ISO Vietnamese in West LA

[fatassasian]

Does anyone know of any good Vietnamese restaurants in West LA?

After watching a recent episode of No Reservations, in which Bourdain visits Vietnam, I realized that I need to give vietnamese another chance. The food looked amazing.

[sillygoosedown]

OK...this is not flame. Vietnamese food is one of the few cuisines I don't like much. I've traveled throughout Vietnam and didn't think the food I ate was that hot. Here in LA, I don't like the authentic places like Golden Deli or these other places people are recommending. Their menus tend to consist of 100 slightly different variations on fried pork.

All of that said, on the Westside, I like China Beach in Venice for what I'll call California-style Vietnamese. I also second Mr. Baguette.

[Das Ubergeek]

I can't honestly think of any fried pork other than spring rolls at a Vietnamese restaurant. Grilled pork, absolutely, but not fried.

What about pho, or seafood, or fish? I'm not terribly up on the SGV's Viet food but it seems like here in Little Saigon there are tons of options for good seafood. Gà rô ti lá chanh is a common chicken dish here—chicken roasted in lemon leaves.

[sillygoosedown]

I haven't found any good seafood at SGV's Vietnamese restaurants. Like I said, it's mostly pork. But I've been meaning to check out Little Saigon.

[bsquared2]

If you need to give Vietnamese food another chance and you are a fan of Anthony
Bourdain, do yourself a favor and get out of the 310. You won't find any authentic restaurants there. I would hate for a mediocre Pho restaurant reinforce the fact that you didn't like Vietnamese food.

Head out on the 10 on a Saturday AM (the traffic won't be too bad) and go to Nem Nuong Kanh Hoa on Valley Blvd. They have the best spring rolls in town! Or have a Banh Mi at Mr. Baguette. They have good sandwiches there. Maybe Vietnam restaurant for 7 Courses of Beef. That is a big Vietnamese treat. It would only set you back about $13 for two people and is a lot of food.

Of course, it might be hard to find the same things you see in Vietnam. I would recommend traveling there. You can eat at Com Neiu Sai Gon. Bourdain was very friendly with the owner (who passed away) and it is one of his favorite restaurants.

[Cinnamon]

I would add Pho Show to this list, on Sepulveda just south of Culver Blvd. (this is very near the 405) ... I liked the pho better there than both Le Saigon and Pho 99... far better than the latter.

[chowmominLA]

If Westminster is too far but the Westside doesn't offer enough choices, a decent compromise would be Pho 87 on Alameda on the east side of Chinatown.

[LBeater]

Go to Little Saigon in OC and try Pho Kimmy! It's the best pho in California period. IMO

[a_and_w]

Both Le Saigon and Pho 99 are good, but not great. I think the quality of the meat and vegetables is better at Le Saigon. I generally stick with the bun at both plus the occasional banh mi at Pho 99.

[wilafur]

"good vietnamese" and "west la" are mutually exclusive of each other.

le saigon should do in a pinch, but it is not going to help sway you to vietnamese food. go to the mecca aka westminster.

[noshie]

Le Saigon is the place on westside but it does not have the most extensive menu although I think their bun is very tasty (I'm more bun than pho). I like their bun cha and spring rolls, also their chicken bun is a nice change from pork. However, if you want more variety and don't want to go to Westminster, there are some Vietnamese places in the Valley that are more on the lines of Westminster. In particular, across from the 99 Ranch Market on Victory and Sepulveda, there is a mini mall that has a place that has a fish tank inside, and has really nice bun, and many other things as well. There is also a place next door to the 99 Ranch market which I acutally do not like that much although they do have bahn guon. (sp?) which I like, just not theirs.