The Lemongrass Kitchen

I learned along time ago with cuisine to not judge a book by its cover... thus the more 'hole in wall' the better! When the lunch rush packs out a place it probably means you'll get authentic flavored Pho, delicious crispy Bhan mi sandwich and great service. So glad we stopped!

We stopped here on our way to Seagrove NC. Here is the summary of my experience there: 1) Ambiance 3.5/5 - It looked like a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant with small seating and a couple of tables outside. The place was not very clean to be honest. 2) Service 4.5/5 - The service was good but was not very quick. 3) Food 4.5/5: The food that we had was really good except 1 thing. Here is the summary of the food we had: a) Tofu Pho (Large): It was huge and very tasty. I am not a fan of Tofu bit I loved it here. It was more than enough for 2 people. b) Taro Boba tea - It did not have ice and it was like a smoothie which we loved. had a lot of Boba c) Lychee Boba - This was very sweet and I could see the additional sugar syrup aded to it. Not sure why they had to add it and just because of that I this became very sweet 4) Value for Money 4/5 - This place looks small but its not very cheap PS: There is less parking on the road but there is a public parking right by the corner which is free on evenings and weekends. The Good: 1) Pho 2) Taro Boba Not So Good: 1) The cleanliness Overall, I would recommend the Pho here and PS please get the regular size unless you are two people who are really hungry.

I didn’t expect this restaurant to be so small inside. In the Google photos it looks much bigger from the outside because of the large windows with oval tops, but when we walked in there were only a few tables. The interior feels very old and really needs renovation or at least a deep cleaning. I thought it would be a more fancy place based on the pictures. The food was very good. Our favorite pho was excellent. We had one with shrimp and one with beef and the portions were very big. The banh mi was okay. Also, if you do not order a drink and only ask for water, they bring bottled water and add it to the bill. Overall it is a good place because I love this type of cuisine, but if you are looking for something fancy, this is not the right spot.

Great food and people! Ken in the picture was great sense of humor and service. Place is a little small with seating outside, for some but who cares i didn't! Never been in Vietnam but it looks like the culture is inside. Great experience. Best Vietnamese food I've had! Keep it going lemongrass kitchen.

Very authentic Vietnamese cuisine, best in the upstate. Their pho broth has such depth of flavor and their banh mi sandwiches fire on all cylinders. Their Vietnamese coffee is sweet and packed with flavor. You can tell this is a family run establishment and that they’re cooking food that they know, not confirming their cuisine to appeal to the masses. 5/5 stars, we’ll be back

Simply the best food downtown bar none. It might not look like much, but the food quality is top notch. The pho is phenomenal, even the bubble teas are above average.

Teeny little restaurant with a few tables and some window ledge seats for people watching. EXCELLENT food. We had the spring rolls, shaken beef and shrimp fried rice. The shrimp tasted like it was just caught. No fishy smell or taste. Just delicious fresh shrimp flavor. I loved the food wasn't super greasy like sometimes dishes like fried rice are. It was just fantastic and flavorful. Highly recommend getting something to go if you don't have time to wait for a table to open or the weather isn't nice enough for outdoor seating.

Unbelievable pho. Fresh rolls so fresh. Bahn mí is crunchy and bangin. Best boba tea in town. Amen amen amen. Eat here.

Gave The Lemongrass Kitchen a try one day for lunch. I knew exactly what I was there for: the shaking beef. Now the beef doesn't shake when it's on your plate or anything scary like that. Instead, it gets its name from the cooking process that requires a lot of shaking and stirring. Outside of the shaking, the dish consists of marinated beef that is sautéed in a wok with red onion and bell peppers, served on a bed of fresh lettuce with slices of tomato and cucumber. The restaurant was able to deliver the dish in the promised time. The very charismatic worker was a true joy to deal with. I probably would tip on take out regardless, but I love it when I feel like the person actually tries to develop a connection rather than simply getting me in and out. I was initially disappointed with the portioning, but that quickly subsided when I tasted the incredible flavors. I also realized this likely was my Western decadence unfairly coloring my perception. Sure enough, Shaking Beef is usually served as a smaller portion. The standard macros for the dish are incredible. You get 39 grams of protein from only 655 calories. Dining in Downtown Spartanburg is a little on the pricey side, but there's a lot of very good restaurants with great staff that deserve your business. This is one of them.

Favorite place to have the best Pho! It's a small place but the food is well worth it.

Best pho around!! We've been here many many times and it just never misses!! The service is usually fairly fast. It's definitely more casual than a lot of sit down places. When it's nice out the outdoor tables are really nice to sit at too!! We've introduced many people to this place and everyone loves it. It's my favorite comfort food place!!! Cannot recommend it enough. The broth is the most flavorful savory broth I've ever had. You can 100 percent tell it is made with love. This is a wonderful gem in Spartanburg!

Just Wow! My husband and love Vietnamese food and eat it almost everywhere we travel to. We were driving through Spartanburg and could not believe the quality of the food here! The pho has an amazing broth quality and the vermicelli bowls were top notch. Do yourself a favor and ask for their chili oil to season with as well. On top of that the family who owns it is very nice and service was fast.

Food was delicious and service was wonderful! I ordered an iced Vietnamese coffee, pork egg rolls, and a pork banh mi. I sat outside during lunch and it was the perfect vibe for a beautiful sunny day!

Perfectly delicious and just what we were wanting on a cold day. My hubby and I both ordered a large bowl of vegetable pho. One large bowl is enough for two but it gave us leftovers. We added tofu. The service was great and very friendly. The place itself is a little hole in the wall, not a lot of dining in but enough to accommodate us when we were there (2 pm on Friday). Don't expect upscale but the food more than made up for that. It's a bit pricey but when considering the fact that we got two meals out of it and that it was so tasty, the cost wasn't so bad.

Another great visit to Lemongrass. As I mentioned previously, this is a small restaurant. But don't let that stop you from giving it a try. The food is delicious. Today I had Thai tea, spring rolls, and the beef noodle bowl. The only bad thing is that I got too full and wasn't able to eat all of it. The food is fresh and yummy. The service is friendly. Lemongrass is definitely worth the trip to the downtown area. Check it out. And I may see you because I'll be back for sure.

Visiting from Texas and taste just like home. The broth was great and staff were very friendly as well.

Exceptional food, service and the owner is awesome! Absolutely delicious. Pho was so flavorful. Rice noodle bowl, wow! I'll definitely be back!

This place is yummy highly recommended. The Bobbas are to die for. My wife and I had the Sub sandwich and it was delicious. Definitely will come again.

Not what I expected at all! It was DELICIOUS and the food and drinks omg. Must recommend! The service was very sweet and kind faces! Nice breeze to eat outside of downtown.

Was a little skeptical of this place but the Pho did not disappoint, I would totally come back.

It's great for Spartanburg...but only OK for US-based Vietnamese pho. Ambiance was essentially diner style, which is fine..though it was kind of cold inside since it was cold outside and the drafts every time the door opened keeps you in a state of constant chill. The service was OK, but the server was a bit too familiar with my partner. The banter was not about the food and a little off-putting as I just wanted to have a hot bowl of pho to stave off the chill of the day. We ended up with a combo bowl of pho, a glass noodle dish, and a rice dish. The only complaint on the 'phood' was that the pho noodles were clumped together and stuck to the bottom of the bowl. I think that was due to the noodles being portioned into the bowls and stored ahead of time, relying on the hot broth to revive them. Also there was no discernible difference in the combo meats (tripe, tendon, steak, flank and balls). Frankly I don't think we got any tripe or tendon in the few pieces of meat available in the large order. Still the broth was great and it was fast enough that we could get on to our next event. Prices were good for the area, if a little high for what you get.

The Pho ga was delicious with nicely flavored broth and fresh add-in ingredients (sprouts, basil, lime, jalapeños). The star of the show, however, was the spring rolls with the most amazing peanut sauce. The rolls were assembled in nice proportions of lettuce, noodle and shrimp. A Jasmine tea just completed the experience. Excellent service. The ambiance was small, simple and a little cluttered with a take-out kind of vibe and only four or so tables.

My mom and I have been coming here regularly since it opened in 2020. This is one of our favorite spots for lunch, and I can't recall ever having less than stellar service here. Their pho is my favorite as it's very flavorful and aromatic. I've also tried their bun bo xao and bahn mi, both of which are fantastic. Their service is top tier and we have enjoyed making friends with the all people who work there. The environment is clean and smells amazing. If you're looking for authentic and delicious Vietnamese cuisine, this is the place to go.

I wish I had taken pictures of my food before devouring it. The beef Banh mi was amazing. I will dream of it for weeks to come. We tried both the beef and beef meatball pho and both were delicious. The broth is fantastic and you can tell they take their time with it. The egg rolls were solid and the dipping sauce slightly spicy in a great way. The employee that handled our transaction was super friendly and helpful. Would definitely order here again next time we are in town. Give this place a try and you won't regret it.

Small Vietnamese restaurant serving amazing food. I've been eating pho since I was a little girl and they have authentic pho. The broth is light and flavorful. It has a good ratio of noodles, meat, and broth. The extra large pho is enough to share. The owner and servers are very nice and friendly. Highly recommend!

My wife and I travel for work and have been in the area the last few months. We both agree that this place was the very best find while we have been in the area. I had the Pho with beef the first time we visited, my wife got the glass noodles with shrimp. Everything was delicious! We came back again and this time the gentleman that works there made some recommendations. So we got the egg rolls, the bánh mí sandwich (pork) and we each got Bun, mine beef hers shrimp. The sauces are amazing. The service is amazing. The food was so good we came back the next weekend and ordered the exact same thing again. A must try!

AMAZING! . It's a pretty small space so probably wouldn't be the best for big parties/groups of people. BUT, the food is AMAZING. . The shrimp spring rolls were so nice and fresh, some of the best spring rolls I've had from restaurants. 10/10 . The Pho was also really really good. Really light broth, does NOT need any extra ingredients like sriracha, hoisin, etc. the broth stood on its own, amazing! Personally I prefer a darker richer, saltier broth, But nevertheless, this bowl of pho was great. 8.5/10. . The service was good too! The waiter was very kind to us.

Ate there earlier today and it was fantastic, it's right off the main drag, but on a much quieter road, we ate outside as the interior was a bit small but the seats were nice, the waiter was friendly and even though he wasn't positive if the food was 100% gluten free he thought it was and didn't mind asking. I have a pretty sensitive response and I didn't have any problems at all with the Pho. It was savory and delicious!

The bahn mi was incredible. Great seevice and friendly family workers! Also tried the Pho which was great.

Found it! Great Vietnamese food, authentic and flavorful! Fresh tasting, light but filling, this little gem behind Main St. would be a go-to if I lived in Spartanburg. I live near Columbia but I just might drive back to eat here again. S'burg has lots of great dining options nearby, but this cute place has plenty of regulars, a small but comfortable dining area and one of the coolest owners I've met in a long time. Coming from out west, I don't miss the politics and prices, but I do miss the food. This place is not just great by SC standards, this place would be great in the Pacific NW too. Bun Bo Xao Xa (Vermicelli bowl with beef) is so tasty! The marinated beef is the perfect offset from the cucumbers shallots and herbs, giving it nice balance. The peanuts provide nice texture and the noodles are airy yet satisfying. Order the tea. It's fantastic! Definitely coming back!

First time here and it's probably the best pho I've had. The broth is so flavorful. I got the regular bowl and it was more than enough. But next time I'll def go for the large or XL just because it was really good.

Pho and boba were delicious! Very relaxed atmosphere. I loved the window seating and the service was quick!

I have the regular combo pho and the broth is really good, just that the noodles were stuck together and when I'd tried to separate them, they all had broken into small chuck of noodles. The banh mi had garlic in there, if it it was listed, it was my fault for not reading and the spring roll were just spring roll. Would definitely go back if I'm in the area.

Fantastic homemade Vietnamese food and a very helpful owner. He will make you feel comfortable and help you pick out an item if you have never had Vietnamese food. Go! You won't regret it.

Great food and outstanding customer service. Friendly staff. I got the egg rolls and beef glass noodles as takeout and decided to sit at a table outside (which the wait staff still serve). Even though I was a take out customer, they still checked on me to see if I needed anything. Convenient location, parking in the front.

Found this location from Yelp! It was a short walk from Spill the Beans cafe. Less then a 5 minutes walk. There isn't much to the outside with some tables with umbrellas for sitting. When you first walk in, it's a single small room with some beat up tables and bamboo on the walls. But, don't let the looks fool you into thinking you should run for the hills just yet. The menu is simple and small. The cashier was a gentleman who was very talkative and super helpful with explaining anything I had questions about. They had a ton of things that I wanted to try but my stomach wasn't all that happy with me that day. So I ended up going with a regular size chicken pho. It was steaming when he brought it out not even 6 minutes later and it was filled to the top with broth and the bowl was loaded with noodles and chicken. AND it smelled amazing. I wasn't able to eat all of it! But what little bit I did have was spot on perfect and super reasonably priced. I listened to other tables orders and it sounded like they were regulars. The cashier/server pretty much knew instantly what they always had and was really good at up selling for added in orders for them to take to go. From what I saw and heard... the spring rolls are made fresh to order and however you want them and the ramen is huge and smelled amazing.

Best shaken beef ever but portions are small. Parking is challenging too so if your picking up, bring a passenger prince or passenger princess

This place serves amazing Vietnamese and the owner is so nice. It's a small place so just go for the food.

Hands down my FAVORITE restaurant in this little town! So many Pros and no cons! 1. Plenty of parking around 2. Fair prices 3. DELICIOUS, FRESH, CLEAN, AUTHENTIC food!!!!! 4. Outdoor seating available 5. Provided bottled water 6. Awesome owner Brian who also provided excellent service! Came here on a chilly Thursday night for dinner, we sat outside because we had our beagle with us. I had the beef pho, and let me tell you when I say...I can't stop raving about the broth! Literally the first time I've ever enjoyed the broth so much I didn't add the hoisin or sriracha. My gf who has never been fond of pho actually said "I would come back for that broth!!!" Spring rolls were good, did not skimp on shrimp and the peanut sauce was *chefs kiss*. My gf ordered the shaking beef and absolutely loved it. I basically drank the rest of the dipping sauce that came with her steak, if it was bottled I would buy it to take home. Will definitely be back to try everything else on the menu!

Spring rolls are the best we've had in the Upstate. Excited to try sandwiches!! Hopefully, they're as authentic as the spring rolls!

The food is always fresh and good. The pho was very tasty and can't go wrong with the sandwiches. It's a little place but we didn't have to wait. They all seem nice there.

We love the food and service here. The owners are very friendly. This is our pho spot in town and it's the best. Small hole in the wall place but it's perfect.

Best Pho in Spartanburg. Tasty Vietnamese dishes served quickly in a casual setting. Friendly service.

The food was good, but on the pricey side for what you get. And the service is not so good. No one ever came to check on us, not once, and I've been 3 time now. I won't go back, because when you check out there is a tablet and it defaults to tip amounts of 18/20/25 percent so you feel awkward. Tip for what - awful service? Nah. (went to their website to see if there is an email address to let them know direct instead of posting on yelp, but there is no email address).

amazing food. becoming really nasty place, dirty, slippery floors, tables, spicy rack lots of spiderwebs everywhere. I hope manager hires cleaners.

Phu was excellent. Broth very good, lots of shrimp. All of the sauces available plus basil, sprouts, lime, jalapeños to add. Will be back.

Wow, bloody wow. Just randomly stumbled across this awesome restaurant while doing business in Spartanburg, SC. Talk about a circus in your mouth. I had the Bún Rice Noodle dish with chicken and my wife Debbie had the Phõ Noodle Soup with chicken. Both were just absolutely spectacular. Very inexpensive and the service was top notch from start to finish. Highly recommended. We will definitely be back. 3 thumbs up snd 5 stars from us. Wow. My belly is very happy right now :)

Our server was very helpful in describing the foods to us. We have tried different pho, the bahn mi, spring rolls, and bubble tea. Everything has been excellent.

The food is fantastic! This is a family owned and operated business. The food is very authentic and straight up delicious. Eat local....support local!

Think this one is a hidden gem! When the new owner first took over probably 2 years ago we were not as fond of it as the original owners however he has really stepped up his game and now the flavours are great. We especially like the Pho which the Broth will make or break! Now it is great and so are the Spring rolls! Owner is very nice and friendly to all who eat here especially when he has time! It can get very busy especially during weekdays lunch time!!! Definitely recommend!!! Yum!

I used to frequent this place 2017-2019 with the former owner. I loved this Vietnamese place. The pho was amazing on a cold winter evening. I would frequently call ahead my order and swing by to pick it up. I always ordered pho tendon and the owner was there all the time. The business owner was truly dedicated to the business. I'm finding now that business owners are often not at the store, but he was always delighted to greet his guests. The wait was never too long, and the food came out piping hot. I recommend ordering the pho and the banh mi. Both were delicious. I've had pho from NYC and from SF and this place was on par with the pho that I've had in foodie cities. This is the most ethnic and home-y meal in Spartanburg on a cold winter day. The Thai restaurant very close to here in contrast is maybe some of the worst "Thai" food I've ever had. The owner's family also owns the Banh Mi sandwich shop very close to town.

Me and my wife came here on a Saturday evening at 8:30 and they said we are closing and can't serve when there sign says it's open till 9pm. They lost our service for good! Never coming here again! Plus looks super getto inside. Such bad service

Lemongrass is my absolute favorite restaurant in all of the Upstate! The best authentic Vietnamese food you'll find in the area!

Small, hole in the wall spot. Friendly staff. Seems family oriented and owned. Little kiddos in and out, which my friend and I were entertained by. Pho was absolutely delicious. The broth was velvety and flavorful. Highly recommend!

Great food!!! Nice vibe. Good service but I Only been once so can't give the 5 stars....

Best Vietnamese around! AMAZING SERVICE ! Everything on the menu is on point! Set and setting are welcoming to all!

Best Pho Place Around here hands down....... I love the service. Best broth soo good. The place is small but the food is so worth it.