Aobaba — Restaurant in Dublin

This was the first meal we had when we landed in Ireland. We wanted something on the lighter side versus the heavier Irish meals/pub food around. This place came up on Yelp and on Google as highly rated.

I am sad to say that I am thoroughly disappointed. The service is the typical fast joint quick service type of environment but with friendly people. The disappointing factor was on the food itself. The flavors were completely off.

The bun bo hue tasted like a basic bland bone broth that they universally used and added maybe a small dollop of what is supposed to be bun bo hue flavoring/essence. It tasted nothing like bun bo hue or smelled like it. If they offered shrimp paste, it wouldn't even have made a difference. The satay on the table didn't even save the dish.

The hu tieu reminded me of a broke college student living off of instant noodles but making 1 packet stretch to 2 bowls. It lacks so much flavor and all of the table condiments made no difference. I will say I liked the noodles but everything else was just a bowl of sadness.

Now the banh mi... The bread was super stale and my mouth was extremely tired from just eating half. I could not get past the staleness to even enjoy what was inside, which was sad because they had all the fixings. Overall this was edible.

My friend ordered the grilled pork rice plate. Side note they don't and can't do an egg with it. The meal itself looked really sad and not appetizing.

I can't even compare this place to a cafeteria quality type of meal because this was probably one of the worst meals I've had in a very long time. Granted the items were edible, but if I had a choice I would've not eaten it.. but I did pay for it and I don't like wasting food. At least the noodles were cooked correctly and I wasn't eating a bowl of mush.

Overall this place is very disappointing for the food, skip it. The people here are friendly-ish and accommodating (they let my friend practice and work on her Vietnamese when...

The food is very amazing, there is an old man serving who's very helpful and kind and gives you good advices about food as well. This place is my favourite and when I spend a long day at work I want to go there to feel happier with food.

Unfortunately there is a young woman in the staff who's very rude, and this was not the first time that happened (I came back to the restaurant multiple times in the last two months because It deserved more than a second chance for the food and this super kind old man) and honestly I am tired of how she just spreads the feeling she is bothered by the clients, also everytime I was there She answered me very bad a lot of times while I have just asked to her some questions and then when I have asked to her a glass of water she left it on a table far to mine telling me to stand up to take it while I was just sit eating my food in peace after a long working day.

I am very sad to give these 3 stars to this place but honestly If I wanna go eating somewhere for dinner I want to be treated with respect and as a client.

Also, they never close the door of the restaurant and when you try to close it they open it again.

I can understand they have to serve the tables outside as well but I am inside eating your food and it's just rude not thinking about me being cold while...

This place was relatively affordable, especially since they offer small bowls of their noodle soups. The small bowl was already quite filling. I had planned to order banh cuon too, but I was too full. That said, it was such a treat to find banh cuon and a variety of other Vietnamese dishes on the menu. Back home, Vietnamese restaurants rarely serve it; banh cuon tends to be overshadowed by goi cuon.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see bun bo hue on the menu, since most Vietnamese spots usually just focus on pho. I ordered the bun bo my favorite, and loved that they offered both beef/pork and a seafood version, great for anyone with allergies.

One downside, though: they didn’t have hoisin sauce. They did have a brown sriracha sauce (called Crying Tiger) that I initially mistook for hoisin. Good thing I read the label before mixing it into my soup and managed to scoop it out just in time.

Other notes: the place is cash-only. They have a decent restroom available for customers, as well as some outdoor seating. Interiors are basic but clean.

It was an easy walk from the James...