Nam Giao

I saw this restaurant years ago on Food Network, saved it and 6 years later I finally got to try it out. In a shopping center off Bellaire, would never know about it without word of mouth. Small restaurant, nothing fancy, simple and sweet. When we went we had two little, older ladies taking orders and bringing out all the food. Sweet and to the point. Not your typical Americanized Viet food, so we just ordered what was shown most popular on Yelp.Food presentation is fun, prices are cheap in today's standard and it's better to order with a group so you can try a few things, since food comes in sets. Nothing we ate had much flavor and we weren't wowed by anything and honestly we just didn't get it. But I will say, since this was more traditional Viet food, we just assumed our American taste buds didn't understand because based on reviews many natives rave about the food being authentic.Many of the Viet patrons were ordering tons of plates and seem to love it all. Guess you can just go and experience it all for yourself. It was a fun food adventure and I can finally cross it off my list. P.sCAUTION when eating some items. Lots of items are made are sticky and gelatinous, which is a choking hazard. Take small bites and chew well, someone in our party almost choked because food was sticky and got stuck in their throat.

Come here and enjoy all the rice cakes that you can eat! It's one of their best dishes and I keep going back just for that! The Bun Bo Hue wasn't my favorite but it was still good. Great for family lunch or dinner on a sunday and small groups also. The restaurant has plenty of space to accommodate 6-8 people per table also so that's very nice! Price wise it's reasonable! The restaurant interior is fairly plain but it's the typical look of a restaurant in Chinatown. Highly recommend coming here and bringing friends and family to enjoy great food!

Came here to try their famous Banh Beo from a review on Tik Tok and it's true, a must try. The other dishes on their menu were ok, not bad but Banh Beo was their specialty.

My family go to for these specialty dishes. We've been going here for years. Even saw Johnny Dang enjoying a small meal here with his kids and no one cared. Homie vibes which comes with the craziness of it too. Food is stellar for the street food dishes. Service has always been a challenge as under staff Asian restaurants are a norm in Bellaire before I was born. Cleanliness is not the best which ties to the understaffing during peak hours. It's typically 3 people working around including cleaning so weekends get backed up and like most Asian restaurants they'll swipe food residue onto the ground and floor making it sticky...chairs included sometimes. Overall love the food.

Great authentic Vietnamese dishes! Not much of ambiance, mom and pop place, with good service.

This place is definitely a hidden gem in the Chinatown area. I came here with my cousin who introduced this place to me for the first time. I know for sure that I'll be back especially for the various items that she ordered for us.Something about the food is very comforting and brings me back home. I appreciate the differnet cultures and ethnicities that we have in Chinatown to appreciate everyone's cuisine. We came near the closing hours and they weren't that busy at all. The food tasted delicious and had good flavor to them.The ambiance was very simple with a couple of TV's to watch the local news or some Asian shows. The normal table setting like any other restaurant, and not much decoration, so it keeps it very simple!

This restaurant is quaint and pretty good. The banh beo chien is the specialty here. They are yummy. The nem nuong is ok - not too much flavor. Service was kind of slow. Plenty of parking though.

Back to Nam Giao after many years and it's just as good as ever. We love the banh beo here, and the banh ram it, they are hard to find (at least good versions) in restaurants these days. They are a handful of dishes I regret not having my mom teach me how to make, but man?l, they are laborious endeavors of love. As a restaurant specializing in Hue (central Vietnam) dishes, they of course have excellent bun bo hue. Now this is a dish that I DO make and have done for a few decades. They get the soup base RIGHT. Deep, rich, that special flavor combo of beef and pork bones, and the lemongrass from in the soup, and from the sate oil that varnishes the top. So so good. Would be even better if it came with huyet (blood cakes) and shaved banana blossoms for the greens/herbs (they used to have banana blossoms before, but maybe inflation hit them hard too). The limes look a little sad today though. We tried the mi quang today, not something I normally get here, but wanted to give it a shot. It validated my prior choices...wouldn't recommend this dish here. The service was great, one of the young ladies was not overly nice (not rude either), just stoic execution of her job. The other young lady was very cheerful, asked if the food was to our taste, and gave us an advanced welcome on our return here. The banh ram it was so good, we ordered two more to-go to bring to my SIL for her work lunch. It was SIL approved!

honestly a great place that is reasonably priced! A large platter of banh beo is a definite must.The food is just authentic and very comforting/nostalgic. Their sauce is soooo addicting (each person always ends up finishing an entire bowl of sauce and chilis). I generally just come here to eat their banh beo Chen (steamed mini rice pancakes) and other appetizer dishes. If you're lost, the combo platter 2 is fantastic and includes a little of everything. (banh beo Chen, banh nam, banh bot loc La, and their homemade sausage). The banh ram it is also very good which is mochi with their shrimp filling on a crisp kochi. That's generally enough to satisfy me. They are pretty quick so you can also just keep ordering until you're full. Keep in mind this is just a little Vietnamese establishment so the service is just from very nice ladies that are trying their best!

4 stars, but not for everyone. Food here is a different flair of Vietnamese food. Im sure its pretty authentic, but its very different than what you'd expect at most other (Americanized?) Vietnamese restaurants.If you are feeling adventurous stop by and ask for the most popular dishes. It's different.. everything is well made and comes out piping hot. It's a small place with not much fanciness, but it's solid and they are willing to accommodate and provide recommendations as much as possible.For my (Americanized) Vietnamese food expectations, I left unsatisfied. No pho, no deep fried imperial/spring rolls. Plus/minus, you decide.