Anh Em Feeds You Like Family

Sometimes you really want to go on a glamorous date night with your partner or a festive dinner out with the gals. You make the reservation, get all dolled up, maybe even put on lipstick and trade out that sports bra for some underwire, and head to a classy AF, pressed-linens type of restaurant with a Capital R.

But, you know, other times you just want to eat something delicious without all the hubbub. You want to go somewhere where the food never disappoints, the staff is welcoming, you don’t have to tip a valet driver, and you can get in and out in under 90 minutes. Easy peasy. 

Enter Anh Em. Tucked into an Anderson Lane strip mall in North Shoal Creek, the Vietnamese spot comes from the family behind Pho Thaison, an Austin fixture for more than 25 years. Anh Em translates loosely to “siblings, brothers, or close ones.” It’s a fitting name for siblings Thaison, Lamson, and Mindy, who are putting their own spin on the family’s hospitality legacy.

The dining room is cozy with white wood and brick walls, bamboo partitions, colorful jade maps, family cutout photos, and vintage Asian advertisements. A projector and roll-up screen are tucked into one side. Anh Em’s slogan, Gần Nhau Là Cười, translates to “When We’re Together, We’re Laughing,” and the restaurant has that easy, conversational quality. On my Tuesday night visit, a couple of soccer moms and their sons had just come from practice. At another table, a group of tech bros was having a surprisingly detailed conversation about dating strippers.

Servers are friendly without hovering, and the pace is impressively quick without making dinner feel rushed. That said, I recommend ordering your meal in waves instead of all at once. The fried egg rolls arrived almost immediately, filled with a hearty mushroom mixture and served with herbs and lightly pickled vegetables. I wanted more punch from the fish sauce, but the crisp wrapper and savory filling made them a solid start.

The spring rolls deliver with grilled tofu that has an almost meaty texture and a nice char. The soft rice paper and fresh vegetables keep the rolls light, while the peanut sauce is looser and more pourable than the thick pastes served elsewhere. It cascades over everything instead of being difficult to scrape out, and I doused it on every bite.

The chicken bao buns are another worthwhile starter. The rice buns could be more pillowy, but the grilled chicken is nicely charred, the pickled carrot and daikon bring plenty of crunch, and the spicy hoisin-sriracha sauce is balanced.

Then there are the crab rangoons: blazing hot, shatteringly crisp, and loaded with cream cheese and crab stick. The sweet-and-sour sauce seals the deal. Honestly, I just love an excuse to eat cream cheese outside of breakfast hours.

For drinks, the nitro Thai tea is creamy without being heavy or milky, and it hits a sweet spot without getting cloying or tasting too strongly brewed. I liked it so much I had to order it again on my second visit. The Viet Arnold Palmer combines fresh ginger jasmine tea with limeade for a bright and refreshing floral drink, although my husband thought the jasmine was verging on soapy. (Insert shrug emoji here.) 

But you’re here for the bánh mì. Mostly because they are, pardon my French, fucking huge.

Anh Em starts with a very good loaf, crusty and toasted but still pliable enough that it doesn’t shred the roof of your mouth. The grilled chicken version is juicy, with crunchy vegetables and a layer of pork pâté that adds savory creaminess to every mouthful. The pâté is almost too aggressively salty on its own – but spread throughout the sandwich, it melds everything together.

The brisket bánh mì is the messier, meatier option. It’s stuffed with shredded brisket, vegetables, and pâté, and the meat has more in common with a Vietnamese version of carne guisada than traditional grilled brisket. It’s saucy, tender, and particularly delicious with the pâté.

It’s also a complete mess to eat. When our server asked if I wanted to add a fried egg, I almost audibly scoffed. There was already no elegant way to hold the sandwich, let alone bite through the whole thing, and a runny egg felt like it was asking for trouble. A brisket bánh mì at Anh Em is not a date-night meal unless your date is cool with watching you floss afterward (teeth, not the dance). 

The roughly $15 price tag, depending on protein type – other options include pork belly, grilled pork, grilled chicken, tofu, or fried egg alone – makes even more sense when half a sandwich is enough to fill you up. It’s perfect for sharing, or you can start planning tomorrow’s lunch early. 

The vermicelli bowls are a little tidier. The grilled pork has a lightly sweet marinade and a bit of char, with fresh herbs and vegetables cutting through the pork’s richness. The fish sauce served alongside lets you control how much funky flavor goes into the bowl. 

The vegan phở, which also serves as the aromatic base for the shrimp version, comes with a fragrant, warming broth layered with the star anise and warm five-spice notes of the classic soup. It has plenty of flavor for a meatless broth, and the shrimp option comes with butterflied shellfish that stay plump and tender.

The kitchen is maybe a little too efficient. On one visit, my entrée hit the table well before my husband’s bánh mì; on another, I had barely ordered the rangoons before they landed steaming on the table. But the staff is warm and helpful. One server noticed my remaining broth and insisted, “You’re gonna want a to-go container for that!” He was right.

Then there’s the matcha soft serve. Dusted with matcha powder, it’s heavenly: light, creamy, gently bitter, and not overly saccharine. And listen, I’d just eaten half a giant bánh mì. I did not need dessert. But you definitely have room for this, trust me. It’s a must-order. 

Both visits clocked in at less than an hour. I came for the bánh mì, stayed for the matcha, and left with a to-go container full of phở broth. And I didn’t even have to put on makeup.

This article appears in October 16 • 2026.