Vina Vietnamese Restaurant — Restaurant in Saint Paul

One of the best local eateries. The food is authentically Vietnamese, the quality is reliably delicious, the service is friendly, and the overall value is excellent. I have returned to Vina many times over the years and tried an array of menu options (except fish, which I cannot eat) and have yet to be disappointed.

Vina is one of the few remaining small scale family restaurants in the neighborhood as more and more are replaced by franchises. If you pay careful attention inside you may spot the portrait of a family member who was formerly ARVN (South Vietnamese military). To me, that is a compelling hallmark of authenticity. No chain would have something of such intimate significance up on the wall. It is clear that Vina is run by a family whose lives are invested here.

The restaurant itself is tucked away right between the theater and the frozen yogurt place, making the location ideal. Parking can sometimes be difficult so close to a busy intersection. I usually have no issues finding space, however.

Once inside I can settle down and take my time to enjoy my meal. I believe this is because of the smaller size of the restaurant, and how peaceful things are inside. It makes it a more intimate place to eat, and the serene atmosphere helps me unwind.

I can confidently give Vina 5/5 stars. While it is not the most luxurious of places you can eat, it definitely has unbeatable value with very few equals. That your money is well spent at a restaurant which is the culmination of a family's work makes it all the...

I am a Pho enthusiast and I got super excited to check this place out as a Highland Park resident. I was super biased to really like this place knowing that it would be more expensive than the established Pho restaurants in the city like Hoa Bien, due to its central location. I was shocked by the amount of greens they brought with the food - just one slice of jalapeño ? I asked for additional lime and jalapeño and got treated as if I asked them to make me a shareholder to the restaurant which is super unusual at Vietnamese restaurants where you normally have at least the twice amount of greens to begin with. I could get one piece of extra Jalapeño with a look and no words until I checked out. The Pho portion was smaller than usual portions at other places. The meat ratio was good but there wasn't anything extraordinary. I found some nuts in my Pho which is not normal, especially for folks who have allergies to nuts. Would I recommend the is place overall? The answer depends how they could improve their service. My answer is unfortunately not a yes at the moment. I genuinely wish that my answer would be a solid yes, because the location is great and the product on paper is fantastic. Hope they will improve their service quality. Wishing them nothing but...

Staff who greeted me and my gf were very irritated for some reason and put their anger onto us by rushing/sighing... Our food took longer than expected to pickup (only about 15~ min after ordering 30min prior) and I asked for an ETA on the food, the staff member looked confused and said "I already gave you your food?" with a very smug & arrogant tone of voice, I said no we have been waiting... where she said she will go check, she then gave us our food and didn't say a word, we left after and the food was fine, ordered the orange chicken & veggie stir fry but my god what a rude way to treat people... its not our fault something is happening to you, Not risking having a sour moment of our night again with this restaurant, there are better Vietnamese options around like Quang, Grand Pad Thai, and Mango Thai...

In response to owner: Yes, the highland park restaurant,...