Photos by Evie Carpenter
Location and Hours:202 N Central Ave
Phoenix, Ariz. 85004
602-696-9976
Sun. – Thurs. | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Fri. – Sat. | 11 a.m. to Midnight
View all past Downtown Dining reviews with
the Downtown Dining Interactive Map.
Bonjour Vietnam, a French-Vietnamese restaurant located under the historic Hotel San Carlos, is owned by Lan Tran, who is known for Rice Paper Eatery, her hip Vietnamese restaurant on Seventh Street.
This Asian-French-infused restaurant gives the corner of Monroe Street and Central Avenue the feeling of a real outdoor French café, but when passersby glance over they see steaming bowls of pho rather than croissants.
Phood: 27/30
Pho has become somewhat of a trend. All the “cool kids” eat it these days, and I’m not going to lie, I wish they would stop trying, because no one looks “cool” when eating pho. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup and is almost always mispronounced, especially by novice pho eaters. Pho should not be pronounced like faux, but rather like fun without the “n.”
Bonjour Vietnam, like its sister restaurant Rice Paper Eatery, makes a nice, clean pho. The process of making pho broth lasts almost 24 hours in some restaurants’ cases. As an avid pho consumer, I’ve had my fair share of clean broths and greasy broths. You don’t want a greasy broth. Nothing is worse than having greasy liquid sloshing in your stomach as you make your way back home after lunch with friends.
Now that you have some insight, here is what you can expect from the Zen spring rolls and Pho Tai that I ordered.
Zen Spring Rolls:
This spring roll was freshly rolled in rice paper and stuffed with avocado, shitake mushrooms, lettuce and more. It was served with their peanut hoisin sauce, which I generously added, and their homemade chili sauce. The chili sauce itself is one of this place’s perks because it isn’t something you buy from the grocery store. It is fresh, flavorful and made from their grandmother’s recipe. The spring rolls are massive and the presentation beautiful.
Pho Tai:
The Pho Tai is a beef noodle soup with thinly sliced steak. Before I ever start concocting (or adding the sauces to) the pho I always take a “virgin” sip, as I like to call it. I try the broth completely plain and natural. As stated before, the broth was clean and flavorful, so much so that I could eat it without the sauces. However, pho is also a wonderful way to get over illnesses, and because I’ve been dealing with a bit of a common cold, I loaded my pho with all the chili sauce I could muster: jalapeños, sriracha sauce, hoisin, Thai basil, bean sprouts and a hint of lime juice.
Service: 30/30
You will experience nothing but great service from Bonjour Vietnam. The owner, Tran, makes it a point to speak to all the customers, and if you do not fall in love with the food then you will fall in love with her. The waiters are great, too. Upon leaving, we became so close with our waiter that as we signed our receipts he scooped up a sweet-potato fry from my friend’s plate and popped it straight into his mouth. Were we offended? Not by a long shot.
Atmosphere: 25/30
The restaurant is clean and chic. Rice hats, also known as coolies, hang from the ceiling and pictures of Vietnam, some even of Tran’s life, adorn the walls. With the outdoor patio, you can absorb the wonderful Phoenix weather while you dive into a Vietnamese sandwich, known as a banh mi. The canvas chairs on the outdoor patio make it a bit hard to slip in and out of the booth and the indoor seating is pretty stiff, as well. Other than the chair issue, the atmosphere makes for an inviting and trendy vibe.
Wildcard: 10/10
Bonjour Vietnam’s location gets big points and is precisely what the heart of downtown Phoenix needs. It’s a trendy and delightful restaurant with the outdoor appeal that not only invites outsiders to come in but also creates a relationship from the business’s walls out into the community. Had I thought about my appearance, I probably would not have eaten pho so openly in public, since no one looks good eating it, but I do have to admit that being able to people watch while I ate and conversed made the experience much more enjoyable.
Final Score: 92/100
Contact the reporter at angoe@asu.edu
