L'Annam (CLOSED)

My wife and I frequently dine in this restaurant. We dined here for many years. We both love the food. We started dining at the 3rd Ave/28th St. location. We were thrilled when we learned that they opened another restaurant near Union Square, this location is a lot more convenient for us. It's only one block south of Union Square. Whenever we bring friends to this restaurant, one of the most common comments we get when the food arrives is "there is so much food". Yes, you get a lot of food for a very decent price. That's one of the reason why we love this restaurant. As a previous reviewer has stated, the food is not quite authentic Vietnamese. Actually, it's not quite authentic Chinese neither. It's more of a fusion between the two. This is another reason why I love this restaurant so much, because it is different. It brings the best elements of two cuisines together. If I want typical Vietnamese dishes like "grilled pork chop over rice" (which I also do enjoy), I can go to any Vietnamese restaurant in chinatown - they are pretty much all the same. But, if I want something different (which is more often the case), I go to L'Annam. If you are going here for the first time, I highly recommend going here during lunch time (from 11am to 4pm) and try out any of the lunch specials, they are ALL excellent. I know because I've tried them all. Another asian restaurant we like is located in chinatown, on Elizabeth Street (off Canal Street). It's a chinese seafood restaurant across from the police department. (I forget the name.) Highly recommended!

While the food is not actually _BAD_, it is quite wrong. Dishes come out with completely incorrect ingredients, and worse, the majority of the menu offers CHINESE food, not Vietnamese. All the chefs and waiters are Chinese as well and can not answer any questions you have about the food, save one very friendly bus boy. If you want better Vietnamese food in the city, try NHA TRANG on Baxter St or Center St or PHO BOLSA on Lafayette near Grand. Otherwise, make a trip to Arlington, VA or Orange County, CA! I was really saddened to learn that they were promoting their food as Vietnamese since it really is not.

excellent food.