Restaurant Details

This cozy Vietnamese dining room on West Passyunk Avenue, run by mother-son duo Nhan Vo and Andrew Dinh Vo, is a destination for the city’s best bún bò Huế, a particularly hearty, spicy, and funky lemongrass soup traditional to Central Vietnam, where the family emigrated from; the dac biet version is loaded up with brisket, meaty pig’s foot, and cubes of pig’s blood that amplify the soup’s boldness. Longtime regulars know that Cafe Nhan excels at so much more: It makes a fantastic chicken curry; fragrant pho filled with beef short rib; herb-laced bánh mí packed with house-cured pork belly; and a lemongrass-braised chicken that has become one of Andrew’s signatures since taking over chef duties from his mother. This is also where to get some of Philly’s best chicken wings, brined in fish sauce then fried to a shattering crisp.