Top 10+ Most Famous Vietnamese Restaurants In New York

The Most Famous Vietnamese Restaurants In New York

When the war ended in 1975, Vietnamese immigrants began to flood into the United States, settling in cities such as New Orleans, Orlando, San Jose, and Orange County, California. It's no surprise that these cities have some of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the country.

Great Vietnamese cuisine has never been a New York City hotspot. Hoa, or ethnic Chinese-Vietnamese immigrants, ran the few restaurants that did exist, mostly in Manhattan's Chinatown. The food was adequate for a quick pho fix, but it didn't light up the palate with culinary fireworks.

Long considered a "Vietnamese food desert," New York City is now experiencing a Golden Age of Vietnamese cuisine, led by first- and second-generation chefs.

Top 10+ Most Famous Vietnamese Restaurants In New York

1. Banh Vietnamese Shop House

Websie: https://www.banhny.com/

Location: 942 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025

Banh, which is located on the Upper West Side, began as a pop-up in 2020. As word spread about a new and fantastic Vietnamese restaurant serving rich, flavorful pho on the Upper West Side, lines formed outside the restaurant. And the line was never truly finished.

Banh is now a permanent fixture and one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in New York City. And thanks be to the pho gods. Banh serves banh chung chien, a deep-fried rice cake filled with pork that is also difficult to find outside of Vietnam, in addition to pho and bun cha, a Hanoi favorite that is unfortunately not a staple at Vietnamese restaurants across the United States.

2. Van Đa (East Village)

Websie: https://www.vanda.nyc/

Location: 234 E 4th St, New York, NY 10009

The brains behind this fantastic and exciting East Village offering are restaurateurs Yen Ngo and Chef Hannah Wong. This menu is divided into street food from various regions, including Hanoi, Hue, and Saigon, each with their own distinct style. Turmeric griddle cake with wild mushrooms and coconut custard; crisped, delightfully chewy mochi balls; and tapioca dumplings steamed in banana leaves are among the standout dishes.

READ MORE: Top 7 Weirdest Things in Vietnam

3. Ba Xuyên

Location: 4222 8th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11232

Websie: Ba Xuyên Brooklyn, NY

The banh mi sandwich is possibly the best sandwich in the world. And the best banh mi sandwich in New York is likely to be found at this small, no-frills establishment in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

It's loaded with vegetables, stuffed with porky goodness, and slathered with buttery silky pâté. The bread, however, is what really seals the deal—and this is the secret to any good banh mi. Neri's Bakery in Port Chester, Westchester County, supplies them with baguettes. The address is 8th Avenue and 43rd Street.

4. Bunker

Websie: https://www.bunkernyc.com/

Location: 99 Scott Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237

This East Williamsburg restaurant contributed to the city's explosion of excellent modern Vietnamese restaurants. Jimmy Tu, an Eleven Madison Park alum, is the man behind Bunker, and he's serving up the food he grew up on, mostly dishes from and around Ho Chi Minh City, which locals still refer to as Saigon.

Begin with a crepe-like, smoke-mussel-and-bacon-stuffed banh xeo before moving on to entrees such as the luscious pork-belly-and-pâté-stuffed banh mi. The cha ca, a dill-spiked fish dish from Hanoi, is one nod to the north. (Instead of the catfish genus used in Hanoi, they use salmon.) The chicken in the pho ga is also tasty, as the poultry is smoked, adding a distinct flavor to the dish.

READ MORE: Top 10 Most Delicious Foods in Vietnam

5. Thai Son

Websie:

Location: 40-10 74th St, Queens, NY 11373

A quick glance at the specials on the walls (perhaps golden-fried squid strewn with sea salt) will have you begging for a seat in the crowded room.

There are numerous pho options, but the real star of the show is pho tai, which combines raw beef shavings cooked to tender perfection with a scalding hot, savory broth replete with herbs, sprouts, and chewy noodles.

6. Đi Ăn Đi (Greenpoint)

Websie: https://www.diandi.nyc/

Location: 68 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

The menu offers well-known favorites, daily specials, and, of course, an array of pho, which is also the star of the show. Tender sliced brisket, egg yolk, and rice noodles float in an umami-packed bone broth in this wok-seared beef pho. For a serotonin-boosting spread, combine crispy goi ca (handrolls) or meaty mackerel with sweet chili jam.

7. Em Vietnamese Bistro

Websie: https://www.emrestaurants.com/

Location: 57 Front St, Brooklyn, NY 11201

This restaurant will be the sequel to the original in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and will open in late spring 2021. However, unlike most sequels, this Dumbo eatery, located just steps from the Brooklyn Bridge, may be better than the original and is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in NYC. The Vietnamese-American couple who own the restaurant have attempted to recreate the atmosphere of a Saturday night out in Saigon.

The menu differs from the original location in that it focuses more on shellfish. Pro tip: go for dinner or weekend lunch to get the expanded menu. Then you’ll get access to the chao, a scallop-spiked rice porridge similar to the Chinese congee, as well as garlic-butter clams, mussels

8. Bolero

Websie: https://bolero.nyc/

Location: 177 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

With ease and creativity, the kitchen team straddles the line between subtle and savory. Consider making a Vietnamese rice tamale with shrimp, chilies, and pork crackling. This hidden gem stands out for its keen understanding and delectable rendition of Vietnamese cuisine, which is uncommon in these parts. Shelves of market goods entice passersby into the cool, contemporary space, which features a central open kitchen, two large dining areas, and a cozy backyard.

9. Sai Gon Dep

Websie:

Location: 719 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10016

This Murray Hill restaurant, opened in late 2018 by chef John Nguyen, who was the opening chef at Hanoi House, offers the usual array of Vietnamese staples: shaking beef, spring rolls, beef pho, and grilled pork chop with broken rice. But the main attraction here is pho ga, or chicken pho. Nguyen, who is from Saigon, makes an excellent pho ga, with the fowl almost falling apart when the chopsticks touch it.

10. Saigon Social

Websie: https://www.saigonsocialnyc.com/

Location: 172 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

This Lower East Side restaurant deviates from the usual suspects by offering a Southeast Asian-inspired menu. Begin with the fried sticky rice cakes with pork belly and/or the tender lemongrass-spiked spareribs.

Then try one of the outstanding main courses, such as the bun rieu, a Saigon tomato-and-crab soup, the legendary fried chicken sandwich, or the banh mi burger, which is topped with pâté, cilantro, and jalapeos.

11. MONSIEUR VO

Websie: https://www.monsieurvonyc.com/

Location: 104 2nd Ave, New York

This list would be incomplete if Monsieur Vo was not mentioned. Madame Vo, a popular East Village eatery, has a sister restaurant. Chef Jimmy Ly and Yen Vo, a husband-and-wife team, created both restaurants. Monsieur Vo is a chic, modern restaurant that debuted last year. Their menu focuses on street food, drinking food, and larger plates of meat and fish, not to mention an extensive drinks menu that includes a ngon (delicious) Vietnamese iced coffee.

You must try the bánh m board, BBH beef shank, and tamarind BBQ ribs at Monsieur Vo.

12. Cơm Tấm Ninh Kiều

Websie: https://www.ctnkpickup.com/

Location: 2641 Jerome Ave, Bronx, NY 10468

This Vietnamese restaurant is located in a neighborhood known for its Cambodian community, which is represented by a couple of very good grocery stores, not far from Edgar Allen Poe's cottage in Fordham Heights. Cm Tm Ninh Kiu specializes in soups, including a half-dozen pho options. The traditional beef noodle soup is delicious and simpler than most Saigon-influenced bowls; order it with beef balls, which are best removed and dipped in chile sauce.

13. Two Wheels

Websie: https://twowheels.nyc/

Location: 426 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024

The name undoubtedly refers to the tiny neon bicycle in this small and charming shop's front window. Vietnamese cuisine has been Westernized to good effect. The pho has meatballs that are more Italian-style than the compressed, pounded Southeast Asian variety, and the banh xeo has been fried to resemble a hard-shell taco while retaining its rice noodle wrapper. Don't forget about the sticky-and-spicy chicken wings.

Bottom Line

Vietnamese cuisine in New York City has evolved over the last decade or so from a series of cafes with similar menus clustered in Chinatowns across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens to a startlingly diverse collection of banh mi shops, bistros, regional specialists, quirky inexpensive cafes, and, yes, pho parlors, where the signature soup occasionally includes renditions of the original versions from Hanoi, and joined by other delicious soups like bun bo Hue.

If you live in New York and don't know which Vietnamese food to eat tonight, take a look at our list!

Above is the list voted and introduced by KnowInsiders.com. If you know and like any Vietnamese restaurants, let us know.

Top 7 Weirdest Foods in Africa You Should Try Despite its beauty, Africa, the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, is home to some truly bizarre cuisine that you probably won't want to try ...

Top 10 Most Famous Mexican Restaurants In The US Which Mexican restaurant is the most famous in the US? Which food do they offer? Check out the list below!

Top 10 Most Famous Chinese Restaurants In The US Want to try some Chinese dishes in the US? Don’t worry! We have a list of Most Famous Chinese Chain Restaurants In The US.