It is a truth universally acknowledged that L.A.’s Vietnamese food scene has nothing on the culinary diversity of Orange County, but that doesn’t mean you necessarily need to drive all the way to Westminster’s Little Saigon for an amazing bowl of pho or a great bowl of bun (rice vermicelli). Sure, we may not have the culinary riches of Garden Grove or Fountain Valley, but L.A. County more than holds its own thanks to the San Gabriel Valley, where many immigrant-run Vietnamese shops offer amazing regional specialties you won’t find at your standard neighborhood pho shop.
In general, as with Chinese cuisine, L.A.’s best Vietnamese joints pointedly skew suburban, from the deep recesses of the San Fernando Valley to the inland South Bay. Across these less densely populated regions of Los Angeles, you’ll come across hard-to-find delicacies that will transport you to the streets of Saigon, Hanoi and Hue, Central Vietnam’s major culinary powerhouse. While researching this guide, I came across plenty of new-to-me delights, including several outstanding varieties of goi cuon (literally, “salad roll”), the freshly wrapped rice paper rolls that offer so much more than shrimp or tofu with a side of peanut sauce.
Still, not all of us live in these neighborhoods, or are willing to spend 45 minutes to an hour driving for a mealso we’ve tracked down the best of the more centrally located options from the Westside to Downtown L.A. We even found the best vegan and vegetarian options among L.A.’s Vietnamese restaurants for those with plant-based diets. Not every single one offers pho, but those that don’t offer the country’s national dish offer more unfamiliar, but no less delicious, items we’d recommend with zero reservation.
As a glossary of sorts, here are some of the new-to-us dishes we’ve tried and terminology that you’ll come across in this guide more than once:
Khai vi: Appetizers or starters.
Nuoc cham: A light, fragrant fish sauce vinaigrette made with citrus and sugar.
Banh beo: Tiny, saucer-sized central Vietnamese cakes made of rice and tapioca flour served with nuoc cham.
Banh cuon: Steamed rice rolls often filled with shrimp and pork, or sometimes wood-ear mushrooms, originating from northern Vietnam.
Banh hoi: Molded squares of tiny vermicelli eaten alongside veggies and charbroiled lemongrass meat instead of white rice or bun.
Banh xeo: Crepe-like bright yellow pancake stuffed with meat and seafood (or vegan-friendly sprouts and mushrooms) from the country’s south.
Bò lúc lac: Also listed on menus as French-style or shaking beef, this sautéed beef dish includes fresh cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes, often with a salt-and-pepper lime sauce for dipping.
Ca ri ga: A turmeric-laden chicken coconut milk curry often served with a soft baguette.
Cha gio: Also known as spring or imperial rolls, these crispy egg rolls typically come with herbs, pickled carrots and radish and nuoc cham.
Nem nuong: A Vietnamese grilled pork sausage with an almost snappy texture.