Obama's Dish Bun Cha, a little known Vietnamese dish served in Hanoi, gained worldwide fame after Obama and the late Anthony Bourdain on CNN's Parts Unknown had an arranged dinner meeting in a street stall restaurant serving the dish alongside a few beers Several restaurants in the DC area began serving the dish (which I've never had in the SF Bay Area) and calling it Obama's dish 1914 by Kolben and Hoi An were among the fancier restaurants offering the dish, but I decided to try the Vietnamese owned Bun DC, also owners of the long-time pho establishment Pho Viet in DC The restaurant was largely doing takeout but did have a few casual tables as well as several photos explaining the dish and it's connection to Obama We sampled the pho (only cooked meat available so no rare steak on the side), as well as the bun rieu, but the bun cha was the highlight with fresh vermicelli, herbs and nicely grilled pork patties in a uniquely savory, sour, and slightly sweet broth that you add to the noodles It was quite delicious and I hope to find a version in the SF Bay Area soon Special #44 Bun Cha DC $15.95 ~ Eat like Obama and Bourdain, rice noodles, salad, grilled pork in a homemade dipping sauce / Bun Rieu DC Seafood $13.95 / Well done brisket and flank Pho $10.50 Bun DC (Washington, DC) Bun DC accepts credit cards and is indoor dining only.
Meg McClure
Love this place! Lots of vegetarian options. They are having some problems with their phone line, but they were open when I stopped by to place an order in person! Can't recommend them enough.
Sanjiv Fernando
Pork Belly Banh Mi is SO SO good! Have been ordering it for over 2 years and it never disappoints. Great prices, too!
Tatjana J.
Sooooo goood I recommend the spicy!!!!! I also ordered the smoothie with boba!!! My daughter has a slight cold so she has regular chicken Pho!!! I haven't been here in so long I forgot how good it is!!!! Will be going back really soon!!!!
Janal J.
Great food! Really liked the bahn mi sandwiches and #44. Cant wait to come back to try more dishes
Victor Y.
Wow.... Just delicious.. I'm Chinese and picky about Asian food but this place hit the spot and is so inexpensive!!!
Shannon M.
Food was pretty good and the pho was delicious. As far as the staff, the lady working the front was very curt. I would recommend the food but just be prepared for not so friendly service.
Valerie Ryan
Excellent food, quick and easy order pickup. We've been getting carryout from here during the pandemic and it has been a great experience.
Anthony DePinto
The cháo chay/vegetable congee was some of the best food I've had in DC. Absolutely delicious and can't wait to try more of their dishes
Yazie Wynn
Honestly one of my preferred places to go for pho. I've tried several other dishes from the menu as well and enjoy them all in varying degrees. They make everything from scratch so don't be surprised if something isn't the exact same as the last time. It's almost always still tasty.
Tiniest bahn mi I’ve ever seen for $8. 4 stars b/c the flavor is there. I got the pork belly bahn mi. Maybe I’ll try the congee or another menu item next time to make up for the mini bahn mi.
Russell F.
Warning: I don't like to grade on a curve. So this very well could be the best bún bò Huế in DC, but based on my one takeout experience that's not saying much. Does it resemble the dish? Sure, it's got a decent enough broth, bone-rich and beefy. But that does not a good bowl of bún bò make. What's missing? Well spice for one (no heat detected), and lemongrass flavor was muted too. Also absent are the "pork roll" and pork blood. From the other reviews seems like they've been MIA for some time now. Toppings and veggies were meagre in my takeout order of four soups, with only enough sprouts, limes, Thai basil and cilantro (the minimum topping options at any respectable shop) for maybe one bowl. That was the good. Switching over to the bún riêu and it's clear that there's some kind of a game going on: how much can we remove and still get business? This is supposed to be a crab and tomato soup. I think the closest it ever got to a crab was the tap water being pumped through Montgomery County municipal water. Tomatoes were nowhere to be seen. The broth itself was weak and lacking tamarind sourness. It's $14 for maybe $4 of ingredients. If you want an idea of what generous renditions of both of these dishes should look like just do a quick image search. Note the full bowls of myriad meats and richly colored broths, the overflowing side plate of veggies with onions, banana flowers, shiso, rau răm, sawtooth herbs, etc etc. Finally note the sadness of the gỏi cuốn. While the lettuce was fresh and green and the rest of the ingredients decent enough, adding "pork belly" apparently means that you receive a single lonely shrimp per spring roll, not the usual two or three (as I assume they include in the shrimp only version). I hope this is just a takeout mix up, or a sign of these Covid times. So believe it or not despite the way I began this review I actually am grading on a curve: by rights this should have at least half a star or more less. I might go back out of necessity and will update my review then based on what I get. But that bún riêu is just irredeemable.
Hoang Nguyen
The Bun Rieu here is the Rieu Deal!
Hoang N.
The Bun Rieu here is the Rieu Deal! Amazing place and literally the most authentic.
Joe P.
I've had Bun Bo Hue all over the world. Vietnam, China, Japan, every West Coast state, all around DMV-- THIS IS THE BEST BUN BO HUE.
Obama's Dish Bun Cha, a little known Vietnamese dish served in Hanoi, gained worldwide fame after Obama and the late Anthony Bourdain on CNN's Parts Unknown had an arranged dinner meeting in a street stall restaurant serving the dish alongside a few beers Several restaurants in the DC area began serving the dish (which I've never had in the SF Bay Area) and calling it Obama's dish 1914 by Kolben and Hoi An were among the fancier restaurants offering the dish, but I decided to try the Vietnamese owned Bun DC, also owners of the long-time pho establishment Pho Viet in DC The restaurant was largely doing takeout but did have a few casual tables as well as several photos explaining the dish and it's connection to Obama We sampled the pho (only cooked meat available so no rare steak on the side), as well as the bun rieu, but the bun cha was the highlight with fresh vermicelli, herbs and nicely grilled pork patties in a uniquely savory, sour, and slightly sweet broth that you add to the noodles It was quite delicious and I hope to find a version in the SF Bay Area soon Special #44 Bun Cha DC $15.95 ~ Eat like Obama and Bourdain, rice noodles, salad, grilled pork in a homemade dipping sauce / Bun Rieu DC Seafood $13.95 / Well done brisket and flank Pho $10.50 Bun DC (Washington, DC) Bun DC accepts credit cards and is indoor dining only.
Love this place! Lots of vegetarian options. They are having some problems with their phone line, but they were open when I stopped by to place an order in person! Can't recommend them enough.
Pork Belly Banh Mi is SO SO good! Have been ordering it for over 2 years and it never disappoints. Great prices, too!
Sooooo goood I recommend the spicy!!!!! I also ordered the smoothie with boba!!! My daughter has a slight cold so she has regular chicken Pho!!! I haven't been here in so long I forgot how good it is!!!! Will be going back really soon!!!!
Great food! Really liked the bahn mi sandwiches and #44. Cant wait to come back to try more dishes
Wow.... Just delicious.. I'm Chinese and picky about Asian food but this place hit the spot and is so inexpensive!!!
Food was pretty good and the pho was delicious. As far as the staff, the lady working the front was very curt. I would recommend the food but just be prepared for not so friendly service.
Excellent food, quick and easy order pickup. We've been getting carryout from here during the pandemic and it has been a great experience.
The cháo chay/vegetable congee was some of the best food I've had in DC. Absolutely delicious and can't wait to try more of their dishes
Honestly one of my preferred places to go for pho. I've tried several other dishes from the menu as well and enjoy them all in varying degrees. They make everything from scratch so don't be surprised if something isn't the exact same as the last time. It's almost always still tasty.
Restaurantji Recommends
Tiniest bahn mi I’ve ever seen for $8. 4 stars b/c the flavor is there. I got the pork belly bahn mi. Maybe I’ll try the congee or another menu item next time to make up for the mini bahn mi.
Warning: I don't like to grade on a curve. So this very well could be the best bún bò Huế in DC, but based on my one takeout experience that's not saying much. Does it resemble the dish? Sure, it's got a decent enough broth, bone-rich and beefy. But that does not a good bowl of bún bò make. What's missing? Well spice for one (no heat detected), and lemongrass flavor was muted too. Also absent are the "pork roll" and pork blood. From the other reviews seems like they've been MIA for some time now. Toppings and veggies were meagre in my takeout order of four soups, with only enough sprouts, limes, Thai basil and cilantro (the minimum topping options at any respectable shop) for maybe one bowl. That was the good. Switching over to the bún riêu and it's clear that there's some kind of a game going on: how much can we remove and still get business? This is supposed to be a crab and tomato soup. I think the closest it ever got to a crab was the tap water being pumped through Montgomery County municipal water. Tomatoes were nowhere to be seen. The broth itself was weak and lacking tamarind sourness. It's $14 for maybe $4 of ingredients. If you want an idea of what generous renditions of both of these dishes should look like just do a quick image search. Note the full bowls of myriad meats and richly colored broths, the overflowing side plate of veggies with onions, banana flowers, shiso, rau răm, sawtooth herbs, etc etc. Finally note the sadness of the gỏi cuốn. While the lettuce was fresh and green and the rest of the ingredients decent enough, adding "pork belly" apparently means that you receive a single lonely shrimp per spring roll, not the usual two or three (as I assume they include in the shrimp only version). I hope this is just a takeout mix up, or a sign of these Covid times. So believe it or not despite the way I began this review I actually am grading on a curve: by rights this should have at least half a star or more less. I might go back out of necessity and will update my review then based on what I get. But that bún riêu is just irredeemable.
The Bun Rieu here is the Rieu Deal!
The Bun Rieu here is the Rieu Deal! Amazing place and literally the most authentic.
I've had Bun Bo Hue all over the world. Vietnam, China, Japan, every West Coast state, all around DMV-- THIS IS THE BEST BUN BO HUE.