5ive Spice Tacos & Banh Mi — Restaurant in New York

The restaurant has a very spacious indoor seating area (still following social distance rules with space and dividers), with a full bar. The tables are separated and spaced out and there is also outdoor seating available if you did not feel comfortable dining inside. The ambience is very chill. The staff all wear face masks and wipe down tables after each customer.

During my first visit, there were two very nice and polite employees on duty that night that brought our food, made recommendations and checked on us. One of the girls' name was Arielle who had a very distinctive and cool hairstyle imho. I apologize but I did not get the name of the other server to give proper credit here. In addition to food, they have a signature cocktail offering. My choice of drink (not on the updated menu) was the Hard Yakult (consisting of plum soju, yakult, preserved plum and a lychee). I chose this because of the yogurt flavor that I had not had in a while. My friend got the fan favorite Strawberry Spritzer. She enjoyed it very much. Each cocktail has a unique element and flavor profile.

For our appetizers, we started with summer rolls (shrimp) and the rooster wings. The rolls came with a very tasty peanut dipping sauce and was a logical choice considering we were eating a Vietnamese restaurant. The wings had a garlic chili dressing that was not too spicy and were very crispy.

For our main entree, we shared a Lemongrass pork chop banh mi. While perusing the menu we both agreed that it was one of the more tastier sounding sandwiches. Each one comes topped with pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro and cucumber. It is a good sized sandwich that is good for sharing.

It was a lot of food even though it was two of us and we ran out of time during out visit as we wanted to order more. The other polite server made a recommendation if we visit again. She said the fish banh mi was very good and took a mental note. Again, I do not know her name to give proper credit but I was very appreciative of all the great service and delicious food for my initial visit and more importantly my friend also enjoyed her visit.

I made a second visit on my own to try other menu items that I did not get to try before. It was a busier evening at the restaurant this time. The other employee Arielle recognized me and welcomed me back. She was mostly busy with outdoor diners but that gesture was very important from a customer standpoint as I am sure she deals with hundreds of people daily. My main server that night was a very stylishly dressed woman name Mariann who was very friendly and helpful. She recommended to me Buddha beer (Chinese style beer with a bottle shaped like Buddha) and since I did not order pho previously, I opted with their 5ive Special (sliced raw angus eye round, sliced Angus brisket, boneless braised short ribs, Vietnamese beef balls). Each bowl consists of the classic soup noodle accompanied with onion, scallion, cilantro, basil, bean sprout, jalapeno and lime all in a 12 hr slow simmered savory broth. It is very apparent why this is their special dish as it is loaded with deliciousness (as described previously).

I also remembered that I needed to try the fish sandwich that was recommended to me on the first visit. The swai is beer battered, mayo dressing and an optional black pepper glaze. All I can say is you definitely have to taste it for yourself. Make sure you eat it right away to maximize the taste experience. So good. So fresh. They were fried and very crispy. While I was eating, Mariann and Arielle checked in on me. And there was a gentleman whom name I do not remember that came by as well to my table.

I was impressed by my first visit and this second visit blew me away. The pho was quite a treat and that fish sandwich was so darn good. I would highly recommend this place. There are still menu items that I want to try! All the employees here work very diligently and are very polite and courteous. That coupled with the great food will have you coming back as a...

5 star for service alone. I swear this is the friendliest staff I have ever seen in any restaurant in Manhattan, it was honestly kinda shocking, threw me off a bit, lol. They were on point for speed, water service, and clearing table and attentiveness. Felt like Michelin star restaurant service.

Food was pretty good, only few minor execution details. Keep in mind I'm Vietnamese and grew up eating Vietnamese everyday, so my bar is unreasonably high. Best items: Mango salad. I love the incorporation of both ripe and unripe mango, the sweetness balanced out the tangy and umami fish sauce dressing. Also not spicy at all, which is perfect for me. Shrimp was very fresh and sweet. Pork floss and fried onion topping was genuis, I'm doing that at home from now on. Short rib Banh Xeo Taco. Super smart idea to use Banh xeo crepe as taco shell. I was a little unsure at first, cause I love my banh xeo to have crispy lacey edges and be super thin. But their execution made perfect sense for taco and I did not miss the crispy lacey edges in this form. Really does taste and feel like a good corn tortilla. Love all the toppings, fresh, tangy, sweet, salty, and little spicey, it's like adrenaline rush for your taste buds. The short rib itself was seasoned perfectly but could use another hour or 2 of cook time. Just to make it a little easier to bite though everything together. Ube Latte: expresso served on the side. This is cafe quality. Without expresso taste like ice cream, with expresso tasted perfectly balanced, not too sweet, aka coffee ice cream. watermelon limeade. Real lime and real watermelon. good tartness. Perfect for summer.

Some dishes that were still good but probably not going to order again. Bun Bo Hue. Medium spice level. All the right flavors were there. Quality and fresh meats, noodles. inclusions, and toppings. Broth was a bit watery, just needed many more hours of cooking to get better depth of flavor from the bone, because of that came off bit flat. Makes me miss the original grandma version. Vietnamese Mojito. Taste like they are using lemongrass extract. Which for me is off putting cause it taste like how lemongrass soap smells. If you don't use lemongrass soap, then no worries, you will not have this problem. My boyfriend liked it.

Definitely will be back for more tacos and to try...

Overall: 4.1/5 (dine in)

From the moment we walked in, the aroma of pho filled my nose. We were seated immediately and were well-attended to throughout our entire meal. The place is super cute with the bathroom incorporated into the bookshelf wall. Their outdoor seating is also nicely decorated with hanging lanterns, string lights, and greenery. The only downside is their prices aren't consistent on the menu vs what they charge. (All the prices in ( ) = what we paid.)

Ube Iced Latte ($7): I was recommended the ube over the pandan so of course I went with the recommendation. This came with a shot of espresso on the side instead of poured on top for you. I was expecting this to be sweeter as they use ube ice cream but it wasn't. The drink overall was light in flavor so I probably should have gone with the Vietnamese coffee instead. They only have whole milk (no alternatives) too so if you're lactose-intolerant, I would avoid this. Also the menu says $7.5 but the receipt says $7.

Dip ($2): The menu says it's $1 but they charged us $2. The dip was needed for the short ribs banh mi. It tasted like a diluted consommé but serves the same purpose of elevating - in this case - the banh mi flavor.

Braised Short Ribs Banh Mi ($16.50) + 2 Fried Runny Eggs ($5): The eggs were a great addition. The bread was crunchy but not overly baked to the point where the crust bits might poke the roof of your mouth. They gave a good amount of short ribs too but they were lacking flavor. I also wished they cut the short rib into smaller pieces too since I got some stuck in my teeth after biting into a big chunk - not cute.

Beer Battered Fish Tacos ($14.50): This was amazing! The beer battered fish was delicious, flavorful, and crispy. The banh xeo taco was crispy but a bit dry. You need to add the fish sauce dip to bring out the Vietnamese flavor. The salsa is a bit out of place but other than that, very creative and a great combo :)

Opus 00, No 5 ($14): The menu says $13 but we got charged $14. Aside from that, this was a really great cocktail! We're surprised that this is made with a soju base. The charred oak, walnut bitters, and atomized jasmine really gave it an earthy flavor and made it taste like a very strong drink but in a good way. It also tasted very pure and filtered. Would recommend this...