Nuoc Mam — Restaurant in Antwerp

We had dinner with four at Nuoc Mam on a Saturday evening, starting at 8pm. Aperitif, starter, main course and dessert were delicious and reasonably priced.

However, at 9:30pm, in the middle of our dessert, staff began to clear the terrace. Although we were seated inside, our table was close to the open door, so this was rather bothersome. The kitchen staff began cleaning the kitchen as well, resulting in a lot of noise and a profound smell of bleach all over the restaurant. Without any explanation we were presented the bill at 9:45pm, while we were still in the middle of our dessert.

"Restaurant closes at 10pm" was the snappy comment from the waitress, when we pointed out that we even did not get the chance to order coffee or tea. Even after repeatedly telling them we did not find this lack of hospitality acceptable, their stoic reply remained the same: "restaurant closes at 10pm".

Needless to say it felt as if we were being kicked-out. Our group was hugely disappointed - having reserved at 8pm we at least expected the possibility to finish our dinner in a normal timeframe - and with a cup of coffee.

In short: okay food, zero experience....

Nuoc Mam serves the classics of Vietnamese cuisine. I recommend ordering the Pho; this is a typical noodle soup and here it is served with fresh broth, soybeans, cilantro and typical herbs with some condiments on the side. I'm very familiar with the taste of Pho and this is certainly one of the better options in Antwerp. It does however come at a slightly elevated price between € 17 and € 20. This isn't cheap for a medium size bowl and Pho mainly consists of broth, some vegetables and a cheaper cut of meat (unless you order the Pho Dac Biet with the finer cut of meat). Service was very friendly and swift. A bit overpriced for the Pho and personally I prefer soybeans and cilantro on the side so you can add to taste, while here it is already served on top. Another recommendation: order the Vietnamese Ice Coffee, served here in the traditional way...

Went here expecting more of a pho scene. But didnt have any phos because it was all beef stock (usually dont prefer beef stock ones).

At first everything seemed super expensive to us, so we decided to go with 2 starters- prawn and pork gyozas and the chicken spring roll. I have to say, these were amazing! Specially mindblown by the prawn and pork gyozas and that sauce is spicy (loved it)

For main course, we shared one crispy pork belly bun which came with rice noodles. The rice noodles itself felt without any flavour. But combined with the fish sauce they served and some sriracha and the crunchiness of the pork belly and chicken, it was so good!

Wasnt expecting to like this place, but we definitely did. Would love to be back and try the rest of the menu.

Also tried the sugarcane juice, its different than how we get it in India, but...