★★★★☆ cozy , friendly , halal PHO ! highly recommend the lemongrass beef pho and 2 thumbs up to the kind positive owner lady :) Posted on March 29, 2018

★★★★★ This is a partially halal Vietnamese restaurant (o wut?) serving a pretty stellar menu. The proprietor told me they had bought some halal meat by mistake when they first opened, but the business took off as a result and they stuck with what worked. He assured me that the chicken and beef are all halal (you are in some good luck) and that there is no chance of cross contamination (the restaurant does serve pork). The next nearest halal Vietnamese restaurant is 2500 miles away in San Francisco. After that you'll have to hop on a flight to Ho Chi Minh City (you'll find the halal restaurants near the Masjid Musulman - Saigon Central Mosque). Metered parking is available on the street, but even in this upscale neighborhood of Georgetown, you'll want to leave the 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello with the 5.5L V12 and gated 6-speed manual transmission at home. There is minimal seating in the restaurant, enough for parties of 2-4, but during peak times there will be a wait. The banh mi (a French-inspired Vietnamese sandwich) should probably be your first bet. The lemon chicken bahn mi contains a generous portion of chicken marinated in a lemon sauce with vegetables (cilantro, daikon, etc.) served on a fresh crispy baguette. This reviewer recommends getting it with the fried egg and crispy eggplant. The other star on the menu is the Vietnamese soup called pho (say "fa," not "fo"). This author tried the excellent chicken breast noodle pho -- pieces of chicken breasts in a light broth with rice noodles and plenty of bean sprouts and basil. The fried chicken is improbably crispy and is well-paired with a sweet-sour-spicy sauce -- highly recommended as an appetizer. The lemongrass beef noodle bowl contains chunks of marinated beef with thin rice noodles topped with vegetables and a sauce of your choosing. Go with the fish sauce for the most authentic flavor. This is a pretty decent dish, but this author has had better vegetarian versions. The fried bananas dessert is a crispy roll with bananas inside, topped with powdered sugar and served with Nutella. Very well made and worth the money. If you're in the neighborhood, come to this restaurant. You won't find another Vietnamese halal restaurant anytime soon, and certainly not one this good. Posted on February 3, 2017

★★★★★ Called ahead and the owner said that BOTH beef and chicken were halal sourced. I love this spot. John is a great host/owner and had some great suggestions. Both chicken and beef banh mi were great. I also suggest the wings. Didn't try the Pho, but I will next time. Posted on December 4, 2016

★★★★★ Never thought I'd ever have the opportunity to try banh mi, but was glad to have this opportunity in DC. I had the lemongrass chicken banh mi and loved how tender (and easy to chew) the chicken was. Deliciousness all around. The place is small and quite popular but if you go outside normal lunch or dinner hours you should be fine. Posted on June 23, 2016

★★★★★ I was so excited to try this place that even though it was just me, I got a brisket pho, wings, and a coconut boba. Everything was delicious. The owner was really nice and asked that I spread the word about all the halal options. I asked how he had decided to do halal and he said it was a recommendation from a friend and that it's spread mainly through word of mouth. What a nice friend! Posted on December 26, 2015

★★★★★ Tried the Banh Mi sandwiches today b/c it was too hot for Pho. Hubby had the beef chuck Banh Mi and I had the Lemongrass chicken Banh Mi- both halal as all of their beef and chicken options are halal. Also, got an order of halal chicken wings which were served with a nice spicy sauce. The sandwiches were awesome- fresh bread, crisp veggies, great seasoning including hoisin sauce for the beef and fish sauce for the chicken. Good selection of bubble teas and Vietnamese coffee. Prices are very reasonable and the owners and very nice and welcoming to Muslim customers. Definitely something different than the usual kabob joints around here! Posted on July 25, 2015

★★★★★ Fantastic owners, I know them well. I spoke to them extensively about their halal meats, and they do have halal chicken and beef. They take fantastic care to be as sharia compliant as possible. They are very friendly towards Muslim customers and have fantastic food. Posted on June 22, 2015

★★★★★ Good portions, fresh ingredients Posted on August 13, 2014

NR I have not been to Simply Banh Mi, but I called ahead to find out where they sourced their halal meat from. Their only halal meat is chicken, which they buy from Restaurant Depot. I called the Restaurant Depot over in Alexandria, VA and I was told the brand they are selling is Mountaire. I am not familiar with this brand and I can't find any information about halal on their website, so if someone else has extra information I would be appreciative. Posted on June 14, 2014