DaNang kitchen — Restaurant in Lake View Township

What a great experience. We were craving Vietnamese & took a chance based on my Apple Maps search. Wow. Danang exceeded our expectations not only w/ the multiple yummy dishes we ordered w/ our friends, but also w/ the A+ personal attention & care to our experience. The papaya salad was among best I've had. My spicy beef pho amazing. We were all fighting over The signature noodle dish w/ quail eggs. This family owned husband wife team opened at the beginning of the pandemic. No easy task. We arrived on a quiet night - so we kind of got them to ourselves. Owners Sydney, (originally from Saigon) and Sam ( originally from DaNang) we're so kind and attentive. When we chatted up Sam I was immediately impressed by his warmth & appreciated how he introduced us to his family including their adorable daughter & older sister. We were wowed w/ a grande finale trio of Sydney's Vietnamese coffees. Iced, hot and the hanoi style egg coffee - all were delicious but the egg coffee blew us all away. We all agreed this was why we live Chcgo and will def be back to try the tumeric chicken, grilled pork etc. And w/ that adorable colorful patio out front on Argyle, it might just become my new morning coffee spot! Go enjoy this perfect Chcgo gem of authentic Vietnamese flavors. You'll be...

Sure the food is wonderful--more on that later--but what brought us back to Danang Kitchen is the warm hospitality of the owners. DK is a family affair: Mom's (Sydney) out front with daughter Isabella and son Phillip while Dad's (Sam) in the kitchen whipping up amazing food. Proprietress Sydney's mother and grandmother were street food cooks in southern Vietnam where street food is an art form. Having spent time in Ho Chi Minh City, Hội An and Hanoi, I can attest to the authenticity of the food.

The food--marvelous! Shrimp summer rolls, shrimp and pork fried egg rolls, the DaNang signature noodle dish and vegan pho were scrumptious! The highlight--hands down--was Com Tam Suon Cha, Saigon-style pork steak served with a sunny side egg, steamed rice, cucumber, house pickles and lime chilli fish sauce. WOW!

DK is also attentive to Covid protocols--thank you!

July 1, 2021 update: Sydney whipped up a couple of off-the-menu dishes that were out of this world! Perfectly cooked quail on a bed of papaya salad, a fish stew with passion fruit and a hotpot of goby fish (cá kèo), a street food classic. Good golly, we...

I love this place.

Everything I’ve tried is delicious and the Chef is so kind and funny. The food is traditional and is artfully crafted to look stunning and be tasty.

Some folks may complain about a wait time but honestly there is so much love that is poured into the food that it tastes amazing. Plus, everything is made to order so I appreciate thought and care is taken so that the food is perfect and just the way I like it.

Only critique is the bathroom is through the kitchen but that’s not uncommon in some of the best Asian food places I’ve tried. Plus it means you get to meet the cook and know that they don’t mind you knowing the secrets of the kitchen. Just don’t forget to wash your hands after you use the bathroom because your cook will know if you don’t lol.

The other nice thing about this place is that you get high quality ingredients for the best taste and at a great price. So don’t let that bathroom thing throw you off.

Another good thing to know… They serve Mi Quang soup a very traditional Northern Vietnamese dish that you can’t really find anywhere in Chicago. It’s incredible and an...