Pho Fans Opens In Darien with Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine

Jessica Ryan March 30, 2022

Shrimp Summer Roll & Vietnamese Crispy Spring Roll with Fish Sauce

Pho Fans, Darien’s newest eatery is a family-run Vietnamese restaurant which opened just a couple of months ago and has already created quite the reputation for itself. The name suits this restaurant well – as those who enter will all quickly become fans!

The Connecticut location is the second of the same name; the first is located in Huntington, NY. Vietnamese food is known to be one of the healthiest cuisines with minimal use of oils and dairy. As a result, flavors are light, fresh and balanced. Pho Fan relies on generations-old family recipes that translate well to the modern, health-inspired American palate. Their focus is on health and nutrition while delivering delicious food. You won’t find anything artificial or any additives whatsoever in their food.

We had the privilege to sample some of their food last week.

Their pho was quite spectacular, as is the process in which it’s made. The broth cooks slowly, for 10 – 12 hours in a vast 120-gallon vessel in which the meat, vegetables and herbs all simmer together a broth that is herbal, balanced and incredibly flavorful. Select from multiple varieties including beef, chicken and vegetarian.

The Spring Roll & Grilled Shrimp with Rice Vermicelli

The Beef Broth with Combination consists of beef eye round, brisket, beef balls and tendons with bean sprouts, lemon, basil, scallions, onion and cilantro. Their pho travels well - I brought home the unfinished soup and enjoyed it for a couple of meals. The rice noodles, meat, vegetables and herbs were packaged separately and tasted as fresh as leftovers as they had at the restaurant. In fact, it should be noted that all the items we enjoyed traveled well.

Following are some of the items we enjoyed:

The Shrimp Summer Roll with Peanut sauce (shrimp, mint, rice noodles and shredded lettuce) – wrapped in rice papers, these gluten-free treats were light, fresh, unexpectedly and wonderfully herby from the mint. The peanut sauce, though decadent, didn’t overwhelm or weigh down these delightful rolls. We also enjoyed the Vietnamese Crispy Spring Roll with fish sauce.

The Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chop with white rice fish sauce was tender and flavorful and the serving was generous.

The Spring Roll & Grilled Shrimp with rice vermicelli, with cucumber, pickled carrot, lettuce, peanut, fried onion, mint and fish sauce was divine. It was light and tasted as vibrant as it looked. Other options include pork chop, lemongrass chicken, spare-ribs, beef, and shrimp among others.

Another wonderfully light, and fresh dish is the Papaya Salad with Grilled Shrimp with shredded purple cabbage, carrot, fried onion, mint, rice noodles and peanuts. This salad will fill you without leaving you with feeling overly full. (Select spicy if desired.)

The Vietnamese Sandwich (Banh Mi) was a different kind of special. Made on a crispy baguette from local SoNo Bakery, the grilled beef, along with the cucumber, cilantro, pickle, carrot with the perfect amount of mayo (not too much, not too scant) just hit right. Brand new to the menu, substitute the beef for grilled chicken, spare ribs or pork chop.

Thirsty? The Thai Milk Tea is delicious and one of their best sellers. The Vietnamese Drip coffee, served hot or cold is really quite special. Made with sweetened condensed milk, these drinks are delicious and decadent. Should you order the hot, enjoy watching your coffee brew in front of you as the phin (Vietnamese metal filter) placed over the mouth of the glass, slowly releases the thick, rich coffee into the tall condensed milk-filled glass below.

Pho Fans just got their liquor license and they’ve a great selection of fun drinks from which to choose. There’s the Pho Fans Bowl, the Lychee Saketini, Sake Cucumber Cooler, Sake Mojitos and the Blue Lagoon to name just a few. Many of these are available as Mocktails as well.