Like many cities across the U.S., Denver became home to a thriving Vietnamese community after the fall of Saigon in 1975, when the Little Saigon District Business District began to develop along Federal Boulevard between Alameda and Mississippi Avenues.
As it grew, locals began to develop a taste for the noodle soup known as phở. Phở shops have since popped up all over town, and the online debates over each one’s relative merits are perpetual, pitting longtimers like Phở Duy and Phở 95 against newer favorites such as Now Phở and Pho Social.
Today, the stateside passion for Vietnam’s national dish is spreading to include other noodle soups such as bún bò huế and bún riêu. But Vietnamese cuisine is as varied as it is vibrant, warranting exploration far beyond those beloved bowls of comfort: Listed in alphabetical order, the following 14 restaurants prove as much with panache.
Nota bene: If you’re just craving a quick pick-me-up, Bánh & Butter, New Saigon Bakery, and Tí Cafe deliver when it comes to coffee concoctions and sweet treats, while Giò Chả Cali on South Federal is a go-to for to-go snacks of all sorts.
Anise
As fail-safe as a good old-fashioned diner may be, weekend brunch doesn’t always have to involve French toast and corned beef hash. This cute little Golden Triangle cafe shakes things up with bacon-and egg-stuffed spring rolls; squid omelets served on rice paper; steaming bowls of cháo (congee) with all the fixings; and xôi, a common breakfast dish of sticky rice topped with the likes of Vietnamese ham and pâté.
Hair of the dog goes down a little differently here too: Instead of Irish coffee, there’s jasmine tea splashed with ginger liqueur, while boozy milkshakes make way for rum-infused lychee smoothies. It all adds up to a twist on American tradition for a whole new start to Sunday funday. 865 N. Lincoln St., Denver, anisedenver.com
Banh Mi Station
Though it also offers rice and noodle bowls, this almost literal hole-in-the-wall in the University neighborhood has garnered a following as massive as its dining room is tiny for one item above all: its namesake sandwiches. That’s because they’re the whole package.
It goes without saying that fillings like lemongrass-grilled shrimp, spicy tofu, and classic Vietnamese cold cuts—plus all the customary veggies and herbs—cut the mustard (or mayo, in this case). But what loyalists laud above all is the house-baked baguette: With a crackly crust and an airy crumb, it’s top-notch bread for not much dough. 2439 S. University Blvd., Denver, no website
BòHeo Pho Kitchen
The phở showcased at this spare but sunny strip-mall shop in University Park made our guide to Denver’s best soups for its lovingly tended broth, which is reason enough to stop in. In fact, there aren’t many other reasons, given the brevity of the menu. A couple of standard appetizers such as spring rolls, a build-your-own rice plate or noodle bowl, and a single dessert (grass jelly–coconut cream) go to show that the soup is the star.
That said, blackboard specials like salt-and-pepper wings or gà roti—a glistening, crackling roasted and fried quarter-chicken with rice and salad—are the kitchen’s secret strength. So even when you’re not feeling phở, you can still score a satisfying lunch, complete with a cup of kumquat milk tea or dreamy cà phê trứng (egg coffee). 2553 S. Colorado Blvd. #107, Denver, boheorestaurant.com
Com Nha Kitchen & Bar
The name of this Harvey Park Vietnamese spot says it all: It translates as “family meal,” so bring the gang and go for the gusto, starting with a signature platter like the build-your-own bánh bèo (steamed rice cakes with myriad toppings). From there, bangers abound, including baked scallops with scallion oil; chicken wings stuffed with pork and lime leaf; and rice paper salad with beef jerky, quail egg, dried shrimp, mango, and tamarind sauce—not to mention fusion-inspired treats such as phở tacos with broth for dipping.
And the fun doesn’t stop with the food. As the name also suggests, drinks are integral to the dining experience here, be it a single shot of vodka-spiked sugarcane juice or a 3-liter cocktail tower featuring mango and yogurt soju, mango puree, and lemon-lime soda. (Teetotalers will be equally tickled by strawberry-honey milk tea or salted plum soda.) All in all, a good time’s a guarantee. 2133 S. Sheridan Blvd., Denver, comnhakitchenandbar.com
DaLat
While the wall of video screens lining the dining room sets the stage for karaoke sessions, this place provides plenty of interactive entertainment for chowhounds as well as crooners. Hot pots in particular make for mixing-and-matching merriment: Add a tangle of fresh herbs to the bubbling tabletop vessel here and a jolt of chili sauce there until that bowl of noodle soup with crab claws or catfish is just the way you like it.
But don’t sleep on the selection of house specialties either. Dishes like deep-fried, head-on shrimp in salted egg yolk sauce and grilled beef with honey bring a little something different to the table, literally. 940 S. Federal Blvd., Denver, dalatdenver.com
Dân Dã
Proving she has skills to spare, chef An Nguyen is the powerhouse behind not one but two restaurants included here. This one, in Aurora, showcases what she calls “Vietnamese comfort cuisine”—an accurate description provided that your definition of comfort accounts for oodles of oomph.
After all, even basics like shaking beef, here made with tenderloin, and noodle bowls loaded with pork-lemongrass sausage patties, papaya, lotus root, pickled carrots, and more reveal Nguyen’s care for raw materials and flair for complexity. But for big groups especially, more diverse feasts beckon—from DIY spring roll towers and skillet-cooked mussels sizzling in butter, herbs, and spices to whole deep-fried fish in tamarind or ginger sauce. (Just keep in mind that this place is as small as it is popular, so larger parties had better book ahead.) 9945 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, dandavn.com
O Liên Kitchen
The food here is every bit as colorful as the neon lights bedecking the dining room. Glancing over the menu, first-timers will notice several references to the city of Huế, which serve as a clue that the kitchen is well-versed in its specialties—so the smart move is to order a few.
In addition to the aforementioned bún bò huế, a noodle soup featuring various cuts of beef and pork, best bets include banana leaf–wrapped tapioca dumplings stuffed with pork and shrimp; baby clams over rice or vermicelli noodles flavored with fish sauce and shrimp paste; and Huế-style fried rice-flour crepes (which are thicker than other renditions of bánh xèo). But a special shoutout goes to the appetizer of egg-topped fried rice cakes: Though not unique to Huế per se, O Liên’s version is excellent. 781 S. Federal Blvd. Unit B, Denver, no website
Rễ Tre
In the very space where their parents ran New Saigon for decades, chef An Nguyen and two of her four sisters have joined forces to create what’s at once a moving tribute to family ties and a way to make their own indelible mark as restaurateurs. To that end, the menu juxtaposes familiar favorites with all sorts of creative departures from custom.
Think, for starters, bò tái chanh (Vietnamese-style beef carpaccio) or fries tossed in caramelized fish sauce and topped with toasted shrimp chili crisp. Think whelks cooked in garlic butter with lemongrass and tamarind or banana blossom salad with cuttlefish and abalone. Or take off your thinking cap altogether and ask your server for suggestions—you can’t go wrong either way, especially with a cocktail like the rum-based Pandan After Dark in hand. 630 S. Federal Blvd., Denver, no website
Saigon Bistro
A truism of dining out is that an extensive menu is a bad sign. A plethora of dishes means a paucity of attention to each one, the logic goes. But this casually comfy Aurora kitchen serves as an exception that proves the rule: While juggling more than 100 Vietnamese items, it never seems to drop the ball.
So go ahead and take a chance on something you’ve never tried before. How about a salad of jellyfish, pickled pig’s feet, squid, and lotus root, or grilled snails in chili-garlic butter? Maybe Cornish hen braised in ginger sauce, or lightly fried cubes of soft tofu in creamy black bean–coconut sauce? And perhaps a pot of hot-and-sour tamarind soup with catfish and pineapple or steak and scallops? The opportunities for discovery are near-endless here. 12303 E. Mississippi Ave. Ste. 145, Aurora, saigonbistro.co
Saigon Noodle Club
The menu of this Edgewater Public Market stall operated by husband-and-wife duo Long Nguyen and Shauna Seamen is rather more straightforward than that of their (much-missed) previous concept, Pho King Rapidos. Noodle bowls, including phở, and spring rolls form its core, supplemented by just a few other nibbles such as salt-and-pepper tofu and charred gai lan.
But the results add up to more than the sum of their parts. Smoky, juicy chunks of lemongrass-grilled chicken or pork, ribbons of sparkling-fresh veggies, and all manner of smart garnishes and dressings like fried shallots and creamy cilantro-jalapeño sauce attest to the fact that that “simple” doesn’t have to mean “boring.” Meanwhile, daily dessert specials—mango sticky rice one day, pandan chiffon cake the next—ensure regulars always have reasons to return. 5505 W. 20th Ave., Edgewater, pkr-denver.com
Sắp Sửa
Salty, sweet, spicy, sour, herbal, umami. Creamy, crunchy, fleshy, flaky, leafy, juicy. Led by Ni and Anna Nguyen, the über-talented team at this much-lauded destination on East Colfax has mastered the all-important art of balance between flavors and textures, and it shows in every single dish on the menu, season after season.
So while signatures such as the soft scrambled egg over rice with brown butter, fish sauce, and trout roe and the charred cabbage with egg yolk and anchovy breadcrumbs are a must, don’t stop there. Be it crispy veal sweetbreads in fish sauce caramel, fried pig ears atop gingered cabbage slaw, or a dessert of grass jelly in coconut cream with guava granita, it’s all as eye-opening as it is mouthwatering. (And the same goes for cocktails featuring ingredients like palm sugar, peanuts, and pandan leaf.) 2550 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, sapsua.com
Tu’s Kitchen
Aromatic freshness derived from abundant veggies and herbs is a hallmark of Vietnamese cuisine, and this sweet spot in the suburbs shines on that score. But its dishes don’t lack for homey, hearty depth either.
A perfect case in point: spiced, grilled spare ribs piled high enough to put meat on your bones, so to speak, alongside an equal heap of crisp cabbage salad. Another: frog’s legs in a zesty brown sauce spiked with chilies and ginger but cooled by a side of broccoli. And still another: a stir-fry of beef and eggplant that’s soothingly velvety yet bright with greens galore. Call it the Vietnamese culinary equivalent of yin-yang. 6500 W. 120th Ave., Broomfield, tuskitchenonline.com
Viet’s Restaurant
The menu at this anchor of the Far East Center is even bigger than that of Saigon Bistro, spanning a whopping 200-plus dishes. But the restaurant’s longevity says something about its management skills—as does its size, with plenty of room for large parties. The waitstaff, meanwhile, is adept at walking newcomers through its myriad options. And most importantly, the food speaks for itself.
Crowd-pleasers like the bánh khọt—savory shrimp-topped “cupcakes”—and classics like grilled beef wrapped in lolot leaf are best bets for beginners. But by all means branch out from there: scallops or razor clams grilled with green onions and served in the shell, deep-fried duck wings, and five-spice quail all await. (Maybe just hold off on the balut in tamarind sauce until you’ve discussed it with your server.) 333 S. Federal Blvd. #125, Denver, no website
VinaMeals
Never mind the ambiguous name—this is an unambiguous diamond in the rough of a suburban strip mall. Once you’re seated in the airy, spacious dining room, your first order of business will be to scour the menu for surprises little seen in these parts: rice porridge with minced pork and preserved duck egg, for instance. Or bò né, Vietnamese-style steak and eggs accompanied by pâté and a baguette. Or grilled baby octopus and stir-fried corn with dried baby shrimp.
Your second order of business will be to eat them with abandon, washing them down with salted lemonade, perhaps, or kumquat soda. And your final mission is to spread news of VinaMeals’ existence among Littletonians who may not know how lucky they are to have it in their midst. 1500 W. Littleton Blvd. Ste. 110A, Littleton, vinameals.co
