@ The Spot
“Also got the fries spring rolls which was excellent and came with authentic fish sauce.”
“I really enjoy the summer rolls with shrimp, the classic pho, and bah mi sandwiches.”
“Beef cubes – This is always my boyfriend's go to order whenever we have viet and this got his stamp of approval.”
@ The Spot
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
7 reviews
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– recommend: beef pho classic
– beef pho included tripe, raw thin sliced beef, and cooked brisket
– the tripe didn't add much to the flavor, was more textural than anything
– they include more scallions/cilantro/sliced onions than most restaurants, which I know might be a negative for some people, but I enjoyed it
– the brisket actually tasted more like tripe than the tripe itself
– do NOT get the lemonade unless you enjoy sugar water with a hint of mint, I had to mix it with equal parts water to drink it, though you may want to get it just for the novelty of drinking out of a large light bulb
– the coffee was not sweet (preferable) but also tasted watered down
– the broth was clean and flavorful but lacked depth/dimension
– my lunch companion had the grilled pork bahn mi; her comments were that the bread was enjoyable, but the bread to filling ratio could've been better
– cute decor, personable staff, seats probably no more than 16, not good for groups
Let me just start off by saying I love the decor. The marquee lights, the trendy edison bulbs, the brightly colored stools that add just the right amount of color, that interesting reflective ceiling, and the wall of Sriracha bottles! (I'm really into decor lol) It's always nice to know that the owner of the place really wanted the place to look nice. Of course decor doesn't really tell you how the food is but the food was delicious!
Spring rolls – Crispy perfection. The filling is also really good with the variety. It's not just some meat and vegetables, there's noodles and wood ear mushroom too.
Grilled Pork Chop Pho – Normally my go to is a classic beef pho but I saw them grilling the pork chops and the smell just convinced me to get this instead. The pork chop is tender with really good flavor. The broth is so comforting especially on cold and rainy days that we've been experiencing.
Beef cubes – This is always my boyfriend's go to order whenever we have viet and this got his stamp of approval. The beef cubes, just like the pork chop, was tender and so flavorful. This dish is really great for lunch or dinner.
They're still in the "soft opening" phase but I think they're already doing really well. I look forward to trying them out again, especially their banh mi sandwiches. Love me a good viet sandwich.
The spot is 'spot' on in making pho. I ordered the pork chop and it was juicy and flavorful and huge (not like those tiny strips some places give you). My friend and I also had the summer and spring rolls. The summer roll was fresh! The spring rolls was crispy — made w wonton skin instead of the usual chewy thicker version. So glad I found this gem — will be back soon!
Note: Cash only
I feel like the Vietnamese food scene in Manhattan has always been lacking. Was hoping @The Spot would fill this void, but unfortunately it falls a little short. As of 03/17, the store is still in trial opening mode. Here are some thoughts I have:
My friend and I ordered the pho tai. As other Yelp reviews have already noted, the broth lacked flavor. I didn't catch that rich, savory flavor with a bit of mellow sweetness that's typical of delicious pho. When you have to add lots of sriracha to make a bowl of pho more flavorful, you know something's off. I did appreciate the generous amount of noodles and beef included though. The beef was also not overcooked like some other places. Bean sprouts, mint leaves, and lime were served on the side.
We also tried the fried spring rolls, which were nothing spectacular either. I'm no chef, but I'm pretty sure they used Chinese spring roll wrappers rather than rice papers. Would definitely enjoy the appetizer more if they switch to rice papers and offer more lettuce to wrap each roll with.
Despite shortcomings, there are some things that @ The Spot does right. Portions are generous, prices are affordable, servers are attentive, and the decor is clean and modern. I do hope they make some substantial improvements before their grand opening. Will consider coming back, but only if I'm in the area.
I ordered pho from here via Seamless. There are not too many Vietnamese pho places in Midtown. I ordered from some Vietnamese placed where the noodles tasted stale before. So I normally would get my pho from Obao; however, I know that their pho is not authentic and they tend to use a lot of MSG (even though the pho bo is a Michelin recommended dish at Obao).
I rated the beef pho from @the spot a 4 because: 1. Noodles were cooked properly and it's not stale. 2. The broth has flavor to it and you could taste the ginger from the soup (Obao boasts that they simmer their beef soup base with ginger for hours, but their soup base certainly doesn't have any ginger taste to it, it just tastes salty). 3. The soup arrived lava hot, it makes cooking the raw beef easier without having to heat up the soup again. Also, @the Spot has better packing skills than a lot of the Vietnamese restaurants in midtown. They use the bigger takeout box for the noodles and meats rather than the smallest takeout box most places would use to separate the noodles (the cramped noodles would then be difficult to break away from the cube). In addition to the beef pho, I had a piece of the grilled pork chop from my friend's order, the pork chop was flavorful.
However, I could share other Yelpers' concern that they do not give you enough meat. My order came with only 3 pieces of meat and a little bit of beef tripes.
Overall, I enjoyed my beef pho from @the Spot, and would definitely order from here again or try their other items.
I just tried the Banh Mi and it was great! It's a large serving size, the bread was crisp on the outside but still soft on the inside. I tried the pork chop and was surprised that it had pate in it. I like pate, but not everyone does. The only other comment is that I would add a little bit more cilantro or the option to include jalapeños. I would definitely eat this sandwich again.
Also, I noticed that they were giving people beansprouts and basil with their soups instead of the lettuce mentioned my first review!
I have ordered a couple of different dishes here: the original Pho, the beef over rice, and the original Viet Sandwich. They are a cash only establishment which can be inconvenient. I was able to use my credit card by ordering through Yelp, however, when I arrived at the estimated time, I still had to wait an additional 15 minutes.
I had the Beef Pho twice, the first time the noodles were clumped together and the second time, the beef slices came half raw and half fully cooked. Despite that, the soup was still pretty good which made the order acceptable.
The Beef Cubes dish was pretty good, I thought the portions here could have been more. It wasn't enough to fully satisfy my appetite.
The original Viet Sandwich was pretty good. The french baguette was perfectly toasted and the ingredients inside were fresh and rich. It was a perfect combination with the Pho soup.