Em Vietnamese Bistro is the rare DUMBO restaurant where the food does the heavy lifting and gets away with it. Chef Ly Nguyen spent a decade in Saigon, and the dinner tapas menu reads like the drinking food she couldn't find anywhere else in New York — not pho-and-banh-mi Vietnamese, but Saigon seafood and small plates built for sharing and ordering again.
The Vibe
The exterior gives nothing away — a ground-floor storefront in a residential building, easy to walk past. Inside, the room is warm and unhurried: tables spaced generously, calm enough to talk across without raising your voice. It's not a room with much drama — no candlelight, no low ceilings — but it's comfortable in the way a place run by two people who actually care tends to be. Weekend evenings fill up; weeknights are quieter and easier.
What to Order
- Butter clams — garlicky, rich, the kind of dish that makes you order more rice noodles just to have something to soak the broth with.
- Ly's Chicken Wings — a secret-recipe crispy wing that sounds like a bar snack and eats like the best thing on the table. Get them early.
- Pho Bo — skip it if you're a pho purist. The 24-hour bone broth is solid, but the noodle soups aren't where this kitchen is at its sharpest; the tapas side of the menu is.
When to Come
A Thursday or Friday dinner, early — 6pm before the tables fill. Make a reservation. The DUMBO waterfront is two blocks away, which makes the walk before or after feel like part of the plan. This is a good first or second date: the menu gives you something to talk about, the room keeps conversation easy, and the check won't hurt.
The Bottom Line
Good food at an honest price in a neighborhood that usually charges more for less — worth the trip if you're already heading to Brooklyn, and worth making the trip for.