An Choi
“Bahn-mi bread perfectly baked to be crunchy on outside and soft on inside with a hearty balance of protein to veggies & sauce.”
“The place is a bit cramped, which is standard for a place in the LES/near Chinatown, and the ambiance was relaxed and dimly lit.”
“and wash it all down with a cocky rooster (beer + sriracha + salt + other interesting bits).”
An Choi
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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The veggie pho at An Choi is so great! I am so lucky my friend introduced me to this unassuming gem. We also got a mix of veggie spring rolls to start and each one was more delicious than the last, although I think the one with brussels sprouts was my fave. We sat at the big communal table in the front window and enjoyed a long, lazy Sunday lunch that was much more luxurious than it should have been. Love this place!
You will feel cool simply by eating here. The interior is decorated REALLY nicely, the clientele here is pretty hip, and the street it's on is one of the best in all of NYC.
They offer standard Vietnamese fare (pho, banh mi, vermicelli, meat/fish entrees) done really well and priced cheaply. May be biased about their banh mi as these are the first I'd ever had (vietnamese sandwiches, just in case), but I can't get enough of the original sandwich here. Drink program as of late 2014 was a bit weak, none of the cocktails seemed the great… would go with beer/wine unless they've improved it since then. The place is a great experience and a phenomenal meal.
What the fuck happened here?
I've been back twice since my last review and the broth is all off. Something is missing and I don't know what it is, but what I do know is that I don't like it enough to order again. If I can make it better then you, you better wow me with service, strippers or cocaine, because I won't go out of my way to come back or recommend. The sandwiches ARE still on point. I'm just so disappointed with the broth, now.
Finally- a half Bahn-Mi sandwich & half Pho soup special to help you try both Vietnamese favorites in one meal.
Atmosphere: casual, tightly packed, some Vietnamese propaganda decor to make it feel more divey
Service: existent but not super attentive- more like call me if you need me but I'm not hovering on your water consumption
Food: sooooo good- and the reason it's packed. Pho had a very rich broth that was still seeping the oxtail juices out of my pores the next morning- but was definitely made better with some sriracha & duck sauce added in addition to the basil & jalapeños. Bahn-mi bread perfectly baked to be crunchy on outside and soft on inside with a hearty balance of protein to veggies & sauce.
Delicious Pho at An Choi really hit the spot. It was a chilly early spring morning. I love the cozy atmosphere and attentive service.
A tight squeeze but some good food. Maybe not a place for a business dinner but rather for the anti-business dinner. You know, there have been too many heavy meals on the trip but you still need something to eat? This is a good place. It has a lot of healthy and lighter vegetarian choices. It was loud and crowded so don't plan to hang around or carry on a detailed conversation.
An Choi serves Vietnamese food with some street food style and LES hipster flair. On one hand, it has a traditional banh mi pho menu and decor to fit an authentic street cafe. On the other hand, the beer/wine selections, the grungy bathroom, and the price point show us that gentrification is alive and well.
We were seated quickly on a Sunday at 1:30 pm, thankfully since it was a bit nippy outside. Service is prompt and good at checking in, asking good questions and keeping things short and sweet. Seating can be a little cramped (you are still in the LES), so think twice about bringing the baby carriage.
We ordered:
Pho bo dac biet (beef noodle deluxe soup)
Taro fries with kewpie
Original banh mi with pate
The pho is classic and simple, with a mild beef broth, lots of meat, and just cooked noodles. You get all the bean sprouts, onions, and basil on the side. Compared to the $6 bowl of pho you can get on Baxter St, at An Choi you get more meat and a less sodium laden broth. Size is about the same, but quality is a bit better. That said, the deluxe is $13.50, so its double the price of crosstown competition.
Taro fries are a nice change from potato fries. Taro is not as crispy as potato, and is more cakey/spongy in texture. Kewpie is delish, add some sriracha for amped up deliciousness. While novel and fun, the taro fries lack the salt and satisfaction as potato fries – I'm not sure I'd get it again.
The banh mi was okay. The bread isn't as crisp as a baguette should be – this version is more chewy. Flavors are rather mild. I would rather go to Hanco's. Price was fair though.
Fun to try, not bad. But not amazing.
I ate at An Choi last Friday night with two friends. It was about a 15-20 minute wait at 7:45 pm, which wasn't bad at all. The service was a bit slow once we got seated though. It took quite a while for someone to take our order and no one came to refill our waters. The food and drinks came out quickly though. We each got a margarita but they weren't very strong. We got the chicken and pork egg rolls to start, and they were surprisingly really good! They were a good size too. (I hate it when egg rolls are tiny!)
I can never choose between banh mi and pho, and I really loved that fact that An Choi had a combo option: half banh mi and half pho. This is the first place I've found that does this! I got the original banh mi and the spicy beef soup. I thought the flavor of the soup was really good (not very spicy though), except that the noodles were more like udon noodles, instead of pho noodles. My friend got the chicken pho and her noodles were pho noodles, so I'm not sure why mine came with a different kind. The banh mi was okay, but definitely not amazing. The bread was too chewy and the inside was lacking a certain sauce. It was still a satisfying meal and very filling. The music and the atmosphere were enjoyable as well. It's a great to go with one or two friends, but definitely not a group. Definitely not good for a first date though–I think it'd be too loud.