Freaking dope late dinner! Place is just as good as before the fire! Waiter even hand smashed peaches into my sake for me bc it wasn't that tasty! Love this place and regret it being so long since I have came here! read more

Mai's Restaurant - Sake - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Their bo luc lac is our absolute favorite dish here. It's The best, our personal favorite. I am also obsessed with their lotus root salad and their crispy egg rolls! I'm drooling just thinking about it. I wish they were open on Sundays we'd come more often but I love the fact that they close for staff to spend time with family, not alot of restaurants do that. I also like that they open late until the early AMs. This was definitely our to go spot after a night out in town. read more

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The Shaking Beef here is out of this world! Super delicious food and excellent service. Prices were definitely worth it. My favorite restaurant in downtown Houston. Update: Mai's service is now horrible. Waiters were rude and unresponsive to our needs. Food (shaking beef and white rice) arrived cold as if they were left out for hours. Very disappointed. read more

The egg rolls here are my favorite. They have a very unique texture on the outside which makes them my number 1. I've had different entrees here and they're all pretty good. However, nothing stands out for me like the egg rolls do. They stay open really late and it's perfect for good food after a night on the town. It gets pretty busy but the heard of people get seated fast since they also have a large upstairs space. read more

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So before Mai's burned down I was not a fan. I would come by and eat late at night but that was more because I would rather eat drunken vietnamese food than drunken crap at a fast food joint or a diner. Since it's reopened, I've been back a couple of times for normal dinner dining along with late night. I am a huge supporter of the renovations. Yes it's a bit fufu for my liking but it's CLEAN. That was the worst part about the old Mai's, the FILTH. One of the times I came it was by myself so I ended up just dining at the bar. The bartender is nice, and they have a fully stocked bar. I don't remember if they had banh xeo before but now they do. And it's actually pretty good and a big serving size. My default dish still has to be the bo luc lac (shaking beef). The fire was a blessing in disguise. From the ashes rises the Phoenix! read more

Mia's is my favorite late night stop after a long night of dancing and drinking in Midtown or Downtown. If your at a local bar or club leave before the crowd because the lines to get a table can be wrapped around the building but totally worth the yummy food. I haven't had one bad item on the menu.... 100% A+ read more

Mai's Restaurant - My Dad came all the way from Florida and stopped to have dinner with me in Houston and left with a happy full belly. - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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GREAT FOOD Great service Houston Texas Baby get your fix at the best Asian food spot for me the egg roll is a bad ass read more

"For many, this charred portrait of Elizabeth II gives poignant new meaning to the phrase, 'Hey, check out that flaming queen.'" -- Tricia Takanawa The new and improved, less flaming building than the last time we all remember the fire trucks shutting down Midtown, is a pretty impressive and clean looking building as you approach and walk inside. It is nothing like the old building and I mean that in a good way. Parking still is awful - but hey, if it is late at night and you want to eat some decent food in this immediate area, this is probably one of your best options unless you feel the need to drive to the Taco Bell on Vermont/Shepherd. But wait - there is tex-mex fusion at Mai's! Keep reading. When you enter through the big glass doors you get the hostess stand and the bar area/larger seating area to the right, or the more intimate, smaller seating area to the left nearer the kitchen for quicker food dropped on your table and quicker food in your stomach. Spring rolls (2x per order) with pork: hefty, but loosely wrapped like a Dominican and not a Cuban rolled it up. Cypress Hill would not approve. The taste was eminently fine, the pork was quite good. It was just loosely wrapped, not tight like a cigar or a crepe. Vietnamese Fajitas with grilled chicken: this is a big plate. Two big pieces of lettuce, lots of little cut up herbs and strips of vegetable things, the big noodley kind of rice as a bed, three large pieces of chicken, and a big bowl of dippy sauce that seemed kind of orange saucey in a way and also entirely not. On the table is one of those Pei Wei style jars of red sauce, unfortunately not very spicy, but you can just shovel it on there until you taste something, it is much more mild than Taco Bell Fire Sauce. But it still helps. And you get a big bowl of warm water and a big fajita saucer like at a tex-mex restaurant of the rice paper to dip in the bowl and make your own Viet Fajita. The chicken is crispy and has some jagged edges in place. Just be careful if you are schwasted and/or have had recent mouth surgery like me. It is clean, the waiter seems pretty nice and much more attentive than at other "Eastern" places (slick, no one can get offended by that term,) it is open late, it has a pretty big menu, it is relatively cheap, and a pretty good late night find open late. read more

Used to love this place, until they stop serving brown rice. Moving my work lunch meetings to another location. Fried rice lovers - please beware that you no longer can get fried rice as a side for your entree. read more

Wow this was one of the best Vietnamese restaurants I've been to. Upon entering with our party of 3, our waiter seated us in a booth and offered us some water to start. We ended up ordering the shrimp and pork spring rolls and also Fried sticky rice (tastes like funnel cake). All of those were great, the sticky rice had a very savory and sweet taste and was warm. For entrees I ordered the vermicelli pork with fried egg, my friends ordered Bum Boe Uhe, pork pho tai. First off the size proportions of all this food were huge! We're three dudes and we struggled to finish our bowls lol. Not to mention they were all very tasty. I'm writing this review now as I'm struggling to stand up haha. To end it all our waiter was very friendly and tended to our needs very promptly. Thanks Mai's restaurant!! read more

Mai's Restaurant - Shrimp and pork spring rolls - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I haven't been back here since it burnt down, so when I lost a lunch bet to a friend and he decided to come here, I thought, "Why not? I haven't had their bo luc lac with the red rice in ages." When we arrived, I immediately noticed the change in ambiance and decor from memories of long ago. As we got in the door, my buddy and I waited patiently to be seated. Although there were several employees standing about, no one sat us. It got to a point where I asked my friend "do we sit ourselves?" After a few more minutes, our existence must have made its appearance into Mai's parallel universe as we got acknowledged that we were not simply mannequins standing at their door to add to the new decor. Strike one. As we sat down, we already knew we wanted the bo luc lac with red rice, so we skipped the menu. The rice came out first, which was fried rice rather than red rice. I told the waitress to take it back and to bring the red rice. Why would you bring out the small bowls of rice without the entree? Must be a hip midtown thing where I'm out of the loop on. Shortly, the entree came out, holding the red rice hostage in the kitchen to be served as dessert. First thing I noticed was that the garlic was not peeled. On first bite, it was a bit uncooked. I came to eat food, not aesthetics, so no need to carry that on from the decor to the food. Next, the meat was too sweet. Where is our rice again? Strike two. By now, being deprived of rice and almost done with our entree, I told our waitress to check on the red rice, an if not done, to cancel it and just bring out steam rice as we have to get going soon. Amazing how the keyword "cancel" in a restaurant that charges $3 for a small bowl of red rice puts boosters on their staff to race out to your table like a sequel to the Fast and Furious series to bring you what you initially waited over 30 minutes for. So it came out, and meh, wasn't worth the wait in the least bit. Strike three. So at the end of the day, I spent $40 for what was supposed to be a simple lunch for two to be left waiting for food that really wasn't worth the wait. The quality of food went down, as well as service, and as far as I can see, the only thing that has gone up is the numbers to the left of the decimal on my receipt. Will I ever come back? More than likely not as my Mai's burnt down years ago and will remain burnt inside me like a hot $40 lunch invoice that made a special appearance nowhere near payday for food and service I didn't enjoy. I initially gave this review 2 stars because as much of a hardcore foodie as I am, I have a soft spot for old naustalgic places. Then, I had to come back for an edit because I remembered the final salt to the wound before I left: a fortune cookie that provided me with the fortune "You are good with finances. Use it to your advantage." You can't make this stuff up....and if you don't believe me, look at the picture below. read more

Mai's Restaurant - Once again, you can't make these things up... - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Jesus take the wheel! I live in the Sugar Land area...so how am I going to rationalize driving here multiple times per week? It was late after a concert and my husband and I were starving. I figured, what the hell....we said we would try it out, but it was always so out of the way, being in the middle of downtown and all. But let's try it out! We were seated very quickly. The decor/ambience is modern amd casual and clean. A variety of people and a full bar. Nice so far. We had a very sweet waiter. Andy I think? He promptly took our orders. Salt Toasted Tofu and General Tso's Tofu with House fried rice. The food LITERALLY came out 5 minutes after we ordered it. This scared me of course....where are we? McDonald's? So I apprehensively tasted the battered salt tofu and JESUS LORD TAKE ME HOME! lol. It was absolutely perfect. Then the spicy General Tso's! Perfectly spiced and cooked! The fried rice was even divine! I mean, this food is out of this world. Omg and were we stuffed! Servings were huge and neither of us finished our meals, although we truly tried. Ignore any complaints about this place and COME check it out. Affordable and Amazing. And if you have never ordered tofu, this is THE place to try it. read more

Mai's Restaurant - Salt Toasted tofu! - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Since Houston has a high Vietnamese population, we decided to try a Vietnamese restaurant. A little bit disappointed with the dishes. We ordered garlic beef and eel. Eel is not fresh and it's soaked from dry food. They should tell me about it otherwise I won't order it. Garlic beef is good and tender. Both are pricey, around $13. And the location is not close to other commercial area. So I didn't enjoy the food and location. Nothing special. The only highlight is the dessert - three beans jelly coconut milk drink is so good. It's $1.95. I highly recommend that. read more

Don't sleep on the garlic beef, or the cocktails (before 1:45 AM), or number 29 (I think). I love this place after a late night of partying!!! I especially love it because the re-build after the fire is awesome and there's always plenty of bird--watching to be done here. The host-guy is especially great, with no frill but full of laughs! One time, a eating companion of mine had number 29 (I think), and I absolutely loved those leftovers with my own garlic beef leftovers. Yes, the 29 noodles were quite oily but the garlicky beef made it absolutely heavenly! I've also had pho, spring rolls, wings, vermicelli bowls, and some fried rice, but I must stick with the garlic beef along with wings (to make my sometime amateurish companions comfortable...) Also give the lyche martini a try--you'll love it. They're open until 4 AM, with the exception of Christmas, Thanksgiving, and each Eve of those holidays... I just cant get enough of this place!!! read more

Since Mai's is a bit pricier than many the other Vietnamese restaurants in the area, we don't come as often as we'd like to. We like coming to this place when we feel like sitting down and not have to stand in a line order and fill our own drinks. We enjoy coming here because they have a huge selection of menu items, even for lunch. Almost every time we come, we try something new and it's usually just as delicious as the last. I don't think I've ever gone here and had a bad experience. Food and service is excellent. I bit pricey for lunch but okay every once in a while. read more

This place is super busy, especially on a Saturday night. I was surprised how many people were waiting to be seated at midnight. This place is definitely the go to place when people have the drunchies because it closes at 4am typically. The prices are pretty steep compared to what I'm paying for Vietnamese food. Vermicelli with Grilled pork and eggroll - The grilled pork had really good charbroiled flavor without too much fat on it. The egg roll is crispy and generous on the filling. So good! Pho (#16) - Pretty bland in my opinion. I'm probably used to MSG filled pho but this place didn't do it for me. The broth just seemed watered down. Dishes are about $9-10 and portions are really big, so you can definitely share with your party. Service is good and attentive. read more

Mai's Restaurant - Pork with vermicelli and egg rolls - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

The new and improved Mai's since the old one semi-burned down. This place is an institution that's been around for decades and caters to the clubbing and bar hopping scene in and around the downtown area. Want a decent place that will serve Viet food and is near a freeway or interstate, enter Mai's Restaurant. Fried egg rolls, 5/5: deep fried orgy that actually uses legit rice paper and none of that frozen egg roll bullshit. It's hand rolled so you know there's love and it is authentic Vietnamese to the core. I always order these when I'm there!! Garlic beef aka shaking beef, 4/5: crowd favorite as it is easy to eat. Sautéed beef with garlic and onions that accompanies rice. They have a dipping sauce which is a concoction of salt, pepper, and lime. Pork chops with rice, 4/5: multiple pieces of pork chop that have been grilled with an Asian marinade that has a slightly sweet taste to it. It's accompanied by rice, fish sauce (nuoc mam), cucumber, pickled veggies, and tomatoes. This dish can serve two people and is my go to dish. Remember that all of these dishes are consumed after a late night of drinking so the taste buds could be impaired. By no means, is this the best Asian restaurant unless you're Anthony Bourdain saying it, ha! read more

Mai's Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Always a good choice for late night meals. This is also a place a few of my college friends enjoy coming for special occasions. This is one of the few places that is vegan-friendly that my friends told me about. I have tried everything from their garlic tofu, lemongrass tofu, saly toasted tofu, and, right now, I'm about to try their mixed vegetable soup with tofu. All great choices! Their service is second to none! Late nights after the bars, clubs, lounges, and other night spots close, you won't find a more packed place (maybe Chacho's, but....that's all). If you have never been and this is your first time here, I am pretty sure it won't be your last. read more

Mai's Restaurant - Garlic Tofu - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Being from out of town, I may be biased but in my humble opinion, Mai's has the best Vietnamese food in all of Houston! Or at least out of the places that I've tried. And it's open until 3am! After traveling cross-country for 20 days through such states as Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, etc. we were seriously craving for some good Asian food! 'Cause in those states, it was non-existent. By the time we reached Texas and ate delicious grub from Mai's, I'm sure our deprivation skewed our opinions in their favor. But regradless of the circumstances, Mai's serves delicious Viet food point blank. It's always crowded and bustling, the servers seem very busy. We got fried rice, Nem Nuong rolls, and their famous Bo Luc Lac (shaken beef) to share. Everything was so, so good! And authentic. I will make sure to come back here on my next visit to Houston. Anyone who has anything bad to say about Mai's is crazy. That, or I haven't begun to scratch the surface on Houston's Vietnamese food scene. It's probably the latter actually lol :) read more

Mai's Restaurant - Flied liceeee - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Came here for lunch instead of the famous late night trip they're known for. Lunch is a bustly crowd of button down shirts and slacks hurrying to inhale a plate and get back to the office. (kinda like me I suppose) As far as Vietnamese midtown lunch spots, I'm used to the hole in the wall, "Here your Pho!" hurry hurry, type of places. Mai's on the other hand, is a much prettier setting with the same tasty authentic Pho Tai broth, spring rolls, etc. and friendly service to boot. Plating is prettier, waiters aren't pushy, and the interior is all well appointed and new build looking. Worth checking out if you're a fan of Houston's vibrant Vietnamese scene and wanting maybe a cleaner environment to sip some pho. read more

It's 3am and you're really hungry and you don't want pancakes..what to do? Go to Mai's! I've been here a couple times past 11pm and they've been packed. Nice restaurant and they have a pretty decent bar. The service was really good. It's almost shocking how fast the food came out. I went to the restroom to wash my hands and by the time I came back, my food was being served. One time, our waiter mixed up my wife's order, but the mistake was rectified. Within 3 minutes, my wife had her food. Being that they were packed, I was impressed. They have an extensive menu that would please all herbivores and carnivores alike. I've had their salt toasted tofu and General Tso's tofu. Both amazing! My wife and I couldn't stop stealing each other's tofu. Very well prepared guys. I'd definitely recommend here for dinner, lunch or a late night craving. I'll be back for sure! read more

Mai's Restaurant - Salt toasted tofu.. - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I usually come here pretty late after 2 am, but i've also been here during regular dinner hours. This place has pretty decent food for a cheap price. Usual dishes I order: - Crispy seafood egg noodle (Mi Xao Don) - Shaken beef (Bo Luc Lac) - Sour soup (Canh chua) - Egg Rolls - Ca Kho To Mai's is always crowded but luckily the wait is never more than 30 minutes. The service is a bit slow thought once you are seated. read more

Great first-time Mai's experience for a late night meal and it won't be the last - SOO GOOD! I followed the instructions of my "Mai experts" and ordered something off the menu - the grilled pork fried rice with grilled pork on top, made EXTRA-spicy. It was DELICIOUS and the portion size was so plentiful that I was happy to take it home and have it the next day for lunch. The rice and meat was so flavorful and spicy, and I appreciated that the rice was not too oily. I will definitely order this dish again. The Vietnamese eggrolls were also some of the best I've had in Houston. The wrap was nice and crispy, the filling was flavorful and the combination of the fresh basil and lettuce wrapped around it added a nice crisp to balance the heat of the eggroll. Service left more to be desired, but its busy late night spot with mid-priced food, it was more than adequate, and the most important thing was that the food came quickly. read more

The staff there is so rude I didn't even get a chance to order. When the server came to take our drinking order he had a complete attitude. Even after that we still tried to make the best of it. I'm the middle of us ordering our food. The dude walks off. I would never go back let alone give this establishment any of my money. read more

I typically go here after a fun night on the town! I loveeee this place so much and their food is very authentic! read more

Mai's Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

If I can give zero stars I would. I wouldn't even think to come here but being near by and the place had 3.5 stars I came with low expectations only to find the food was worse than I could imagine. We ordered basic beef and broccoli noodles dish and the meat looked horrible when we got our plate. We were really hungry and tried to eat it but ended up only able to eat the noodles and brocolli and the beef tasted bland, was chewy, and texture was grainy. We also ordered the sweet and sour soup. It was full of bean sprouts and celery with barely any soup. Flavor was okay. I simply ate rice and some of the soup. I usually don't waste food but it was not consumable and if the food isn't good while hot, leftovers would probably be worse. When we asked for the check, our waitress came over and asked do you want a box and we told her no but wanted to let her know the food was inedible she walks away and gets us a box. We told her again, no we don't want to take the leftovers, they were inedible. She says okay and walks away. She didn't even care we had an issue with the food and proceeds to give us the check. For $40, that was the worst restaurant in my books to have eaten at. Horrible food, horrible service definitely DO NOT recommend this place. Stay away and find another place to eat. read more

Mai's Restaurant - Look at how the beef is cut... color so pale too. - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I miss the old Mai's when the family was cooking all the food :-( This was a frequent spot when I was a kid and we loved it. Whenever it started catering to non-Asians, we stopped going.... This was the first time I've been back in over 10 years and it wasn't as bad as I heard from friends and family and wasn't as good as I have read. We came in after the Rodeo cook off on a Saturday at about midnight. And of course, it was packed. Our table ordered: chicken fried rice, pho tai, grilled pork rice plate, chicken vermicelli, and the seafood/meat fried noodles. It wasn't anything spectacular esp for the prices.... I ordered the seafood/meat fried noodles and it was ok. There wasn't a lot of seafood or meat but a lot of veggies. I was disappointed esp since they were asking $14. I can get this same dish -made tastier and bigger in Bellaire for $9-10 but I know, I'm @ Mai's - what do I expect? The server was friendly and attentive. Overall it was an ok meal but not a spot that I would frequent. read more

I ordered the garlic shrimp and vegetable plate I believe #168. I also had the shrimp spring rolls!! I LOVE THOSE . The garlic shrimp was recommended to me by an awesome server (young guy) I can't think of his name . I also ordered a lemon drop martini. That was amazing ! They didn't skimp on the Lemon or the drop!! My food came quickly and was amazing usually I come to MAi's for the pho but I was feeling daring that night. I glad an overall great experience per normal. I ALWAYS wish the seating and set up was different. More like Kat's deli. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone! read more

Mai's Restaurant - Garlic shrimp, garlic cloves. Onions, red bell pepper over a bed of Lettuce and a side of white rice - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

This was a great find for us in Houston! Even at 3am the food was absolute great. We ended up getting the garlic beef and garlic chicken as well as combination fried rice. Before our entrees I ordered a small Wonton Soup and damn, this was the best Wonton Soup I have ever had. It had leaks, greens, bbq pork, and other goodies. The taste was perfect. The chicken itself was great and the beef was perfectly cooked! The fried rice was fresh and the shrimp on it was amazing. I hope to find a restaurant like this in the San Francisco Bay Area. read more

Houston staple! This delightful gem has delicious dishes. In my opinion, it is a bit more expensive than similar options. However, the Dau Hu Luc Lac (Garlic Tofu) is incredible and the only menu item I get anymore. I would have given them 5 stars, but their Uber EATS to go orders are somewhat inconsistent. Most of the time, they use a plastic to-go container instead of this tin-foil version they have used of late. The tin-foil version leaves a somewhat metallic taste..:so would love if they could switch back OR use a more sustainable option all together. They have also forgotten to pack my rice on more than one occasion. read more

I reviewed this place about 9 years ago and I gave it a solid 4 stars. I am updating my review after my visit last night - my first visit in a while. Wow, this place has sure gone down hill. I remember the bun thit nuong (vermicelli with chargrilled pork) being good - it's such a delicious and healthy Vietnamese staple. I ordered it last night and had to double check with the server that I really got what I ordered. The chargrilled pork had no flavor like vietnamese "thit nuong" usually does. It was just plain pork, overcooked, grisly, and dry. The fish sauce was fine but there were also hardly any veggies in my bowl. It was hands down the worst version of this dish that I have ever ordered, and I won't be coming back. If you want to try a good bun thit nuong, you should try out Les Ba Get which is about a mile away and way better than what Mai's has become. Mai's was better before it burned down. read more

This USED to be some of the best food in town...but not anymore. The garlic wings for our appetizer was extremely bland and under-seasoned, I asked for all flats that they told me (quite rudely) NO...the chef would not accommodate all flats. Then the Thai iced coffee was RIDICULOUSLY sweet! I only had two sips and couldn't drink anymore. A waste of money. Next, I had the signature dish (the Mai's beef). It was lacking seasoning, the beef was tough and overcooked and the roast garlic (which I love) was very bitter this time. To make matters worse, our server was very inattentive and a little rude. We sat for a good twenty minutes before he came to greet us. I was extremely disappointed with the food and experience here. read more

One star purely on service, or lack thereof. Went here on a late night. We were the first and only ones waiting for a table and only a party of four. Several groups came in after us, including a party of three cops. The host gestured to seat us but as we were walking to our table, another employee (presumably the manager as he was wearing a different shirt) told him to stop and seat the cops first they literally sent us back to the front of the house (where we had already lost our seats up front as another group took them when we stood up to be seated). They proceeded to seat the three policemen and another group of three, BOTH OF WHICH came in AFTER us. Now I don't really have a problem letting a group of officers get seated before us, but when you are already going to get a party seated at a table, you DO NOT send them back to the front just to give their table up to another party. That is just a big no no in service regardless of the situation. And again, it wasn't JUST the officers that they seated who came in after us. In addition, they can see how upset I was and they were obviously in the wrong. Yet no apologies were even made. Nice looking restaurant. Okay food, I guess for the most part... Although the presentation is pretty nice, especially in comparison to typical Vietnamese restaurants. Won't ever return due to shitty service. And yes, I will certainly discourage everybody I know from coming to support this business. As a side note, I am Vietnamese so I know the food as well as the language these employees are speaking (: Shitty employees, shitty service. read more

Mai's Restaurant - Pho ga kho - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

Excellent Restaurant! My favorite is # 31 (Singapore Noodles) always is really yummy. The hot oil sauce is the best!!! Team and service is just OK" This place is after hours open till 4am. read more

So do you like salt-toasted onions? Because when we ordered our former favorite salt-toasted tofu, most of the fried delightfully firm and chewy tofu seemed to have been replaced with saucily-coated onion silvers. Um, no, just no. Okay so it is in fact "upgraded" in terms of the decor. It is maybe even "borderline swanky?" There's a fully stocked bar with all the fancy lighting and accoutrements. Gone are the freaky funhouse mirror walls, coarsely laminated menus, well-worn mismatched tables and chairs. Even the infamously slippery floor has been replaced with some sort of faux wood paneling (I think that's what it is was?). There's even an upstairs now, complete with convertible banquet room and long winding lounge-y couch. The toilets are automated now. Where am I? I don't even know. Despite Mai's claims that sizes and portions have remained the same, that is simply not the case. All the portions seemed to have decreased by at least 33%, possibly more (the dining ware - being more "elegant" but smaller somewhat masks that). Formerly you could choose from the small or large portion, now it's just the small portion, and it's even smaller with the price tag of the large version. The egg rolls and spring rolls have all dwindled in number (possibly size too, in terms of the fresh spring rolls). Maybe it's all in my head, but I swear the garlic and salt-toasted tofu are healthier now, with far less oil content - which is a good thing, but it's all strange to me (I can't handle change, leave me alone!). Still all very garlicky though - meaning you'll smell lovely the morning after, ah! Mai's used to really hook you up with the peanut sauce and other, dipping sauces and that limey-jalapeno-pepper concoction. Now it's just one per dish. I mean, I'm sure you can request additional wells, but Mai's scaling back efforts in terms of the food are quite noticeable. The menu is less of a epic novel now and there's a slightly vaster selection of Americanized things, I believe, at least in terms of the desserts. Even the menu has been upgraded, printed on some really classy linen-looking paper bound in a sturdy earthy-tone cover. The chopsticks now come in "Mai's" pre-printed sheaths instead of the generic Asian restaurant sleeves. It's all really something, really. The service has improved in terms of the waiters actually asking what you would like with a pleasant tone, instead of just assuming everyone is having water to drink, no exceptions. However, our orders took quite awhile, I swear they just used to magically appear within minutes - this could be partially attributed to the still-fresh Mai's hysteria. Given that I'm one of those Mai's nostalgic purists (or whatever), I can't say I'm totally on board with the "new and improved" Mai's. Although I did have lunch or early dinner here more than once before the infamous wok fire, I can't say I ever cared at all about Mai's interior design selections. I kind of likened it to a even more retro-cheesy Tan Tan and was thankful it wasn't nearly as "dressy" as Hollywood Vietnamese. I was just there for the couple of tofu dishes I really really liked and the bare bones approach seemed justified, as it resulted in larger portions at cheaper prices (at least compared to Hollywood). I don't know, maybe this whole new approach will broaden Mai's audience outside of those drunken cravings. I mean I can totally anticipate that this could possibly become a legitimate date destination, now that the stark fluorescent lights have been replaced with dimmer, warmer mood lighting. Mai herself is back in the kitchen, thus no longer sternly and curtly working the cash register. Gosh, I miss her personalized touch. Anyway, it's just "okay" to me for now. Maybe I'll learn to love this revamped Mai's with repeated visits, but I can't say I'll be clamoring to dine here again. read more

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I was really looking forward to enjoying Mai's yesterday after reading all of their positive reviews and hearing great things from neighborhood buddies. I ordered the famous garlic beef, and I was not impressed. The flavor was great, really. Awesome seasoning, not too spicy, but the beef was chewy and super-fatty. I ended up spitting out multiple pieces of beef, sorry, I know that's gross. And, my plate must have had at least ten cloves of garlic. At least. So, taking a friend's recommendation, I decided to save my dinner experience with some Vietnamese coffee. After waiting for the coffee to drip into my thick milk-like substance, I poured the stuff into my glass of ice. It was super bitter and not as tasty as I've had in the past. Sigh:( Sorry, Mai's, I can't be a fan - and i was a sure thing!!! read more

If you're looking for very good Vietnamese food, come here! I repeat, GO HERE. Not only this place has really good food, it's open till 3am or later! And it's almost always busy late at night on the weekends cuz ya' know, it's after-the-club type of restaurant and/or if you have late night cravings of bo luc lac or something lol. The food is also fresh and has big portions so it doesn't disappoint. I live in the north side of Houston so it's worth the drive over here man. I recommend! read more

Mai's Restaurant - *drools* bo luc lac! - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

We were craving Pho late night on a weeknight and didn't feel like driving out to Bellaire. Ended up yelping Mai's, had no idea about it but am so glad we found it, amazing late night hours. Free parking behind the restaurant and also a lot across the street, there was a security guard walking around the lot too. Me and the bf were both in scrubs, no issues with dress code here. Pretty casual restaurant, nice and clean interior, I can see how it could get pretty packed during late night drunken hours. Service was great. Ordered the egg rolls (so crispy and tasty though could use a little more filling), bo luc lac, pho tai and bun bo hue. Garlic beef was tender and yummo, pho tai was decent (not the best I've had but pretty acceptable for not having to travel to Bellaire), bun bo hue was tasty (no blood cake present but flavour was on point nonetheless). Now that we've found Mai's I have a feeling I'm going to be getting most of my viet foodie fixes here. read more

Mai's Restaurant - Bun Bo Hue! - Vietnamese Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I ended up in Midtown after a day of meetings a few days ago. Craving Asian, I remember that Mai's was in the area so I went there. The place was fairly quiet since it was the lull between lunch and dinner. I first sat at the bar, but because I needed to charge my phone, the waitress was kind enough to find me a table next to a socket. I ordered the grilled pork rice plate. Word to the wise: you can substitute the white rice for fried rice for $2. Speaking of the fried rice, it tasted great. The flavor was there. Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same for the grilled pork. Not even dipping it in the spicy fish sauce and chili paste worked. I would've given Mai's two stars if it weren't for the excellent service. Their menu has many other dishes so I'll like come back. read more

I go here to get my favorite Vietnamese dish: Goi Ngo Sen Tom Thiet Lotus root salad with shrimp, shredded pork, cucumber, celery...etc. It's perfect! The soups are also very good. I am a vegetable and seafood lover, so had the #69 soup "Cahn cai do bien" with shrimp, scallops, squid, and fresh vegetables. This was THE BEST SOUP EVER! $16 = totally worth it. Leftovers for the next day ++ read more

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