Welcome back to Five Things, Racket’s recurring rundown of new, new-to-us, or otherwise notable Twin Cities restaurants.
Today we’re taking you inside House of Huế, Minnesota’s first Bún bò Huế restaurant, which opened in late 2024 at Eat Street Crossing. As we enter soup season, we want to make sure this spot is on your radar, because House of Huế’ expertly curated menu packs a punch. Here are five things to know before you go.
1. This is the First Dedicated Bún bò Huế Shop in Minnesota
A few influencers have incorrectly said that House of Huế is the first place to get Bún bò Huế in Minnesota, but other restaurants (Quang, Mandarin, Tay Ho) have the dish on their menu. The difference between House of Huế and those other spots? Bún bò Huế is House of Huế’s focus. And that focus leads to the best Bún bò Huế in the Twin Cities.
House of Huế is run by husband-and-wife team Henry and Pamela Tran. The couple is from Huế, the city in Vietnam where Bún bò Huế was created, and they moved to Houston in the 1980s. “Henry has a family tree that goes back almost 1,000 years,” says Andy Tran, one of House of Huế's four co-owners. “It’s all Huế.”
The couple owned a restaurant in Houston before moving up to Eau Claire in the 1990s, and they only moved to Minnesota after the restaurant opened in 2024.
There’s not only layers of flavor in this broth, but the feeling of family legacy. At House of Huế, they call it heritage in a bowl. The Bún bò Huế is the star of the menu, with banh mi, noodle salads, and specials like spring rolls rounding it out.
According to Andy, there are a few key differences between pho—the better-known Vietnamese noodle soup—and Bún bò Huế. “You can break it down to the broth. Pho is built on star anise, cinnamon, clove, and ginger. It’s sweet, clean, clear, and herbal. Bún bò Huế is rich, red, spicy, and savory with a lemongrass punch,” he explains. Then there’s the noodles. “Pho has flat rice noodles, but Bún bò Huế has thick, round, chewy noodles,” he says.
2. Bún bò Huế is Actually Spicy
The first thing you’ll notice when a bowl of Bún bò Huế ($14.95-$21.95) hits your table is the glistening red color on the top of the soup. That’s pure heat. Before your soup arrives, you’ll have plenty of time to find the water station, and I recommend that you do so.
But this isn’t a blow-your-palate-out type of heat; it’s more of a clear-your-nose type of spicy, with options when you order to get more or less heat depending on your preference. I took two friends with different spice tolerances with me on my visits. My friend who has a “Minnesota spicy” tolerance described this soup as “hot but in a good way!” My friend who orders a spice level five at most restaurants described it as “warming and subtle.” Plan accordingly.
3. They Have Great Options for Veg Heads
During my visits to House of Huế, I tried the vegetarian soup, Bún bò Huế Chay ($14.95), and the vegetarian banh mi ($6.50). Both feature fried tofu and vegetarian ham for a protein-packed lunch for vegetarians and vegans alike. The vegetarian noodle salad with broth ($18.95) isn’t something you should sleep on, though. The veggie broth comes out coated in that glistening red chili oil and topped with red and green onions along with cilantro. The noodle salad includes exceptionally thin slices of fried tofu, shredded carrot and cabbage, cucumber, fried onions, and dressing with a base of scallion oil that you can pour yourself.
I personally like to split my noodle salad into two: Half of those noodles go into my broth and the other half get doused in the excellent dressing. The mix of fresh veggies against the deep and rich broth is one of my go-to combos at House of Huế, making it a destination for meat and veggie lovers alike.
4. You Can Get Fun Drinks One Stall Down
If you haven’t been to Niko Niko Boba yet, what are you waiting for? Niko Niko is a Taiwanese-style boba shop with 12 Minnesota locations, one of them right next to House of Huế. Sure, you could order a Diet Coke from House of Huế or grab a beer from Eat Street Crossing’s bar, but getting a drink from Niko Niko with your soup is my personal favorite way to enjoy it. Niko Niko offers wild drinks like an Oreo Cookie Crunch or a Strawberry Creme Brûlée concoction, but I stick with the Vietnamese Iced Coffee with brown sugar pearls ($6.35 for a small) or Honeydew Milk Tea with coconut jelly ($6.84 for a small), because both of these feel like the perfect pairing for this spicy soup. Just know that these drinks come very sweet—I ask for mine half-sweetened!
5. They Have (Really Good!) Pho on Sunday
On Sunday, when you walk into Eat Street Crossing, you might smell the aroma of pho broth simmering away. That’s because on Sunday, House of Huế has a pho service where steaming bowls of soup are served with silver trays piled high with toppings. It’s about $22 for the biggest bowl of pho you’ll ever encounter. I recommend bringing a friend (or three) to split it with.
This is good pho, with a clear broth, great mouthfeel, and a big bone sticking out of the soup. You can tell they don’t skimp on the ingredients here, because the soup has a nice amount of fat to it, which makes it extra filling. Families came on Sunday to split giant bowls, and even if you arrive 15 minutes before they open, like I did, expect there to be a line. One of the women waiting in line said to me, “You can’t tell people about the pho here, it’s the best in the Twin Cities.” But that’s exactly why I’m writing about it, because I agree with her, and think you deserve to try it, too.
House of Huế, located in Eat Street Crossing
Address: 2819 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
