Cafe La Vie — Restaurant in Tacoma

I was looking for a good banh mi spot in Tacoma and came across Cafe La Vie. As I entered, there was a lady that was busy prepping something in the front, but I was greeted by an elderly man who took my order. I ordered the BBQ pork banh mi and the pork meatball soup. I stood and waited about 7 minutes since there were no chairs around, but the man went up to me and offered a chair for me to sit which was nice of him. I received my order soon after and went home ready to eat my soup and banh mi.

The soup was amazing and it even came with extra bread for dipping! I was tempted to add my own noodles, but the soup with the meatballs by itself was delicious. The broth was very light and flavorful, and the pork meatballs were juicy and tender. The level of sweetness of the meatballs was a tad too much for my liking though, but everything else was very good and satisfying. The banh mi didn't "wow" me, but I enjoyed every bite and I liked how they didn't include a lot of jalepenos. I think the prices here are very affordable; both the banh mi, meatball soup, and extra bread came out to $12. I will come back for the meatball soup again and try their...

If you are looking for good authentic Vietnamese food this is the place! They open super early and you can get your Vietnamese coffee there too!!

I needed to find a place to eat before my 10 am dentist appt and called this place to make sure they were opened and the man answered the phone saying he opens “6 am to 6 pm every day.”!!!

I walked into there and there’s options for indoor or outdoor seating. Their menu seems to be limited but it’s all the food you wouldn’t normally find at allot of other Vietnamese restaurant.

I ordered the bun bo hue and chao long (no pic because I ate it all). Their bun no hue was very flavorful and had everything you would expect a real bowl of it would have. So good!

I need to go back and try other things...

A coworker of mine, unnamed to protect her identity, decided as part of some diversity and inclusion project to ask me to lunch. I said, "Listen Sarah Tanner from Fircrest, don't be taking me to no Panda Express. I want that real Asian, you know, A Z N." My coworker took me to this random spot and ordered for me by pointing at things on the menu cause, let's be real, stupid Sarah Tanner from Fircrest can't pronounce anything on the menu. She even assumed my order, which I thought was out of line, but since she be paying, whatever. I'd complain to HR after lunch anyway.

The food came and let me tell you, it was so good that I'd come back even with stupid Sarah Tanner...