van's vietnamese restaurant

another great place with great food. again, not a pretty place by any means and it's not in the greatest location. but....the food! that's why you go !!

probably the best non traditional coffee that i have had in my life. team that up with the rice veggie -  i was filled up for my onward journey for good.


i will be back if i am back in the city - and i hope i do.

ate here with the family. we loved it. we had duck, chicken, and pho dishes. great food and service and full bar servie

fantastic lunch!. i had the pleasure of a birthday lunch at van's recently and shared the sauteed spicy mussels and had a bowl of pho tai. it was simply wonderful, with fantastic flavors, great service and some to take home. highly recommended!

definitely worth the visit!. bf and i went to van's while visiting the capital district from ga for a graduation. i wanted something different and miss the food from ny (it's just better, sorry my southern friends!) and the reviews convinced me it was somewhere i wanted to try. i was not disappointed. there was one very harried server working on a slow sunday but we were in no rush. we had the stuffed chicken wings for an app and they were good but definitely needed the nuoc nam dipping sauce to make them taste better. a little bit of fresh herb garnish would have taken them a long way. i had the bone in half duck and it was truly yummy. i could actually taste the marinade and the duck was very tender and flavorful, skin crispy and not dry or giving you the impression that it had been waiting around under a heat lamp for someone to order it. bf had the grilled pork with rice paper wraps and vermicelli and that was truly an above average dish. pork had a nice grilled flavor, the meat was tender and again you could actually taste that it had been marinated with no shortcuts. but what made this meal for me was the sides. fresh fresh fresh! lovely sprigs of fresh cilantro, basil, cucumber and pickled daikon and carrot just made everything taste so gooooood. despite business picking up while we were there our server was nice enough to explain how everything went together for us and with both of us being line cooks we managed to actually make some pretty decent rice paper wraps before we left. portions were more than enough for one (i ate it again for dinner) and the next time we visit albany we will definitely be stopping in again at van's. i'll echo the comments of some other diners who said they can't understand why some had such bad experiences. we had a great time!

the pho. one word = pho

the pho tasted like water ..the broth was very bland, i wasnt happy with the spring rolls either . i wouldnt go back .

big portions of food not cash.. my friend and i went to van's on the recommendation of a mutual friend. he really recommended the pho which we both tried. i got the pho bo and she got the pho with tofu. the portion was huge and the staff is so helpful especially to noobs like us. the only thing i didn't like was the cilantro. i detest the taste of cilantro. maybe if they had put it in the broth and took it out i would've been ok but biting into a piece of the herb is not my cup of tea. i'm not sure if i could order it without the cilantro? it would be perfect if i could. either way, i'll probably find my way back again.

clean. good ambiance. fast service. good service. patient with children. authentic. great food. relatively inexpensive. easy parking. must try their crab-stuffed chicken wings. good presentation.

best pho in town. great pho soup & also pleasant service. not sure what problems other reviewers had. their house style vietnamese duck (de-boned) is fantastic. prices are reasonable for food and drinks.
make sure you get there early on weekends.

too expensive. good food, nice presentation, but much too expensive. if you're used to nice vietnamese restaurants serving decent food at a good price, stay away. i'm sure van's is using it's overdone reputation to hike the prices and offer poor table service.

i'll break it down for ya: enormous portions. very friendly service. jam-packed by 7pm on a friday night. room for a few more tables but does not put them there (not sure if it's for fire code/zoning reasons or for my comfort, but i'll pretend it's for my comfort and for that i say thank you). tasty food. that, in a nutshell, is van's vietnamese. granted, we have not tried their pho yet. we recently lived near one of the most hyped up pho places of my knowledge, pho 75 in arlington . crispy vegetarian spring rolls, crispy duck, and lemongrass chicken. i'm pretty sure they gave me an entire chicken, or more. this meal was dinner, dinner again ( new rice made at home), and then part of my lunch. the quantity here is out of control. i'm looking forward to trying the pho and other dishes recommended by happy diners . you just have to hope that you like what you get; you know, since it'll be enough for three to five meals. van's vietnamese 307 central ave albany, ny

van's never disappoints.. make sure you check out this gem. the neighborhood sucks, but the place is definitely worth going to. beats my linh hands down!

great food. but service is really really bad. only two waiters, so looooong wait on peak time. one of waitress kept standing rite next to me while im giving her tips and kept forcing to give her 18% of tip. i would revisit there if shes not there.

best vietnamese food i've ever had.. if you want good, no great, vietnamese food in albany, look no further. this place is awesome. their appetizers, particularly the spring rolls are fantastic. their entree's are also fantastic as well i've tried different things each time i've went and i have always been overly satisfied. when i make it up to albany i always try to stop in for lunch or dinner.