Han N.
Yelp
I really wish my friends and I came here earlier in our trip to Denver; we came our last afternoon before flying out expecting something soupy, like pho, since we all felt tired and sickly. We were surprised that the restaurant did not serve pho when we saw the menu! But that's okay, because everything else on the menu sounded delicious. I encountered the restaurant while browsing on Yelp and saw the wait time was at least 45 minutes and I couldn't add myself to the list until I am within one mile from the restaurant. With so many good reviews, I couldn't resist. I added myself to the wait list at the one mile mark and the time was still 45 minutes, however, when we arrived at the restaurant, there were still some open tables in the middle. A gentleman, he seemed like the manager/owner, greeted us and asked us to wait a few minutes as he cleans the table and sets them up together to make one big table for us. The restaurant itself looked very modern, clean, welcoming. As soon as I saw the menu, I knew it was one of those restaurants packed during dinner time for shareable food items and alcohol. This was why I wished we had come here during one of our nights in Denver.
Some of us ordered Bun Rieu, one rice dish, and one Bun Bo Hue. We wanted to order some escargot, but we were told they have not received a new shipment in due to the holidays. We ordered lemongrass clams instead, which was still really good. I asked for less spicy, but the server told me they can only make it spicier, not less spicy, however, I thought the spice level was perfect as someone who cannot tolerate spicy. I really enjoyed the lemongrass flavor with butter, scallion, and shallots, it really paired well with the clams. I can't imagine how flavorful the escargot would be! I was very surprised by how much the Bun Rieu had, two gigantic meatballs made with crab, some sort of cha, fish cakes, the broth was perfect, they even gave us mam tom without us asking so you know they know what they're doing. I love dipping my bun rieu toppings in mam tom on the side to get that stinky/fishy saucy taste. My friend said the bun bo hue was good as well. The rice dish had so much in it, my boyfriend could barely finish his meal.
My friends and I felt bad that we couldn't finish all of our food and was not responsive whenever the server came by to check up on us, but we all felt very tired and sickly that morning. I keep thinking about how much I wanted to finish my food, especially those flavorful clams! If I ever visit Denver again, this restaurant will be my top restaurant to visit! I would love to try other menu items such as escargot, banh trang cuon, some of the goi items, and more clams! I highly recommend stopping by! Also, order their lychee limeade and Vietnamese coffee as well!