La Dong

From the team behind Pranakhon comes this handsome new restaurant just off Union Square. Wooden arches, private booths, and lotus-shaped lamp fixtures make for a colorful, Colonial-era stage to match the kitchen’s soul-satisfying Vietnamese cooking. Of course you will find the expected banh mi and summer rolls, but consider corralling a group of friends and digging deep on the chef’s special menu. A fantastic, clever riff on the Vietnamese turmeric crepe arrives with plucky shrimp and a basket of fresh herbs. Little steamed rice cakes arrive garnished with shallots and garlic. Best of all? Thin slivers of Miyazaki A5 wagyu adorn a superb, fragrant bowl of pho that’s poured tableside and capable of brightening up the dreariest of days.