A real working rickshaw greets visitors as they enter this Margate restaurant before they are led past a bar, stage, and dance floor to their table. This is probably one of the largest Vietnamese restaurants in Broward County, and the expansive dining room is reflective of perhaps one of the most comprehensive Vietnamese menus in South Florida. Flip past the pages of better known items like phở and rice bowls to the more interesting parts of the menu that include such offerings like roasted quail, fermented fish and seafood soup, and caramel fish cooked in a clay pot.

This international chain of Vietnamese restaurants has a reputation that precedes it, and South Florida is lucky to have a location in Tamarac. Pho Hoa specializes in the eponymous beef noodle soup that many consider to be Vietnam’s national dish. They differ from most places, however, in that their beef broth is made with 100% meat instead of the traditional marrow bones. This makes for a lighter soup that is lower in fat while still high in flavor.

The must-have specialty at this restaurant is actually a dish that was said to have been brought to Vietnam via Cambodia. Hủ tiếu is the Vietnamese pronunciation of the Khmer kuy teav, a dish of noodles in a light chicken and pork broth with numerous toppings. Noodle House offers several variations, including a combination soup that includes pork, shrimp, chicken, and surimi. Other unique options come from the Com Tam section of the menu and include dishes of grilled meat served with broken rice and a cup of soup.

Bánh mì is the star at this fast casual joint. These sandwiches are the result France’s colonization of Vietnam over several decades and bring together French bread with fresh Vietnamese fillings. In addition to the sandwiches, Huong’s Bistro also offers quick grab-and-go Vietnamese snacks and desserts, including puff pastries filled with minced pork. Additionally, there is a substantial selection of refreshing beverages with which to wash it all down.

Located in a very culturally diverse strip mall in Sunrise, this restaurant features an edited menu of some authentic Vietnamese favorites. As its name suggests, phở is on offer here, but the menu also includes hủ tiếu soups, hotpots, and broken rice platters. Among its lighter offerings is a lotus root salad with shrimp and pork along with the perennial favorite, green papaya salad – the crisp, cool vegetables offer a contrast to the piping hot bowls of soup. For the little gourmets, Pho Brandon also provides a children’s menu that eschews the chicken fingers for pint-sized portions of Vietnamese classics.

This counter service restaurant is one of the newer additions to Broward’s Vietnamese food scene. While it is modeled on the quick service bánh mì joints one finds throughout the county, Pho Brothers actually offers a little more than sandwiches while still keeping the casual vibe. This makes it an ideal place for a quick solo meal. Noodle bowls and phở are mainstays on the menu, but the restaurant also specializes in bánh xèo – savory crepes made with coconut milk, beer, and turmeric.

While this restaurant does offer phở, it pays to examine the menu a little more closely for dishes that would be a challenge to find elsewhere in South Florida. In addition to several types of hot pot, Brandon Asian Cuisine offers such items as a banana blossom and clam salad, as well as an assortment of seafood-heavy chef’s specialties. Also on the menu are bánh hỏi, a DIY experience in which diners roll a selection of grilled meats and fragrant herbs in bundles of impossibly thin rice vermicelli.

Vietnamese sandwiches aren’t all that are on offer at this fast casual joint in Davie, although nobody will blame you for eating one here. The bánh mì here are exceptional and feature warm crisp baguettes with bright, fresh, and very Vietnamese fillings. If anything can detract from the sandwiches, though, the stacks of lunch boxes featuring grilled meats and rice paste rolls will. The artichoke tea may sound odd, but it is a revelation in refreshment, as is the cooling Vietnamese yogurt made with condensed milk.

Colored lights bathe the dining room in a soft glow at this Pembroke Pines restaurant, giving it a 90s nightclub vibe that goes well the live music that sometimes features here. The menu offers the usual phở variations, as well as some less familiar soups. There is also a selection of hot pot entrees and DIY rice paper wraps found in more authentic Vietnamese restaurants in the area. What sets Viet Taste apart, though, is its selection of traditional street foods that include wild boar, stingray, and snails. More adventurous diners can try the duck embryo with mint.