Le Viet Cafe

No bueno. We ordered the crispy fish and BBQ pork bahn mis. We will not make that mistake again. Lu C nailed it: «Tiny dry sandwich overcooked and scant meat.» We also tried the salt and pepper shrimp and the papaya salad. Shrimp was OK. The papaya salad was the best part and the only reason it’s a 2 star review rather than a 1, but how difficult is that?!? Major disappointment.

Excellent Vietnamese spot on the upper east side. Always get the fish sandwich with extra spicy mayo to take out and had the pad thai to dine in. The place is small but really cute and the girl working the counter is really nice. Kimchi fries are a great addition to the lunch special.

I haven’t eaten inside Le Viet, but I frequently order from seamless. Their beef phở and banh mi are both delicious! Comparatively, I think both are better than the offerings from Vietnaam. Less greasy and more flavorful. Hard to find good phở and banh mi in New York, even harder to find it in the UES.

Totally great food! Wow! Just found this little hole in the wall place. Just a small dine in place, but also take away. Food is fresh, beautifully flavored and friendly service. Definitely coming back!

I’m writing this review as my taste buds are still tingling in zesty ecstacy from the extra spicy banh mi. For someone that enjoys spicy food, you know they’ve got it right when the spiciness is not just heat but also flavor. These guys nailed it! The banh mi can be had at a variety of spice levels between not at all and extra spicy so there are options to suit everyone’s palate. I had the tofu one with an extra egg and it was absolute fire! The bread was excellent as well. Washed it down with a delicious vietnamese iced coffee. The whole thing cost about $ 12 which in my opinion is a total steal. So happy I checked this place out and definitely going back!

Ok tried it now moving on.
Gave you a try hoping it was going to be good. Wish this restaurant the best of luck. But Vietnaam 88 owns the UES for phở. So do something that would make people come back otherwise you won’t last

Another new spot for good grub that has popped up within walking distance from my crib on the UES/​Yorkville part of town. Hot damn! This makes my maof and belly very happy!
Le Viet Café is a tiny resto that serves up some cheap and tasty Viet and Thai style street food. Even though it’s been open for a few months now where the old Buddha BBeeQ used to be last night was the first time checking them out. Narrow and efficient looking the space can hold 12 – 15 people at most with a few tables along the one wall. Décor is minimalist but the service is very friendly. Menu is so very affordable and the portions are just right for the price. Lunch specials during the week are also offered. I definitely need to go back now and try out some of the soups, sandwiches, fried rice dishes, and assorted appetizers.
Bahn Mi w/​chicken and Kimchi Fries for the win! The bread they use is wonderfully soft with just the right crisp on the outside. Tender chicken and pickled veggies stuffed in. Loved the small kick that the kimchi on the fries offered.
Melt in your mouth delicious Homemade Crepes. These were a nice surprise. Radish, peanuts, ground chicken with lettuce and crispy shallots — oh my! Came with four on a plate. I felt almost guilty that I did not want to share them. Almost.
Oh, and the spicy Drunken Noodles too! Very spicy but I could not stop myself from eating it. Got it with chicken. Delish!
So far me likey everything I have devoured here in this hole in the wall joint.
Dangnabbit! This place is so close to my apartment I can sleepwalk there. Or stumble over in a drunken daze. Heck, it’s not even worth it to get delivery because that would be way too lazy of me. Or would it? I’m not gonna judge. I just wanna eat!

As long as you stay away from the Spring Rolls, you will be A-​Okay.
The spring rolls are horrible.
Their vermicelli bowls, bahn mi, scallion pancakes, and pork chops over rice are all solids.
I order through Seamless from time to time too. They are timely with their food deliveries.

Loved it! We ordered Phở, veggie spring rolls and tofu fresh rolls. The phở broth was absolutely amazing! The tofu rolls were huge and flavoursome!
And the phos were packaged perfectly! The mint, bean sprouts, lime were separate to the noodles etc … Really well done — quick delivery so food was steaming hot!

I come here frequently and have never been disappointed by their offerings. I usually grab food to go, and the food takes just long enough — not so long as to show an issue on the kitchen, but not so quickly that I wonder how they made fresh food so quickly.
I usually go for the sandwiches, all of which are delicious and we’ll priced. Their rice and noodles are great — I’m a fan of the pad z ew. Their Thai ice tea is pretty nice too.
Staff is always very friendly as well, which is a nice touch.
I’ll be coming back repeatedly for the future unless something drastic changes.
If you’re dining in, groups larger than 6 or so might be tough if there are other diners. But they could accommodate 8 or more if it’s otherwise empty.

I ordered off seamless. It wouldve been one star as I had to wait over an hour and a half for my food. Granted it was a cold friday night and I’m sure they were back logged. However, they shouldnt have said they could deliver in 45mins…
When the food did arrive, the phở was average. Spring rolls were really good, so I’d recommend them.
So in summary, my review isnt really so much about the food but more abt the delivery. May be I’ll give them ago again next time… will see

Quick delivery and not worth the wait.
Tiny dry sandwich overcooked and scant meat.
They post different pricing on seamless than their website (I try to keep local restaurants in business, paying cash vs ccar alone seamless’ vig)
I order a phở and a sandwich special, iced coffee kimchi fries sauce on side (they won’t substitute cheaper rice for fries).
Get soggy fries and no iced coffee. When I call them they say iced coffee not included in lunch special, only on seamless. Meanwhile their website (attached) includes it

Really reasonable and I like their lunch Special deal! When I am hungry and don’t want to spend too much, this is the place to go! So far, I only tried Bahn Mi and they are okay… but nothing is special. I will try their Phở. It looks really good!
Sandwich:
One time, I felt something is different from before while I was eating and I noticed that they forgot to add cucumber and cilantro, haha. Also, I like Bahn Mi with Pâté and jalapeño, but Le Viet Café offers really simple Bahn Mi.
Kimchi Fries:
I am fan of shoestring, curly, waffle fries which is usually crunchy, but their fries is Crinkle-​cut fries and it is not crunchy. So, their fries is not for me, but taste is okay. I like Kimchi Fries but something is missing… maybe more sauce?
Lunch Special:
$ 10: Any Sandwich + Fries or Kimchi Fries
$ 10: Any Sandwich + Meat Ball Soup
$ 12: Any Sandwich + Fries or Kimchi Fries + Ice Coffee

Love this little gem! So far I’ve tried beef phở, fried calamari and kimchi fries– all awesome and service was excellent too! Excited to find this place near my place :)
Tip) Beef phở is really good to cure hangover ;)

Very good bahn mi at Le Viet, a relatively new addition to an over-​saturated mediocre dining scene on the UES.
The bread is excellent, fresh and slightly crispy. The fillings are very good. My favorite is the beef. The chicken is good too.
I’ve only done take out here which is prompt. This place never seems crowded, let’s hope it stays in business because it’s good food!

I hate to say it, but Le Viet Café has serious issues with timing. There’s absolutely no reason I should have to wait 30 minutes for a banh mi, when I place my order at 2pm and the rest of the restaurant is literally empty. This sort of delay has happened multiple times, so unfortunately not just a fluke. Maybe go to the farm, buy an egg, hatch a chicken, and make a sandwich from it. Might be faster, depending on the day.

I think I am liking Le Viet better than the prior restaurant. It’s more of a take out setting though they do have about a dozen or so seats. There is not so much of a décor going on but it is quite pleasant.
The menu is a mix between Viet and Thai. The bahn mi is pretty solid and at $ 7 it beats taking the subway to Chinatown. Also tried the drunken noodle $ 10 and definitely getting that again. Price is very reasonable. I sure hope it will be a neighborhood staple and here to stay.

More like 3.5 stars. Pretty good viet food at this little hole in the wall and pretty good prices too. The bahn mis are OK, but the noodle soups are decent.

This new cute restaurant should not be overlooked! It is pretty tiny, but the food is pretty delicious.
–papaya salad: I love this dish in general. Here, it was fresh and had a nice spicy kick. You should try it .
–pork belly: The belly was soft, fatty, and sautéed in a very excellent sauce. I loved the basil; it really brought out the flavors in the dish. Although the pork belly was not crispy (the way I like it), the dish was still my favorite of the night!
–beef soup: The beef balls were just okay, but the broth made up for it! The broth was super flavorful and immediately warmed my belly ^__^v

In the space that was once Buddah BBQ, new owners have opened this cute little café. The menu offers banh mi, phở, bun, wok dishes, and a nice assortment of apps… leaning toward Vietnamese street food, there are some Thai and Korean dishes as well. They serve a pretty solid banh mi, perfect crispy french bread, tender steak (protein of your choice), pickled veggies, and cilantro. topped with mayo and schirracha (and jalepenos) mmm mmm good in mah belly! The spice level was perfect for me, went with spicy and it had kick but was not too intense. The lunch special portion was generous, I could not finish it! The kimchi fries were crispy and topped with a kimchi sauce, they were good but I think they use frozen fries, not a sin but you can tell. Also had the summer rolls and they had a perfect ratio of noodles to greens and each one had 4 shrimp inside, very good. Phở beef has a clean flavorful oxtail broth, nicely done. I also want to mention they have a lot of vegetarian/​vegan options for my veg head friends :-). Best of all is the pricing, it’s cheap! WAY less expensive than Vietnaam down the block, bahn mi there costs you $ 12 and only $ 7 – 8 at this place. ;-)