Pho and Beyond: The Vietnamese Food You’re Not Ordering Yet

If pho is the only Vietnamese dish you know, you’re missing most of the menu — here are the bowls, sandwiches and rolls worth ordering next.

For most Americans, “Vietnamese food” means one thing: pho. And pho is wonderful — but treating it as the whole cuisine is like knowing Italy only through spaghetti. Vietnamese cooking is one of the world’s freshest and most balanced tables: bright herbs, clean broths, grilled meats, crackly baguettes and bracing dipping sauces, built on a running contrast of hot and cold, soft and crisp, rich and sharp. Here is what to order once you’re ready to look past the one bowl you know.

First, let’s do pho right

Pho (phở) is a rice-noodle soup built on a broth simmered for hours with beef (or chicken) bones, charred onion and ginger, and warm spices — star anise, cinnamon, clove, cardamom. The broth is the whole point: it should taste deep and clean at once. Common orders:

• Phở tái — with thin slices of rare beef that finish cooking in the hot broth.
• Phở chín — well-done brisket; phở gà — chicken.

How to eat it

1. Taste the broth first, plain, before you add anything — that’s how you judge the kitchen.
2. Add herbs and sprouts from the side plate a little at a time so they stay fresh, plus a squeeze of lime.
3. Use hoisin and sriracha in a side dish for dipping meat — not poured into the bowl, which muddies the broth. (Plenty of purists skip them entirely.)
4. Chopsticks for noodles, spoon for broth, and don’t be shy about using both at once.

The single best habit: taste the broth before touching the condiments. A great pho needs nothing added — the sauces are there to customize, not to rescue.

Banh mi: the best sandwich you can buy

Bánh mì is the delicious legacy of French colonialism reworked into something entirely Vietnamese: an airy, thin-crusted baguette filled with a savory protein, pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, cilantro, chili and a swipe of pâté and mayonnaise. It’s the whole cuisine in one hand — rich and bright, soft and crunchy. Classic fillings:

• Thịt nướng — grilled lemongrass pork.
• Xíu mại — pork meatballs in tomato sauce.
• Chả lụa — Vietnamese pork roll (cold cuts).
• Đậu hũ — tofu, for a great vegetarian version.

Bun: the noodle bowl you should be ordering

If pho is soup, bún is its cool, dry cousin: room-temperature rice vermicelli in a bowl, topped with grilled meat, fresh herbs, cucumber, pickles and peanuts, with a small cup of nước chấm (the sweet-sour-salty fish-sauce dressing) to pour over and toss. It’s light, refreshing and endlessly satisfying.

• Bún thịt nướng — with grilled pork.
• Bún chả giò — with crispy fried spring rolls.
• Bún bò Huế — a different, spicy lemongrass beef soup from the city of Huế; bolder than pho and worth seeking out.

Spring rolls: fresh vs fried

• Gỏi cuốn (fresh “summer” rolls) — soft rice paper wrapped, unfried, around shrimp or pork, vermicelli, lettuce and herbs, served with a peanut-hoisin dip. Cool and light.
• Chả giò / nem rán (fried rolls) — crisp, golden, filled with pork and vegetables, dipped in nước chấm. Hot and crunchy.

Order both and you’ve got the whole soft-versus-crisp philosophy on one plate.

The herb plate and the condiments

That side plate of greenery isn’t garnish — it’s an ingredient you assemble yourself. Expect Thai basil, cilantro, mint, saw-leaf herb, bean sprouts, lime and sliced chili. Tear and add as you go. The key sauces to know:

• Nước chấm — the all-purpose dressing/dip: fish sauce cut with lime, sugar, garlic and chili. The soul of the table.
• Hoisin (sweet, thick) and sriracha (hot) — for dipping, on the side.

A few more worth knowing

Once the bowls and rolls feel familiar, these reward the curious:

• Cơm tấm — “broken rice,” a Saigon classic served with a grilled pork chop, shredded pork skin, a steamed egg cake and pickles. A full, satisfying plate lunch.
• Bánh xèo — a big, crackly turmeric-tinted rice-flour crêpe filled with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts; you tear off pieces, wrap them in lettuce with herbs and dip in nước chấm.
• Cháo — a soothing rice porridge (congee), often with chicken or fish; Vietnam’s comfort food when you’re under the weather.
• Chè — sweet dessert “soups” of beans, jellies, fruit and coconut milk, served warm or over ice.

And don’t skip the coffee

Cà phê sữa đá — strong dark-roast coffee dripped through a small metal filter over sweetened condensed milk, poured over ice. Intense, sweet and reviving — the perfect finish. Ask about egg coffee (cà phê trứng) too, a Hanoi specialty as rich as dessert.

Order Vietnamese direct — no third-party fees

Many Vietnamese restaurants in our directory let you order online directly, with no delivery-app commission. Browse the JinsCafe directory to find one near you, check reviews and ratings first, and keep exploring Southeast Asia with our Thai food guide — or read up on umami, the savory depth behind a great bowl of pho.