Quan an Tam — Restaurant in Tokyo

Been here 8 times and would go again for the noodles. They have arguably the absolute best noodles in Tokyo and better than a lot of shops in Vietnam, namely bún măng vịt (duck and bamboo shoots rice noodles) bún riêu cua (crab cake noodle), bún bò Huế (Huế beef noodle), all very rich with lots of delicious toppings and herbs, reasonably seasoned, and phở (the Southern style, the broth is appropriately light on fat and yet extremely flavorful, warm on first taste). Cơm tấm (rice with spare ribs, signature of southern cuisine) was also great, texture and flavor-wise, and has all the components of the dish, which you wouldn’t find anywhere else in Japan. I wouldn’t recommend the side dishes however - most items are served typically in daily home meals or at a drinking bar for Vietnamese but not really representative nor especially tasty, except for probably the “salad” - nộm, or bánh xèo (Vietnamese crispy pancakes).

If you have a Viet friend, go with them for sure because there’s a “secret” menu for Vietnamese lol.

The location might be tricky for first-timers as it is on the second floor of the indoor shopping street. The space is small hence the tables really close to each other. There is a time limit due to its popularity (45min for lunch and 90 for dinner), which might be less than ideal to gobble down the huge portion and relax after the food coma. And be there early or reserve beforehand because there’s always a line.

People might have differing perceptions of the service. As a Vietnamese born and raised, I find it normal and at home. The staff and the Japanese owner/manager are very casual and slightly hot-tempered. They are nice but don’t have the typical omotenashi attitude as the normal Japanese servers would. I guess the only thing they care about is serving food. No “customers are kings” but more “take it or leave it” approach, which I personally didn’t mind for the noodles were sublime and they at least reciprocated the manners I gave. You come, eat and leave.

Also if you are uncomfortable with dogs, definitely not the place to be. They’re very well behaved and not always...

The Vietnamese staff played the customers for fools and advised them not to come here.

Mandatory drink orders. First, when ordering, did not tell us at the beginning that mandatory drinks can be ordered, we say that the store can be understood, but his price is particularly black, 400 jump. It's just a very ordinary drink, and it's not like they have a very good environment. My partner and I have a mango juice of 600 and a coconut water of 470. It's full of ice. 😠

Expensive price, poor service attitude. More expensive than the ambient Southeast Asian food I ate in Shibuya, no value for money at all. Want to find a shop order can not see people, but also chat with others at the side 🐂🍺 attitude is very casual

Defrauding customers. Check out after taking the receipt found that the menu of 470 drinks into 600, find back and ask to change the price, do not apologize and do not give money. Back to see our attitude is very hard, do not want to make the scene embarrassing very impatient said do not make things big, 😅 clearly you want to make money is really seriously disgusted today... Really spend money to be angry 😡 the receipt is also afraid of us looking for trouble, to take away.

And as a restaurant, how can you...

3.7 stars

They have voluminous lunch sets and a nice variety of things to order from. Most sets are just around 1200yen. The service isn't terribly friendly but it's not bad either.

It's a little crowded because it's popular. There's a 90 minute time limit. The tables are spaced closely together so the ambiance is just 'okay' I guess.

The bun bo hue tasted really similar to what I had in Vietnam, so authentic, I think. Nice thick and round rice noodles as it should be! It had many or inner organ meats and maybe tripe so keep that in mind. When I ordered it, the staff warned me that it's usually not a dish Japanese people order because it's got a distinct taste.

The chicken wing included in the set wasn't bad. Do note that it's on the second floor of a strip shopping mall. It's easy to miss if you don't notice that. You have to climb the stairs in the shopping mall to get...