
Vietnamese-focused Asian street food (banh mi, bao, pho) in a casual, bright environment.
Address and Contact Information
Address: 6929 Airport Blvd #132, Austin, TX 78752
Phone: (512) 243-5906
Website: https://www.heoeateryaustin.com/
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Order and Reservations
Order: Order online
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Heo Eatery, 6929 Airport Blvd, Ste 132, Austin, TX 78752, US
Reviews
The reviews were mixed, which made me a bit wishy-washy about trying this place, but we decided to take a chance. Heo Eatery’s food pickup is inside Bun Belly. Orders are placed through their website where they offer daily specials and deals.
Unfortunately, our order was not ready within the quoted ETA of 20–25 minutes. The service also fell short overall. The person who helped us was not friendly or engaging and couldn’t provide an estimated wait time, which made the delay more frustrating. We just went to Ranch 99 Market for a bit before coming back.
Turmeric Fish Spring Rolls ($7): The fish was so shriveled up that you could barely taste it. I also didn’t taste the turmeric marinade. While the rest of the spring roll was fresh, the filling itself was disappointing.
Duck Confit Banh Mi ($11): Surprisingly very good. It didn’t taste particularly authentic, but it was still delicious. The duck was juicy, and while a side of fries with a banh mi isn’t typical, the cottage fries were extremely crispy and addicting.
Green Passion ($6): Green jasmine tea with passion fruit and fresh lemon. Very basic and nothing special. Not something I would order again or recommend.
We ordered the duck confit and grilled pork “bank mi.”
Just to be clear, the only things that made either of these similar to a Vietnamese banh mi is the fact there were cucumbers, cilantro, and jalapenos. (The carrots were fresh, not pickled so they don’t count either.) So this is NOT a review of VN banh mi, but rather a review of sandwiches sold by Heo Eatery.
The sandwich was dry. No mayo, butter, pate, salad dressing, oil, or anything similar to make the sandwich moist. The duck confit was a bit salty alone but mellowed out with the bread. The grilled pork had a hint of VN seasoning but you had to look for the flavor profile as it was quite subtle. The bread was flavorless, dry, and crispy. The ratio of bread to filling was nice though. Overall, the sandwiches were just edible.
The tator tots were store bought. Salted and fried nicely but were handed over at room temperature. The orange sauce was served with the fries and tasted fine as a condiment.
We got the tofu and turmeric fish rice dishes. The food came out super fast! The highlight for me was the roasted veggies, consisting of nicely browned carrots, squash, broccoli, and beets. I’m still drooling over the roasted broccoli! It was crunchy and savory, and not at all over-cooked or mushy (the way many other restaurants do it).
I also really enjoyed the brown rice, which was cooked to perfection – so fluffy and flavorful, with just the right amount of salt. The other side dish was a gently pickled crunchy salad of cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, and jalapeño. This salad was decent, a tad spicy, and it could maybe use a bit more fermentation or interesting spices to give it a more memorable flavor and kick.
The only downside was the fried tofu, which was chewy and kind of tough (not crunchy), drenched in a sauce/marinade that tasted a bit generic. It was almost like they fried the tofu, then simply dipped it in soy sauce. It was edible and basically enjoyable, but I think they could concoct a more interesting and zesty sauce for their tofu, and figure out a way to make the tofu retain some crunchiness.
But overall, I really enjoyed all the flavors and the price ($10 per dish) was about right, considering their very generous portions. We left feeling super full for hours, but without that heavy/gross feeling. We’ll definitely be returning here!
Atmosphere: It’s a small Vietnamese-inspired place right on Lamar with a few parking spots out front. The inside is modern, pleasant, and clean.
Service: Order at the counter and they bring it to your table. The fellow at the counter was helpful and attentive.
Food: Outstanding. The pork rib “rice bowl” was exceptional, delicious and beautiful even when served on paper. See my photo.
Price: A great deal for this food quality.
Verdict: Heo is a winner. Don’t miss it!
Pho was a bit pricey (~$15 if I recall correctly)
Confusing: this restaurant is the same as bun belly?
Service is meh. The lady at the register seemed not happy to have customers LOL.
Skip the pork belly bun and go straight to the lemongrass beef bun. I think pork belly is over-rated and it’s simply dressed in hoisin sauce.
My favorite is the turmeric fish rice box. You can see and taste the aroma of the turmeric fish. The rice is so different. It must have been soaked in garlic before cooking. I like it a lot. Their pickles have your Asian stables in addition to cauliflower. They also provide baked beets.
Overall, the rice box option is pretty healthy. It will keep me coming back.
The ribs were SO DRY and not representative of Vietnamese-style ribs. I give it a 1/5 rating. The pork sausages were delicious and 5/5 rating and prob the best thing on their menu. The turmeric fish is 3/5 and no one wanted to take home left overs. The Thai tea is 5/5 but the Vietnamese coffee is 3/5 partly because the give it to you pre-mixed instead of watching it drip.
If you want Americanized Vietnamese food this is alright. If you want real Vietnamese food, this is not it. PS my Caucasian in-laws loved the food, but they also think pf changs is delicious.