Tan My Restaurant — Restaurant in Austin

We were visiting Austin for the weekend and wanted Vietnamese for lunch. Tan My had excellent reviews.

We arrived knowing that it would be more of a hole-in-the-wall from descriptions. I thought as long as the pho was delicious, it would be fine.

I was wrong! There are more components to a satisfying dining experience than just the food.

I had the #2 pho with beef that came with brisket, fatty brisket, flank, tendon and tripe. It was delicious! The broth was flavorful and the beef was thin-sliced and tender.

My husband's grilled pork plate included rice, cabbage slaw and a few slices of cucumber. It did not come with an eggroll, so he ordered one. The pork was good, but the eggroll was not crispy.

The young server was sweet and accommodating. Bu-u-u-t, the owner was another story. I should have known after reading about the customer who tipped a server directly. The owner ran after him and called him a bad person!!! The customer was just making sure the server received the tip and not the owner.

Anyway, our bill came and the three items we ordered did not add up to the total at the bottom. We asked the server and she told the owner. He came over with a calculator and had a defensive attitude. He added the three items, calculated the tax, totaled it, looked at me and said a bit belligerently, "Are you happy now??" I leaned back and gave him a "not happy" look. He repeated, "Are you happy now??" Clearly, I was not happy with his attitude and showed it. Then, he asked if I understood. I finally answered and said I did. He picked up his calculator and walked away.

My husband got in line to pay. The owner was at the cash register. My husband came up. The owner walked away. A woman, possibly his wife, started taking cash and asked my husband if everything was alright.

He told her about not totaling the bill with the tax and it causing confusion and how the owner was not very nice about it. She apologized several times. They were busy and did not put the tax on the bill. A simple explanation would have sufficed, but for the owner to come across so defensively was not warranted. Obviously, the owner should be in the kitchen and she should stay out in the front.

Still, we will not return as how one is...

This restaurant is Absolutely Amazing. The prices for everything are very cheap for the sheer amount of food they pack into their to-go containers. I found their menu online (you can order online but it wouldn't let me for some reason) and despite the fact that I was supposed to order online the lady at the counter was very sweet and allowed me to order anyways. I knew exactly what I wanted and the order process took very little time. It took about 15 minutes and they brought it to me (I was sat at the back near the front door). The establishment was clean and felt like stepping into someone else's warm and inviting home with the super adorable pictures of kids (I'm assuming the owner's kids or pictures of themselves as kids). Everyone that worked there was super kind and welcoming and you can tell they were just really happy to have customers. I found them from a friend and they have his name memorized. They had multiple people that had walked in and they knew their names and that tells me that they appreciate their regulars and make a point of committing them to memory to ensure the customer knows they are appreciated.

Overall I am extremely happy with this restaurant and will be coming back.

Edit: I do suggest that they look into recyclable or compostable to-go containers though, it would be a really amazing thing to see more restaurants doing this but I know it can be expensive. ♥️...

When I go to a Vietnamese restaurant, the primary thing I want is pho, whether I'm hungover or just hungry. My second priority is banh mi, and a distant third is rice/noodle dishes. Tan My ably delivers on the first and third, and while I'm always disappointed in places that don't do banh mi for whatever reason, its offerings are good enough to earn it a regular spot in your Vietnamese cuisine rotation.

As far as pho is concerned, Tan My more than competes with anything in the area. The broth is what makes or breaks pho, and they have a really consistently flavorful and tasty broth that makes a solid foundation for whichever specific bowl you decide to go for (I'm a flank/brisket guy). A $6 small bowl should do it for you - one of my friends once dropped the extra dollar for the extra large bowl on a whim, and I've never seen anyone more defeated by pho; it was truly immense.

In terms of their rice/vermicelli dishes are concerned, you can't go wrong with any of their fried rice options or anything with pork in it. These are usually $7-8 and are easily enough for 2 meals. Even their fried eggrolls are solid. Their staff is pretty chill and willing to do allow late orders at 5 minutes before close, which is nice of them. While their lack of banh mi prevents them from claiming hegemony over other places, their pho is still definitely...