RFK Cuisine · Vietnamese · New York
Best Vietnamese Restaurants in New York City 2026
Pho, banh mi & modern Vietnamese · New York · 7 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
The line down 13th Street most nights is for banh mi. Banh Anh Em, chef Nhu Ton's no-reservations room near Union Square, takes no bookings and has people queueing for just-baked baguettes and a bowl of pho, and it is the clearest sign of how far New York Vietnamese food has come, from a neighbourhood staple to a restaurant the whole city lines up for. The scene now runs two ways: a wave of ambitious, Michelin-listed rooms reworking pho and rice plates with A5 wagyu and chef technique, and a deep bench of East Village and Brooklyn classics doing the bun bo hue and the chicken pho better than ever. New York Vietnamese spans a 15-dollar banh mi to a wagyu pho dinner. Ranked here on the cooking, the room and value, with the dish to order at each.
1.Banh Anh Em
Nhu Ton's no-reservations room with the city's best banh mi and a soulful pho; go early and join the queue, it is worth it.
Banh Anh Em, chef Nhu Ton's restaurant on 13th Street near Third Avenue, is the most talked-about Vietnamese opening in the city and the reason a queue forms most evenings. It is the second restaurant from the family behind Banh on the Upper West Side, and the draw is twofold: just-baked baguettes that make the banh mi some of the best in New York, and a soulful, deeply aromatic pho built on homemade noodles. The room is small and takes no reservations, so the wait is part of the deal, but the cooking earns it, careful, generous and rooted in real Vietnamese flavour rather than crossover gimmickry. It is in the Michelin Guide and at the front of the city's Vietnamese conversation. Go early or off-peak to shorten the line; the banh mi and the pho are the order.
No reservations, go early; the banh mi, the pho with homemade noodles and a Vietnamese coffee.
2.La Dong
Dennis Ngo's handsome sit-down room with A5 wagyu pho poured tableside; book it for the city's most luxe Vietnamese dinner.
La Dong, just off Union Square, is the sit-down counterpart to the city's casual Vietnamese rooms, a handsome space of wooden arches and private booths from chef Dennis Ngo, also behind Greenpoint's Di An Di. The cooking takes Vietnamese classics upmarket without losing the soul: the signature is a fragrant beef pho finished tableside with Miyazaki A5 wagyu, and the rest of the menu runs through refined rice plates, grilled meats and herb-laden small dishes meant to be shared. It is the most polished Vietnamese restaurant in the city and the one to book for an occasion, a proper dinner rather than a quick bowl. It carries a place in the Michelin Guide to match the ambition. Reserve ahead, especially at weekends, and order the A5 wagyu pho.
Book ahead; the A5 wagyu pho poured tableside and a spread of grilled small plates.
3.Di An Di
The Greenpoint room that modernised Vietnamese in Brooklyn; go for the pho ga and herb-piled noodle bowls in a plant-filled space.
Di An Di, on Franklin Street in Greenpoint, is the restaurant that made modern Vietnamese a Brooklyn fixture, a bright, plant-filled room from the team that went on to open La Dong in Manhattan. The cooking is fresh and produce-forward: an excellent pho ga (chicken pho), rice-noodle bowls piled with herbs, grilled and clay-pot dishes, and one of the better Vietnamese coffee and cocktail programmes in the city. It strikes the balance the genre needs, more ambitious and design-conscious than a neighbourhood pho shop, but still affordable and rooted in real flavour, which is why it has stayed busy for years. It is the pick for a casual-smart Vietnamese dinner in north Brooklyn. Book ahead at weekends; the herb-forward bowls and the pho ga are the order.
Book a weekend table; the pho ga, an herb-piled noodle bowl and a Vietnamese iced coffee.
4.Madame Vo
Jimmy Ly and Yen Vo's East Village room famous for bun bo hue and wagyu pho; go for the bowls that built the reputation.
Madame Vo, on 10th Street in the East Village, is the room that helped put modern New York Vietnamese on the map, run by Jimmy Ly and Yen Vo with a focus on the southern home cooking of their families. The two dishes to know are the bun bo hue, the spicy lemongrass beef noodle soup that is the spicier cousin of pho, and the wagyu pho, a richer take that draws lines on its own. Around them is a tight menu of rice plates, fresh rolls and shaken beef, served in a warm, often packed room that keeps a steady following. It is the pick for the classic New York Vietnamese bowls done with real care, neither the cheapest nor the fanciest, but reliably excellent. Expect a wait at peak; the bun bo hue and the wagyu pho are the order.
Expect a peak wait; the bun bo hue, the wagyu pho and the shaken beef.
5.Hanoi House
The East Village specialist in northern Hanoi-style cooking; go for a clean, classic pho and the cha ca turmeric fish.
Hanoi House, in a basement room on St Marks Place in the East Village, is the city's reference for the northern, Hanoi style of Vietnamese cooking, which favours a cleaner, more restrained broth than the herb-heavy southern version. The pho is the calling card, a clear, beefy bowl that diners return for again and again, but the dish that sets the room apart is the cha ca, turmeric-and-dill fish cooked at the table in the Hanoi tradition. It is a cosy, low-lit space that has quietly held its standard for years while flashier rooms came and went, which is its own kind of recommendation. It is the pick for the classic bowl and the northern specialities. Book ahead for the small room or come off-peak; the pho and the cha ca are the order.
Book the small room or go off-peak; the northern-style pho and the cha ca turmeric fish.
6.Saigon Social
Helen Nguyen's Lower East Side room blending Vietnamese tradition with American influence; go for com tam and garlic noodles.
Saigon Social, on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side, is chef Helen Nguyen's personal take on Vietnamese cooking, a room that grew out of her own story and blends Vietnamese tradition with the American influences she grew up around. The menu rewards exploring: a properly built com tam (broken-rice plate) with grilled pork, garlic noodles, fresh rolls, a good pho and rotating specials that show a real point of view rather than a greatest-hits list. The room is relaxed and personal, and the cooking has heart, which makes it more interesting than its low-key Orchard Street frontage suggests. It is the pick for a Vietnamese-American dinner with a distinct voice. Walk in or book at peak; the com tam and the garlic noodles are the order.
Walk in or book at peak; the com tam, the garlic noodles and a fresh roll to start.
7.Falansai
Eric Tran's Bushwick room cooking inventive modern Vietnamese; go for the fish-sauce wings and clay-pot dishes with a real edge.
Falansai, on Irving Avenue in Bushwick, is chef Eric Tran's modern Vietnamese restaurant and the most personal, ingredient-driven cooking on this list, recognised by the Michelin Guide for its ambition. Tran works Vietnamese flavours through a fine-dining lens and a deep-Brooklyn sensibility: caramelised fish-sauce wings, clay-pot dishes, grilled and fermented plates and seasonal specials that change with what is good, all built on serious technique and local sourcing. The room is small and design-forward, the kind of place that draws diners across the river specifically for it rather than as a neighbourhood drop-in. It is the pick for the most adventurous Vietnamese cooking in the city, for those who want it pushed rather than preserved. Book ahead; the fish-sauce wings and the clay-pot dishes are the order.
Book ahead; the caramelised fish-sauce wings, a clay-pot dish and the seasonal specials.
How New York eats Vietnamese
New York Vietnamese sorts into two tracks, and knowing which you want decides where you go. The modern, Michelin-listed rooms, La Dong off Union Square, Di An Di in Greenpoint and Falansai in Bushwick, treat Vietnamese food as a chef cuisine, refined pho and rice plates, clay-pots and cocktails, at 35 to 75 dollars a head; book ahead. The casual classics, Banh Anh Em, Madame Vo, Hanoi House and Saigon Social, do the everyday bowls, banh mi, pho, bun bo hue and com tam, better and cheaper, 20 to 45 dollars, with several taking no reservations. The meal has a rhythm: a banh mi or fresh roll, one noodle soup or rice plate per person, and a strong Vietnamese coffee to finish. The modern rooms take bookings; the casual ones run on walk-ins and lines, so go early.
Booking divides clearly. La Dong, Di An Di and Falansai need reserving ahead; Banh Anh Em takes no reservations and runs on the queue. For the wider city, the New York dining guide maps it by neighbourhood and occasion, the best vegetarian restaurants in New York cover the meat-free side, and the best Vietnamese restaurants worldwide pillar sets New York against Saigon and Hanoi.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for serious New York Vietnamese
Generic "pan-Asian" noodle bars. The all-purpose spots that put a pho next to pad thai and ramen on one laminated menu cook none of them with conviction; the broth is thin and the herbs are an afterthought. For real pho, go to Hanoi House or Madame Vo, where the broth is built over hours, or queue at Banh Anh Em.
Frozen-spring-roll lunch-special counters. The cheap combo-platter spots that lean on pre-made rolls and sweet sauces are not the cuisine. Order a freshly griddled banh mi or a hand-built com tam at Saigon Social or Banh Anh Em instead, or compare how it is done at the source via the best Vietnamese restaurants worldwide.
Frequently asked
What is the best Vietnamese restaurant in New York?
Two newer rooms lead the field, both in the MICHELIN Guide. Banh Anh Em, chef Nhu Ton's no-reservations spot on 13th Street near Third Avenue, draws long queues for just-baked banh mi and a soulful pho with house-made noodles. La Dong, just off Union Square, is the sit-down pick from chef Dennis Ngo, a handsome room serving a fragrant pho finished tableside with Miyazaki A5 wagyu. Banh Anh Em for the counter, La Dong for a proper dinner. Expect a wait at Banh Anh Em; book ahead at La Dong.
Where is the best pho in NYC?
For a destination bowl, La Dong off Union Square pours a fragrant beef pho tableside with Miyazaki A5 wagyu, and Madame Vo in the East Village is famous for its wagyu pho and bun bo hue. Banh Anh Em serves a soulful pho with homemade noodles, and Hanoi House on St Marks Place specialises in the northern Hanoi style. Di An Di in Greenpoint does an excellent pho ga (chicken pho). For the everyday bowl, Madame Vo and Hanoi House are the classics; for the luxe version, La Dong. Go early to skip the lines at the no-reservation rooms.
Are there Michelin Vietnamese restaurants in New York?
Yes. The MICHELIN Guide now lists several New York Vietnamese restaurants, reflecting the food's rise from neighbourhood staple to destination. Banh Anh Em near Union Square and La Dong off Union Square are both in the guide, and Brooklyn's Falansai in Bushwick has earned recognition for chef Eric Tran's modern Vietnamese cooking. None holds a star as of the 2026 guide, but the listings mark how serious the city's Vietnamese scene has become. Judge these rooms on the cooking; the queues at Banh Anh Em tell you most of what you need to know.
How much do Vietnamese restaurants cost in New York?
It spans a wide band. The casual rooms, Saigon Social, Hanoi House and Madame Vo, run roughly 20 to 40 dollars a head for a bowl of pho or a rice plate and a drink. Banh Anh Em is similar, banh mi and pho at counter prices, though the queue is the real cost. The sit-down modern rooms cost more: Di An Di in Greenpoint lands around 35 to 55 dollars across small plates, and La Dong is the priciest once you add the A5 wagyu pho. For the everyday bowl, the casual rooms; for a modern Vietnamese dinner, Di An Di or La Dong.
What Vietnamese dishes should I order in New York?
Order a banh mi and the pho at Banh Anh Em; the A5 wagyu pho at La Dong; the pho ga and rice-noodle bowls at Di An Di; the bun bo hue and wagyu pho at Madame Vo; the northern-style pho and cha ca at Hanoi House; the com tam and garlic noodles at Saigon Social; and the fish-sauce wings and clay-pot dishes at Falansai. As a rule, start with a banh mi or a fresh roll, build the meal around one noodle soup or rice plate per person, and add a Vietnamese coffee to finish.
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