Vietnam Restaurant – Center City

Kim and I were hankering for some Pho. We normally make our way down to Pho Ha in South Philly. But, we were meeting some folks in Northern Liberties and didn’t want to go all the way to South Philly, so we decided to five Vietnam a try. We had reservations but still had to wait upstairs in the bar for about 15 minutes waiting for our table. But, it gave us an excuse to try some Vietnamese beers and check out the decor. Both are excellent, BTW.

We came to Vietnam Restaurant for the Pho, but were going to try some of the appetizers as well. We started out with a shrimp and lemon grass spring roll that was excellent. The lemon grass was fresh and strong and it really brought out the taste in the shrimp and sauces.

After this we both had the pho. Now understand, I am not an adventuresome eater. Pho is pretty exotic for me. One major difference we noticed between Pho Ha and Vietnam is the lack of menu items when it came to the pho soup. Pho Ha has maybe 10 different types, while Vietnam had maybe 5. Granted, we always only get the Pho Tai, which is just plain beef, but others might want more variety.

The pho was quite tasty but not as good as what we get at the Pho Ha place in South Philly. The meat was a bit thicker and a little more tough, but overall it was good.

For desert, we both got the Ca Phe Sua Da (Vietnamese Iced Coffee) and shared a bowl of the Che Khoai Mon (Taro Pudding). The coffee was OK and the pudding started to grow on us, but it fell flat.

In general, we had a pretty good meal at Vietnam. The pho was on par with the South Philly variety (our favorite) and the decor and prices were fair. Lastly, the desert was nothing to write home about. We might be back, we might not…its only a few more minutes drive to Pho Ha.