Metro Meals: Les Givrals is cheap and tasty

By Sasha Schoch and Allie Schaich     2/1/12 6:00pm

Les Givral's Kahve is a street-casual Vietnamese restaurant, great for grabbing a quick bite while you're out with friends.

Voted "Best Takeout" and "Cheap Eats" in 2008 by Houston CitySearch and the Houston Press, Les Givral's Kahve is the perfect place to eat an inexpensive yet delicious meal. The restaurant prides itself on having "authenticity with a modern twist." With three convenient locations around town, this restaurant is either a short drive in a car or a quick trip on the METRORail, right off the McGowen stop.

We dined at the Washington location, which has free parking. The inside of the restaurant has a modern decor, and the lively atmosphere added to the great experience. We ordered our food at the counter, and although we had a large group of eight people, we received our meals within a matter of minutes.

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We had the Bun Thit Nuong, a char-grilled barbecue pork vermicelli dish with peanuts, lettuce, noodles, slices of pork and a mild sauce on the side. The pork was absolutely amazing and was one of the best parts of the dish. There was an excess of lettuce, but overall, it was a good dish. There are other vermicelli bowl options available, including shrimp, tofu, beef and chicken.

We also had the Bun Ga Nuong, a char-grilled chicken vermicelli dish. It was a large serving and included lettuce; thin slices of chicken; long, thin vermicelli noodles; peanuts; and carrots. A tasty sauce was included on the side to add extra flavor to the dish. The lettuce and carrots were very fresh and tasted great with the noodles. The chicken would have been more appealing if it were more white meat than dark meat. The quality of the chicken, however, certainly did not ruin the meal. The flavors all came together quite nicely, making for a delicious and filling bowl of vermicelli.

The Cha Gio, or imperial rolls, were a big hit with our group. They are very similar to the Chinese cuisine version of deep-fried spring rolls. The spring rolls come with a savory sauce and are listed as an appetizer but would certainly complement many of the main dishes.

Les Givral's Kahve also offers sandwiches that cost at most $4. It has a variety of sandwich types, such as chicken, meatball, fish, tofu and pork. For such a low price, the sandwiches are surprisingly large and served on a big loaf of French bread. The menu also includes various other dishes, such as Pho (a rice noodle soup), rice dishes and different types of meat on rice. Regardless of your tastes or appetite, the menu is so expansive that you will find something to order at Les Givral's Khave.

Overall, dishes range from $2.75 to $7.95. Our meals cost less than $10 each and left us full but not stuffed. The food was quite good, and we enjoyed mixing and matching different items on the menu to compile our meal. We would certainly recommend Les Givral's Khave to anyone who is looking for a delicious and affordable meal.

Sasha Schoch and Allie Schaich are Wiess College freshmen. Metro Meals explores the restaurants along Houston's METRORail

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