Kitchen Cô Út — Restaurant in New York

I am so disappointed to report that I had a horrible customer service experience at Kitchen Cô Út earlier this evening 2025-04-24. I’ve eaten here before, and I made a special trip to stop by and buy a $60 gift certificate for my sister’s birthday. I asked, and the man at the counter told me that they did not sell gift certificates or cards, but that I could “pay their tab” in advance. He went into the back to check on this, and came back apologetically saying that they don’t even do that anymore. I asked if they had a business card or an envelope, thinking I’d put together my own “gift certificate” for my sister, and he said that all they had was the takeout menu. I took one, and then I asked if I could take a picture of their glass dessert cooler to make the gift more enticing, and he said sure. I took the picture, and then since I had to pee, I tried the restroom door that was right there. It was locked, so I stepped back and waited, and as I waited, I pulled $60 out of my wallet to tuck into the menu to give to my sister. The person using the restroom came out, but before I could go in, a woman cut in front of me. I said, “Hey, please wait. I’ve been waiting already.” She turned to me, spread her feet and arms to block the entire doorway and said, “Restroom is for customer use only!” I explained that I was a customer, that I had been trying to buy a gift certificate, and I was just putting money into the menu since they didn’t sell them. She said, “We don’t sell gift certificates, and you did not buy any food!” At this point, because I’d been anticipating using the restroom, I really had to pee, so I said, “I really have to use the bathroom,” and I tried to go around her, but she blocked my way. “Customer use only! You can use the restroom in the park.” I said, louder now, “But can’t you see, I am a customer. Made a special trip to THIS restaurant to buy a gift certificate especially from here for my sister on her birthday,” and I showed her the gift bag. “You did not buy anything,” she replied. I asked if she was the owner. She said she was the supervisor. I asked to talk to the owner. She said that that was not possible. I asked her name. She said she was not allowed to give me her name. I gave up. I was late. I had to pee. As I exited, I passed the man who had originally helped me, and I told him, “Sir, this is absolutely horrible customer service. I will never be coming back.” And I won’t. Ever. And neither...

Absolute great place to eat at! Every time I’ve eaten here (2-3x), the food has been delicious!

I’ve tried their spring rolls (Cha Giu) as an appetizer, their beef stew (Bo Kho) with bread, and their southern specialty noodles (Hu Tieu Nam Vang).

Their spring rolls are a 4/5. While good and crispy, it lacks a bit of flavor.

Their beef stew with bread, I’ve ordered twice from here. I absolutely love this dish even though it’s so simple. The flavor of the stew is rich and is packed with lots of beef and carrots. Paired with the bread, it’s basically comfort food.

Their southern specialty noodles were interesting. The soup came on the side so you could adjust how much soup you want in your bowl of noodles and toppings (Unlike pho where the soup is already in the bowl with noodles and toppings). In the bowl, there’s a lot of flavors already and so by pouring the soup in, you do dilute the flavors of the dish. Traditional Vietnamese people do love the soup on the side to appreciate all the flavors more. But being a noodle soup girl, I do love non-dry noodles so I poured in about half the soup and that was delicious for me. To each their own!

I’ve also come here on several occasions where we were celebrating a birthday and the restaurant was more than happy to accommodate with putting the cake in the fridge and getting it ready for us when it came time for desserts and surprising the birthday person with cake. They even lit the candles for us and gave us plates and forks for the cake!

The staff here are super nice and want you to enjoy your meal here. They also answer any questions you might have about any of the dishes. Give this place a try if you’re...

Good food at reasonable prices. I would come back for sure. Didn't get the pho as I like trying other dishes before I default to pho.

Hu Tieu Nam Vang (broth on the side) - love it, taste similar to my favorite places on the west coast Com Tam Suon Bi Cha - solid, didn't stand out Banh Bot Loc - definitely get this, you dont see this a lot with Viet restaurants in NYC Goi Ga - simple, refreshing Cha Gio - very standard fried spring roll

I would come back to try out their Pho and Bun Bo Hue. I think their service could use some work, had to flag down the staff a few times for our drinks and to take away plates but I think they just opened and should get better over time

EDIT: With the weather hitting the 50's, wanted some Pho and been wanting to come back here. Once here, I went back to my old favorites: Banh Bot Loc and Hu Tieu Nam Vang. Great as usual but I was tempted to downgrade to 4 stars because of the service. I don't come to these restaurants and expect fine dining service but there are some basic things that are still not happening. Took a while to acknowledge i was there to eat, was seated at a dirty table, no menu was left , took a few minutes of me trying to flag someone down to get a menu, flagging someone down meant me standing up and raising my hand and saying 'menu please', and took a while to get my check.

I could give this a pass on opening month or if they were understaffed but they had a 6+ people going back and forth but there was no real structure. Despite this, the people were all very nice, the food was great, and the prices are unbeatable. I will still come back and hope the service stuff...