Sun Cafe

Tried the Phở and egg rolls today. Very happy to have Sun on the east side. Looking forward to returning.

This is a great and much needed vietnamese restaurant in Iowa city. The owners are super friendly and the food is phenomenal. The phở was delicious and well balanced. All of the traditional toppings of beef slices, meat balls, tripe, and tendon are included. This is definitely my new go-​to place for vietnamese food

This is a pretty cool little spot! The emphasis here should be placed on little, as it’s a very small space. They have four tables, with seating for a total of 16 people. A couple high chairs are available for those with kids, a big plus in our case.
The menu has 12 total items on it. Four appetizers which are primarily spring roll based and a good variety of main dishes considering there are only eight of them. The spread includes Phở, Bahn Mi, a couple duck dishes and a couple of pork dishes, as well as a duck noodle soup.
Between my better half, are two little dudes and myself, we split a beef Phở, a Bahn Mi sandwich and some pork egg rolls. They were all seriously good. The sandwich was the first real authentic one we’ve had here in a long time. Really flavorful, good size for sharing and very authentic. The phở with some of the best we’ve had in the area. The soup only came in beef flavor, which included both steak and meatball in it. The fact that they only had a beef option is really the only shortcoming that we saw. The broth in the soup was phenomenal and it was a good size for splitting between two people.
They had smoothies which we did not have a chance to try, but I’ll look very good. It’s unclear to me if they have tapioca balls to put in it, but if they do that would be extra credit!
Word to the wise, get her early because they often sell out of duct and apparently it’s very good. Another in the long list of really solid ethnic options that seem to be growing in the Iowa City /​Coralville area. Absolutely worth trying and if you’re not in the mood to wait for a seat, they have takeout options so there’s really no reason not to check this place out!

My girlfriend and I decided to try this since it’s a fairly new Vietnamese restaurant in town. The owner of the restaurant was very friendly! We started off with eggrolls which arrived hot and with a crispy shell. I had the grilled pork (cut up) and broken rice with fish sauce, which was very tasty! My girlfriend had the phở with the standard toppings and enjoyed it as well. We purchased a banh mi to go, which was a good size and delicous!
The menu was limited, but the prices were reasonable considering there are perhaps two non-​fusion Vietnamese restaurants in the Iowa City/​Coralville area.
The restaurant itself was quite small, but I believe they are expanding the area soon. My only suggestion would be that they could have some music playing in the background as it sas pretty quiet, albeit we were the only customers at that hour.
I’m happy that Vietnamese food is expanding in Iowa City, and I definitely plan to return!

Finally a delicious bowl of phở can be had in Iowa City! Simple menu, no options, just the basics. Phở broth is lovely, delicate, and delicious. The owners are charming and kind, and clearly take pride in what they do. As they should! Dine in or take out, both delicious and fast. They are now open on Tuesdays, and the hours span every meal of the day.

Phở was excellent. The basic phở comes in a large bowl with steak, tripe, and meatball. Sounds like they can adjust if needed per request. The broth was clear and more on the hearty side versus sweet. Great stuff overall.
Small place that has a very friendly family running it. They have a decent selection of other dishes as well. Only a month old, but it seemed as people were steadily coming in during my time.
Happy to have another delicious phở restaurant in the area.

Everything is homemade and fresh. The bread for the bahn mi is baked by the owner and she rolls the egg rolls daily. The restaurant is quaint and clean. It doesn’t need to be flashy, the food quality and flavors are enough to keep us going back. The menu only had 10 items so challenge accepted. I want to try it all.

I was in Iowa City to visit my son who attends the University. Decided to stop at the Sun Café and try their roast pork. It was delicious! The quality of the meat was excellent. This is not your mom’s pork roast. The Vietnamese style has crispy pork cracklins on the outside and juicy tender pork goodness inside.

Finally decided to try Sun Café after about a month of it being opened. Excellent customer service and the people were super friendly!
We had the Phở and roast duck.
Phở was very flavorful and fresh. The owner told me her technique: essentially she stews beef bone for 12 hours to produce a consommé to which she adds a generous portion of sliced beef & meatballs.
(Side note: The owners do not add sugar to their phở and that’s something they’re really proud of.(I guess that’s a common thing?))
Some of the best Phở I’ve had in Iowa City.
We were given a sample of the roast duck:
Juicy and rich with crisp skin. The best of both textures.
Yes, they did just open, and yes, it is a hole-​in-​the-​wall, but man can they cook!
Can’t wait to come back and try the Banh Mi!

After driving past this place a few times, I decided to stop by and grab a quick lunch. You’ll notice that interior is very plain — mix match of chairs, tables and one or two misplaced decorations. The ambiance is that of a quirky NYC all night takeout counter. But do not let that deter you! The customer service is excellent — e.g., the women at the counter allowed me to sample some of the menu options before ordering. She was very proud of her menu options. Eventually I settled on the roasted duck meal plus an order of a type of spring roll (Bo Pan, I think). The meal was excellent, it was as good — if not better — as any Vietnamese that I’ve had in Iowa City or anywhere else (including Chicago, Portland, Washington DC). I strongly recommend that you give it a try! The east side of Iowa City needs more restaurants like Sun Café.

The phở, spring rolls and roast duck were fantastic. I’m shocked how good this place is for having just opened up. Best phở in town.