Overall a very good place. We came after visiting the Children's Museum. All of the food we ordered was really good. Service could have been a tad bit better (no apology from the cashier when they were out of avocados, but he did seem new, and they also forgot the fried rice which was part of my wing order), but overall it was still good. Prices are a little higher than other Viet restaurants, but that's to be expected since they're in an expensive location.

Excellent Vietnamese food, quick and friendly service, and a warm and attractive space. We had delicious Shrimp and Pork Spring Rolls - the biggest Spring Rolls I have ever seen! I could easily make a meal of an order of 2 Spring Rolls with the yummy peanut sauce. Hubby had the hearty, savory Beef Stew with Rice Noodles, which had huge chunks of tender beef in a spicy broth. I had the Beef Rib Eye Pho, which tasted fresh and pure, true comfort food, with plenty of thinly sliced Rib Eye Steak. I added Sriracha and Hoisin Sauce to each bite of beef to my own preference. We also noted that Dim Sum is now served on Sunday, and plan to come back to try the Dim Sum. Wonderful dining experience!

Dry delicious. Everything we had was delicious and fresh. Great service. Broth from our pho was amazing

This place is great. No need to go too in depth. It is tasty at a reasonable price. Give these aunties your business.:)

Excellent little cafe: not too much seating so.. yes try to not go during peak feeding times. But excellent food. My pho was flavorful. The meats were tender. The cheese rangoons were super filled and crispy. The shaken beef was well seasoned and very tender chunks. The rice omelette was crispy and soft on the inside. The wings were crispy and sticky with sauce.

Saw this place on my cousins Instagram story and wanted to try it because it looked so good. Let me say it did not disappoint. I ordered the Shrimp pho with beef broth and it was so good and flavorful. My husband had Bu Luc Lac also known as shaking beef and it was very tender and good. It's a nice little spot with a few tables to sit at. You order at the counter, receive a number and they bring the food to your table. I'd go back to try more dishes.

There was a long while where the Vietnamese options in the Med Center were looking a little sparse. Over the last couple of years, a few Viet spots opened up and Lien's was one of them. They've become one of the better inner loop options and is convenient for those not wanting to head to Bellaire Chinatown. The place is small and a good amount of their business is lunch and/or takeout. There are a handful of small tables and it's perfect for a group of 4. Anything more than this would require some layout manipulation and the place would suddenly feel a bit full. They've done a good job with redoing the interior and adding a little greenery to the ceiling. The bathrooms are not only clean, but next level with an exterior "occupied" light which I've not seen anywhere else. The food is simple, but good. Noodle soups such as the pho and bo kho (beef stew) will take precedence over bun noodle dishes and banh mi. The broth of the pho is potent but not too strong and I appreciate the little kick that comes from the BBH, which comes with a plain baguette for dipping. The banh mi is a bit less memorable, as is the milk tea. It's good in a pinch, but I wouldn't consider it a destination. The family that runs the place is extremely sweet. I love the mini-snacks they have from banh cam to dehydrated banana chips. The only low light in the past was a non-Viet speaking worker who was constantly fiddling with her phone and not answering the phone or handling the counter well. Ultimately this is an ideal casual meal in the Med Center and is likely the best Vietnamese in the area thus far.

Being one of the closest Viet restaurants to me, I finally came out and tried their food. I came for pho cause I was recovering from an illness and what better way to recover than a nice, warm, delicious bowl of noodle soup? Anyway, this is a pretty small spot in a strip mall on Almeda. They have a private parking lot with a few spaces but its a steep driveway (so be careful going up/down, if you have a sedan or a lower car). There's a cute little patio too, with the recent cooling down, seems like an excellent spot to have some warm soup noodles. You order at the front and service is what you may expect from an Asian spot, quick, efficient, nonverbose. Food comes out pretty quick and they just call out your number and you can go pick it up. I've had their boba and pho so far and can say both are pretty good. The green thai tea was good, boba itself not so great but not super surprised. The pho broth was flavorful (rich, umami, fresh, more spiced) and noodles had a good texture. Prices for food are a little steeper than other places but considering the location, it makes sense. Is the increased price worth convenience of location? Overall, this seems like a solid choice for viet food in the area. You can definitely find better spots throughout the city but I do think pho broth also has an individual flavor factor so explore!

we googled the closest Pho place near Hermann Park and didn't expect much but we were pleasantly surprised with this place. I had the combo Pho which had everything in it (beef tendons, brisket and meatballs). It was delicious and the bowl had full of meat and noodles. The veggies were fresh! We also ordered some items from the dim sum menu. The kids ate everything. We will definitely come back.

Overall 4.5 stars for a local mom and pop shop dishing out fresh, pretty plates of homemade Vietnamese fare and refreshing drinks close to the med center! Their flavors are on the lighter side but nothing a douse of their fish sauce can't fix :) The interior is cutely decorated with simple tables. It was quite warm when we went, glad I was wearing workout clothes. Buc luc lac shaking beef: nicely flavored, meat was tender, very tasty. Not the most tender shaking beef we've ever had, but it was so flavorful that we didn't even use the salt/pepper/lime sauce that it came with. Steamed rice roll plate: my favorite of our meal! I picked the one with fermented sausage, pork roll, fried pork, just because I I was curious about what fermented sausage was. It turned out to be a slightly sweet sausage (like Chinese sausage) with floral notes. But I really enjoyed the rice roll noodles! They were thicker than the usual paper thin / see-through ones, but I actually liked them for a slight chew. Everything mixed with their fish sauce was so extra scrumptious! Om nom nom~~~ Fried chicken wings: cute little tasty wings. Looked super flavorful with all the onion on top, but it was lightly flavored. Still tasty and polished off! The onions themselves were extra flavorful. Salad with grilled pork: exactly what it sounds like. I thought it was going to have more of the pickled carrot and daikon, but it was more of your traditional salad greens topped with the grilled pork (which is okay to me). It made for a nice lunch to take to work the next day though! Popcorn chicken appetizer: nice meaty white meat nuggets that weren't dry, would prefer with more flavor but it did come with a spicy fish sauce. Banh mi, grilled pork: Just okay-- the bread (apparently house made!) is a bit dry, and maybe this would make a great sandwich to keep for later in the day or next day. The meat wasn't very flavorful and was also a tad dry, but I loved all the pickled carrots / daikon. We asked for no cilantro, and it was chock full of it... Sweet and sour chicken: our least favorite dish. Still nice nuggets of white meat, but the sauce of cloyingly sweet and had a slightly orange / floral note. Would prefer less sweet and more sour. Overall, the food was fresh and really enjoyable, especially how cutely each plate was presented with so much color! Order and pay at the counter, and the rest (water, utensils, sauces, etc.) is self serve. Plenty of free parking. Service was friendly-- they did forget the boba in the smoothie but immediately rectified the mistake after we asked about it. If you don't like cilantro, ask for no cilantro on everything! I'm really happy we found this place, as it's close by, tasty, and casual-- yay!