Nhà Hàng Vietnam Restaurant — Restaurant in Lake View Township

First and last time ever going to this place. Don’t go here during night market days, they don’t have enough staff to keep the place running efficiently and are rude if you have any issues with your experience.

We had a pretty bad experience tonight. They sat my partner and I at a “community table” the first two people were very nice, but then they were moved to a private table for two. They promised us the same, but then said, sorry we lost the other table to a new couple. We saw 2 other couples get private tables within 3-4 minutes, while soon after two new random people were added to our large round table. This table is located in the room next to the main dining when you walk in. If they sit you here, just know that you’ll be getting a random rotation of strangers. I’m usually pretty social, but tonight we wanted to have a romantic/private night out. It was obvious the new couple was kind of uncomfortable sitting there as well since they may have had the same social intention.

We described our concerns to the family running it/managers/owners, they didn’t seem to care. So we asked for the food to go. After waiting another 20 minutes while standing, we received a very disappointing meal. To make this clear, I may sound biased from the initial experience with the table issue, but the food could have made up for that experience and made us had a better perspective on this place, but it really didn’t. We ordered a chicken curry Banh mi, the curry sauce is very likely from a can, but had good flavor. The bread, was too soft, not typical french bread and was not even cut open to fill it while we sat out on the market. The #15 was subpar, which was a shrimp rice cake dish. It was a very small portion. They served it with rice paper which requires hot water to eat them, but did not provide a cup of hot water. The older man who runs the places laughed and said, “yeah, you need hot water from home to eat that.” I told him that we lived in a different neighborhood and he said, well, “just come back another day then.”. We tried to return the uneaten and mostly unmolested food aside from opening a couple of the wrappers to see the food for a refund, of course, they refused it. Spring rolls were the only reason why the food didn’t get a 1 star. It’s hard to mess up spring rolls. $40 mostly gone down the drain at this dumpy place.

I don’t understand how they have such great reviews honestly. Don’t believe the hype, it’s not that great here, they really don’t care what you think as a customer and they definitely don’t care what I think. But I spent this time to try to warn you all. Hopefully it reaches...

4.5 stars: a solid spot for authentic, homey vietnamese food— just a short walk from the argyle red line stop! the outside decor was a little strange, but the interior was really nice and spacious. the service was also friendly throughout.

my friend and i shared a couple of plates that each tasted fresh and hit the spot on a cold, windy, and rainy chicago afternoon (** = especially recommend):

**#15: banh hoi chao tom (vietnamese woven rice cake with grilled sugar cane shrimp cake): this appetizer was definitely the highlight of the 3 plates we tried! it came with rice paper and water to create your own rice paper rolls with the shrimp cake/rice noodles/veggie fillings. not only was the presentation creative and immaculate, but it also tasted really fresh and cohesive. the crunch of the veggies paired perfectly with the soft shrimp cake and woven noodles. the shrimp cake was not really what i was expecting, but it was great nonetheless—the flavor was good and the texture soft and chewy like a fish cake.

#20: banh mi hep nuong (grilled marinated pork banh mi): obviously, i can never go to any vietnamese restaurant without ordering a banh mi. this banh mi was not the best i’ve ever had, but it was still great and hit the spot. the pork was very flavorful and marinated well, but the real highlight was the bread which was so fresh, soft, and pillowy. it smelled sweet and fragrant, and the sauce provided a perfect hint of sweetness to make this banh mi truly satisfying. i do wish they put more filling in it though.

#40: pho tai (sliced medium-rare beef noodle soup): i was less impressed by the pho, compared to everything else. the broth was really excellent—the flavors were fresh and savory— and overall, it was still satisfying. however, the beef slices were not as tender as hoped and the bean sprouts and basil also didn’t taste extremely fresh. but i appreciated the wide selection of sauces and chili oils they had as options to further flavor the pho!

overall, the menu is incredibly expansive (though a little bit lacking on the diversity of vegetarian/vegan options), so i’ll definitely be back to try the multitudes of other dishes in store.

for the amount we ordered, prices were reasonable and it was well worth the price— we left VERY full...

Hole in the wall with very good pho, but that’s all I am giving the stars to. If the pho wasn’t good, I would vote 0 stars.

First of all, they wanted to seat us at an 8 seat table with another group that was already there even though there were several tables open. Then, they caught on that we were seated awkwardly so moved us to our own table.

After we ordered food, we went to the bathroom to wash our hands which took less than 2 minutes. When returned to the table, we saw that they had cleaned up our table and took all of our water away.They then realized that we had already been seated there and waiting so the waiter came back and gave us new cups of waters. 🙄

For the food, we got their combo pho (Pho Vietnam). The broth is beefy and slightly sweet. 5/5 for flavor. They are stingy with the amount of meat though. Plus, you only get a half of 1 meatball. 😳 The tendon also tasted pre-frozen because when biting in, it did not have the gelatinous texture. It had a “frozen for too long” texture.

Additionally, we ordered their chicken wings for $10 and you only get 4 wings and they’re not even full wings. We’re talking two chicken wings cut in half. I’ve never seen such a cheap establishment! I get times are hard but man, there were four of us and that’s only 1 wing per person. When the waiter returned, I asked if the wing order is supposed to only come with 4 “wings”, he stated yes. I was in shock. The flavor was too sweet and wings were overfried. The Google reviews about the small portions for the price was accurate.

I’m not sorry to say this but I am usually a great tipper and this is the first time that I’ve never tipped in my life. In sum, the pho is excellent but the service, portions and prices are quite unfair. Please take this feedback and improve. Also, please clean up the dust collecting on the condiments, walls and wipe down the place better. You will earn higher stars if you take these things into...