This cheerful, cash-only Kensington restaurant plays the hits, with its classics all coming in at $20 and under. In addition to banh mi, pho, and rice plates, the house special that gives Cafe Mi Quang its name is a noodle dish hailing from the central part of the country made with a turmeric-infused broth and finished with ground peanuts and toasted sesame rice crackers.

The beef and chicken pho are both good moves at the casual Thang Long in Kensington, which also offers a selection of vermicelli and rice dishes. Vegans have options here too, including pho with tofu or meat-free meatballs or chicken.

With its dark wood, dim lights, and upstairs bar, this Chinatown staple nails the ambience to match its food. Vietnam Restaurant’s sprawling menu has delighted diners for around 40 years, offering crispy spring rolls, filling vermicelli and broken rice dishes, steaming pho, several clay pot options, and a bonus: strong, fruity tiki drinks. There’s also a sibling called Vietnam Cafe in West Philly.

There are a few Saigon-inspired restaurants in the city with full bars and kitschy tiki cocktails, but nothing that compares to Tuan Phung’s modern Vietnamese kitchen and bottle shop. Fun bar bites like tamarind wings and scallion corn are paired with Hanoi Pimm’s Cups and refillable coconuts of Wild Turkey 101, amaro, and lime.

It’s all pho, all the time at this no-frills restaurant with communal tables in the Wing Phat Plaza on Washington Avenue. Choose the meats, order a lemon soda, count to 10, and Pho 75’s steaming soup will already be on the table. It’s cash-only, and a regular bowl costs less than $6 pre-tax.

Chicken pho is spectacular at this straightforward soup spot in a new home in South Philly. The usual suspects (lime wedges, bean sprouts, and basil) accompany Pho Ga Thanh Thanh’s namesake pho ga, as does a small ramekin of a fiery dip made of salt, black pepper, and sliced habanero. Maybe the best move? Order plain noodle soup on the side of a platter of chicken, which also comes with velvety offal and blood cubes. When the chicken doesn’t sit in the soup too long, it doesn’t accidentally overcook or make the broth too greasy.

Cafe Diem is known for its spicy and satisfying bun bo hue, pho’s often-overlooked sibling. This version is laden with thick noodles, braised beef, tendon, pig feet, and slices of ham, all bubbling about in a chile-flecked lemongrass broth.

Ba Le Bakery is a prepared-food emporium in Little Saigon with a large selection including an iconic banh mi (aka Vietnamese hoagie), meal trays with grilled meats, tropical smoothies, and sugarcane juice. It’s an easy staple for fast lunches, bakery snacks, and road trip-friendly multi-course meals.

The noodle soups are generously loaded with meats and toppings at Café Nhan, a South Philly comfort food spot run by Nhan Vo and her son Andrew Dinh Vo. Don’t miss the bun bo hue dac biet, a spicy bowl with tender pieces of beef brisket, pig feet, velvety blood cubes, and slices of pork roll. For the table, order banh mi ca ri ga, a chicken curry with french bread to rip and dip, and take home a loaded banh mi for elevenses.

The Philly area’s chicest Vietnamese restaurant is located over the Ben Franklin Bridge in a strip mall in South Jersey. Inspired by his mother’s professional recipes, Hên chef Andrew Ma plates photo-ready versions of banh xeo — rice crepes with minced pork belly and shrimp — and canh chua ca, a soup of slow-cooked fish, pineapples, and tomatoes in a tangy tamarind broth.