Pho Lang Thang has been serving excellent Vietnamese eats since opening in Findlay Market in 2011. This fall, they got the chance to move their original restaurant from the cramped, market location to a newly renovated building a stone’s throw away on Race Street.
The new space is stunning, and such an upgrade from the original Pho Lang Thang that you feel like you’re almost in a different universe. The dining room is at least three times as large, and so much more pleasant now that cooking fumes don’t infuse the dining areas as they did in the old space. A tall, pressed-tin ceiling with exposed pipes and ceiling fans makes for a retro-industrial feel while more contemporary touches include hanging balloon lights and the splash of a large mural along one wall.
The 14-seat bar definitely is a welcome addition. The Findlay Market location served only soft drinks and strong, sweet Vietnamese coffee, still available here, but now you can select from a dozen draft beers, many more suds in cans and bottles and a short but carefully selected list of wines by the glass or bottle. Don’t overlook their playful, Asian-accented cocktail list, either.
In its first months of operation, the menu hasn’t changed appreciably although its owners have suggested they plan to add shareable appetizers to the noodle soups, salads and banh mi sandwiches that make up the core of their food offerings.
The food is conveniently adaptable for meat lovers, flexitarians, vegetarians and vegans — not to mention those who avoid gluten or lactose.
Read the full review about the new space by CityBeat's Pama Mitchell here.
Photos by Hailey Bollinger
