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Off the top of my head I count 5 restaurants within a block of my office that serve Vietnames (or Vietnamese-ish) cuisine. It tends to result in confusion when deciding where to go for lunch. But when Pho Viet Noodle House was found deserving of repeat business, replete with a – albeit debatedly – “romantic” atmosphere, my curiosity was piqued.

My enthusiasm was piqued when I saw “Vegetarian Dishes” announced on the front windows. Tofu FTW!

Pho Viet’s interior is slick, similar to that of Bagolac Saigon although the TV screens and small booths in the back made me wonder if Pho Viet had a Clark Kent/Superman persona going on, fronting as a restaurant by day but transforming into a bumping club at night. In spite of the mystery,  the atmosphere is laid-back, kind of surprising for a downtown restaurant on a Friday lunch hour. And while the service is polite and sneaky-ninja-quiet, it’s a little bit too laid-back in terms of speed.

BUT (!!!) bonus points for a wide variety of dishes and drinks, and for putting tofu in the vegetarian rice/egg noodle soup and the vegetarian spring rolls. I like me some carbs, but I really like me some balanced meals, too.

The wallet and the stomach definitely deem Pho Viet worthy of repeat business, but the watch finds it a little lacking.

And no, the atmosphere is not “romantic”.