so peppery I couldn't taste much else. It was stronger than sriracha. The fish sauce was sugary, without a kick. We have a term in Vietnamese, pronounced "Zuhh-Ehhhggccck!" That's what I told my mom about it.
.
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I like Vietnam better than Vietnam Palace. The food is just better here. One time I ordered a crazy chinatown cocktail called "Virgin's Downfall" and the waiter in his horribly accented English says to me "After this-Virgin NO MORE" which I'm sure he practised forever and says it all the time, but I don't care. He's and by extension, Vietnam won.
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OK so I visit my brother in Philly maybe max 3 weekends a year, and we ALWAYS go to this restaurant. we ALWAYS get the same dishes...the bun (rice noodles )with either the mixed meats (for the boys) or grilled chicken (for me). SOOOO TASTY. I've eaten this dish countless places, in more authentic restaurants, across Vietnam, orange county in california (the mecca of vietnamese food), at home. And this by far takes the top spot (sorry mom!).
A little pricey for what you actually get but the place looks so much nicer and cleaner than your average vietnamese restaurant. The service is good. Order extra carrot/radish pickles!!
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Recommended by a co-worker, Vietnam supposedly started as a hole-in-the-wall kind of place that worked itself up. And boy, is it impressive. The food is fresh, varied and delightful. The atmosphere is really classy but not too stuffy. And yet, all the prices are reasonable.
The only problem is that I've always had to wait to get a seat but I guess it's due to it's earned popularity.
On a side note, I also enjoy Vietnam because when ever I get to mention the name, instead of just saying the name, I tend to sing the name to the tune of Van Halen's "Panama". And although Vietnam does not feature David Lee Roth flying around on a wire or a bass guitar shaped like a Jack Daniels bottle (that I know of), it is almost as great.
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2 and a half stars.
i've been going to this place since i was a child and wow how it's changed every year for the worse....
the quality of the food has fallen DRAMATICALLY. the service has varied, when i went as a child, the servers were wonderfully polite. over the years, i had some bad experiences with the wait staff there. now its just "ok".
the thing that kills me is the quality of the food. used to be the best vietnamese place i could ever imagine.. now its just EHH. last time i went, they didnt even give me basil with my pho and bun. and the bean sprouts were old as hell.
ALSO big problem here... they need to dust/clean big time... their floors and windows are FILTHY.
too bad you can't get in a time machine, cos only then would i recommend this place.
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Vietnam is a nicer alternative to the typical Chinatown place. Inside it is pretty large and easily accommodates larger tables. This place was very authentic and their menu was extensive as well. Also, our server was very knowledgeable about the menu and it's items. The menu does a good job of thoroughly explaining items that would be unfamiliar to someone not accustomed to Vietnam cuisine.
Even though it was about 80% crowded our service was VERY fast which impressed our whole table. I ordered the Tom Do Tau Xi Crawfish with Black Bean and it was a hefty serving and tasted great. They also have a nice selection of specialty drinks including some with 151 that do the job. I had the Vietnamese beer, 333, which was great.
I will be definitely be returning here in the future.
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do not confuse this with the one right across the street with the same name...? THE ONE BY THE POLICE STaTION IS THE ONE!!!
the staff that works there is fast, friendly, and helpful. I left my stupid scarf there and they had it still after two months under the front desk in a bag. Not crumpled in a pile. (thank you). I have been going there since college...any broken rice dish is excellent for children, the grape leaves are excellent...the food is fresh and the portions are huge. I have always had f ast service so you can totally fit in a lunch there...and not sit there forever in a big group waiting for food , that's so annoying right!
try a rainbow ice!
its a ping pang in your mouth.
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Real Vietnamese restaurant owned by ethnically Vietnamese people. As a result, the pho is authentic and tasty. Their other dishes are good as well. Really, this is the best Vietnamese place I've found in Philly yet.
They serve alcohol here too - unique cocktails that I haven't found anywhere else. One drink, I forgot the name of it, is so big that two people can easily get buzzed off it.
I'm pretty sure that this is owned by the same family that runs Fuwa and also the newly opening Vietnam Cafe (both in West Philly). They've never done me wrong!
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i prefer this place over vietnam palace. food is just as good. not as expensive. staff is friendly and accommodating. decor is okay also.
it is ridiculous how good this place is. despite the fact that i get the same thing EVERY SINGLE TIME I EAT THERE, it is out of this world delicious. i suggest the crispy noodles with vegetables (without mushrooms, unless you like mushrooms, in which case there's something wrong with you anyway) and the fried tofu. you'd think something as simple as fried tofu can't be THAT good, but then you'd be wrong.
i'm always pleasantly full, but not uncomfortably so when i leave. also, if you're a fancy pants like my friend pete "gatsby", you can just get gin and some ice cream.
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I have yet to find a more unstuffed but satisfied kind of full than the one I get from a delicious bowl of chicken vermacelli here. But I am still trying to find a good appetizer and dessert to accompany it. Any ideas? I'm not into the spring rolls. But the entrees are killer - just be sure to get there at an off time or you'll be relegated to the across-the-street and slightly less good Vietnam Palace.
I wish I could give Vietnam 3.5 stars. I bumped it up to 4 for two reasons - the ambience and the service. The restaurant decor is nice and clean, especially for those who are wary of other Chinatown establishments. Our waiter was brutally honest, which I appreciate, and let us know which dishes NOT to order (shouldn't everything on the menu be good?)
The spring rolls were tasty, probably not the best I've ever had though. The portion was very generous so it filled me up. It's a good thing because the pho was the smallest I've ever seen (like cereal bowl size). Perfect for a child, but not a hungy man. Next time I think I'll try a BBQ dish instead.
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the smaller, swankier, and mahogany ensconsed vietnamese restaurant on 11th, right across the street from its arch nemesis, vietnam palace. i've been going to this place for an extremely long time, long before it got its fancy multi-million dollar renovation and used to be a crappy ass dive. seriously, it was a hole.
the food is still good, fresh, and still very reasonably priced. not that i have anything against the more divey vietnamese places (i loves em) sometimes, it's nice to have a bit of ambiance. so for good vietnamese with ambiance, this is the place. plus, they have those huge and strong drinks you can share, like the flaming volcano!
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Right now, Vietnam is my very favorite restaurant in Philly. The spring rolls are nice and crunchy - perfect with vermicelli. The egg noodle soup was tasty and just the right size (just big enough that it's still hot when you get to the bottom of the bowl). Fresh food, great service, and inexpensive. Plus, the bathrooms are probably the nicest in Chinatown.
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We have a ole' time saying in Philadelphia that goes a little something like this...
"Fuck youse"
You don't like this place? You think youse better then this restaurant? Fuck youse.
It could be less crowded anyhows if all the haters split and went to NYC based Penang which sux balls.
1st and foremost, let's get this outta da way:
The spring rolls are the stuff of legends.
Now moving on...
This is not a Pho house nor a noodle house though they have both, it's a BBQ place. Try the charbroiled pork, beef, chicken or shrimps. Get broken rice combination and add spring rolls or squids or even the pork chops. It comes on the bone and as everyone is well aware meat taste better on the bone. Oh, you're squeamish about bones? Fuck youse.
And the drinks? OMG the drinks. My inner Bukowski(that's my livers pet name) screams with anticipation. It's tropical kitch paradise: Zombie with 151, Scorpians, Navy Grog, Mai Tai and the boku dinky dow of all drinks: The Flaming Volcano. The menu calls it a drink for lovers to be shared. I recommend 1 per head with a friendly race to the bottom. FYI don't drink the puddle of 151 while it's still on fire.
Other highlights here are the salt and pepper seafood, the BBQ platter app is good every once in a while, papaya salad with beef jerky, and the raw flank steak appetizer(oh, raw meat makes you even more squeamish den bones? Youse knows the answer) Skip the stir fries and hot pots.
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I vote Vietnam Restaurant for the best crispy veggie spring rolls! No other vietnamese place has the same crispy texture. They tend to be flakey rather than this sizzly, bubbly, crunchy texture. I love the cold vermicelli dishes and the bok choy is wonderful. The catfish claypot was somewhat salty, but very tasty.
Vietnam Restaurant has a very calm, quiet feel. Dark wood with minimal decorations give it a clean, sleek look. So far, it remains to be my favorite vietnamese place in Philly.
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so this place is way too pretty for a vietnamese restaurant.
i went for a friend's birthday, and there was a party of 12 of us, and they wouldn't let us make reservations. uh, what?
the food was pretty tasty. i got the crispy noodles. the seafood was fairly fresh (my tongue didn't swell from the shrimp, always a good sign...) and everyone else seemed to enjoy their food too. the barbecue platter looked tasty...and so did the crispy spring rolls.
but it helps that the mai tai was ridiculously strong, so probably anything would have tasted good.
lastly....why were the drinks way more expensive in their "bar saigon" area than on their regular menu?
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I've been going to this place since, as everyone refers to it, the hole in the wall. My parents have known this family for ages. I must agree this place is hit or miss, but the cha gio is the best in the city, or anywhere really. Rather they the usually egg roll wrapper everyone else uses, they use banh chang, which is much more difficult to roll, and produces a very crispy light texture that makes this dish very pleasant.
Also good here is their banh cuon, which is minced pork with wood's ear rolled in rice noodle, served with fresh steamed bean sprouts and herbs. On nights we're just in the mood for a traditional home cooked Vietnamese dinner. We'll order the salt baked squid served crispy and salty with fresh hot peppers, sauteed baby bok choy with garlic, and braised fish in a great caramelized sauce. All complimented with sweet jasmine rice. Washed down with a traditional spicy sour soup.
The staff is friendly and the restaurant is comfortable. Not all restaurants have 100% fool proof menu's and this one is not an exception, give it a try, and when you find what you like stick with it because I guaranteed you won't find it better anywhere else!
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I've never had a bad experience or meal at Vietnam. It gets crowded here on the weekends, but the wait doesn't seem so bad when you can spend it in their upstairs bar drinking elaborate cocktails and eating (free) shrimp chips. Their pho is a little disappointing (a little too small, a little too bland), but the gimmicky cocktails and wonton noodle soup make up for it. If you're looking for a Vietnamese restaurant that has delicious food and a pleasant atmosphere, I'd recomment Vietnam. If you're looking for a good Vietnamese meal on the cheap, go across the street to Vietnam Palace.
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The food is nice. The starters are better than the main courses, and can fill you up. My personal favorite is the meat balls with the rice paper.
The service is good. They will let you sit only once the entire group is present.
Mmm, this place is delicious. The food tastes like it should be really expensive, when it's actually very reasonably priced. The atmosphere is decent, although sometimes I felt like the tables were a little too close and you're dining with the stranger sitting next to you. We went here for Valentine's Day last year and it was a really good meal. I have to agree with the person who recommended the spring rolls. You're only getting half the experience if you don't try them!
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I've been coming to Vietnam Restaurant for years, since long before it morphed into a slick upscale eatery. Back in the day, it was just another hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurant.
To tell the truth, I kind of miss the hole in the wall place. I really miss the hole in the wall prices. But one thing that has remained constant over the years is the fried spring rolls. They are the best in the world.
Seriously, I've been all over the country and I've spent a considerable amount of time in Vietnam and I feel confident that Vietnam Restaurant's spring rolls are the best. Not only that, but the vegetarian rolls are just as good as the meat filled ones.
Outside of the spring rolls, the menu can be hit or miss. But who cares? (The writing in Playboy can a little over the top, but I'm not buying the magazine for the articles, now am I?) Just get an order of spring rolls and an order of bun with spring rolls on top and wash it down with a Tiger Beer. Then make a mental note to go running the next day.
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Decent food, but I'm not sure I'd go back. The chicken dishes my bf and I had tasted like reheated chicken. The veggie spring rolls that everyone raves about were not good--they tasted soapy. Friends we went with had veggie tofu dishes that they loved and come to Vietnam for. Perhaps this is a hit or miss kind of restaurant. Nice atmosphere and decor.
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good, cheap and fast food. we were seated pretty quickly even though it was a busy night (lunar new year) and the food came out pretty quickly as well. service is pretty minimal in that it's not the type of place where they dote on you and constantly check in to see how everything is. but this place is ideal if you're just looking for a good meal in a little amount of time and you have a skinny wallet (like me...).
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Boy that picture is misleading. That's not how this place is at all.
For those that prefer a classier (used loosely) atmosphere to Chinatown, this restaurant is crowded, cozy, and a bit more aesthetically pleasing than you'll find a few blocks south.
Still, as Jennifer rightly pointed out, the food is much blander, the portions aren't as humbling, and the price is 75% higher.
Vietnamese food is a messy-good-time. That said, unless you're such a lush where you need a cocktail widdit, I see no reason to slop up Pho here. Between what's popping on Race Street and Washington Ave., there's plenty of better places, for less money, with a more fun/authentic feel.
Disappointing is the name of my experience here at Vietnam Restaurant and Saigon Bar. Both are housed in the same building, with the restaurant occupying the first two stories and the bar lounge taking up the third.
They don't take reservations. Fine. My party of 6 to 7 all show up within a 15 minute window of each other for an early dinner on Friday night - 7:00 pm. Myself and one other person were the first to show. We were super hungry and thought that we could get spring rolls or something while we waited at the bar with our drinks. We were informed that there was NO FOOD ALLOWED at the bar (except for the disgusting shrimp chips that dry out your tongue - weak, especially since we were vegetarian).
So we wait. When everyone shows up, the bar staff indicates that because we have 7 people instead of six, we're going to have to wait at least 30 minutes. Fine.. I'm starving, but I drink up my calories and enjoy the company. 50 minutes later they tell us it'll be at least another five minutes as the party is paying. 10 minutes after that we all trooped downstairs to be seated.
When we get down to the second floor - the room is half empty. Many many tables were all empty. Seriously... wtf?
Now if all of this resulted in delicious Vietnamese food - all would have been forgiven and forgotten. Instead - the seafood my friends got were consistently over cooked... I had more grease in my vegetable chow fun noodles than noodles... and the rice noodle with spring roll was simplistic in flavor (i.e. salt, salt, and more salt). Yuk.
Why two stars despite the disappointment? They certainly didn't get any stars for the food....
First star - The decor was decent and the lounge-y ambience of the bar comfortable... their cocktail menu also contributes to this star.
Second star - They at least have it together to coordinate between the maitre'd and the bar staff upstairs so that provided you don't have to wait an hour for your table, you can get seated reasonably fast.
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