VN Phở — Restaurant in Hartford

Edited Update: Second Visit

After my first visit, I knew that this was my new favorite Vietnamese restaurant. After my second visit, this might just be my favorite restaurant of any kind in all of CT!

Let me also explain that I have a background in the restaurant industry and have dined at some of the best restaurants in the country. I say that not to impress you, but impress upon you that my experience is vast and deep.

VN Pho is one of the best of the best. Let me break it down: The food is incredible! In fact, the food is SO good and prepared with so much care and love that when you taste it you feel more like a family member than a guest at a restaurant.

Ambiance and decor is not what you would expect from a strip mall restaurant. Clean and elegant in design and CLEAN in actual cleanliness. The place is spotless!

Service. You are likely going to be greeted by the owner's son, Kenny who brings his high end service experience to VN Pho. Treating every guest that walks through the door as if they have just entered fine dining. Including greeting you by name if they know it! This is a family run restaurant and they make you feel like you are part of it.

This is a destination spot! I drive 35 minutes to get here and easily would drive an hour. This place is so good that there should be a line out the door everyday. Viral good!

So yeah... get in here!

Original Post: The first thing I noticed was how clean this place was! Then greeted warmly by the son of the chef/owner who invited me to choose any table.

I was instantly offered warm tea or water with my menu. The tea was delicious.

I ordered the traditional Pho, and I could not have been happier. Pho is my favorite soup in the world and I love great Pho... this is it folks. You can tell that the broth is made with care and love. Everything added was fresh and delicious. It was the perfect bowl.

The son passed along my appreciation to his dad in the kitchen. It was a lovely family place and I can't wait to try...

Bo and I recently discovered this restaurant when we made a trip to a nearby business in the same plaza. We are avid lovers of Vietnamese cuisine, especially the dish, pho. This place has a bright, cheery atmosphere and is very clean. The music they play is from a Vietnamese channel and is relaxing to have a meal with. The service is fast and the servers are very friendly. But then there is the food! Everything we had was delicious! We ordered the fried spring rolls and the fresh summer rolls as appetizers. Both were served with dipping sauces, fish sauce for the spring rolls and a peanut sauce for the fresh summer rolls. The fried rolls were not greasy at all, very crisp and tasty. Large, cooked shrimp were included in the summer rolls. Then came the pho, a delicious beef broth soup with white rice noodles and slices of rare beef and brisket that cook right in front of you in the steaming broth. There are various veggies in the broth too, all adding that unique, Vietnamese flavor that pho has. It was wonderful! Don't forget to try one of the many flavors of boba teas and smoothie drinks on the menu; for me, I loved their Thai iced tea and my friend, Bo, had a mango smoothie. I can honestly say this is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the Hartford area, and I plan to make it one of...

I come to Hartford once a month or so for work. I was really missing good Vietnamese food and was dead set on getting my usually bbh or pho. It took me 3 hours to decide and I’m so glad I found this place!

1. The service was amazing. The whole family was so kind and full of smile
2. I set on my bbh or pho. But when I saw they had bun rieu and bun dau mam tom. I HAD TO GET IT!

I know a lot of people get pho. And there’s nothing wrong with it. I love pho. But my absolute favorite soup dish is bun rieu. It’s sweet, savory and delish. You have small things of each ingredient that enhances each other so well. It’s a mixed crab patty soup with tomatoes. I’m telling you! It’s so so good. The star is the show was the bun dau mam tom!!! It’s this robust shrimp paste dipping sauce (if you don’t like shrimp paste, you can substitute it for another dipping sauce. But this dish is THE SAUCE). It’s one of the best I’ve ever had. It’s like a fun lettuce wrap but so full of flavor. Chi Lee was so socked I ordered it because not a lot of people who aren’t Viet orders it. But I couldn’t resist! I will be dreaming of this dish until we meet again. Thank you VN Pho for the delish meal and being so kind. Also the mango bubble tea...