The front window of Two Wheels. Photo by Harriet.
Food reviewers have regularly sneered at Upper West Side restaurants, because they don’t serve the kind of cutting edge molecular gastronomy fusion la-di-da that they’re used to on the Lower East Side.
But one new restaurant is apparently turning heads among the foodie set. Eater’s Robert Sietsema (who, to be fair, seems like a very down-to-earth dude) says Two Wheels, the new Vietnamese spot at 426 Amsterdam Avenue between 80th and 81st streets, is an “unusually hip” spot to get really good pho, a traditional Vietnamese soup.
Two Wheels is a relatively small restaurant with a line of square tables along one wall. There are dishes like banh mi sandwiches and Vietnamese wings, but the standout dish appears to be pho. And Two Wheels’ pho is particularly tasty because of the high quality of the meats, Sietsema writes.
“Vu’s deluxe pho instead features raw steak, sirloin, brisket, and meatballs. The brisket is shredded rather than sliced, and the meatball is not the usual pounded beef ball, but a meatball like something you might find in an Italian hero, though minus the herbs. It seems like this pho is being groomed for popularity. Another, simpler version is available for $11.95 and $13.95, the prices representing a choice of one meat or two meats.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7wXTB9hF1M/
We tried it the other day for lunch and our verdict is that the food is very far away from anything resembling authentic Vietnamese cuisine and rather bland. The essential flavor elements were simply absent. But by far the bigger problem is the amount of plastic they use in serving, even meals to stay. It’s crazy; so much waste.
Sounds horrible, not hip.
OK boomer
OK, silly twit.
Pho-ey on ageism.
Ageism is bigotry. Both the ageism of older people toward younger people and the ageism of younger people toward older people.
Ok boomer
Snowflake
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
No offense, Jo Ann, but to apply Theodore Roosevelt’s immortal words to a Pho restaurant whose profile in courage consists of a “meatball not of the usual pounded beef ball, but a meatball like something you might find in an Italian hero, though minus the herbs,” seems like overkill to me. “Noodles in beef broth . . .” There, that’s more like it.
Let us guess….because you hate meat?
Sounds amazing. I’m headed there right now, not least of all because you won’t be there.
You heard it here first people.
Nina will NOT be eating any pho!
Yum! And FYI Sietsema, has been writing about cheap, GOOD eats in NYC for over 20 years!! I will have to try this one.
Sietsema may have been doing this for 20 years, but based on his articles he doesn’t know a lot about Vietnamese or Chinese cuisine (or the UWS neighborhood). Pho Shop has been open longer than Two Wheels and isn’t referenced in his article. His other articles about Chinese food miss the mark not only on quality of the food but also in his understating of the cuisine. It is quite sad, actually, that Eater cannot get a more informed person to write these reviews.
awesome news. can’t wait to try it!
Excited to try to this place. Definitely a welcome change from the usual generic UWS places that cater to the crowd that lives here.
I had a crepe there the other day and liked it.
Gonna give Two Wheels a try, but it’s gonna be tough to beat the much-adored, long time favorite, Saiguette at 106th & Columbus! Both the lemongrass bah minh and flavorful pho are routinely mentioned as among NYC best
very nice well done
Only tried the bahn mi there and found they were decent w good seasoning but our go-to place on 107 is more generous w fillings (saiguette)–understandable since the rent must be so much higher in the 80s. will have to check out the pho next time –glad to have one less empty storefront in the area.
Tavola della Nonna has its opening today in the old Lincoln Steak House spot. Like we need another Italian restaurant in the ‘hood. But. If it’s good, that’d be different.
Great. But I’m still looking for a good, basic Chinese food spot since Ollie’s closed.:(
Coming from one of the few Vietnamese people living on the UWS, this place is not authentic. Too heavy on the spices and whatever non traditional Vietnamese ingredients they put into their food. (Most Vietnamese food is prepared lightly flavored giving the diner the option of adding more flavor, if desired, with the sauces provided separately.)
IMHO, Pho Shop on W. 72nd St. is better. And I hesitate writing this because the wait there is already long during peak hours.
I really wanted to love Pho Shop but I ordered from them twice and they screwed up the order both times. The first time they asked me to pack up what I had eaten. I said that I didn’t know it was wrong until I tasted it, and they should not bring it to someone else because I tasted it.
The second time, they asked me to pick up the correct food. I said “no, you got my order wrong, you should bring the correct food”. They said that they “didn’t have anyone available”. !!!!!
It’s very good. But, oddly, he doesn’t even seem aware of Pho Shop, which opened this year on 72nd Street, which may be an even better option.
Regarding Pho Shop on 72nd: it got featured on Eater back in December as one of their “5 Restaurants to Try This Weekend in NYC” article.
There has also been an Upper East Side location of Pho Shop open since 2016, so it’s likely that Sietsema has eaten there and is familiar with their approach and menu.
Food was fine but literally some of the most incompetent and rude service I’ve ever experienced. Every employee seemed totally clueless how to do their job and how to talk to customers.
@CCL Took my family to eat at Tavolo del Nonna last Saturday evening. Skip it. Very overpriced for very bland food. I felt like I was eating at a suburban Italian place in LI, with worse food. The pasta sauce was watery (!), the bronzino somewhat tasteless and the pizza merely adequate. Absolutely no need to go here when 5 other far superior Italian restaurants are around (Pomodoro, Papardella, etc). Unfair comparison, but nowhere near the quality of the greek and steak restaurants that were there before.
Thanks for your review. I don’t find food at Pomodoro or Pappardelle to be fresh or good, either. So. Too bad.
Osteria Cotta is the only good Italian I’ve tried on the UWS.
I also really love Cotta, and Pasta Franco across the street has been a wonderful Italian alternative at a really good price point.
They treat plant based options as a tacked on after thought. No thanks. Offering “carrot” as the meat substitute is not cool.
thank you for published