Indochine Cafe

This cuisine is authentic and delicious. Period. The food is also extremely inexpensive and the portions are big. A bowl of Phở, for instance, could easily be shared between my daughters and I, or portioned into 2 meals. Everyone is friendly, and the restaurant is clean. You MUST try this place!

Came here for the first time today and ordered Bun Thit Bo Nuong. When it came out there was a peanut garnish on top and I explained to the waitress that I have a peanut allergy. The waitress took the dish and said that she would let the kitchen know. Shortly afterwards, the owner came out and rudely said that the dish is served with a peanut garnish and that I should have said I had a nut allergy when I ordered. Before ordering I looked at the menu to see if nuts are listed as an ingredient and it wasn’t listed but the owner insisted that it was. When I showed him on the menu that it wasn’t listed he pointed to a picture on the menu with a barely visible peanut garnish. He was extremely rude and I will not be returning.

My favorite place to get phở. I love this restaurant they also have great spring rolls. Being gluten free they were very accommodating. When ever I am sick there phở makes the world a better place. They are a great restaurant in Whitehall.

Food portions are very generous. Place and staff was very friendly. Spring rolls were really good. That itself is enough if you are not very hungry. But going into this café whats the point if you don’t try the Phở.
BTW try the Thai tea. It was very delicious.

Probably one of my favorite places to eat in the Columbus area. Not only is the food amazing, the owners are very kind and make you feel as though you are family. Great place!

LOVE Love Love Indochine! Such a great mom and pop place. The place is really a hidden gem. Fantastic Pad Thai and you must have the Spring Rolls!

What else can I say other than they have the best phở in cbus. The owners are great and make you feel like family. This is my go to phở place.

I saw this place on food network years ago thanks to their giant phở bowl challenge, and finally this year I was able to visit! While they no longer have the challenge I was FAR from disappointed. This place has the best phở I have ever had. I am so happy that I could introduce my friends who live in Columbus to this place! I will always stop here when I am in Columbus. The interior is clean, the building itself is incredibly modern compared to the surrounding buildings, the service is great (the owner is great to talk to!), and the menu options are all incredible. I always order phở, but I have tasted my friends order of fried rice and holy cow is it delicious! I always thought fried rice was basically the same in most places, but I have never been so wrong! If you aren’t a big phở person the fried rice is an extremely solid choice. I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this place, so trust me and enjoy :)

I’ve ordered Indochine twice for take out and dined in once at this point, and I just have not been blown away… at all. With all of the great reviews, and the location being right near my work, I expected a lot, but what I’ve had so far didn’t do it, so it’s hard for me to justify coming back.
The first time I ordered, I got the banh mi, which was probably the best thing of everything I’ve had so far here, but even that didn’t have much in the way of ingredients. I ordered the large, which is just two small ones, and although I really enjoyed the flavors, there just wasn’t much in it. I could have used a bit more pork. I also tried the egg rolls, but they were really dry. I really should have gone with the spring rolls, since those look much better.
The second time I got it to go, I went with the beef vermicelli, and they didn’t give me any of the sauce that was supposed to go with it. I ate the meat, but it was pretty much impossible to eat the rest of the meal without any sauce, since it’s so dry already. Accidents happen, so I can’t be too judgemental on that, but if the sauce makes the dish, I’ll probably pass.
Finally, I went with a group of friends to dine in, and I ended up ordering the Tom Yum Phở, because I’d heard it was pretty awesome. I love Tom Yum soup, and the this phở was pretty tasty, but I wasn’t digging the pork in it. It’s pretty dry and has the outsides edges tinted pink with whatever it was cooked with. The broth was pretty good though, and they have huge portion sizes, so you probably won’t even finish it.
The service was pretty bad even though it wasn’t really busy at all. The young girls working there didn’t seem like they really wanted to be there at all, and everything was just incredibly slow. Five of us were there for well over an hour for lunch. It’s hard for me to knock this place considering how much people love it, but I have just not have enjoyable experiences here.

One of the best ‘accidental’ discoveries of my culinary life.
The owner is hilarious and gave me tips on which herbs and vegetables
would assist with various health concerns that I discussed with him.
The food is AWEWSOME!

Excellent food. Great service. This place needs to expand to a larger building. As we were eating people were standing waiting for a table because the place was so busy at lunch time. This was my
First time here and I will definitely come back.

Delicious, family owned restaurant that serves great food. One of my favorite places to dine in Columbus. They serve delicious no fuss Vietnamese food in a relaxed casual dining atmosphere. Enjoy!

This place is surprisingly a gem! Overall I enjoyed my visit and would def consider return if I happen to be in the area. We had phở tai (the only one that we didn’t like so much bec it lacked of ingredients… there was barely no beef), bun cha gio thit heo nuong (eggrolls and grilled pork; this dish is very very delicious-​both the eggrolls and the pork, it’s a colder dish and great for stimulating your appetite especially in the summer time, would definitely get this dish again in the future), and Tom yom phở (this reminders me of Thai food not so much of Vietnamese but it was very delicious as well; broth was amazing!). Service was standard. Price is very fair. Place is simply decorated but clean. It’s worth a try if you are feelIng Vietnamese.

First impressions on a cool, rainy Friday night walking into Indochine Café: It was packed, very bright and they yelled «no soup tonight» as we walked in the door. After that Soup Nazi greeting we were pointed to the last available table by the bathroom. We rethought and moved to the bar.
Some people might be put off by this start but I enjoy the realness of a place like this. They say what they mean and mean what they say.
The owner greeted us at the bar quickly and took our order after very thoughtful explanations of things. We ordered the eggrolls (delicious, flavorful and crisp) and the grilled steak with ginger sauce app. The steak was flavorful and tender served on a bed of lettuce and cilantro with a great ginger sauce.
For entries I got the chicken curry… it was awesome and I happily have some left for later.
My friend got the crispy noodle with shrimp. It was huge and delicious.
The owners both were charming and friendly. I will be back in a big way.

This is my second time here. First time we got the Snow crab appetizer. I’ve gotta give a firm NO NO NO NO NO on ordering seafood here.
Beef salad was good, but the sauce was a little too sweet, and the lettuce pieces were way too big… I would’ve preferred them shredded or chopped so I can actually eat the salad… instead I just picked off the Beef.
The Ban Mi bread was on point. A 6 inch soft French baguette that’s crispy on the outside but soft soft soft so you can get to what’s on the inside without cutting up your gums. There are several meat options, I chose barbecued pork and pâté. I wasn’t overwhelmed by the meets. The barbecue pork kata neon pink outside, was dry and pretty flavorless. And being a huge fan of pâté I kind of felt this was more like flavorless spam. There was no pickled or sweet flavors. So I put the beef salad inside the sandwich and called it a day!
I love the people that run and own this place… But their subpar proteins are just a dealbreaker for me.

You ever grow up and have that friend whose parents would treat you like you were one of their own?
That’s this place in a nutshell. Super friendly, accommodating (they made a dish vegetarian for one lady at our table, and the two kids? They brought out individual plates of rice, noodles, and pork).
Everyone that came in, it seemed they had been coming here forever.
I don’t know if I have been to a friendlier, warmer place.
Oh yeah, the food — I had the spring rolls (delicious) and the Tom Yum Phở — phenomenal. and so filling.
It’s worth checking out, for sure!

Oh, Indochine. I love you and everything about you.
We lived in the Seattle area for several years where there is a phở joint on every corner. Too much good phở at which to shake a stick. In Columbus, these places are much fewer and farther between, so I’m so happy to have a great and authentic phở restaurant in Columbus where I would feel confident taking my phở snob Seattle friends. My only complaint is that it’s not across the street from my house (literally, there is an empty commercial lot for sale across the street and I am wishing that the stars align and Indochine decides to buy it and open a second location… haha).
Delicious phở and always friendly service. My husband doesn’t love phở like I do (I would eat it for every meal all year round if it weren’t frowned upon) so it’s awesome that the menu is extensive enough that he can always find something else that he enjoys.
Very reasonably priced as well.

I just love this place.
But you gotta come with the right expectations… Imagine you have this Vietnamese aunt who has a big dining room, and she invites all her friends – from all walks of life – to have dinner with her. Everybody squishes in, dives in to their meals, and has a blast.
Well that’s Indochine Café.
I’m glad I didn’t write a review after my first visit because I didn’t really know what to expect. If you’re looking for traditional American service where ‘the customer is always right’ and all that stuff, you might want to skip this place. But if you want to be treated like family, you’ll fit right in.
The lady who owns Indochine is hilarious. She’s sassy and crass… and a boatload of fun. If you’re acting crazy her in her restaurant, she’ll put the smack down and put you in your place. It’s so awesome.
The food here is spot-​on. I always get phở ga (chicken phở), and it’s exactly what I expect: a complex broth, big pieces of quality chicken, and lots of accoutrements. My friends have gotten different choices, and everyone is always pleased. I’ve heard their pork chop is ridic, so that’s on my list for next time.
Indochine Café is one of the highest-​rated Vietnamese restaurants in the Cbus metro, and there’s a good reason for it: it’s a fantastic experience with delicious food. I think it’s totally worth a trip to Whitehall for this gem!

*** I am finishing this Review a bit late. OK, a year late. But I still hold strong to 5 stars — I love the food and service here!
My first visit here was fabulous. Tasty and great service! A friend and I met here for a tasty dinner — and we got one :) I’m assuming the young ladies and their mother (?) where the ones to wait on us… They answered all of my questions — what’s this sauce taste like? Is it SPICY? Etc. They were very polite and friendly.
We decided to share a few appetizers, but got different main dishes because my friend loves spicy hot dishes. I settled on Laarb and Papaya Salad. The sweet-​and-​salty taste of both appetizers were quite yummy. The thin slices of steak in the Laarb were tender. Perhaps marinated in the sauce??? The salad had some vinegar dressing concoction that was pleasing to the buds.
I’m a big fan of mom and pop establishments, thus I’m glad I found this joint: D

After a long trip to Columbus, I wanted Vietnamese and decided to try this out based on positive Unilocal reviews.
I usually stay close to the Columbus airport and this was a quick drive that only took 10 minutes.
It was surprisingly packed on a Sunday night and I got there about 40 minutes before closing. I ordered the half Banh Mi with bbq pork, pâté and pork bologna as well as a meatball and brisket phở with regular rice noodles.
The order took a little longer than I expected to get out; about 20 minutes which is long for phở and a pretty standard Banh Mi. However, they were busy so I won’t knock a star for that.
The banh mi sandwich bread was really good. Light and flaky on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. The meats were fine but not exceptional and the pickled vegetables were good. I usually want a little Maggi sauce in my banh mi sandwiches. There was no sauce so it was a little blander than I am used to but then I like my stuff on the saltier side. Overall good. Maybe I am strange, but I love dipping my banh mi in my phở soup like a makeshift french dip. The bread supported my indulgence and maintained some crispness even after immersion into the broth. Speaking of phở…
The phở was good as well but I would not say exceptional. The broth was nice and hot but tasted like it was chicken based instead of beef based. If this was the case, then it was a first for me. I prefer the more intense flavor of beef. But that said, it was pretty flavorful and quite good. The beef balls were average and likely came from a package as opposed to being made at the restaurant. The brisket was a little tough and flavorless. The noodles were standard fare rice phở noodles and it came with the usual accouterments like white onions, scallions and raw jalepenos, bean sprouts and basil.
The service was nice and friendly. Bottom line, this place was a solid value for the money. My check, including these items and a soft drink plus tax was $ 15 (tip not included). I will return and bring others but I may also try some of the other phở joints around town to have a better point of reference in terms of local competition.