LeLa’s Bistro

Lela’s Bistro just did an interior renovation. The main thing I noticed that changed was the ordering counter, which looks more inviting and has a Hawaiian bamboo tiki exterior, which is a nice touch. I’ve only gotten takeout orders so I admit I didn’t really notice the dining area before, so not sure if they renovated that as well. The dining area is in the downstairs of a house, so it’s like eating at a friend’s instead of obviously being in a restaurant.
They have vegan options of almost all their dishes (and an elusive chai spice rice pudding that’s vegan I’ve been trying to catch). The counter staff is really good about getting your order correct, but if they don’t ask you if you want the tofu option fully vegan then I would recommend asking for whatever it is you order to be fully vegan so the kitchen knows just in case (no mayo on the banh mi, sub soy sauce for fish sauce, etc.).
I can never decide between the tofu banh mi and the tofu bun, so I usually get both and have the banh mi for lunch and the bun for dinner. The tofu banh mi is made vegan without the aioli mayo, but the flavor and texture are good enough for me that it doesn’t need the additional mayo, even if it was veganaise or something. The tofu is fried without being greasy, and the bread has a good texture — not too soft and not too crunchy. The side salad with the banh mi has always been really fresh lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes (no scrap produce like some restaurants toss in).
The bun is pretty amazing. It’s not a bread bun like the name implies (it’s actually pronounced «boon»), but a sort of rice noodle salad. They give you a lot of noodles, just enough fried tofu, and really fresh and crunchy produce. There’s chopped lettuce and bean sprouts that offset the chewy noodles with a great crunch. There’s crushed peanuts to sprinkle on top, and the vegan version comes with soy instead of fish sauce. The portion is deceptively humongous. I usually ate it right out of the to-​go box, but the other day I put it onto a plate and the plate was overflowing. But since it’s rice noodles and tofu and salad it’s still light despite the size. I’ve been waiting for a bun to have some wonky components even once, but it’s always been top-​shelf produce and super fresh.
They have housemade sodas that are interesting. I’ve had the raspberry-​lychee flavor, and it’s kind of like an Asian-​infused Italian soda.
My only complaint is that while they have vegan options, they are obviously a majority meat-​based eatery, which sucks.
I saw a review that claimed they had to wait 30 minutes for a takeout order. I’ve never had to wait longer than 10 minutes for a takeout order, even when they’ve been on the busy side.
I also saw a two-​star review from January 4^th, which is suspicious because they were definitely closed for renovations over the holidays and through to January 11^th, so I would take that (bogus) review with a grain of salt.

Cheap and delicious! The Phở and sandwiches are fantastic.

This review is for the one dish I had there and it was the lemongrass vermicelli noodle bowl. The meat was dry, the noodles were hard, and the sauce didn’t have any spice to it. Basically a very white washed bowl of noodles…

LeLa’s is situated in the bottom floor (a small flight of stairs to the entrance) of a Victorian house with a front porch overlooking 23^rd. Eating at LeLa’s is like having a meal at your grandmothers house, if your grandmother is a very talented Vietnamese cook with a surprising aptitude for concocting creative cocktails. The service is fast casual self-​busing: order at the counter, take a number, find a table (inside, outside, or in a rocking chair with your food perched on the porch railing).
The menu is simple — phở (Beef or Veggie & Tofu with beef broth), a selection of bahn mis, salad rolls, bun bowls, and curries. I can’t stop ordering the Lemongrass Chicken bahn mi, it’s delicious and deceiving filling, and my phở snob partner is a fan of the beef phở. The cocktails are superb and slightly discounted if you swing by during happy hour.

Dropped in while in P Town recently (10÷3÷2015).
This place is jammin!
The food was very creative… the portions were enough to leave with some to eat on your way home. The staff were tattoo wielding cuties with smiles and genuine interest in your experience there.
Try anything on the menu! These preps make the effort. If you can get away with it… Cocktail the heck out of your meal. There at breakfast? They got you covered with a coffee cocktail!
I have visited twice. I will return whenever I’m in the area… Its worth the competition to jockey for seats!

Stopped in to grab lunch with some girlfriends for a belated birthday. Parking on 23^rd is a pain, but we know that already.
Cute house setting. Order at the counter and take a number, found a table in the back with a bench.
Ordered the #1 bulgogi beef bahn mi, subbed out regular veggies for the kimchi, and added a fried egg for $ 1. Prices are reasonable considering this is in the Alphabet District, and not at Best Baguette on Powell. Sandwiches come with a tiny salad with a tasty dressing.
We all ordered sandwiches so I can’t comment on the phở, but the egg was a nice touch! There was more meat than I was expecting which was a plus. The beef was flavorful. My friend got the pork belly which she found to be way too fatty, but they gave her a whole bowl of the bulgogi beef for $ 2 to replace it.
Nice to have plum sauce and sriacha on the table to give it that extra kick! I will definitely come back.

Stopped here after a rainy Multnomah hike. House converted into small restaurant. I liked the beef phở and Vietnamese sandwich, I’d ask they don’t today it next time. The price caused me to rate it at 4 of 5.

The bread they use is good, and the vegetables on the sandwich are fresh. They don’t put any mayo on the sandwich, which is a shame because I have never had worse bbq pork in my life. It was so dry I could barely swallow it. The ¼ filled thimble of «dressing» I was given to go with my salad meant my salad was also dry, dry, dry. The vegetable soup is clear broth with frozen peas and carrots in it, and for some reason, potato.
Skip it.

Coming from San Jose, I’m picky with my Phở. We have it really good here. Now living in SF, where the Phở isn’t as good, I’m always on the hunt for something that reminds me of home.
The beef phở here is divine, when the broth is right. We come to Portland almost once a month, and always go to LeLa’s to get phở. There have been ²⁄₁₀ times that the broth seemed weak and light. The other 8 times rivaled San Jose phở, although I wish they’d cook the noodles in a salted broth. The noodles have a hard time picking up the broth flavor at this joint.
Still– best Phở I’ve had in Portland. Ambiance is great, it’s charming and quiet, which I love. It also doesn’t smell like fried vietnamese food until you get into the bathroom.
Awesome Location on 23^rd near shops and easy to get to with the streetcar.

I had the egg bahn mi! The bun is light and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Contents include perfectly cooked eggs, yummy fresh veggies (carrots, onion, cucumber, cilantro) and just enough of a sweet creamy sauce. Comes with a salad with a delicious gingery dressing! So GOOD. For $ 5 on happy hour? Easy, delicious way to fill the belly.

I love the chicken curry! Also, the meatball bahn mi with the fried egg is delicious. Phở is great for those rainy days and the girls at the front are really sweet!

I really like LeLa’s food but the service is pretty terrible. I’ve never been there for dinner so I can only speak to my lunch experience but they never pick up the phone (all 3 times I tried to call in an order) and then I call them out on it and they just pretty much shrug it off and say sorry, we’re busy. Then I go into the restaurant and put in my order then I’m there waiting a good 20 – 30 minutes. I’m sorry if you can’t bother to pick up the phone and take my order then don’t have a phone listed and also have quicker service if you are doing take out.

Top notch Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwiches at this place they also make some of the best salad rolls I have had in Portland.
I only ordered takeout so I can’t speak to the dining in experience but the food was great and priced affordable.

My husband and I recently visited the restaurant because we had a Vietnamese craving while in Portland. We each ordered a homemade raspberry lychee soda and Banh mi. They came with side salads, which I thought was a nice touch since most places force you to pay for a side with banh mi. I ordered mine with tofu and it was made very well. I also found the bread to have the right amount of crispness.
You do have to ask to add jalapeño (which I didn’t do). I appreciated the extra hoisin and sriracha on the table, because the sandwich needed a little kick.
The restaurant was inside a house and also had a front porch with rocking chairs and tables.
Overall, good Banh mi, homemade sodas, and atmosphere. I’d love to return in the future.

The food was pretty good, the portions were smaller than expected for the price tag but I guess it’s NW 23^rd neighborhood.
Wish they had more phở options, I think there were 2.
I would also agree with some previous reviews that considering this place has counter service and no follow-​up, not sure why I tipped 20% either.
I might be back, if I was in the area but I definitely prefer other phở places.

I had take-​out for lunch– I was pleased to see they had 10 banh mi options, and I decided on the pork meatball, with a side of egg rolls.
After a longer than expected wait for my order, they apologized and refunded the amount I had paid for the egg rolls. This was the item holding up the order, and they told me that they were not comfortable charging me for it. I knew from this gesture that (1) the food was going to be good, and (2) that I would be a repeat customer.
And the food was better than good, it was great.
For me, the bread is the most important part of a banh mi– here, the bread was very good– that balance of crispy and airy that is so difficult to strike.
The flavors were good– the fresh jalapeño added just the right amount of kick… you could augment with additional hot sauce depending on your mood. The egg rolls were good, but nothing to write home about.
Overall, I was satisfied and the price was reasonable — $ 6.75 for the pork meatball banh mi which include an unmemorable side salad.
I will definitely be back– next time, I will probably get two banh mis and skip the egg rolls.

I grew up in an area densely-​populated by Vietnamese and always had my choice of many go-​to places for good phở. Since I’ve been in Portland, it’s one of the dishes I’ve longed for most especially as the temperature has been dropping lately. Sure there are places to get it – but sadly not abundantly situated in every neighborhood. Also, none has really hit the mark for me the way LeLa’s has.
Aside from phở, there’s a good selection of bahn mis, salad rolls, bun bowls, and curries. There are also more beverage choices than your typical phở shop. I wasn’t fond of the homemade lychee raspberry soda I ordered, but they also have beer, teas, and of course Vietnamese coffee. We started with egg rolls which came out piping hot. They were good, nothing that stood out positively or negatively about them.
For phở, you only have two choices on the menu. Beef phở or Veggie & Tofu phở (with beef broth). Just in case you were looking for a vegetarian option, that’s not it. The bowl was a generous portion — no size options are available to choose small or large. At $ 9.5, you’re getting your money’s worth in my opinion although the price is about $ 1 – 2 more than standard at other places. However, after I’d finished all my noodles, I was still happily sipping my delicious broth despite being stuffed already. It was just so flavorful and hit the spot.
I’m not a huge fan of the order/​pay first and bus your own table approach to dining because it creates this separation between the staff and the customers and reduces the interactions to being very transactional. Also, it makes it awkward for tipping — do you toss your tip in the jar at the cash register or leave money on the table when you’re done? Do you tip 20% or a bit less since you bussed your own table? All that aside, we were greeted upon entering and had courteous communication from the server who brought out our food.

Funny how tonight, over a year later, I just finished an order of phở… and a pint of 10 Barrel.
Because, why change? Sure, over the summer I ventured into the warmer-​weather of salads and fresh spring rolls (all lovely, of course), though I think I have yet to order a banh mi. I’ve sampled the potstickers (love ‘em), and occasionally order whatever rice pudding dessert’s around that day. Given how hot many summer evenings were this year, phở just wasn’t the craved dish.
But baby, it’s back. Hooray for fall and cooler weather and the delightfully luscious bowls of phở that fuel the season! This is my kind of festive, and fortunately LeLa’s is open a little longer than they used to be, meaning I can now get dinner until 8 on Thursday-​Saturday nights (they’re lunch only on Tuesday and Wednesday). I love the quietness of the dining room in the evenings, and of course the table on the porch is a perfect people-​watching spot when it’s warmer out. As always the broth continues to be a beautiful combination of bright and velvety, full of hints of spice — not as deep as some broths, but still with a heft to the vibrance.
There are reasons we don’t venture out of the neighborhood as often as we should, and LeLa’s is one of them. (Especially when what we want is simple, comforting, and worth the walk.) I did some traveling around Portland to visit other renowned phở spots, and I never feel for a second that I’m missing anything when it’s back to LeLa’s again.

I had some of Lela’s delicious food at a catered party. From what I savored on at the party, Lela’s is worth the visit, again and again. They kept some dishes traditional, like some of the bahn mi’s and appetizers like cha gio, but added their twist to others like pork belly bahn mi. Seriously, get the pork belly bahn mi. The lightly pickled vegetables provide crunch and balances the savory and decadent pork belly.
I’ve been going to the owner’s parents’ store Binh Minh Bakery for years, so I had a feeling Lela’s would be just as good or better. Lela’s Bistro is a gem on a street full of the same Mexican, Italian and American spots.

I was comforted. Thank you LeLa and your phở. Your coffee, like many Vietnamese coffees, is intensely strong, warning to those who have coffee sensitivities! The phở broth is lighter than I’m used to but the flavor was there. I found myself continuously slurping broth before and after my meal. The noodles were perfectly cooked, it had a great texture and didn’t break up in my bowl.
I ordered the beef broth phở with tofu and veggies and was very happy that they offered that. The only other phở option is beef phở (beef broth and meat) though it doesn’t state what cuts of beef. — Tendon and tripe?! I doubt it. :s
I haven’t tried the bahn mi but the dude eating it seemed to be very content.
It’s a small-​mid sized restaurant so it can get cramped if you go during the lunch rush. The biggest tables seat about 4.
Order at the front and don’t forget to grab some lychee poprocks!