Viet Cafe

An enjoyable meal at a decent price.
Tried for the first time tonite. After looking at the reviews I decided to try a few dishes. The egg rolls were crispy and delicious. The chicken (bahn mi) sub was delicious-​the meat was seasoned well and side veggies were fresh and crispy. I’ll be back.

Walked in, it was empty and looked abandoned. No one was in the front so I was about to turn around and leave thinking it was probably closed. Before I can leave, a young lady came out and asked if she can help me. I asked if it was open and if we can eat in. She said of course, and gave us a menu. My husband order lemon grass chicken and rice, which was very delicious and tasty. I’m not sure what my meal was called but it was a bowl of noodles with very well seasoned chicken and veggies. I’m glad I found this place. I will definitely be back soon. The young lady also mentioned that a new menu with more choices will be available soon. Overall the food is tasty and delicious.

I have been here a couple of times. The Phở is fantastic. The chicken wings are great, crispy and well seasoned. The egg rolls are served crispy and hot, and are delicious.
Their chicken Bahn Mi sandwich was absurdly good.
Take out suffers just a little bit because it is best served fresh and hot.

Food was a bit better than medium. Ambiance is thin. Clean and tidy. Menu was much smaller than I expected or wanted. Several selections of phở, but all beef-​based. No options for lighter chicken — based broth soup.
I ordered vermicelli noodle dish with chicken. Large portion. Chicken was grilled shreds, a bit dry but better with the small bowl of spiced broth served as a condiment. Dish included some cucumber and carrot shreds and lettuce. Using a bit of chili paste and hosin (sp?) sauce was needed to boost the thinner flavor. Small traditional egg roll included. Tasty but seemed out of place… would have preferred non-​fried fresh Vietnamese spring roll.
Service was adequate and pleasantly interactive but short of engaging and attentive.
Probably will visit the Vietnamese place on Main next time or Peking on Main (listed as Chinese but serves good Vietnamese too) next time.
Not a bad visit this time, just not where my next $ 36 lunch for 3 will be spent next time.

Good food, good service in a strip mall. Great to have another phở choice in town. Egg rolls were great, phở very good. Service very friendly — they’re definitely trying hard. Felt like all food was prepared fresh too. Will be back.

Got the Chicken Curry and the Bah Min sandwich. Both were excellent. Recommend the ice coffee.

Great food! Bahn Mi is prepared perfectly. Also the Phô was ridiculously great! Service was good, very friendly. This is authentic not fusion, guaranteed to not disappoint!

Small but mighty restaurant. The menu is short but every dish is perfect. The wait is long but totally worth it because it is so fresh. I hope they never change their chef or menu.

Went for the first time recently and had a decent experience. The interior looked clean and obvious that the owners are trying to bring a certain pizazz by adding upside-​down umbrellas.
Service was a bit slow, my friend and I were the only two people in the place yet it took a little bit to get our food, which isn’t a bad thing because from what I saw and heard, the kitchen was bustling with the sound of sizzling skillets. This tells me that they are making it on the spot instead of heating up large batches of pre-​made items.
I think at this point if you’re a Peorian, you’d want to know, ‘how does this compare to Thanh Linh?‘
Although I’ve only tried 3 items at Viet Café (BBQ Pork Bánh mì, Beef Brisket Phở – which had better noodles in my opinion– and Vietnamese Iced Coffee), I think the food at both places are on the same level of enjoyable and sit on relatively the same price range. It really just comes down to the menu selection. Thanh Linh boasts a novella of items served in large portions whereas Viet Café has specially curated pieces. All in all, Viet Café is definitely worth trying.

Great food. Awesome friendly service. You won’t be disappointed. The egg rolls are sublime. I had Vermicelli Noodle with Chicken. The ingredients were fresh and beautiful. Very tasty! I’ll definitely be back.

Very tasty new take-​out place in North Peoria! I tried the chicken curry and beef vermicelli noodles and both were very tasty. The noodles had a little container of liquid that smelled a bit vinegary so I dumped it on and it was SPICY! Whew, that got my nose to run! The beef was very tender and thinly sliced so was easy to eat along with the slices of pickled carrot and radish, chopped basil and lettuce and bean sprouts. The chicken curry was sweet with only a hint of spice although mine didn’t have all the basil on it that the photo on here does. I stole some from the noodles dish so turned out fine.
Very prompt and friendly service, will be returning here many times for a Vietnamese choice other than Main St.

Amazing food! I had a vermicelli bowl and it was absolutely delicious. Best in Peoria! Staff was super friendly and service was fast. Fair prices too. I will be back (again and again)

Great dinner with family. Outstanding Banh mi and Poh. Terrific service. Will definitely go back.

We ate here twice in the last two weeks. We went because we heard they had Banh Mi sandwiches. True confession: I have travelled the world for Banh Mi. Once you have a good one, any other sandwich does not measure up. When we arrived for a late lunch, we were told they had sold out. So we ordered the vermicelli noodle with chicken and egg roll (Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio). I have to say it was one of the best examples of that dish I have had and that includes in Vietnam! The noodles were fresh and perfectly al dente. The chicken was marinated and moist and there were layers of flavors from the homemade fish sauce (excellent blend of salt and not too fishy) and lime. The fresh vegetables added a good crunch. It was so good, we forgot about Banh Mi.
We returned later in the week for Banh Mi. What is special about Banh Mi is that it blends two cultures: Vietnamese flavors of grilled meat and Asian pickled vegetables on French baguette. I had pork and my daughter had chicken. The meat was again marinated and moist and the pork had a nice char. The pickled vegetables (daikon radish and carrot) were fresh and crunchy. Unfortunately, the rolls did not do service to the rest. They were soft and bland. The chef would do better to go to Kroger and buy La Brea French Baguette. The sandwich was still very tasty (certainly one of the best sandwiches in town) but the bread did not quite reach the heights of an authentic Banh Mi. My daughter had a strawberry smoothie both times, which was light and refreshing. I ordered an avocado smoothie but they were out both visits. The place is clean with the remnants of the previous Japanese restaurant still on the walls. Service is cheerful and friendly. It is a real family place with mom in the kitchen. Prices are incredibly reasonable. A terrific addition to town – We can’t wait to return.

Stumbled upon this place on a slow Monday night. I’m glad I did. I chose the meatball and eye of round ph, figuring I would test the foundations. It was among the best I’ve had, and I’ve had ph in numerous locations in New York City, Silicon Valley, Nashville and Houston. The broth was perfect.
Family run and the staff was engaging and courteous. Of course, I was the only diner as it was «late» by Peoria standards (8:45 PM!).

I was recommended this place by a friend who stumbled across it and had the Bánh mì. They are just getting started and have some work to do in the signage department (it’s where Kirin Sushi was). He mentioned it was 5 dollars and quite large, especially for the price (not to mention delicious). I ended up getting Bánh mì myself with grilled chicken, and also an order of the Rice with Lemongrass Chicken. We also received a complimentary egg roll, and since I ordered take out while I was there, they gave me a seat and a water while I waited. Great friendly service too! I generally don’t expect much service when I’m getting takeout, but they surprised me here.
In my opinion, the dishes are appropriately sized. Yes, they aren’t huge, but plenty for a single adult. For an average price around 9 dollars, I think this is in line (especially to address the only other review here on Unilocal currently that mentioned the portions are too small). To put this in perspective, I’m a 6 foot tall, just over 200 pound man. And let me tell you, I can eat. I was not looking for more food after sharing these two dishes mentioned (Bánh mì and Lemongrass Chicken), with my wife. To get two items for around 15 bucks isn’t bad at all in my book.
Taste is absolutely critical, and there was no shortfall here. It’s a modern update on Vietnamese cuisine. It’s not trying to be super authentic, rather updated modern recipes that are delicious. They did it well! The Bánh mì was excellent (and fairly big) and the lemongrass chicken had some great flavor too! I’m actually getting take out again from this place for lunch today. This place is a welcome addition to North Peoria, especially since we lost Taste of Thai. I realize Vietnamese and Thai aren’t the same, but they are similar in ways and it fills that Southeast Asian craving I get sometimes! Give it a try!

I was on vacation this weekend and we stopped into this new restaurant we saw. I ordered a smoothie and a rice dish THAT WAS DELICIOUS by the way. I would definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for authentic Vietnamese cuisine. Tastes like my mom’s cooking! I’m for sure coming back to this restaurant the next time I’m in town.