Vietnamese Grille

Food was really good. Price is great! The staff is so friendly. Really enjoyed it.

This place is the bomb diggity! Seriously, I love it. Everything tastes super & the price is reasonable. Only bad thing is it’s hard to find free parking nearby. I love their summer rolls, phở, and those chilled noodle bowls. The owner (?) lady is super nice & is always willing to talk/​accomodate you and your tastes if you ask.

Vietnamese grille is a bit hard to spot but it’s right by the side of fork and pasta. The food is descent, but overpriced for what you get. The calamari special is good but slightly bland. The phở is slightly below Phở Hanoi’s phở.

Nicest owners I’ve ever met. They are eager to cook to your desired level of authenticity, just tell them what you like! Otherwise, they will give you something tasty but not as bold as you may like.

Really convenient Vietnamese food that’s basically on campus. The phở is really good and my boyfriend loves the barbecued pork. The prices are fair and the owners are really sweet.

I ordered the pork banh mi and loved it! Pork was so flavorful and cooked in a very flavorful sweet sauce. For $ 4.50 the size of the sandwich was very generous as well! Could’ve used a tad more spicy mayo (i think that’s the sauce?) but I’m sure if you ask they will put more on for you. Will definitely be coming again to try the other dishes!

Came for lunch. Had chicken bahn mi and summer rolls. Rolls were very good and fresh. The bahn mi was ok. was a little disappointed. It needed more cilantro, was missing jalapeños and the usual pâté spread so seemed dry and missing usual kick of flavor and aroma. I came here specifically looking for bahn mi too.

It’s tough to be critical of small restaurants when you know how challenging the food business is with food costs, regulation, competition… but my hope is that the owners read these and separate troll material from constructive criticism.
Let me first say I’m spoiled when it comes to Vietnamese… lived in Orlando for 15 years… thriving Vietnamese area and even Jacksonville has a couple decent places. Passing through Gainesville so only experience here and looks like they just opened.
Small place. like a mini food court shared with a couple other restaurants. Owners were very friendly… we did chat a bit and the service was quick.
But he’s the problem. I only had the Beef Phở. But that SHOULD be how you judge a Vietnamese place… and it wasn’t very good. Broth is THE heart and soul of Phở… this was pretty bland… didn’t have that deep, rich charred onion/​ginger bone flavor and didn’t pick up much of the fragrant cardamom, clove, anise that balances a wonderful broth. I question whether it’s handmade.
I also enjoy the ritual of adorning my phở with basil, cilantro, sprouts, jalapeño and lime juice. Ughhh… when I got my bowl, it was a punch in the gut. The noodles were a bit undercooked… almost crunchy in middle. No meatballs. FIVE thin slices of beef, 3″ diameter. No sprouts. NO BASIL! (oh the horror) 3 slices of jalapeño and maybe a Tb of chopped cilantro, green o’s.
This is a college town… probably not much experience with Vietnamese here. (. I even asked one girl with a bowl how she liked it… she said very good but only had phở twice.). The people were so nice, I’d try them again and get the Bahn Mi… maybe salvation there, but the Phở was not very good at all.

Good Vietnamese food! Parking is probably the only con as it is hard to find a spot. Very good and diverse Vietnamese menu. Very close to campus. Definitely one of the best Vietnamese restaurants within Gainesville. I hate to say it, but I got there right before they closed, I try to not be one of those customers, but the owners were very welcoming and did not bat an eye. About 10 more students came in about 15 minutes late and she happily took their order. Being Vietnamese myself, I can say that the food is definitely on par with other typical Vietnamese restaurants in major cities.

Love good Vietnamese food. Not always easy to find in Gainesville. This place is the real deal.
Just had their Phở and spring rolls. Both really tasty. The Bahn Mi sandwich looked awesome too.

First time here and I had a yummy experience. The staff are very friendly. I have only ate at one other Vietnamese place so I’m not sure if this one is better or not. I don’t think it would be fair to judge since I’ve only eaten this type of cuisine twice in my life. But the dish I had today was good. Chicken rice bowl, pretty simple. I had the eggrolls which tasted a lot like lumpia. I love lumpia! So that was a nice surprise! Their eggrolls are made with a wrapper similiar to chinese springroll or lumpia not like the eggrolls you find in a chinese restaurant. I would go here again & try something else. WARNING the chicken and beef bowl come with a peanut crumble topping & I notice they cook with peanut oil and have a peanut side sauce so if you have peanut allergies it might s good for you to avoid this place :)

Not sure what to think about this place. It is clean, friendly workers, pretty good selection.
My wife and I ordered egg rolls (3), I had the grilled beef bowl and she had the grilled chicken bowl. The egg rolls are pretty good. The beef bowl was good but I didn’t really like the lettuce in the bowl with my hot food. It had a good portion of noodles but could have had a little more beef for an $ 8.95 bowl. Drinks extra. My wife liked her chicken bowl except for the peanuts. That was a little different.
This is my first time to a Vietnamese restaurant so maybe that’s just the way it done.

Banh Mi was great! Pork was absolutely delicious and the bread was baked to perfection
¹⁰⁄₁₀ — will come again

Pros: Closest Viet place off campus. Lovely staff
Cons: Banh mi and spring rolls are so far disappointing.
Bottom Line: If you need quick Viet stop by here for your fix; if you need quality head downtown instead to Faith Vietnamese.
Given the good reviews so far I was really excited to try the new Viet restaurant right outside of campus, but man was I sorely disappointed. Let me tell you the Asian in me sometimes craves the deliciousness that is a Banh mi. succulent meat dressed with pickled vegetables and a pâté sandwiched between a hearty banquette, few sandwiches can compare. Sometimes when I have the craving it is just insatiable and my brain can barely think of anything else. A few days ago I had such a craving so I just had to get the Banh mi and spring rolls which are always a staple.
Let’s start with the good. The sweet pork was really moist and was deliciously sweet and savory. If the meal had ended there I would have been happy, but the rest of the sandwich was just a disappointment. The bread wasn’t hardbut it wasn’t crispy — kinda like this soft stale piece of dough that was just unappealing. It was completely missing out on the crispy experience that all Banh mi need. The pickled vegetables were alright, however they weren’t shredded, which is not only a staple of Banh mi but adds this level of texture that also doesn’t have you stuffing your face with a mouthful of vegetables. Finally mess up the vegetables, mess up the bread, but do not forget the PATE!!! The pâté is this savory, mildly savory, paste that just brings everything together. Without it all you have is a disjointed mess of a sandwich with no harmony.
While not as disappointing, the spring rolls weren’t good. I got the shrimp and pork spring rolls, however pork was completely missing from my order. Additionally there was a overpowering fish smell that was unappealing. Finally they were lazy with the vegetables which was just a stalk of lettuce. Now let me tell you about the peanut sauce. That sauce was overly thick, overly pungent, and tasted more like congealed hoison sauce rather than the fresh and playful nuttiness that peanut sauce should embody. All in all highly disappointed.
I was super excited when Vietnamese grill opened up; we need more accessibility to real and done done Asian-​food. Sadly this is not it. Honestly the owners and servers are incredibly nice and it hurts me to break their momentum of good reviews with this critique, however if you’re looking for quality Banh mi you won’t find it here. Instead if you have the time head to Faith Vietnamese where the prices are comparable but the food is far better. Will probably come back to try their phở and rice bowls, however my expectations will be a lot lower.

As of late, there have been many Vietnamese restaurants in the area that either are popular for no reason or unfortunately do not last long enough to gather much of a fan base. Hopefully this is not the case with Vietnamese Grille, which I think may be the best restaurant that specializes in this amazing culture’s food in Gainesville. Though it is legitimately right across the street from campus, it is located in that little complex where How Do You Roll? used to be and near The Hyppo, and is not viewable unless entering that building. But I really hope that this does not prove to be a problem, because the staff here really knows what they are doing. I am a Phở lover, so I obviously ordered that, and let me just say how good it is. The broth was so good I totally forgot that there were people around me, and the terrified looks on their face summed up how much I liked it. They do not bog down their broth with unnecessary over seasoning (the chef told me that they do not use MSG – thank goodness), so the hearty beef flavor really shone through. Hey, if your base is strong enough, there is absolutely no need to «water» it down, and I am very happy to say that they agree.
I recommended my friend to go and try their Vermicelli Bowl and he said that he loved it as well.
As if the food wasn’t good enough, they also made the absolute best Vietnamese Coffee that I have ever had. Just strong enough that you can appreciate the flavor without being overwhelmed. As the previous poster wrote, I too am considering making that coffee a daily part of my school day.
The last thing I want to talk about is the staff; how sweet are they?! They seemed to know exactly when I needed something, and they even answered some questions I had about the dishes and their cooking processes. They seemed very happy to discuss something which the chef (or owner, not entirely sure) is obviously so passionate about. All three of the employees I saw were amazing. I have found my new resident Vietnamese restaurant, and I believe my friends have as well. I wish them all the luck.

I was a bit skeptical when I first went into Vietnamese Grille – the generic name, the kind of odd location (it’s in the Stadium Club building’s ground floor interior, near the back, which means unlike Cheese Daddy in the same building, it doesn’t have a streetfront door or signage and you have to go inside to find it) – all spelled out that this could be less than the best in Viet cuisine, but I was wrong. The couple who run it are middle-​aged and Viet; they seem very passionate about their business and also appear to know what they’re doing. It’s clear everything is being made from scratch: they explained the complex process of making their phở broth and my own order of Bo Luc Lac took about ten minutes to make, which is a good sign to me because it indicates that everything was being cooked to order.
The Bo Luc Lac was tasty, it contained quality cuts of beef, and was an ample serving. The white rice that came with it also was fresh and tasty, unlike some places where it’s clear the rice may have been sitting around a bit. The menu contains Viet standards – phở, of course – but also less-​common but authentic dishes such as Thit Xien Nuong (satay on skewers) and Muc Xao Xa Ot which is a spicy squid dish. While not nearly as extensive as the offerings of the Viet restaurants in Colonialtown in Orlando, the menu here offers plenty to choose from. I also had a Viet iced coffee and it was totally on point.
Vietnamese Grille is close to campus and reasonable in its prices. The set-​up is more for a quick meal or take-​away, so I don’t think it will cut into the sit-​down business that Faith Vietnamese has garnered, but there’s certainly room for two quality Viet restaurants in Gainesville and Vietnamese Grille does offer quality.

I’ve only eaten here once so far, but the place is new and I wanted to put in a good word. It’s so close to the UF campus — right across University Avenue from the stadium, basically, on the ground floor inside the same building with The Spot and Cheese Daddy. All the food shops share an open central area where there are nice tables.
Today I had Bún Bò, a special soup not on the regular menu (see photo). It was excellent, with perfectly cooked thick rice vermicelli, thinly sliced beef, and the ever-​present «special meat,» ch la. I was cautioned it would be very spicy, and it was, but not too spicy to slurp up as fast as I could.
I also had a perfect cà phê sa đá — Vietnamese iced coffee — which I may need to return for every day! I have drunk cà phê sa đá in every Vietnamese place in Gainesville, and this was the best I’ve had here, even though it was served in a plastic cup and already mixed.
I’m pretty jazzed to go back and try all the other things on the menu. The three people working there were super nice and welcoming.