Fans of Saigon Bistro will be pleased to know that former owners Hahn and Kiet Nguyen will open a new restaurant, Pho Café, at 3926 Market St., this week.
 
Hahn Nguyen said that a cancer diagnosis last year left her facing the difficult decision of whether or not to continue with Saigon Bistro, and eventually the full-scale restaurant just became too much for her and her husband, Kiet.
 
Hahn Nguyen said with her health improving and the smaller-scale Pho Café, running a restaurant will be more manageable.

The menu will include a variety of pho – chicken, beef and shrimp, just to name a few. The soup consists of a complex broth paired with rice noodles, white onion, green onion, cilantro, bean sprouts, basil, lime, jalapeños, hoisin and Sriracha on the side.

Banh mi, a traditional Vietnamese sandwich, will also be on the menu. Banh mi options range from shredded pork and pork meatballs to barbecue chicken and beef, all served on homemade baguettes and topped with sweet and tangy pickled carrots, daikon radish, freshly sliced cucumbers, cilantro and jalapeños.

“This is traditional Vietnamese street food, and it’s very flavorful,” Hahn Nguyen said.

Vietnamese specialties such as steamed pork buns will also be offered each week as specials, and the café will serve many varieties of Boba tea, a traditional Taiwanese tea-based drink with tapioca pearls that can be served as a tea or smoothie.

The Nguyens anticipate the majority of meals to be ordered for carry-out, but there will be a few seats available at the space formerly occupied by Mamma Bella Pizzeria.

Pho Café is scheduled to begin welcoming customers May 19 and will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week to start; hours may be adjusted as necessary.

Pho Café is located at 3926 Market Street, Unit 201.

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