Walking into Ava Street Café is a sweet escape from the bustling, hectic pace of Essen Lane.
The Vietnamese restaurant at 5207 Essen Lane offers a welcoming atmosphere—it looks out of place in the best way possible tucked between corporate office buildings. An outdoor patio with red brick and a black iron fence sits to the side for cozy outdoor seating.
Walking inside, the restaurant has spacious bar and dining room areas with wood accents, light colors and interesting decorative ceiling tiles.
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As we were seated in a corner booth deciding what to order, I noticed the customers around us being served bowls almost as big as their heads. With portion sizes like that, every order seemed like it really would be a bang for your buck.
My lunch mate and I started with the “Bird Nest.” This might be the best appetizer I’ve ever had (though I could also be biased—I’m a huge avocado fan.).
The Bird Nest is a baked avocado, sliced in half and stuffed with a hearty serving of snow crab and eel. It’s topped with a spicy mayo and sesame seeds.
The combination of flavors gives off a smoky and spicy taste that’s heavenly. The texture of the avocado melds well with the snow crab, and there’s a bit of crunch as well. I could have just stopped there, but the flavorful food kept coming.
For my main dish, I ordered “The Works ‘Thap Cam’” vermicelli, or “bun” noodles. This dish is almost too pretty to eat. Noodles are topped with a variety of vegetables, grilled pork, braised shredded pork and a Saigon eggroll. There’s also a side sauce for added flavor.
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This dish has so much going on, but all the flavors and textures complement each other beautifully. The meat is perfectly seasoned and topped with nuts for extra crunch. The noodles are done perfectly and the crisp vegetables add a light touch to the dish.
While I wanted to finish the whole bowl, a to-go box was needed, but the flavors stayed the same even as leftovers.
The atmosphere, the serving sizes and the flavors of Ava Street Café make me want to come back for more. It’s definitely a much-needed escape on Essen Lane.
