Mắm

One thing that is lacking in New York City is quality Vietnamese food. I grew up battling hangovers with a bowl of pho bo and fried spring rolls, so every now and then I just crave quality Vietnamese. Other than Di and Di in Greenpoint, I have been unable to find it.One day after another mid-Vietnamese meal in Lower Manhattan, I was really fed up and did a deep dive on reddit. A user by the name of r/2u3ee, echoed my pain. He or she started a whole list of NYC Vietnamese restaurants because of a constant urge to find a half-decent Viet restaurant in NYC. They allegedly spent 16 years in Hanoi before moving to the states 12 years ago, which was a major boost in credibility. At the top of the list was Mam. I went last night, and immediately felt like I was transported back to my short time in Hanoi. Beat up metal tables, blue plastic stools, in a small strip of space give it an authentic Vietnamese feel. The menu was TINY, and with the help of the waitresses recommendations, we ended up getting Vietnamese coffee, mustard green rolls, fried spring rolls, fried house-made tofu, stuffed snails with lemongrass and pork, and the pho bo.I felt like I was back in Vietnam in the sense where when something was put on the table, I was like "Idk if I'm gonna like this..." but I ended up loving it. Especially the snails.Everything is seasoned so well and packs a punch of flavor. There are levels to pho in the sense where you can have really bad pho, but this was an S-tier bowl.However, I do have to note that this small bowl of pho being $24 hurt my pockets, and my soul. Especially since a bowl of pho is $2-3 in Vietnam... but I get we are in NYC. Welcome to the show.When I need an authentic Vietnamese meal moving forward, it's nice to know I don't have to push to Greenpoint to hit Di and Di. Shoutout to r/2u3ee for doing god's work.IG @jnov_Tiktok @jnov__

Small, casual, and cozy spot. The menu changes periodically. The fried chicken cartilage is chewy and crispy, with great flavor. The steak pho might have been the best pho I've had -- thick and juicy pieces of steal, very rich broth. There's an open kitchen, so be prepared to smell like your (delicious) food at the end of your meal.

I always walked by this place after work during the summer time and it's always packed!I finally get to try this restaurant.Menu is relatively simple but each dish was so good and very authentic. I felt like I warped to Vietnam and eating at local restaurant. I love the casual dining, definitely will come back!

When I first ate here, they had no menu and only served the Dac Biet, which is a platter piled high with crispy tofu (house-made!), sticky rice sausage, pork belly, blood sausage, herbs, and their namesake, the mam tom, or fermented shrimp paste. I grew up on Burmese food and we had our own version of this fermented shrimp paste, incredibly funky and full of umami. The smell is so sharp you wouldn't be faulted for thinking it smelled like the sweat of someone who hasn't showered in weeks. And yet....and yet....I came here just for this. I don't even eat pork, and I came here just for this.So, while I don't eat pork, I dragged a swine loving companion to eat with me while I grabbed every non pork item on the plate to dip in this nectar. It reminded me of home, and how proud my parents were that their American-born daughter didn't turn up her nose to the pungent flavors of Burmese cuisine. The chef/owner was also our server, and I asked about the off menu surf clam salad I'd read about. He said he didn't have the ingredients to make it at the moment but that he'd pop over to the grocery store down the block and see. And he came back about half an hour later having procured the ingredients and made the salad! Honestly it was just okay, but I was so appreciative he did that.While I enjoyed the funky sauce and the experience of sitting on tiny plastic stools in the street, I didn't see much of a reason to return if this was going to be the menu. However I see now they've made things more official with an actual menu and a few more items, including many non-pork items I can eat. I will for sure be back.

So the menu varies depending on the day - at the very least their noodle soups. We came here with a party of 6 which was very fun especially because we got to share a lot of different apps, but given the small space and the small portions, probably a smaller party (2-3) may be the sweet spot. We enjoyed the following: Stuffed snails ($18) - my fave app! It comes with 6, so we each had one. Loved the dipping sauce of this one. Garlic fried chicken cartilage ($16) - I wasn't really used to eating cartilage so I spit out a lot of the hard/bony parts. good flavor here tho Fried roll with fish cake ($14) - comes with 3 so we each had half. It was quite good and had a nice dipping sauce. Fried eggplant ($15) - this was just ok. the eggplant was lightly fried but did not have much flavor. The "dipping sauce" had an egg yolk in it but also didnt give it much flavor when dipping, so I used the sauce from the stuffed snails. Can probably skip on this one. Bún Riêu Chay ($23) - I ordered this vegetarian tomato noodle soup dish. It was very yum, and honestly, I could have ordered just this and have felt satisfied with my meal. Service was very pleasant and the music was fire!! shoutout to whoever was DJing that night. I just have to reiterate it's a very small space and portions on the smaller side for the "Snack" dishes as well.

I have been to this place 3 times, twice in the summer and once in the Fall just a few days ago! Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm is what they are know for, and I just learned that they only have it in the summer and not when it gets cold. Although I was very disappointed they did not have this dish in my most recent visit, everything else was good!It is basically a Vietnamese street food place in the heart of New York City!! From the menu to the vibe, they really try to recreate this experience. Highly recommend to make reservation online if you don't want to wait for a long time to get seated because of how popular this is. The staff is very very nice even how busy they were. I asked them why they are open for a limited time like a few hours a day and they told me they have about 200 parties a day and only have enough tofu to sell within 4 hours. Their Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm is the best I have ever had in the US. The tofu is nice and soft inside but so crunchy outside!! Even the boiled pork belly is nice and soft, not dry like most other places. I was impressed with the Americans who speak Vietnamese so well here! Overall, it is a must have for me every time I go to New York, not just about the food but also the experience and for my kids to learn how it is eating street food in Vietnam.

Went for dinner and loved the casual vibe of the restaurant! I came super hungry and left super satisfied. All the flavors were so solid! My top favs were the garlic chicken cartilage, boneless chicken feet, and the buttery surf clam. Imo, chicken cartilage and surf clam are must orders. I've never tried any of these Vietnamese dishes before and am so happy I finally came here to try! Service was great as well. Coming here next time for lunch and Vietnamese coffee!

I lived in Orange County, CA before moving to NYC. OC is known for Viet food and I've been to so many Vietnamese food establishments there. I feel like NYC's viet food game isn't as strong, but I was craving viet food so decided to come here to try it out. This place definitely exceeded my expectations! Everything was so flavorful and I even tried a lot of dishes that I never tried in OC. I recommend their calamansi cooler, fried chicken cartilage, and surf clam!The staff was very friendly and the food came out very quickly. They also do their best to replicate authentic Vietnam vibe, with the plastic chairs and metal tables. I also appreciate that they don't ask for tip here!

Mam is so so special. It's one of my favorite restaurants that I've tried so far in New York City! I haven't had this kind of Vietnamese cuisine before and I don't think it's common to find in the states -- I'm really glad that we have mam doing it justice. I think their menu does rotate seasonally so be prepared to try something new. We were looking forward to the pho, but they didn't end up having that on the menu when we came. The bun dau and chicken cartilage were a stand out when I came, the flavors meshed together perfectly, and everything was cooked very well. Can't wait to return!

Transported to Vietnam on the streets of NY This place was street food Vietnamese and was sooo good. Literally no misses.Nam Cuon ($27) - a bunch of different mushrooms that you can wrap in veggies with vermicelli, sooo flavorful and delishBun Dau Dac Biet - this one had a bunch of different meats (intestine, pork belly, rice sausage, blood sausage) and you wrapped this w vermicelli and lettuce like the above. Sooo goodTom Nurong muoi or xanh ($16) - grilled prawns that are so juicy and flavorful. It bursts in your mouth Oc Buou Nhoi Thit ($18) - snails w lemongrass and pork. This was so tender and yum Trung Chen nurong so diep ($10) - soft grilled egg with scallop - this was really good we slurped it out of the bowl No misses as you can see... also got their drinks which were super good. The coconut latte was delish, def would come again! Instagram - @joangela.eats