Restaurant in New York City, United States
Michelin-noted Vietnamese at $$ prices.
La Dong is a Michelin Plate-recognised Vietnamese restaurant near Union Square delivering serious kitchen ambition at a $$ price point — Miyazaki A5 wagyu pho poured tableside, a clever turmeric crepe, and a designed Colonial-era room with private booths. Booking is easy, value is hard to argue with, and the chef's special menu rewards groups who order past the basics.
A 4.8 on Google across nearly 1,500 reviews is the kind of number that earns attention, and La Dong backs it up. This Michelin Plate-recognised Vietnamese restaurant at 11 E 17th St is one of the more accessible arguments for sitting down to serious Vietnamese cooking in Manhattan. At the $$ price point, it competes almost nowhere else in New York for the combination of Colonial-era room design, sourced-ingredient ambition (Miyazaki A5 wagyu in the pho), and a chef's special menu that rewards groups willing to order beyond the familiar. Book it. Particularly if you have three or more people at the table.
The visual draw here is immediate. Wooden arches frame the dining room, private booths create pockets of relative quiet, and lotus-shaped lamp fixtures cast warm, coloured light across the space. This is a room designed with intention, drawing from Colonial-era Vietnamese aesthetics without tipping into theme-park territory. It reads clearly and confidently, and for a dinner with people you want to impress without the formality of a tasting-menu room, the environment does a lot of the work.
La Dong comes from the team behind Pranakhon, which gives it a lineage worth noting. That pedigree translates here as operational confidence: the kitchen is not shy about technical ambition, and the dining room is composed enough to support it. Expect a space that feels considered at every level, from the fixture choices to the booth layout.
The standard menu covers expected Vietnamese ground, including bánh mì and summer rolls, and there is nothing wrong with ordering them. But if you are visiting for the first time or returning with a group, the chef's special menu is where the kitchen demonstrates what it is actually capable of.
The turmeric crepe is a technically clever riff on bánh xèo, arriving with shrimp and a basket of fresh herbs. The contrast between the crisp crepe and the pungent, fresh herb accompaniments is the kind of dish that makes sense of a seasonal produce approach: it relies on herbs at their peak, and the result rewards the kitchen's care. Steamed rice cakes garnished with shallots and garlic are a quieter pleasure, precise and clean.
Headline item is the pho. Thin slivers of Miyazaki A5 wagyu are placed over a fragrant broth that arrives poured tableside, and the effect is one of the more considered uses of high-grade beef in a bowl at this price tier in New York. A5 wagyu in pho at a $$ price point is a genuine value signal; at the leading end of the market you would pay significantly more for a similar ingredient decision at a less accessible address. The tableside pour is also a visual moment that makes the dish feel like an occasion without requiring the occasion to be formally structured.
From a seasonal standpoint, the herb-forward dishes and fresh accompaniments on the special menu mean the kitchen's output will be most vivid when seasonal produce is at its sharpest, broadly in spring and autumn in New York. Summer rolls and herb-based preparations benefit from peak herb quality. If you are planning a visit specifically around the chef's special menu rather than the core menu, the shoulder seasons are when these dishes are at their most coherent.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. Given the 4.8 Google rating and Michelin Plate recognition, same-week reservations are likely accessible for most party sizes, though a weekend booking during a busy period is worth arranging several days in advance rather than on the day. For groups of four or more intending to work through the chef's special menu, call or book ahead to confirm availability and give the kitchen appropriate notice. Walk-ins may be possible at quieter midweek lunch periods, but relying on that for a larger group is a risk not worth taking.
For reference: La Dong's booking window is among the most forgiving of any Michelin-recognised Vietnamese restaurant in Manhattan. Comparable rooms in other cuisines at this recognition level often require two to four weeks of lead time.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty | Recognition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Dong | Vietnamese | $$ | Easy | Michelin Plate 2025, 4.8 Google |
| Hanoi House | Vietnamese | $$ | Moderate | Editorial recognition |
| Di An Di | Vietnamese | $$ | Easy–Moderate | Widely reviewed |
| Cô Lac | Vietnamese | $$ | Easy | Neighbourhood favourite |
| Bánh Mì Saigon Bakery | Vietnamese | $ | Easy | Local institution |
For a broader picture of what is worth booking in the city, see our full New York City restaurants guide. If you are planning a longer stay, our New York City hotels guide and bars guide cover the rest of the trip.
Against the obvious New York splurge options — Le Bernardin, Atomix, Eleven Madison Park, Masa, and Per Se — La Dong is not in the same category by price or format. But that comparison is instructive: at $$, La Dong delivers Michelin-level ambition and a wagyu-in-pho moment that would cost three to four times as much in a tasting-menu context. If your group wants a high-care kitchen at a price that does not require advance financial planning, La Dong is the decision.
Within its actual peer set, La Dong is the most formally recognised Vietnamese restaurant at this price tier in Manhattan right now. Hanoi House is the closer stylistic rival , strong kitchen, good room , but La Dong's ingredient ambition (the Miyazaki A5 wagyu specifically) and Colonial-era room design give it a clearer identity. Di An Di in Greenpoint is a better choice if you want a neighbourhood feel with a more casual pace. Ly Ly Vietnam Cookhouse is worth knowing for direct, no-ceremony Vietnamese cooking at a lower spend. La Dong is the right pick when the occasion calls for a restaurant that feels like a destination without requiring a tasting-menu budget.
If you are travelling and want context from other cities: Camille in Orlando is doing thoughtful Vietnamese work in a comparable format, and Tầm Vị in Hanoi is the reference point for understanding what the regional original looks like. For high-investment special-occasion dining elsewhere in the US, Alinea in Chicago, The French Laundry in Napa, and Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg represent what a significantly higher price tier produces in terms of format and ceremony , useful context for understanding what La Dong chooses not to be.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Dong | Vietnamese | Michelin Plate (2025); 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. | Easy | — |
| Le Bernardin | French, Seafood | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | Modern Korean, Korean | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | French, Vegan | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Masa | Sushi, Japanese | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Per Se | French, Contemporary | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in New York City for this tier.
The menu spans a wide range of Vietnamese dishes including herb-forward preparations, rice-based options, and seafood, which gives kitchen flexibility for common restrictions. The chef's special menu leans heavily on proteins including A5 wagyu and shrimp, so vegetarians should flag requirements when booking. Dietary specifics are not documented in available venue data, so check the venue's official channels before arrival if restrictions are complex.
For Vietnamese at a comparable $$ price point in NYC, Hanoi House in the East Village and Bún-ker in Ridgewood are the most frequently cited alternatives. If you want a step up in formality with Southeast Asian roots, Pranakhon, the team behind La Dong, is the direct sibling restaurant. For Michelin-level tasting menus with an Asian focus at a higher price point, Atomix is the obvious comparison, though the format and spend are categorically different.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy, so same-week reservations are typically available. That said, the 4.8 Google rating across nearly 1,500 reviews and Michelin Plate recognition mean weekend evenings fill faster than weekday slots. Book 3 to 5 days out for a weekend dinner to be safe; weeknight walk-ins may be possible but are not guaranteed.
Go beyond the standard menu. Bánh mì and summer rolls are available and competent, but the chef's special menu is where La Dong earns its Michelin Plate, with dishes like a turmeric crepe with shrimp and tableside-poured wagyu pho. The room has private booths and a Colonial-era aesthetic, so it works for groups. At $$, there is low financial risk in ordering broadly.
The chef's special menu, not a formal tasting menu but a focused set of signature dishes, is worth prioritising over the standard à la carte options. The A5 Miyazaki wagyu pho and turmeric crepe are the standout items per Michelin's own notes. If you are dining solo or as a pair and want to keep spend predictable, order two or three items from the specials rather than committing to a full tasting format.
Yes, at $$ it overdelivers relative to its price point. A Michelin Plate, a 4.8 Google rating, and dishes using A5 Miyazaki wagyu at a mid-range price tag is a combination that is difficult to find in New York City. If you are weighing La Dong against a $$$+ Vietnamese option, the gap in quality does not justify the gap in spend for most diners.
It works for a low-key special occasion, particularly for a birthday dinner with a small group or a date where you want atmosphere without a $300+ bill. Private booths, lotus lamp fixtures, and a room designed around Colonial-era Vietnamese aesthetics give it more visual presence than a typical $$ neighbourhood restaurant. For a milestone occasion where the bill size signals effort, the $$ price range may read as understated, and somewhere like Atomix or Eleven Madison Park would carry more weight.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
