May Cafe

The reason why this place gets a four out of five is simple. The food and staff are amazing. My family and I are regulars and even the owner knows us. Same great food and same great prices since I was a little kid. I always look forward to some amazing Phở. The reason why it’s not a five star is because our most recent visit there is a new waitress and she talked down to us like we were unfamiliar with the place and acted as though she was better than us. Other than that I highly recommend

I bet this place was pretty cool back in the 80s judging by its fancy retro 80s décor. But besides the retro décor this place has great prices, a very friendly wait staff, good vermicelli bowls, ok phở and spring rolls and a decent Banh Mi Sandwich. Is it the best spot for Vietnamese food in the international district. probably not but still A-​OK in my book for what that is worth.

One of my favorite places to eat. The spring rolls are the best in town. The wonton soup is delicious, but can only eat in the winter. I usually get the roasted chicken plate. The wait staff is great and friendly. Try and you won’t regret it.

My favorite Vietnamese place in ABQ. It’s the usual Asian joint type interior, nothing updated, a lot of plastic, but I guess that adds some hipness to the place. Orders are taken quickly, and food delivered in a very timely manner. I love the phở, though I find some of the broths a bit sweet for my taste. The jalapeño fried meatballs are incredible. A nice addition to traditional with some New Mex thrown in. I have tried several of the meals, and always like them, the calamari is excellent. The spring rolls are absolutely the best in the city, very fresh. It’s a favorite in ABQ, and is always busy. The parking lot is a bit small, but you can part on the street behind the place.

Food: 1
Service: 2
Value: 2
I’ve heard about this place, and with the glut of Vietnamese restaurants here in Albuquerque, I figured I’d give this one a try. Couldn’t hurt, right?
For lunch, asked the waiter to recommend between two dishes (pork fried rice versus vermicelli with pork and egg rolls). Had a hankering for fried rice, so ended up ordering it. Also, in addition, added an order of spring rolls.
Spring rolls came out with a fish sauce. Curious… asked for peanut sauce and used that instead. Decent, about average.
I then dug into the pork fried rice. The pork was a BBQ pork that was bland and unflavored. Took a few more bites, and was further disappointed. I think someone had burnt the egg that was scrambled into the dish, then tried to cover it up with using excessive amounts of salt. After a few bites, it was just intolerable.
Mentioned this to one waiter (not mine), who offered to replace the dish. He then got my waiter, who offered me… 15% off the full bill. Great… I guess?
15% off of a dish I’ve taken a few bites out of, that was completely inedible.
I won’t be going back. Such a disappointment. There are way better options here in Albuquerque.

OMG so I was here when I arrived in Albuquerque for a business trip and was desperately craving Phở. I messaged a friend from the area and he pointed me here. So my boyfriend and I stopped by on our way home from meeting colleagues.
I can’t really say much regarding in house service — I was exhausted, wanted to go back to his place, and eat and relax at home. But now take-​out OMG it was fast and food was delicious. I ordered the special Phở and the spring rolls. Not only was the food ready to go within 10 minutes everything was piping hot and delicious when we got home about 10 minutes later. One caveat for this — the Phở is «some assembly required.» Understandable so that everything stays as fresh as possible, the only downside is that if you don’t have a bowl at home big enough… you are going to need a pot ;-).
Pot or not, this was quite delicious! Next time I’m back in town I’ll definitely be back and try in-​house service. If you want Phở, want to eat at home, and are near the AFB take a chance and stop by!

may café is my ruler to measure vietnamese restaurants in ABQ.
food is consistent — OK.
service is consistent — OK
I’ve never had a bad experience here. but I’ve also never had that «WOW-​that was special,» experience either.

4.5 stars. Fast and delicious and cheap family-​owned place. The phở and all the other soups are HUGE and delicious.

My mom showed me this place when I moved to Albuquerque 8 years ago and I’ve been in love ever since. I would say that this is the best Vietnamese restaurant in town but I’ve never strayed from this place. It is consistently amazing and I have no reason to go anywhere else. I usually get takeout and its never half assed. It’s perfect every time and in an 8 year time span, that’s pretty impressive. I recommend this place to everyone and anyone who likes an authentic, delicious experience. The beef soup… I’d eat it in the summer everyday. It’s that good. Keep being wonderful, May Café.

All the food looked great. I ordered the combo (number 57) on suggestion from a colleague that was with me. He said had had it before and it was very good. So I gave it a try. I looked amazing! However the noodles were cold and the meats were room temperature. I also thought I was getting Phở but it only came with a tiny bit of water/​juice. I asked my colleague if it was supposed to be severed cold with hardly any water and he said yes. So I guess I just ordered the wrong thing. Had we not been in such a rush, I would have asked them to microwave it. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and gave them 3 stars; maybe I just ordered the wrong thing.

For being in the war zone the interior is quite fancy. Staff does a good job to make you feel welcome and taken care of as soon as you enter. The menu is vast and we decided on the Egg Rolls, Beef Bahn Mi, I had Phở Tai and the boyfriend had the lemon grass soup that has beef, pork, and pork shank. The Bahn Mi was very good, we went with the beef as our server recommended it. The egg roll were pretty good, not the best in town but still quite tasty. My Phở tai with rare beef was good. The broth was slightly sweeter than some, The beef was chewy and I would have preferred it sliced thiner. The lemongrass spicy soup was very good. A nice experience and good value. So far all of the Vietnamese restaurants have been tasty. We ordered too much food and barely ate all the vittles out of the stew. You can order a smaller size soup for a dollar more or a sumo size soup for two dollars more. 25 $ for 2 appetizers and 2 substantial bowls of Phở

Certainly worth a visit. Much wider selection of dishes than many other local Vietnamese restaurants. Very inexpensive, as well. Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the interior is nicely decorated and pleasant. Wait staff was helpful and attentive. Overall would definitely return.

My favorite Vietnamese restaurant here in Albuquerque! Great location right across from the Talin Market where I’m guessing they get their fresh tasting ingredients from. Love their rice vermicelli here so delicious.

The phở here is probably the best in terms of broth. I thought the rare steak was cut too thick though. The service is quick and the waiters are super attentive. I also had the garlic chicken wings which was pretty good. It was marinated with fish sauce so it might not be for everyone since fish sauce is more of an acquired taste in my opinion. The restaurant is pretty spacious and clean.

Another «in my hood» staple. May Café. I always get vegetarian sandwich and vegetarian spring rolls. This sandwich comes with tofu, pickled carrots, pickled daikon, cilantro, jalapeño, slight mayo on a fresh rice flour bread. Crisp tart and filling. It seriously is my addiction. Try it! This is run by family — always kind courteous service.

Came here to get dinner on a weeknight. I was craving phở, so that’s what I got. It was really delicious, but you can tell that they put a ton of MSG in there. I tried my girlfriend’s fried noodle dish with seafood. That was super delicious as well, but once again… you can taste the MSG. I guess I just really love MSG.
For dessert, we tried their tiramisu with vietnamese coffee. I usually don’t like to eat dessert, but this was an exception. It was the best tiramisu I’ve had. It was a not very sweet, and fairly light fare.
Even though the taste of the food was great, I had to knock down a star because of the amount of MSG they put in their dishes.

I am a fan of May Café, and this is known because I have been going there off and on for years. Since this is a local restaurant, the service is always genuinely better than any chain. This is my sister’s favorite Vietnamese restaurant, and so I’ll treat her out there knowing that we will enjoy great food, good service, and a nice atmosphere. Two thumbs up exist for May Café.

Vietnamese food is always interesting and busting with flavor. That’s why I love May Café — they really do this cuisine justice.
We’ve been here several times while in the Q. I can personally vouch for the quality of their iced coffee (OOOOOOH COFFEE WITH SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK IS HEAVEN SENT) and any number of their dishes.
Last time around, my husband got the Phở, my Father in Law got the Pork and Shrimp Bun (Pork and Shrimp over vermicelli noodles, a sweet sauce and peanuts) and I got the lemongrass chicken. All were excellent. The lemongrass chicken was spicy and flavorful — though it wasn’t the prettiest dish to look at. No big deal, taste is all that matters.
We always come here when we’re in Albuquerque — as much as I love the red/​green chile native to the region, sometimes you need a change from that, and May Café always takes us with open arms.

May Café has great food. Their Vermicelli Noodle Bowls are some of the best in town. At some other places, they are kind of oily and lackluster, but here they do a a wonderful job! You can mix it up and get different types of meat or tofu and different sauces (like the spicy lemongrass which is my fave). Do yourself a favor and get the egg rolls IN your vermicelli bowl. It is soooo tasty!
Their spring rolls are great, as is the dipping sauce it comes with.
I love the fact that they have a large selection of vegetarian dishes. The food comes out very quickly and is full of flavor and freshness.

Just your typical Vietnamese Phở restaurant. The service here is great. The food here is pretty good also but not as good as what I can get back home in SoCal. This is my go to place becuase the service is quick, the food is tasty, and the prices are great.
The menu includes plenty of choices so your bound to try something you like.
I’ll be back when I“m in the area again.