Savor Scout › Food guides › Bún bò Huế
How to find good bún bò Huế
Bún bò Huế is central Vietnam's spicy beef noodle soup — lemongrass-heavy, chilli-red, with thick round noodles and often pork knuckle and congealed blood. It is pho's bolder, spicier cousin.
What separates a good one from a bad one
- Strong lemongrass — The broth should be fragrant with lemongrass and fermented shrimp paste.
- Real heat — Chilli oil and sate give it its red surface and spice.
- Thick, round rice noodles — Slippery and chewy — thicker than pho noodles.
- Traditional toppings — Beef shank, pork knuckle, Vietnamese ham (cha lua), and pork blood cubes. You can ask to leave some out.
- Fresh herbs and banana blossom — Shredded banana blossom, mint, lime and bean sprouts on the side.
What to order
- Bún bò Huế đặc biệt — With everything.
- Without blood or knuckle — If you prefer.
- Extra chilli sate — Usually on the table.
- Spring rolls — On the side.
- Vietnamese iced coffee — To finish.
Where to find Bún bò Huế
Bún bò Huế is mostly found at Vietnamese restaurants, so that is where to look. Open listings put 6,938 of them across the US, and these are the cities and campuses with the most.
Cities with the most
San Jose, CA 193 Seattle, WA 132 Westminster, CA 129 Garden Grove, CA 128 San Francisco, CA 121 New York, NY 108 Houston, TX 103 Portland, OR 80
Campuses with the most within a mile
Seattle U 44 NYU 40 Pace University 27 Laney College 27 BMCC 26 Jefferson 25
A few to start with
- Da Noodle — San Jose, CA
225 E Santa Clara St, San Jose - Pho Cyclo Cafe — Seattle, WA
999 3rd Ave #1, Seattle - Hoang Gia Cafe & Catering — Westminster, CA
14361 Beach Blvd #111, Westminster - Nuong Zone — Garden Grove, CA
12908 Main St, Garden Grove - Hello Sandwich and Noodle — San Francisco, CA
426 Larkin St, San Francisco - Hello Vietpho — New York, NY
63 Reade St, New York
Counts are listings in Overture Maps open data (September 2026), counted by the town in each address. Independent places only in the examples above, and they are a starting point rather than a ranking.
How Savor Scout looks for it
The search reads for bún bò Huế, lemongrass and spicy broth, and favours Vietnamese restaurants where reviewers mention it specifically, since many pho shops make it only as an afterthought.
Looking in a particular city?
Each of these opens Savor Scout with the location already set, so you can say what you want and it searches from there. It covers 1,000 US cities in total — these are simply the largest.
- New York, NY
- Los Angeles, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Houston, TX
- Philadelphia, PA
- Phoenix, AZ
- San Antonio, TX
- San Diego, CA
- Dallas, TX
- San Jose, CA
- Austin, TX
- Indianapolis, IN
- Jacksonville, FL
- San Francisco, CA
- Columbus, OH
- Charlotte, NC
- Fort Worth, TX
- Detroit, MI
- El Paso, TX
- Memphis, TN
- Seattle, WA
- Denver, CO
- Washington, DC
- Boston, MA
- Nashville, TN
- Baltimore, MD
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Louisville, KY
- Portland, OR
- Las Vegas, NV
- Milwaukee, WI
- Albuquerque, NM
- Tucson, AZ
- Fresno, CA
- Sacramento, CA
- Long Beach, CA
- Kansas City, MO
- Mesa, AZ
- Virginia Beach, VA
- Atlanta, GA
- Colorado Springs, CO
- Omaha, NE
- Raleigh, NC
- Miami, FL
- Oakland, CA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Tulsa, OK
- Cleveland, OH
- Wichita, KS
- Arlington, TX
- New Orleans, LA
- Bakersfield, CA
- Tampa, FL
- Honolulu, HI
- Aurora, CO
- Anaheim, CA
- Santa Ana, CA
- St. Louis, MO
- Riverside, CA
- Corpus Christi, TX