Viet Huong — Restaurant in Huntsville

I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Vietnamese food. To be fair, this might be close to the best option around/nearby.

Considering how busy it was, we were seated within a few minutes and the place looked nice/clean. Staff were attentive and someone always made sure our waters were filled. Also, the menu had a good variety without being ridiculously large. Unfortunately, everything else was lacking. The food was a poor impression of what the "authentic" dishes should have been.

We ordered eggrolls, spring rolls, crab rangoon (not Vietnamese, I know), grilled pork with vermicelli noodles, pork chop with rice, and a claypot with chicken. Overall, the textures were good, but the taste wasn't right. For example, the meats and fried foods were cooked well, but it didn't taste Vietnamese to me—it tasted like someone attempted to make it Vietnamese.

None of the sauces were what they should've been; nuoc cham was bland, peanut sauce was watered down hoison with peanuts sprinkled on top (not sure they added peanut butter at all), and even the rangoon sauce was like a watery sweet sauce that we couldn't quite explain, but knew it tasted off. Another thing that bothered me was the picked carrots and radish: it was obvious whoever prepared something so simple was just plain lazy, because they're supposed to be julliened enough to still crunch, but I'm pretty sure that someone used a mandolin to get them so paper thin that I could barely taste the pickled flavor.

Speaking of flavor, none of the meats tasted like salt was included. Even the eggrolls tasted like someone tossed the ingredients together, but forgot to season it. The grilled pork tasted like they marinated it in basic char siu and called it a day, which is slightly offensive. Vietnamese people don't shy away from flavor, and even though a lot of these dishes may include some fish sauce, it doesn't mean you should skip seasoning; just because something comes with a sauce, you shouldn't skimp on your basic seasonings of the entree!

I doubt a Vietnamese person cooked or prepped anything. Everything tasted like an Asian—not even Vietnamese—restaurant managed by a non‐Asian. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. The fact that I gave it an extra star for effort is purely out of an understanding that it's Huntsville, AL and clearly not Vietnemase‐run. However, they really shouldn't advertise this place as "authentic Vietnamese" and work on their flavors.

Do what you will with this review, but I grew up with a mom (a VN citizen) who only cooked authentic Vietnamese food. I've also visited my family in Cu Chi for months at a time, as well as other regions around VN. At the end of the day, I really just wanted to put this warning out there for those looking for...

We decided to binge on Viet Huong for lunch. Been meaning to try it as I know it's one of the most popular restaurants in town. Just kinda been a devotee of Viet Cuisine for so long, it's intimidating and sort of feels like a betrayal to try somewhere else, lol. But I'm determined to try everything in Huntsville, so to Viet Huong we went. :)

We ordered the following items for carryout: two clay pots (one chicken, one charbroiled pork), two egg rolls, and a Thai tea. The staff member told me our order would be ready in 10 minutes, which is way less time than it takes to even get there from my house. Wasn't expecting it so quickly! Luckily, everything was still very hot when we picked it up (they even thought to poke holes in the egg roll box so they'd stay crispy), and they made my Thai tea fresh, so it wasn't watered down. The gentleman who took my order, ran my card, and gave my food to me was one of the highlights of the experience -- incredibly professional, polite, and easy to talk to.

Our food was good and the portion sizes were ample. The charbroiled pork had a great smoky flavor and there were a ton of different goodies in the clay pots -- broccoli, mushrooms, something crunchy that I thiiiink is chopped bamboo, carrots, baby corn, and pineapple. The rice was even somewhat crispy, which I usually miss with carryout clay pots. There could have been a little more meat in my chicken version, though. The spicy sauce that's available at both Viet Huong and Viet Cuisine (not sriracha -- this sauce comes in unmarked bottles on each table and you can easily see the pepper seeds throughout) was a good bit spicier than the one at VC. It was delicious but I definitely was sweating by the end! I mixed in a lot though. :) I wish I knew the actual name of it, but you should try mixing it into your meal. Packs a fun punch.

The downside of the experience was the Thai tea. It was more bitter than I typically prefer, with a pretty intense black tea flavor. I wouldn't get that again here, but that's okay. The egg rolls were standard but quite good -- super crispy and both a little sweet and salty. The total for our lunch was I wanna say about $33.

I still think I might like VC just a bit more, but that may just be because I'm more familiar with them / nostalgic. I haven't developed a fondness for pho yet, but my friends that like it say it's better here at VH. So I guess it just depends on what you're in the mood for. All in all, I'd definitely order from Viet...

Wow, great place! I'm from GA but here for work and I'm saving this place because they are ON IT for food and service. When I first arrived around 7 pm 1/22/25, they were basically almost completely packed. They work to get you in ASAP if possible. I stood there on my own about 30 seconds before Zach saw me and motioned to follow. He got me seated with my drink order so smoothly, and I appreciate that so much! Stone was my server, and he was prompt like Zach and was very polite. I appreciate that they fulfilled my requests, despite being completely busy, without forgetting like almost every other pho place I've been to (I always ask for extra lime wedges and they never bring them anywhere else)

I ordered Thai tea with Boba: this had a delightful flavor for the tea, not terribly sweet like most I've had, and I love that I can taste my drink. My only comment that's not my favorite was the Boba. The Boba was very bland and thick, not softer with a hint of sweetness like I am used to (but this is literally the ONLY thing I didn't love)

Next, I ordered the fresh basil rolls and, oh man, those were FRESH and so so good. I could honestly stop by and order several orders for my own meal in the future, and the sauce that comes with it is a lovely peanut flavor.

I also ordered P6. Which is pho tai (rare ribeye) as a large and they gave me so much that I could not finish even though I wanted to because the flavor was very well balanced and the beef was the perfect texture! Now I have lunch for tomorrow too 😋

All in all, everything about my experience was wonderful, and I will be coming back. If y'all read these: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hope I spelled your names...