Bistrot Ha

Shortened review due to 4000 vs 5000 character limit. TLDR version- A bit pricey for the quality. Better mains than appetizers. Loved the big steak, the boudin noir, and all desserts. Most dishes have a salty and sweet component as they all contain fish sauce. Short Notes- Out of fried yuba and leg of lamb, as we went late. Interesting music with excellent speakers. A bit dark for photos/slightly loud. The first dish that arrived was unfortunately the weakest. The menu lists it as Crudo of Steelhead Trout for $26, but the server let us know the fish had been replaced with tuna, and the dish was served with yuzu, capers, and pieces of trout roe. This tiny plate came with four pieces of good-quality tuna, and the dish had a very bright, almost overly acidic taste. I liked the tuna, but the capers weren't necessary as the dish was already a bit too salty without them. This was alright, but I think it needed some sweetness or something similar to balance it out. The next dish, also from the amuse section, was the 'Char Sui' Beef Heart for $18. I have only had heart as anticuchos, and by comparison, the meat texture was a tad different, with a mildly hard exterior and a soft, chewy interior. There was a light sweetness on the outside, with some of the lightly sweet char siu/roasted pork flavor, while the dish also had a bit of spice. This was like the other dish, still just okay, but I found the flavors more balanced, and it's more worth it due to the uniqueness of the offal. Our remaining dishes were all mains, and the first to arrive was the Pork Shank & Manila Clam 'Bun Bo Hue' for $45. While named after the soup, the "broth" was more of a cooked-down and concentrated version. The pork shank inside was super tender, though unfortunately, there was a bit of grit in one of the two clams I had. The dish also came with rice, which helped absorb some of the "broth." Most reasonably priced of the mains, and our second favorite savory dish overall was the Boudin Noir With Kumquats & Pommes Puree for $39. The meat was well-spiced and very tender, while the potatoes were buttery and smooth. The kumquats were a nice addition, as they helped tone down the dish's richness. This was excellent, and I would recommend it. Due to menu changes, we decided to split the Big Steak (30 oz) for $225, which came with a side salad and pommes frites. The steak in question was bone-in, and the meat sat atop a delicious and uniquely flavored au jus. The meat itself was tender with a mid chew, and there was plenty of tasty meat still attached to the bone. There was a mild sweetness, richness, and saltiness to the au jus, and the nicely crisp pommes frites were particularly delicious dipped into it. The side salad, which had scallions, chili, and other things, helped with the richness. This was excellent and the definite highlight even at that price point. Last, we got a handful of desserts, though one was a different offering than on the menu. I went with the Meringue with Passionfruit and Tapioca for $18, which was very tasty, and I believe it is occasionally on the original rotating Ha's menu. They described the dessert as a citrusy pavlova, which was accurate. The dish had some crunch and some softness, with a good citrusy component from the passion fruit and grapefruit. The group as a whole ordered two of their $20 Galette Des Rois, made in the French style rather than in New Orleans. This consisted of a puff pastry filled with frangipane (i.e., almond custard) and was served with almond ice cream. The puff pastry was flaky with a crisp exterior and a mildly sweet filling, and I think it would pair nicely with some coffee. Another person ordered a Chocolate Roll Cake, which replaced the Coquito Tres Leches. I believe it was $20 or so, and it was lightly sweet, with good-quality chocolate and some hazelnut flavor if I recall correctly, but I'm not positive, as I only had a bite. If you don't mind paying a bit more for unique and intense flavors, I would recommend this spot, with the main dishes better than the small plates.

Fantastic food, welcoming atmosphere, and excellent service. Coming from a family of chefs, I can confidently say this place delivers. Everything tasted intentional and well executed. Left full and very satisfied. Highly recommend.

Amazing, unique, with a lively ambiance. Don’t sleep on the leeks/mussels and the bun rieu. If you have room for dessert, the meringue uses fresh fruits!

Ordered 6 dishes, incredible. I’ll never forget this meal.

Ha’s team does it again!! Amazing from start to finish. Save room for dessert!!

Every course was excellent! Save room for the dessert, the peanut sundae is a must-have.

Truly outstanding cooking, service, wines - and fabulous lighting fixtures!

The machinery you installed in the rear building courtyard for this restaurant is loud as heck and goes all day and all night. bwaaaaaaaaaa.... bwaaaaaaaaaa...... bwaaaaaaaa...... all the time like clockwork. You try sleeping with that thing going. A lot of people live here, upstairs, did you consider that? No. I guess not.

The sister restaurant to Ha's Snack Bar, but like a French bistro and a slightly larger space! We arrived at 5:10pm to queue before opening (3 parties ahead of us) and managed to be a part of the first round of bar seating. Around 5:15pm, the host came out to ask for party sizes and to get everyone into Resy. Once 5:30pm rolls around, it gets a little disorganized with people starting to show up for their early reservations and the waitlist feeling peckish to go inside. All was resolved by 5:45pm ish and I'm sure it is just new restaurant kinks. We got sat the bar, which appears to seat 11-12 people. We ordered the leeks vinaigrette, fried yuba, tomato fried rice with escargot, lamb sausage and frites and ice cream bombe. Everything was absolutely delicious and had a hint of fish sauce. I particularly loved the leeks vinaigrette, which features maggi sauce and a hearty baguette. Super reminiscent of being a child and eating eggs with maggi and a Vietnamese baguette. You just want your carbs vehicle to soak up all the savory juices. The fried yuba was delicious, stuffed with a shrimpy meatball and drowned in nuoc mam with thai chilies. Our main, the lamb sausage and frites was a delicious umami take on Algerian lamb. Each bite I had of the lamb evolved - it was sweet, spicy, funky all in one. The frites were great too and paired well with the lamb and its juices. Next time, I'd personally pass on the fried rice. The tomato flavor wasn't as present as I'd expect it for being in the name of this dish, but it was still enjoyable. Finally, we ended the night with the ice cream bombe - a baked alaska styled dessert (no cake) with an Asian neapolitan ice cream - black sesame, pandan coconut, and coconut caramel. Super delicious and covered in a marshmallowey meringue. It was the perfect way to end the evening. I'll be daydreaming when I can come back again. Love the space with the James Cherry lighting, the French feel, and the Viet twist on everything.

TLDR version- A bit pricey for the quality. Better mains than appetizers. Loved the big steak, the boudin noir, and all desserts. Most dishes have a salty and sweet component as they all contain fish sauce. I was at this new sister restaurant to Ha's Snack Bar for a very late dinner reservation yesterday with five other people. The place was pretty crowded, and the lighting was a bit too dark for photos. The music was a bit more unique than most spots with good quality speakers, with the last restaurant I remember having similar quality music being LenLen. The server was friendly and very knowledgeable about the menu, though they had to be given the whole 22% automatic gratuity at the end. I didn't bother with a drink, but they have a handful of spritzes and a nice selection of spirits as well as wines by the glass and bottle, as expected for a bistro-ish spot. Possibly due to our reservation time, they were unfortunately out of both fried yuba and leg of lamb, and the menu also did not mention steak frites, which is listed on Infatuation and other sites. The first dish that arrived was unfortunately the weakest. The menu lists it as Crudo of Steelhead Trout for $26, but the server let us know the fish had been replaced with tuna, and the dish was served with yuzu, capers, and pieces of trout roe. This tiny plate came with four pieces of good-quality tuna, and the dish had a very bright, almost overly acidic taste. I liked the tuna, but the capers weren't necessary as the dish was already a bit too salty without them. This was alright, but I think it needed some sweetness or something similar to balance it out. The next dish, also from the amuse section, was the 'Char Sui' Beef Heart for $18. I have only had heart as anticuchos, and by comparison, the meat texture was a tad different, with a mildly hard exterior and a soft, chewy interior. There was a light sweetness on the outside, with some of the lightly sweet char siu/roasted pork flavor, while the dish also had a bit of spice. This was like the other dish, still just okay, but I found the flavors more balanced, and it's more worth it due to the uniqueness of the offal. Our remaining dishes were all mains, and the first to arrive was the Pork Shank & Manila Clam 'Bun Bo Hue' for $45. While named after the soup, the "broth" was more of a cooked-down and concentrated version. The pork shank inside was super tender, though unfortunately, there was a bit of grit in one of the two clams I had. The dish also came with rice, which helped absorb some of the "broth." Most reasonably priced of the mains, and our second favorite savory dish overall was the Boudin Noir With Kumquats & Pommes Puree for $39. The meat was well-spiced and very tender, while the potatoes were buttery and smooth. The kumquats were a nice addition, as they helped tone down the dish's richness. This was excellent, and I would recommend it. Due to menu changes, we decided to split the Big Steak (30 oz) for $225, which came with a side salad and pommes frites. The steak in question was bone-in, and the meat sat atop a delicious and uniquely flavored au jus. The meat itself was tender with a mid chew, and there was plenty of tasty meat still attached to the bone. There was a mild sweetness, richness, and saltiness to the au jus, and the nicely crisp pommes frites were particularly delicious dipped into it. The side salad, which had scallions, chili, and other things, helped with the richness. This was excellent and the definite highlight even at that price point. Last, we got a handful of desserts, though one was a different offering than on the menu. I went with the Meringue with Passionfruit and Tapioca for $18, which was very tasty, and I believe it is occasionally on the original rotating Ha's menu. They described the dessert as a citrusy pavlova, which was accurate. The dish had some crunch and some softness, with a good citrusy component from the passion fruit and grapefruit. The group as a whole ordered two of their $20 Galette Des Rois, made in the French style rather than in New Orleans. This consisted of a puff pastry filled with frangipane (i.e., almond custard) and was served with almond ice cream. The puff pastry was flaky with a crisp exterior and a mildly sweet filling, and I think it would pair nicely with some coffee. Another person ordered a Chocolate Roll Cake, which replaced the Coquito Tres Leches. I believe it was $20 or so, and it was lightly sweet, with good-quality chocolate and some hazelnut flavor if I recall correctly, but I'm not positive, as I only had a bite. It's a bit hard to review this restaurant, as the price point is a tad high, which isn't helped by the automatic 22% tip (possibly because we were a table of six, but I don't know.) If you don't mind paying a bit more for unique and intense flavors, I would still recommend this spot, with the main dishes better than the small plates.

The follow up to Ha's Snack Bar, it's a little bigger but still a tight space and lots of similar flavors. Amazing smaller plates, like the fried yuba and Tartlette, and the desserts were all really good too. We were rushed out in less than two hours even though our 4 top spent $500 and ordered just about the whole menu so that was kind of a bummer, but you gotta turn those tables I guess when your restaurant is this hot on opening night.

WOW!! They really nailed it! Decor, ambience, service and most-of-all the food!! Hope you like fish sauce, which I do - because it's in everything. Even the martini (along with an oyster). I was able to get a spot at the bar on opening night and was taken care of by Rose who was awesome! Enjoyed their fish sauce-infused martini followed by the rum Martinez. Started with the steelhead trout crudo which may be the best crudo I have ever had, between the combination of melt-in-your-mouth fish, slightly sweetened lime-enhanced fish sauce and delectable caviar pearls. Followed it up with the black cod - again amazing. So many things to try on the menu. Can't wait to come back!! BTW, in response to Mike C - it states on Resy that parties of 4 are limited to 2 hours - don't be surprised when they enforce their time restrictions