Ninh Kieu

Went there for dinner only to discover they are closed for renovations.
THis rating is based not on their food, but on the fact that neither their phone nor anywhere online is this announced so don’t waste your trip!!!

I believe they have the best tasting Vietnamese food in Chinatown. However, service is lacking. Nam Son is better for service but worse in food, but you can’t eat service. The décor is also more elevated than the traditional bamboo/​tiki style build that most I’m accustomed to with Vietnamese restaurants.
The stand outs here are the grilled/​marinated pork and the soft shell crab.
The pork has a more bbq/​jerky quality which is better and taste/​size is the best in the area when it comes to the crab.

Ninh Kieu is a welcome new Viet spot in Chinatown!
Had this place bookmarked for a while for it’s consistently good Unilocal reviews despite being open for a short amount of time. The initial reviews really tell a lot about the food and service of a place, and Ninh Kieu is no exception to that rule.
Dina Q. and I came by for some warm phở after warming our souls doing some volunteer work a few blocks away ;) First impression: this place is super large and super super super clean! Second impression: why do they have the absolute nicest and cutest little owner ever?! He was seriously so sweet, always making sure we were being tended to and gave us ample time to pay the bill and apologized profusely when they started cleaning around us (it was a rather late dinner).
Onto the food — does not disappoint! We split an order of the fried calamari, which was a very substantial portion. However, the price of this dish was a bit higher than expected so it makes sense that the portion would be huge. The phở was great — perfect for the cold weather outside. Overall, a huge fan and would gladly return.

Delicious, fast food at this new Vietnamese restaurant. This past chilly weekend, I ordered a bowl of combination Phở. The broth was hot and hit the spot. I wish it was more herbal and had stronger cinnamon, clove, onion and star anise flavors. I tend to like strong flavors. I had Phở at a Detroit location less than a week earlier with strong flavor notes and larger quantity of noodles. That being said, Ninh Kieu will still meet your Phở needs. Ninh Kieu also delivers crispy, fried Vietnamese spring rolls.
The bathrooms are downstairs and smelled like there was a sewer back up. I hope they fix the smell in the basement soon.
Because their menu is so large, the server gave me generous time to review what I wanted to order. They were ready and at my table when I was ready. I appreciate that they didn’t rush me as it was my first visit.
If neither Phở or spring rolls meet you needs, Ninh Kieu has plenty of choices to pick from. I cannot wait to come back to try some other dishes like their vermicelli bowls when the temperatures warm up.

I think this is my new fav Vietnamese spot in the city. It’s a bit hidden on chrystie street, but close to b d train, next to a parking garage. This restaurant looks a lot bigger from the inside and is nicely decorated– there’s even a large train model covering the back wall. Confusing at first. But then I learned that phở in Cantonese is Faw cheh tuw meaning the front of the train… (I dont get it either). But at least I get the decoration.
After ordering, the food came out super fast. We ordered the usual Vietnamese spring rolls– wrapped with a leaf of lettuce and dipped in fish sauce. Yum. We also tried their soft shell crab appetizer and it was banging– super crispy on the outside and seasoned perfectly. My bowl of phở was very flavorful and I literally ate the entire huge bowl. The rest of my party ordered some type of pork with rice dish which they enjoyed.
As for the wait staff. They are pretty chill. Need something? Just waive your hand but like most Chinese restaurants in the area, don’t expect them to ask you how you’re enjoying the meal. Still the service is very efficient.
We felt so stuffed at the end and couldn’t believe our total for 4 people was $ 56. Give this place s try.

Big bowl of PHO #1 on the menu — $ 6.95. Credit card minimum $ 10 Charge.
Take your garnishments and condiments (sprouts, lime and basil mint leaves) and toss them into your big bowl of noodles while it’s hot and steaming; Let it soak and cook a bit before indulging yourself in some authentic bowl of Phở noodles.
The broth was very well made. Not too salty or full of MSG flavor enhancers, it was very creamy and not watered down. Noodles were a bit thicker than other places, but tastes so much better and the chewiness of the noodles matched perfectly with the broth. You can go for the multipurpose sriracha, but going for the home made hot sauce is the best way to go if you want to put some heat into your meal.
Décor is modern, sleek, a little tacky, but space and tables are very clean. Service was very attentive.
There’s a giant model of a train in the back of the place made out of ventilation plating and steel rivets, so random but also so cool at the same time.
Pretty sure they were speaking Viet when the cook came out to take a walk to chill with the rest of the crew. AUTHENTICITY SEAL APPROVED!

The décor looks modern with flat screen TV’s on the walls, exposed bricks and a big model train hanging over your head.
I ordered the Phở and enjoyed the broth. I couldn’t find any fault with the dish and will be coming again to try other things on the menu.
They also accept credit cards which is awesome in Chinatown.

The waitstaff were extremely patient and unhurried — very unlike what I’ve come to expect in Chinatown, and it was really nice. The food was cheap ($ 16 for two?!) and pretty solid. It’s tough because I remember what real phở is like and vegetarian phở, alas, cannot ever compare. (It was called «vegetarian phở», and I’m 90 percent confident it was vegetarian broth. The other ten percent of me didn’t really care. The fried tofu pieces were not my favorite topping but everything else was simple straight forward phở. The décor was nice and the atmosphere quiet. Great place to have dinner and catch up with a friend! I’d come again.

I’d moderately recommend coming to try this place just because it’s a bit different. They have options that usually aren’t in other Viet restaurants, like the bun bo hue! Also, their Viet coffee tastes legit — very thick and bitter-​sweet, just like it was in Vietnam.
Despite there being more authentic food options, my bun bo hue only tasted mediocre. My friend got a curry chicken bowl with bread and he said it was the most delicious one he’s tasted so far (too bad I didn’t get a chance to try it). My rating is only based on my bun bo hue noodle bowl. While the broth was *very* savory, the noodles and the meat were tasteless. The noodles were also kind of hard and the meat looked overcooked. The delicious broth is cancelled out by the bland noodles and meat to a total of 3 stars.
The décor is… interesting. There’s a set of trains and train tracks along the ceiling/​wall. It’s a pretty unconventional-​looking Vietnamese restaurant, that’s for sure. Also, this place is kinda in the middle of nowhere at the edge of Chinatown.
I might come back and try the phở; maybe then I can give a more accurate rating. Stay tuned.

Finally found a good phở place in NYC. Great cha gio too!
Phở’s soup was tasty and refreshing
Cha gio was perfectly crispy.

The phở tai:
This is up there with the best of Chinatown, for what that’s worth. The broth was delicately flavored – you could really taste the spices, like it was cooked carefully. It doesn’t seem to lean on msg to give it a boost, which earns it a plus point. And the beef was perfect – very thin, very rare, and after it cooked in the broth, it was still tender.
The bun bo hue:
My friend ordered this and… couldn’t stomach it. We’re both moderately adventurous eaters but something here was off, to our tastes. Maybe they cooked in some parts of pig or cow we just weren’t used to, and it threw us off? I’ve only had bun bo hue one other time, a few weeks ago at Thanh Da in Sunset Park (
) and there it was delicious – powerful to the point of being overwhelming, but delicious. I’d say that unless you know what you’re doing, be cautious with this, and if you’re really keen to try it, maybe order it to split alongside a safe dish.
The chicken banh mi:
Oddly, listed in the appetizers section. The waiter told us it was «medium size» and then proceeded to deliver us a massive sandwich, leaving me to wonder what, in this man’s imagination, qualifies as a large sandwich. Is it the size of a human thigh? Is it the size of a luxury fridge? If you laid it across the width of a typical American highway, would it fit? I digress: the sandwich was good – veggies could’ve been better, but the bread was crispy and flaky, and the chicken was tasty.
The service:
Sweet, attentive, and all around swell.
The space:
Chinatown, man. This is not a scene. It is a place to eat. They know it and, now, so do you.

We’ve been eyeing this place while it was mysteriously closed for a period of time (floor repairs, they explained), so we pounced on it the minute it opened.
Tried the bun rieu — a tomato, crab/​shrimp paste based vermicelli soup. Flavor was okay, a bit flat and lukewarm. Quite filling though with cha lua, fried tofu, shrimp and crab paste meatballs inside.
The egg rolls were crispy and good. The banh xeo does remain crunchy, even after sitting at our table for awhile, but it’s greasy and the crêpe has no real flavor. The filling is pretty good.
Friends were not too impressed with the thin ca ri ga, banh cuon cha lua or the chicken phở.
Despite our merely okay meal, I still do want to try their phở. The servers here actually are Vietnamese, and they’re nice !

I have to thank Unilocaler Meg H for steering me to this place. This is a much welcomed addition to ctown. Just be aware, they may not have fully opened yet because we stopped by here two weekends ago on a Saturday and they were closed at 6pm. Definitely call from beforehand.
Our group of 3 got:
Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Pancake) — Vietnamese drinking food apparently. Too bad there are no drinks here. You are more than welcome to BYOB, which we did. There was no corkage fee, though I’m not sure how long that will last. Not that you need a drink in your hand to enjoy this delicacy. The crust is crispy and the flavor was excellent inside. ⁴⁄₅
Cua Ram Muoi (Fried Crab Marinated in Salt & Pepper) — They didn’t have regular crabs and gave us soft shell crabs instead. Soft shell crab is usually always good but not many places can get the seasoning done as well as the ones here. ⁴⁄₅
Muc Chien Don (Crispy Squid with Garlic Sauce) — I was comparing their version with the ones from Nam Son and Thai Son. They were quite similar which is a good thing. They fried it a little lighter here (you can tell from the color) but it has that same crispy texture. I didn’t love the garlic sauce as much but the squid itself is so good, you could just eat it w/​o the sauce if you wanted. ⁴⁄₅
Banh Hoi Bo Lui (Grilled Beef, Sesame seasoned, on Rice Stick w/​Lettuce Cucumber and Mint) — My friend got this dish. He said this was one of his favorite dishes in Vietnam. I tasted it and the beef was really quite good. You wrap it in lettuce along with some rice stick, mint, crushed peanuts, dip it in the sauce and just enjoy your bite. ⁴⁄₅
Bun Bo Hue (VN Style Pork Leg w Spicy Beef Soup) — The dish looked great (check out my photo) but I was disappointed by the complete lack of seasoning in the broth. It had a good kick to it but it was unbalanced. Not recommended. 2.5÷5
Phở Broth — We wanted to try the phở but were too full so we just got a small bowl of the phở broth on the side which they didn’t charge us for. The broth was very good. It was well balanced with a complex, deep flavor. I’ll definitely be coming back here for a proper phở dish. ⁴⁄₅
Service was refreshingly good for a ctown joint. Our waiter was a cheerful & helpful guy in his 40s. Not some grumpy old Chinese man. The décor was also better than average for the neighborhood, though that could be just because they are new. I hope they stick around. The menu is authentic and there are quite a few things I’d like to try, starting with the phở.

I dined here over three times. But I think it closed down because for the past few weeks I tried to get lunch here and they have a closed sign and the restaurant was completely empty and dark even though the lights for the sign was still on. Services– typical Chinatown service– quick and to the point. The décor was interesting. They have a choo choo train in the back and a large decorative phở bowl. Workers here speak, vietnamese, cantonese, mandarin, and english.
Here is my review for dining in. I took my Mother out here because she loves Vietnamese food. We ordered the Bun rieu, bun cuon, and spring rolls with vermicelli. Bun Rieu is delicious and for $ 8. It’s vermicelli with soup and it has shrimp paste that you can mix into it. There are also chunks of tomatoes, tofu, and pork balls in there. I usually get this with spicy red peppers. The bun cuon was ok– $ 6.50. I had much better. Its rice noodles and slices of ham with nuoc cham sauce and bean sprouts. The spring rolls were ok.
For take out I had the phở for $ 6. The meat and vermicelli were good but the soup was awful. It taste like one of those take out Chinese restaurant soups. I did not taste much beef flavor in the soup. Now phở has a lot of msg in it but the phở here seem to have a lot more msg and my friends also agree with me on this one. It really turned me off from getting phở here again.
I hope they will reopen because I really miss the bun rieu here. But I would not recommend the phở here.

Tried to visit this place TWICE in the past 3 weeks for dinner but it has been closed!!! No sign or anything either. Anyone know what happened!!!
I really love this place and miss their bun rieu. Please come back!!!

This place is Great! While this place hasn’t been around for long, one of the things that I like is this place is Very clean. The bathroom and all the chairs are much cleaner than any other Vietnamese place in Chinatown. The décor inside is very elaborate (choo choo train, asian paintings, and other jazzy lights) and has a nice ambiance.
The Good: Plenty of Group Seating, Nice staff, Very Delicious meals (We had spring rolls, pork chop over rice, phở, the Vietnamese pancake thing is so yummy. it’s made with lentils! yum!) This place might even be a little bit tastier compared to neighboring Vietnamese restaurants. The prices are very reasonable but a little bit more expensive than other similar restaurants.
The only thing is, how the heck do you pronounce the name of this place?

Holy mother of pearls! This place has a HUGE variety of Vietnamese dishes. yes yes, I know… it’s because it’s a Vietnamese restaurant duh. But this place has all of my favorite Vietnamese dishes! It is usually hard for me to just find one of my favorite item on the menu.
So to the juicy stuff… the food is yummy! This place may be the best Vietnamese restaurant that I have tasted in the city. I say may because I want to try more items and eat here a few more times to see if the quality is consistent. Good prices too or maybe I’m just used to effin Williamsburg prices.
I didn’t try the phở but upon walking in it smelled legit, like those hardcore phở places in California so I’ll have to try when the weather cools down.

I came to Ninh Kieu with my boyfriend for dinner after a day full of shopping. The first thing I noticed was that we were immediately greeted by two staff members and as we made our way in, I noticed the interesting interior design and the laid-​back atmosphere. The staff here is extremely attentive and friendly too.
My boyfriend got his usual «Phở Xe Lua» which looked good and as usual his dish came out first. I ordered the Grilled Beef with sesame seasoning & lettuce on Rice Vermicelli. The grilled beef was rolled into a small roll. It was grilled just right, seasoned perfectly and had a little scallion inside it. I also ordered the Fresh Soda Lemonade which tasted amazing and so so refreshing. I really enjoyed it.
We also ordered the Vietnamese Spring Rolls which were simply the best-​looking spring rolls I’ve ever had and they were crispy, crunchy, and just packed with deliciousness!
Ninh Kieu is new to the Chinatown hood and I highly recommend you give it at least one shot. It’s a nice laid-​back and cozy restaurant and the food is trul. y Authentic

Welcome to the ‘hood Ninh Kieu! As the new kid on the block, Ninh Kieu definitely sets a good impression. With an elaborate interior design, reminiscent of bamboo roofing and a rope light lit locamotive, its definitely got a cooler vibe than most Chinatown restarants without getting into the cheesy category.
The service is better than average — the staff speak no fewer than four languages, and there are plenty of people around to put an order in or explain the menu. They deliver food to the table quickly (but not all at the same time. So if you’re a stickler for ettiquete, you might want to check that at the door.) It was a breeze getting our meals.
Value, just like other Chinatown haunts, is affordable for pretty much anyone and sure to please. Feeding a family of five came out to $ 45. The quality is par.
The food… is okay to mediocre. Its not bad. Its not special. It’ll fill you up. But it won’t make you do the happy dance. We ordered phở, curry chicken, and a pork pâté dish I can’t recall. We debated getting more food, but we were pretty full after our respective dishes. Would I try it again? Maybe. It was okay.

First thing you’ll notice is the pretty cool and (probably) authentic Vietnamese interior design. Three rows of tables (plenty of 6-​seaters).
We came at dinner time on the day after the grand opening so service was a bit spotty (as expected). The food more than make up for it though. For appetizer, we ordered «Goi Cuon» (shrimp summer roll) and «Banh Hoi» (some sort of grilled pork lettuce roll). Both were common dishes in other restaurants, but probably the best Goi Cuon I’ve had (that weren’t homemade). The rice wrapping paper was very thin and soft. They served only one purpose, to hold all the yummy inside. In most NYC Vietnamese restaurants I’ve been to, the wraps are always very thick and sometimes even al dente (yuck). Not these ones. I’m not a fan of the messy Banh Hoi but the grilled pork were delicious.
We had Phở (duh!) and Bun Bo Hue for entrees as they are how one should rate a VNese restaurant. Very satisfied.
Great addition to the neighborhood. We’ll be back for more, often.
PS: They have «Bun Rieu» listed on menu but wasn’t available to order yet. Will be back for this! Hard to find dish.