Hương Thảo Vietnamese Cuisine — Restaurant in Albuquerque

12/29/2022 Unexpectedly, a very great Vietnamese restaurant despite its location amid a strip mall that doesn't seem very vibeful. The flavors are worth it and repeat visits are highly recommended.

Food: Very satisfying and freshly cooked/created. It'll remind you of what Vietnamese flavors should taste like and you'll come back.

Service: Greeted and seated with a smile and a directional sway of the arm to the area of choice for seating. Pick your table. Served with water beverages promptly. She came to ask to place our order after a few minutes but it was our first time. She gave us enough time (5-7 min) which is almost plenty because I like to look at everything!

Atmosphere: Spacious interior with tables and chairs (table for 2 (small table), 4 (medium table) & 6 seaters (LG table). Minimal art decor and plenty of plants and flower decor coat the entire restaurant. Plenty of lighting from outside into the glass windows and interior lights were perfectly bright. Single stalled male & female shared restroom which was clean and normal. The restaurant overall is a typical appearance but the visit should be for its flavors and textures of food.

Huong Thao Noodle Soup w/rice noodle soup $12.50‐5/5 (seafood w/ choice of rice or egg noodle) *MUST TRY ITEM Refreshing clear broth, tender and surprisingly, perfectly cooked seafood (mussel, shrimp, pork/shrimp meatball slices, scallops, squid). The best seafood bite was with the squid and scallops! The broth is perfectly sweet and salty with hints of spice. Served with a bed of beansprouts, basil, jalapeños, and lime. It was so good I forgot I had herbs!!

Pork & shrimp spring rolls $6.25 4/5 (qty 2 rolls) Fresh rice wrapper because you can smell the rice aroma, rice noodle vermicelli was soft, pork tenderloin slices and shrimp were tender. *Served with a knife to slice the roll, accompanied with Nuac Mam sauce (taste of fish sauce stronger than palm sugar but I loved it) and peanut sauce. Add housin for nutty sweetness and Sriracha for heat!

Fried Pork Eggrolls $6.95 5/5 (qty 4 rolls) *MUST TRY ITEM Crispy exterior, moist pork filling, and seasoned perfectly you can eat it on its own. *served with a bed of Romain, basil, cilantro & cucumbers; Exactly how it's supposed to be served!

Pepper Steak $11.95-3/5 (small platter enough for 3-4 people) Thinly sliced beef tenderloin with refreshing, yet still crunchy and not overcooked bell peppers, onions, and carrots. Stir-fried with a sweet sauce. Ordered the dish medium on the spice-heat level which was very mild when eaten. Tasted like regular sambal (vinegar based) with a touch of Sriracha was their spice choice for spiciness. It's an acquired taste so if you're expecting a chili oil toss for this dish it is not available at...

I visited family in Albuquerque last week and everyone wanted to get Huong Thao on Mother's Day, they raved about how good it was. I'm vegan and was happy to see there were options for me. I got the tofu spring rolls and tofu Bahn Mi, both dishes I've enjoyed at other restaurants. I typically finish my food and I have a good appetite BUT I couldn't finish my food from Huong Thao because it had absolutely NO flavor other than the basil/cilantro. Tofu is one of the easiest foods to flavor. It literally soaks up whatever flavors you put on it. I don't think this place seasoned the tofu AT ALL. I've never had such bland food from an Asian restaurant (or any restaurant for that matter.) My family enjoyed their food (all containing meat) so maybe this place just doesn't know how to season and cook tofu? It's really not very hard, there are tons of tofu recipes online. It's like they didn't even try. SO DISAPPOINTING. Everything else I ate from other restaurants during my week long visit was absolutely delicious, so I know Albuquerque knows how to do vegan food. It's too bad this place doesn't know how to. I hate throwing away food because it's wasteful, but I just couldn't finish such...

I've never tried vietnamese food before and I thought it was absolutely delightful. They make all their food fresh to order. So I found out if I want something added to or left out of a dish I could. I'm a light eater and generally expect the perfect restaurant portion to be something I'll eat mostly as a meal and later as a snack and they fit this perfectly. I think most diners would find their portions perfect. Very flavorful. I love spicy food and what I ordered was the perfect mix. (I had the spicy seafood claypot.) Staff was friendly, helpful, and courteous. Greeting was friendly and wait time was well within expected region. I will definitely return to try more vietnamese cuisine here. Thoroughly enjoyed my meal and my visit. I had initially chose them because they were closest but now I'm done with my meal and see their rating, they definitely deserve it. Come here. Enjoy a delicious casual meal. Maybe I'll see you...