Bac Lieu Restaurant

Excellent phở if your not used to different meats order the #1 it’s the basic and most american friendly soup. Best phở in the area

The broth is so good… so good. It is addictive, very savory and sweet. The broth is definitely southern vietnamese style. The garnish came with tons of bean sprouts, chilis, limes, asian basil, and banana blossoms (nice!). They have a ton of sauces, a lot more than other phở places at least (was shocked to see shrimp sauce).
It is cash only, no checks/​credit. And what the fuck, everything is $ 10 except for their baguettes, $ 4.50.
Service is terrible. Worse than anything I’ve ever experienced. A nice Vietnamese lady who only knew a few words of English relied heavily with the numbers and menu pointing. Also the amount of typos and misinterpretations on the menu itself is insane.
No one checks up on you and flagging someone down is hard, you’ll need to walk over to the kitchen. I came here relatively early so I think they were short staffed and prepping.
Asked for the bill. It was another waiter. He stood there looked at what was ordered on the table and calculated the bill in his head (should be easy enough everything is $ 10). Gave me the amount due and just stood there, no paper bill nothing. Awwwwkward.
Leaving the restaurant was nice though, The waiter/​waitress bowed. lol. (+1 star.)

great tasting Phở, Service was great. Don’t be afraid to go in…

Dirty looking outside
Very clean inside
Huge place
Everything on menu is $ 10– funny as even egg rolls say $ 10!
Cash only
Had a new type of PHO with beef and meatballs– the meat looked grizzly and it was very thin — the taste out of this world… MMMM the broth was unreal.
The vermicelli was supposed to be with pork and egg roll but came with beef– they do not speak a lot of English there at all… BUT the food was fantastic… I will be back– Sketchy neighborhood

I’m from NYC and stayed in good old Utica for college. Came back to visit friends (those poor bastards) and I didn’t feel like gaining more weight with the normal burger and wings. I notice this was a new spot and so here my review.
First of all I’ve had PHO many many times in NYC and this place is very different than the standardized phở I get in NYC. It had a rich home made taste which was Amazing. I’m a big fan of phở and I can’t say it had better than this spot. It became my top 5 phở spots. There is only one size bow and if you want to compare it’s about a mid size to other PHO restaurants. For a place like this in little city like Utica compare to NYC that’s a great find.
The wait is pretty long and I also believe it’s one person in the kitchen making it. A very sweet lady that brings out the food that I believe is also the chef.
The phở here is a little more expensive than what I would unusually pay. I would pay 8 dollar for a large compare to here which is $ 10 dollar for a mid size. I also notice they gave me a picture menu and the regular Vietnamese customer a different menu. Wonder if the price are the same…
Overall the food is great and yes I would fork over the $ 10.

Pretty sketchy looking from the outside, but very good phở

Their phở is soooo delicious! Inside this place look amazing. Although, it’s December and they didn’t have their heat on, the phở will warm you right up. The menu wasn’t big and the prices are ok, but over all this place is great!

Good finds keep cropping up in Utica. Don’t we all wish all small cities have the same to offer.
Bac Lieu is one of these good finds. We were looking for another Vietnamese eatery after we discovered that Thuy Café disappointingly closed for business.
Actually, this restaurant is a remake of an old social club /​restaurant next door: a pig sty that served good food. All I can say is this reincarnation is night and day from what it used to be; all in a good way.
The only reason for me to take away a star from the new location is the slight smell of cigarette smoking from the back of the restaurant (or the vent). Yes, when it comes to the smell of cigarettes, it doesn’t take much. Also, it’s worth it to mention that service can be a bit slow because all meals are exclusively prepared by one person (I believe).
Aside from that, everything else about this place is wonderful. Their menu is extremely simple but at the same time extensive. Most plates are priced at $ 10 (with tax). It adequately lists a variety of different dishes: from the popular phở (noodle soup) to bun (dry vermicelli) to french bread (meat and veggie stuffed in a baguette — cheap) to several others that one don’t typically find in a small-​town Vietnamese restaurant.
Staff is friendly and accommodating. Presentation is surprising good and all food that we have tried (and we’ve tried most) are fresh and delicious!!! The portions are very generous and noodle/​rice refills are free (a rarity). No need to say that we’ll be back for more.