Duy Vietnamese Restaurant

Reviews

• Connie F.

  star star star star star_border 12 June 2026

  Would get again:
  - bahn bot chien (#9 Vietnamese rice cake) - the rice cake was sooo good!
  - bun rieu (#17 crabmeat noodle soup) - Omgsh, the broth was so flavorful, and the meatballs were gigantic and very light! I've never had meatballs that weren't dense! Loved the tofu and pork blood in the soup as well!
  
  Maybe get again:
  - deep fried chicken wings (#10) - Super duper crispy! you can get these in regular or fish sauce flavor
  - bahn mi bo kho (# 11 french bread with beef stew) - The bread was perfectly toasted and the beef stew had great flavor. Some pieces of beef were a little tough.
  
  Would not get again:
  - Vietnamese eggrolls (#1) - Tasted fine but nothing special
  - hu tieu tom thit (#23 rice noodle soup with shrimp and pork) - Just couldn't compare to the bun rieu!
  
  Only complaint is that I ordered small for the two noodle soups, but they gave and charged us for the larges.
  
  We came on a Saturday around 1:30 PM and it was pretty empty.
  
  Very fast service!
  
  Very reasonable prices.
  
  Plenty of parking.

• Geraldo H.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 2 June 2026

  Where should I start? Eh, I'll get straight to the review.
  
  Location: Chinatown on North Lamar. It is within the middle of the shopping center right at the corner.
  
  Atmosphere: Several tables that can seat up to possibly 70 people tops. The layout is rather open.
  
  Menu: Very big menu. Too big. Big menus to me are bad.
  
  Food: Disappointing at best. The fried tofu was essentially cardboard box cutouts. No crunch to the tofu and it was as stale as Ben Stein's enthusiasm to life. There was hardly any meat and a whole lot of rice with the pickled veggies. I might as well ordered a veggie tray if I wanted just veggies for fuck's sake. Sadly, the best thing on the menu were the drinks. I think the water tasted pretty good in comparison to the dishes.
  
  Service: I can only say that the guy at least came around once to fill up our drinks. Not too bad. However, he didn't check up on our order to make sure things were good. This is slightly on the poorer side for customer service experience to me.
  
  Value: They give a lot of food but it is mainly filler and not the actual entree itself. I would say it is overpriced by a dollar or two. Service wasn't the greatest and the food was as good as eating paper. This place is perfect for the person who has pica cravings.
  
  All in all, total disappointment.
  
  My Rating:
  2/5 - Starting to regret it. Possibly won't be back here. Needing to desperately fix major and minor issues with the experience.

• Cathy L.

  star star star star star 2 June 2026

  AHH! So glad I got to eat two of my favorite Vietnamese dishes here after craving them: banh bot chien and nuoc mam chicken wings.
  
  The place itself is spacious and I went on a Saturday in the afternoon and it was pretty empty almost. There is a large selection of food on the menu but me and my friends were full from just ordering appetizers.
  
  The banh bot chien was perfect, everything I could ask for. Pretty big size too, left me full after. Came with the signature sweet soy sauce which you can either drizzle on entirely or dip into. The banh bot chien was so light and crispy which so much egg, it was divine. The texture was crunchy on the outside soft in the inside, just like how my mom would make. So simple yet so good. I liked the shaved veggies that came with it too.
  
  The nuoc mam wings were surprisingly really good too!! The nuoc mam was a thick sauce that the wings were drenched in (a lot of sauce). It was spicy and sweet and delicious. The wings itself were nice and crispy though maybe a little on the drier side. I enjoyed the pickled veggies on the side too.

• Michael B.

  star star star star star 25 May 2026

  All right, Duy's - you pried a fifth star out of me!  After another visit and trying some more of your entrees, I have to admit that everything ranges from 'pretty darned good' to excellent.
  
  For those of you not in the know, Duy's is a very good Vietnamese-Chinese restaurant, and it's a screamin' deal. It's set at the forefront of Austin's Chinatown Center - seriously, you can see about 75% of the center from a window seat - thus pretty easy to find.
  
  Of special interest to foodies will be the banh bot chien, which is a Saigon street dish made with fried rice cakes and egg in a kind of omelette.  Their version has some nicely crisped cake surrounded by a cloud of fluffy egg.  It's very good - I miss the sharper garlic/ginger flavors I'm used to tasting when I order this in California - but the dipping sauce that comes with it makes up for it.
  
  The spring rolls and the Vietnamese 'cruller' called 'banh quay' are both delish. The iced Vietnamese espresso coffee, served with a healthy dollop of condensed milk, is to die for.  Definitely give this a shot.  
  
  The chicken soup broth, which comes as a side with many Vietnamese dishes, is worth buying as an entree.  It's a beautiful melange of green onion, garlic, cilantro, and spices like star anise/cinnamon to enhance the chicken goodness.
  
  Finally, of extra note is the lemongrass beef.  I like it best served with 'broken rice', but I believe you can also get it with rice vermicelli. The beef that comes with this has fantastic, subtle note of lemongrass that's as nice to smell as it is to eat.
  
  Duy's, I'll be back, to sample even more of your excellent menu!
  
  This place scores a 5 out of 5 on the 'CTJ Scale', as noted below.
  
  5 out of 5 stars: Come-to-Jesus good. Would be OK passing away after finishing a plate here.
  4 out of 5 stars: Come-to-Mary good. Would be OK being seen eating here by Mother Mary.
  3 out of 5 stars: Come-to-Joseph good. Would be OK having a beer here with Jesus' Dad.
  2 out of 5 stars: Come-to-the-Apostles good. Meh. Wouldn't have my last supper here.
  1 out of 5 stars: Come-to-Nobody good. I wouldn't have my penultimate supper here, either.

• An K.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 19 May 2026

  Mediocre Bun Bo Hue.
  
  If you're a true fan of this dish, you would know that the darker the broth the better the soup. Unfortunately it was just bland and average. Our whole table ordered it and was disappointed. What made the BBH better was adding more chili oil which we requested. I have yet to try their other dishes.