Vietnamese food in Austin

[goodfoot]

Are there any good Vietnamese places in Austin?

[Nakhash]

A very popular place is Tan My (formerly Tan Tan). Many Vietnamese eat there (imho a good sign). They have a very nice menu with lots of choices, including Hue-Style pho with pork blood and knuckles (hubby's fave). They also have the "dessert" bean drinks.

It's a busy place, nothing fancy at about it at all, but the service is fast and friendly. I think you would enjoy giving them a try.

1601 Ohlen Rd
Austin, TX 78758
[phone]

[Chefdavis]

Pho Saigon in the Chinatown Center on North Lamar has portions that are VERY generaous (a small could easily be a full entree) and loaded with meat. #40 I think has at least 2 chicken breasts (cut-8). The quality of the pho that I have sampled is easily as good as the pho I would get in Southern California in Little Saigon in Orange County. I believe that this is the address.

[Nakhash]

Mmmm...I'm going to have to try them. Thanks!

[rudeboy]

You know, i ordered Bo Bun Hue from Pho Siagon - I was very excited....maybe it was just that particular day, but I found the broth to be very underwhelming in depth and flavor. I had the pig blood and all, with the hocks, so it wasn't that it was dumbed down (I always say that my name is Trong when ordering to go). I got a LOT of cabbage, thai basil, and onions, which was nice.

I've been to restaurants that I've loved over and over, and every once in a while, they have an off day. Maybe that's what happened.

[mkwng]

Sure. What part of town? What kind of food?

I second both Tan My and Pho Saigon for pho.

In the shopping center at 183 & Ohlen, Pho Van is also a worthy choice for good food but spotty service.

In the same shopping center, you have Sunflower, which branches out from the standard pho and bun to offer great food. Further north, Le Soleil has a similar menu.

For banh mi, try Tam Deli on N. Lamar or Baguette House in Chinatown.

Down south, Hai Ky on Oltorf makes good bun, and Dong Nai on S. Lamar is very good.

[goodfoot]

Awesome, thanks! I was afraid I'd have few options when I get to Austin and am psyched to hear otherwise. Appreciate the info.

[mif]

For my 15 years in austin, Kim Phung has consistently delivered the best Pho I've ever had anywhere in the US. there's something about their pho broth that sets it apart from others and it's amazing. i can only speak for the restaurant on N. Lamar as i've never been to any other. and while it's no certifiable proof of quality or my credentials, everyone who loves pho has raved about their broth (specifically the pho tai or anything with beef) after trying it. For $5 more or less, what have you got to lose for trying?

[foodiegal71]

For Bahn Mi, I like Tam Deli or Tahn Mi on N. Lamar.
For Pho, I love Pho Van, Dong Nai, and HEA Café (Ben White and I-35 near the big Wal-Mart)
For Bo Bun Hue, I've only had it at HEA and the broth varies. It's always pretty fantastic, but it can be fuller bodied, or a little lighter depending on the day. For the record, I haven't had the pigs blood and knuckles yet, I'm not sure if they don't have that at HEA or if they dumb it down for me. I'm going to try it somewhere next time I'm craving it though.

[cornbiterD]

In my opinion, the absolute best Vietnamese in town is at Than Nhi

http://tacojournalism.blogspot.com/20...

They cook with a tremendous amount of care, and use very fresh ingredients. You must, must, must order the 1B - Pork Paste Springrolls. It may be the single most lovely thing you can get in this town.

[Jennyfer.Nguyen]

If you like noodle dishes and want to branch out from pho, I like TC Noodle House in the Austin Chinatown area for egg noodle soups (mi nuoc). They also have this awesome flat rice noodle stir-fry (Hu Tieu xao) that's really good and a lot like what I had as a kid. It has this smoky flavor from the slight "char" of the wok they fry it in. In my family, this is the indication of a good noodle stir fry.

Don't get the apps though. They're rubbish.

[mevans4aus]

My usual go to, Vietnamese, is PhoThaiSon, 4 locations, I'm hooked on their
vermicelli bowl, with grilled pork slices, and eggroll, tried the pho once, but can't
recall too much, it's been so long. The B2. Bun Thit Nudng Cha Gio, ROCKS!

http://www.phothaison.com/

[Fuel]

Than Nhi has good food, inexpensive, and they have excellent service. The owner is very nice and they do all that they can to make your dining enjoyable.

[ciaccona]

I'm from Houston and the vietnamese food there was awesome. In Austin I haven't really found any restaurant that will completely compare to the ones in Houston. But I've found a few that I like.

Pho Saigon has pretty good Pho. I find that their broth is clear and not as heavy as other places. It's very fragrant. However, I think it's because I go at very good hours. It's best to go when it's around lunch when everythign is fresh. I wouldn't try ordering pho later in the day when they have to get your broth from the bottom. I don't really recommend the rice dishes or bun bo hue. the bun bo hue looked okay, but my mom makes quality bun bo hue you probably rarely ever find anywhere else, so I have never really had anything as good or on par. This restaurants pho is on par with many other good pho restaurant i've been to, if not better. My only problem with their pho is the gan or the tendon pieces. I've had them better elsewhere I don't like how their just cubed. i still need to find something better. I've tried pho danh and it wasn't as good.

For banh mi (vietnamese sandwhich) i prefer lily's sandwhich over the new baguette house. for some reason their cilantro taste funny. But actually lily's sandwhich is just okay as well for the banh mi. i haven't tried anything else.

i've had TC noodle house and very much disliked it. it wasn't really authentic tasting. flavors were kinda heavy and off. i'm not even sure if this is really vietnamese.

Hai Ky on guadalupe is OK, nothing special to me.

If I were to choose to go to dinner for vietnamese food, it would probably be sea dragon. When i first looked at the name and place, it didn't seem like it was going to be good, but actually it's quite good! the vietnamese calimari we got was a bit on the oily side, but the canh chua and the ca kho was pretty decent.

[nw_austin_gourmand]

I also had a negative experience at TC Noodle House and given the number of excellent options in the Chinatown Center I'm a little chagrined I wasted my time and money at this place. The service was spotty at best - it took 2-3 requests to multiple servers to get a glass of water and one of the main courses arrived before the soup appetizer. The service throughout the dining experience was awkward - I don't have a huge problem with that, but at the prices they are charging they should be more professional.
The overall quality of the food was pretty mediocre - the soup was lukewarm, the pan-fried dumplings were actually pretty good - reminiscent of something you'd find on a '70s PuPu platter, but not really interesting or unique. The Shaken beef was remarkably flavorless (go to Le Soleil if you want to try this classic Vietnamese gem). The crispy house LoMein was also boring with flavorless chicken pieces on an old and somewhat stale crispy noodle base with a relatively bland sauce.

I have been to First China BBQ at least 10 times over the past 2 year and the dining experience has been consistently superior - the soups, LoMein dishes, veggie stir frys, were ALL superior to TC's Noodle house AND First China BBQ is cheaper with a much more broad and interesting menu.

Please do not waste your Asian dining dollars at TC's Noodle house when First China BBQ is less than 50 yards down the sidewalk.

I have seen a couple of people mention the Teochew style cuisine at TC's Noodle House. I have to admit I don't know what Teochew is all about, but I only saw it mentioned 4-5 times on the menu - my dumplings were supposedly Teochew and they tasted like something out of the HEB frozen section.

Baguette House is awesome for Bahn Mi (Lily's is also good, but I like BH better)
Pho Saigon is a great Noodle place, both the Pho and Vermicelli bowls have been really pleasant experiences.

I am looking forward to trying Fortune

[Homero]

ciaccona, I would love to hear what you think of Sunflower, and Tan My (formerly Tan Tan.) Sunflower has quite a large dinner menu, including my favorites, Goi Tom Thit, and Spicy Catfish Claypot (I forget the vietnamese name.) Tan My has what I think are particularly good egg noodles (mi?) although I like their pho as well.

Have you been, and what are your thoughts?

[TheSprinkler]

Mekong River... I believe it's on 6th st