Vietnam Deli by The Ripple of Smiles — Restaurant in Honolulu

This was a place well worth the hassle of finding parking, but I was there at the right time and got lucky, so here is my review.

This is not your usual Vietnamese Pho restaurant. They have several unique dishes and also boast a lot of vegetarian options as well. The dish that stands out the most and is a House Special which is a stone pot spicy yum fest of flavor. You get your choice of protein, which could be pork, chicken or tofu to make it all happen. It comes out bubbly and steamy hot in a stone pot with cover and served with rice and some veggies that are lightly pickled. It is an amazing dish that is a definite must have.

They have lots of other great stuff on the menu and of course your typical pho offerings. One thing they do offer which is kind of hard to find is aa Vietnamese manapua or bao. It is totally different then any Chinese bao or local Hawaiian style manapua and something you must try if you never had it before.

Staff are all very nice and friendly. The place is clean and cozy. I like how they have the the outdoor seating set up. Even though it is next to a busy road, you really don't notice it much. The only bad thing is like I said in the beginning of this review, the parking is a real challenge. Best to plan ahead and try to go early before...

If you are into pho, this is a great spot to check out! If I were to describe how their pho tastes, I would say full of flavor, fresh ingredients (which make the pho have a smooth clean taste to it) with plenty of noodles, meat, and veggies. They also have lots of vegetarian and vegan options on their menu for those who are curious. The summer roll is a nice and safe way to start before your meal as the veggies are nice and crisp, the peanut sauce goes really well with the rolls, and is not too filling before your main dish. This place is my go to spot when I'm craving pho and have even changed some of my friends opinion on pho after trying it here.

One thing to look out for is that parking is extremely limited, so ubering might save you the headache with finding parking.

Also if ordering takeout, double check to make sure your bag of veggies are fresh. Although they leave the veggies in the fridge and are fresh, on rare occasions I've received the bag of veggies with freezer burn (bean sprouts brown and the basil leaves wilted). Also if you order summer rolls they sometimes forget to add foil or a sheet at the bottom to prevent the rice paper from sticking onto the paper container, so I suggest double checking. I would rate it 5 stars if the takeout issues...

They have plenty of options and the menu looked good. The signs were very enticing and yet when we started dining we were utterly disappointed about one after the other. The server wore heavy perfume that it lingered after she walked away, we should've left by then. The tables were so small and the plants were not properly taken cared for especially if youre sitting directly under it. Vegan coffee, whatever kind of 'milk' they put in was very chunky. Papaya salad, sweeter than norm and we had to mix it ourselves in the small plate that it was served on. The house special was a piece of boneless skinless chicken thigh served with veggies that was not fresh. I.E. the dried up cucumber on the photos. The eggplant curry lacked flavor, boiled and smothered with the curry sauce along with some dried up carrots.

I believe fresh should be taken off from the signs. Spent over $80 for 2 people. The place is a lackluster. I dont know if we just came on an off day nonetheless we will NEVER recommend this...