Joyful House Vietnamese Cuisine and Seafood — Restaurant in St. Louis

GREAT atmosphere with lots of space between tables and a simple yet classy decor. Love the light decor with the restaurant name! Bathrooms were very clean and stylish, too!

Servers were quiet, but they were helpful, friendly, and always had a smile!

You would never expect this gem to be part of the an Asian Market building (World Market).

We got the shrimp and pork spring rolls and they were super fresh. My wife does not like pork and they happily made one of the rolls without pork. Sometimes spring rolls at some restaurants hide their least fresh stuff in the rolls… but these were super crunchy and fresh!

Then we shared a Pho Tai, and it was pretty good! Our fave is still Mai Le, BUT this pho definitely had some MAJOR advantages compared to Mai Le’s pho.

First, the meat was pretty thick sliced and tasted super fresh and super tender.

Second, the noodles were MUCH better than Mai Le. Much thicker and not overcooked! Perfect!

The only thing I can “complain” about, (but not really), is the broth flavor wasn’t as deep as Mai Le. But again, it was still pretty good! A super close #2 pho that I’ve had in STL!

Then we got a seafood boil combo! It was SUPER fresh because I think they get the seafood fresh from the next door supermarket.

The snow crab, shrimp, sausage, corn, potatoes, and the sauce: SO GOOD. Cooked to perfection.

Usually places like MadCrab and others I’ve been too make the sauce WAY too salty, and overcook so the shrimp is super tough, but their Joy sauce with mild/medium spiciness was so savory and not too salty and everything was cooked just right. Next time I want to try mixing the Joy sauce with their Garlic Butter sauce.

Finally, they’re BEAUTIFUL and yummy desserts!

We got the Ube Mountain and OMG, I will come back JUST for this! Freshly made waffle cones with the smoothest I’ve ice cream… and it’s so cute!

Overall, this place is a DEFINITELY recommend in STL for Vietnamese food and dessert!

Then you can go next door and do your Asian...

There are so many positive reviews for this new Vietnamese restaurant and so many positive reviews in the local newspapers. But i was less than impressed and don't think I'll be going back. The restaurant is visible from Grand, attached to an international grocery store, with a private parking lot. You can enter through the grocery store, or from the parking lot. We ordered a lot of different dishes to really give this place a shot to impress us. With so many great reviews, maybe they just had an off night?

There is a not a hostess (understandably since the restaurant is small and not to busy), so we waited at the front door for 5 minutes until a server entered the dining room. We were one of three tables filled during our time there, so it felt very sad. There was one server that spent most of his time in the back.

When in a Vietnamese restaurant, you have to order the pho. Unfortunately I found the broth bland. Not even adding the extra herbs, lime, hoisin or Sriracha on the table could save it. We also order spring rolls. The wrapped was chewy, so it didn't feel fresh. We've had better vermicelli bowls (served with some chewy steak) and bahn mi.

The smoke alarm in the restaurant was beeping once every minute the entire time we were there, screaming for the battery to...

Had the seafood boil with shrimp, mussels, and crayfish. Took a risk on the crayfish and I'm glad I did. The crayfish was fresh and had a better taste than frozen crayfish, which was the only version of crayfish I've had. The shrimps were flavorful and crisp. The mussels were a nice size and had a good taste. The sauce I ordered was the sweet and sour tamarind. The flavor was amazing and a lot of sauce was available and helped enhance the meal. The meal came with corn, potatoes, and pieces of sausages as sides. A plastic bib and plastic gloves were provided. These were a must as the meal was messy. The service was good and drinks refills were constant. The server came by frequently to check how we were doing. Servers were wearing face masks. My friend had a seafood boil with the popular sauce which was a heavy butter and garlic medley. The sauce was really, really flavorful but could be heavy. There is also a large selection of drinks including bubble tea. The experience was amazing and satisfied the seafood boil itch. I'd highly recommend this place and I will...