MiMo’s Phuc Yea isn’t a place you want to dine solo or come with someone who only wants a bao bun and a green tea. This is a place you should come with people who are down to drink cocktails and split an absurdly large bowl of pho with you.

The restaurant works best for big, hungry groups. Very large portions aside, Phuc Yea has the kind of atmosphere perfect for a dinner with multiple friends where you get drunker than you originally planned. It looks like the part of a restaurant normal people aren’t allowed into—a dim bunker that’s only accessible if you pull a specific book off a shelf. Luckily it does not feel that way. The service is always friendly, and despite the secluded feel, it’s generally full of laid-back people who aren’t concerned TMZ might be waiting to ambush them outside.

photo credit: Justin Namon

The food here is solid, but just don’t expect traditional Vietnamese cuisine. The menu is very fusion-y and heavily influenced by Latin dishes, like a masitas de puerco tossed with nuoc cham and lemongrass chili (which is tasty). Yes, they have pho—but typically only one version that is the size of Lake Okeechobee and requires at least two people to consume. Even the summer rolls are thick enough to fill you up before the bigger entrees arrive. So take your date elsewhere and save this place for when you have some backup.

Food Rundown

P.Y. Noodles

There are a lot of flavors happening in this little bowling ball of egg noodles: garlic butter, oyster sauce, and parmesan cheese are all hiding somewhere inside. Thankfully, rather than fighting each other, they get along wonderfully.

Edamame Hummus

Instead of having to free the edamame from its bean prison, you get to scoop a pureed version of it up with big crispy rice crackers. It's very good. We should be turning more things into hummus.

Hủ Tiếu Pho

You have to take a very deep breath to list all the ingredients in this pho: a 32-ounce pork shank, shrimp, pork cracklings, bok choy, bean sprout, and noodles. It is huge and overwhelming and about as subtle as a freight train. But thankfully it not only tastes good, but feels like taking part in some sort of challenge on a pho-based reality competition.

Crispy Masitas De Puerco

If it has crispy in its name, it’s probably going to be good here. And this Cuban staple with Vietnamese flavors is no different. You can make your own lettuce wraps with these crispy pork cubes or you can just dunk them in that nuoc cham dipping sauce you’ve hopefully been hoarding.