Absolutely delicious bun bo hue. The picture in the title does it justice. Wonderful place for a rich and filling soup meal made by people who obviously know what they are doing.
I can’t believe it took me this long to make a review. I’ve been here multiple times and Cafe Diem is probably the best Viet restaurant on Washington. Their menu is very small but every single thing on the menu slaps and is done very well. It’s also a very small space but fits up to 6 people at the bigger tables. They do run out of ingredients for certain items like the rice noodle dish so make sure to come fast! I highly recommend to anyone that lives in South Philly.
I was craving Bún Bò Huế, and this place nailed it (I am a Vietnamese person by the way). I ordered a small bowl and it was around $11, but the portion was actually bigger than I thought. The large bowl was humongous as well. The spiciness of the Bún Bò Huế was just like how it is made in Vietnam: it made me miss the country. Also, you can choose either spicy or not, which is a plus point.
Come to this place if you are craving an authentic Bún Bò Huế. Highly recommend!
The best bun bo hue I've had anywhere. The portions are generous and the broth is extremely flavorful and has a nice spicy kick as well. The pho was also great but the bun bo hue was the star. The Thai ice tea with grass jelly was pretty good as well. Highly recommended.
Stepping into this restaurant made me feel like I was back in Vietnam.
I HIGHLY recommend the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup. I've never had a dish quite like this in a Vietnamese place before. The soup was a little spicy and a little sweet, and it is just the flavor you want to eat on a hot day. The Chicken Pho noodle was nice and fatty, and really delicious, but the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup was the show stopper. I loved their thick Vietnamese ice coffee.
We just came back from visiting Vietnam HCMC. The food rates as good as the old ladies in the street market. Authentic and tasty. We are taking some home too.
Really like the Vietnamese Ice coffee and Thai Milk Tea with Grass Jelly. Not so much the stuffed rice roll with pork, it was okay. Nice and friendly environment. Welcoming and warming.
Amazing pho. The spicy beef soup broth is the best. A little sweet and very spicy flavor. They give lots of noodles and the meat flavor is great as well. I absolutely loved the Vietnamese iced coffee.
Tasty thinly sliced beef & broth was super flavorful. Best thing was the viet iced coffee
First time I've ever had the spicy beef noodle soup and had it ordered extra spciy. I got the special with beef, tendon, pork feet, and ham. It was not the spiciest soup (mild for me, but I do tolerate heat well), but you can adjust with the condiments to some degree. Noodles were cooked well and everything tasted well together. I'd visit this place again when in Philly.
When you’re a morning person craving some hot noodle soup and the only place that opens at 8am with some really good food. The order goes:
1. Bun Bo Hue spicy beef noodle soup
2. Hu Tieu pork and shrimp noodle soup
3. Banh Cuon steamed rice flour rolls
The GREATEST bún bò Huế jawn in the city. No cap!
I used to live in Philly for years and visited here so often. Now living in NYC, I would still drive all the way down here to get it from time to time because of how good and affordable the food is. The flavor is strong. The spice level pleases me (very hot). They are very generous with their meat & chả lụa (that white cold cut). Food comes out MAD quick.
Also get bánh ướt to share it as an appetizer portion as well.
You can tell this place is the real deal. We went to Philly for a trip and stopped by this place on the way out. All the great reviews had us come. They have Boiled down double filtered tea infused water. The most amazing bun Bo hue. People who come and eat also order many dishes to go. It tastes like being back in Vietnam.
Their bún bò huế is par excellence in philly. I recommend asking for extra sa tế if you can handle the heat; more spicy = more flavorful.
The bun bo hue is good! Right amount of spicy without being overpowering. A good place to take someone who's never had real Vietnamese food except for pho.
I came here because it was recommended by my sister. She told me this place has the best Bun Bo Hue in Philadelphia, and it was true. Their bun bo Hue was very delicious and had a lot of meats. The only thing I didn't like about this place was parking, it tooks me almost 20' to find parking in this area.
The soup was so flavorful and the flavors of salty, umami, and spicy were so balanced. I thought it would just taste like spicy pho but it was so much better than I expected! I also loved that they used thick noodles (thinner than udon but thicker than regular pho noodles).
[food insta: @strwbrrryboba for more food :)]
Must try! The soup is very nice! I would say one of the special and best I’ve ever try before!
It's good but extremely busy when we got there. We ordered the #5 and wished we ordered the #1. Maybe #5 was meant to be sweet because it was way too sweet for my liking.
Overall: will definitely be coming back to Cafe Diem, this is some of the most authentic and tasty viet food I’ve had
Service: very straightforward, nice enough but also you’ve got to understand this place is BUSY so service will be quick and fast
Food: fantastic food, really flavorful and fresh, some of the best bun bo hue I’ve had from a restaurant
Atmosphere: cozy with lots of people around you during busy times
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