Lotus Café - Vietnamese restaurant in Silver Spring - 8077 Georgia Ave, USA

I love this place, but my husband does not. Their summer rolls and veggie pho are to die for!! But my husband's calamari was very greasy (and very small portion for the price), and he did not like the tamarind seafood dish at all. He does obsess over their calamari dipping sauce, though. The calamari used to be so much better--bigger portions and less greasy. Not sure why they changed it. Please note that in these photos we had already eaten one of the summer roll pieces--it comes with 4 halves. He got the regular ones (w shrimp) and I got the tofu one's.

Pretty good place to grab a bowl of pho. They add onions in their broth and if you ask for extra noodles, it comes in a smaller bowl with the broth included. Nice touch in my opinion comes with extra meat too.

Maybe we went on a bad day, but the one day we ate there did not at all live up to the high ratings. The appetizers were all fine. Grape leaves were good. Shrimp toast wasn’t BAD. We liked the pancake, though my companion found it a bit greasy, and I didn’t care for the taste of the pork which I picked out. (They have a vegetarian version without the pork.) The pho was too salty, and I didn’t care for the beef flank taste. The taste of the lemongrass tofu reminded us both of dry dog food kibble. We didn’t eat either one. I decided to try the bacon shrimp. It tasted like a bacon shrimp quiche, cooked “well done,” but with the shrimp tails on. I didn’t care for the taste of the egg, but dipping it in fish sauce improved the flavor. Hopefully we just hit them on a bad day, judging on the other good reviews. I like that they have an extensive menu of unusual dishes. Our waiter was very nice, and we had a good time. Their reviews show they’ve been here more than a decade. I hope they do very well.

This is very unfortunate. I’ve been eyeing this place. I decided to try them today and it’s ghost town. I had called several times and no answer, so I just thought they were busy. Today is Wednesday and I drove here and wasted time but they’re seriously not open. It’s 5:14 p.m. And that is very strange. I hope everything is okay cause this seems unusual.

Really a hole in the wall type of place. The flavor was good, but the Bun Bo Hue was nothing like actual Bun Bo Hue.

One of my favorite restaurants in Silver Spring. The spring rolls are on point and so is the pho. They have 4 different beers on draft too and very good prices.

Good pho place in Silver Spring, easy to find - it's on Georgia avenue where metro tracks cross it over the bridge. If you're driving from DC you need right turn on Sligo. It's family own Vietnamese restaurant with about 12 types of pho plus some variations of Chinese dishes. Pho broth is pretty heavy so if you prefer lighter one look for Pho Than Binh on Collesvile road. Couple other notes - they do have full bar including bar stools and TV, small parking area and lunch specials. Be warn, if you ask for a shot it will be like double or triple one and usually no ice. Prices are pretty good if you stay with pho - large bowl plus a shot or beer will set you for about $15 or even less. Can't say that about Chinese dishes except for lunch specials. But seafood ones are good. Also the interior is pretty dated (think about pho place in Saigon). It's unusual experience if you're not accustomed to such places - worth to visit and enjoy good food. Final note - order pho and a shot of Stoli, add that to your bowl and enjoy.

Food is good especially the grilled pork and pho.