Brasserie Vietnam

Like a lot of West Village restaurants, Brasserie Vietnam feels like the kind of place where celebrities in baseball caps might attempt to blend in with the general population. Filled with palms and decorated with cityscapes, the restaurant falls somewhere between casual and upscale, while the kitchen takes classic Vietnamese and French dishes and zhuzhes them up—with mostly successful results. A few dishes stand out, thanks to unexpected touches like sambal and brown sugar on bone marrow, and pork floss in a filet mignon bánh mì. But a few dishes miss the mark, like a chewy duck à l’orange, and a ribeye and oxtail pho that lacks the depth of flavor you’d expect for a $25 broth. While Brasserie Vietnam doesn't quite make the list of our favorite Vietnamese spots in the city, it's still a good addition to the neighborhood.

photo credit: Kenny Yang