Team behind Dallas Oishi opens new Vietnamese restaurant LaVui

The folks behind Oishi, one of Dallas’ most popular sushi restaurants, hope to find equal success with a new Vietnamese restaurant they’re opening next week.

Named LaVui (after chef/owner Thanh Nguyen’s mom), the casual restaurant is set to debut Wednesday, September 2 at 5321 Maple Avenue in Oak Lawn.

LaVui’s menu isn’t complicated; Oishi GM and sommelier Fabian Hernandez says the tiny restaurant will offer traditional Vietnamese dishes such as shaken beef, clay pots stews and seafood, a variety of pho and banh mi sandos, plus vermicelli bowls.

The standout, though, will likely be Ngyuen’s Vietnamese spring rolls, which Hernandez says will be “done in a maki roll style with Oishii quality seafoods and traditional Vietnamese meats” and include varieties such as “The Donut Shop” (shrimp, tempura flakes, wrapped in tuna, spicy avocado, spicy mayo, and eel sauce), “LaVui Tofu” (fried tofu, garlic scallion oil, and serrano peppers, served with gluten-free peanut sauce) and “Tam Teardrop” (spicy yellowtail, wrapped with tuna, topped with salmon, cabbage salad, and tobiko). Looking for smoked duck? That’s the “LaVui Duck” spring roll (smoked duck breast, thigh, cognac paté, and apples, with tamarind sauce).

Prices seem reasonable, especially given the quality of the ingredients Nguyen and his exec chef, Phat “Fred” Tran, employ — and the crazy overhead it costs to run a quarantine-compliant restaurant with only 14 seats and no outdoor patio.

The sizable spring rolls begin at $10, for example (though most are in the $16-19 range), the banh mi sandos pivot around $12, those clay pots start at $14, and the vermicelli options roll out at $11.50.

For now, LaVui won’t be serving alcohol. That’s a real shame, because Hernandez knows his wines and how to pair them with really good food. But that will likely change, so keep an eye on LaVui this fall.

“Our goal at LaVui is to offer the Vietnamese cuisine my brothers, sisters, and I grew up with,” writes Nguyen on LaVui’s menu. “I want food that my Mother would be proud of serving. Simple, elegant, and always delicious.”

5321 Maple Ave., Dallas, 469-776-8212 

Monday to Thursday: 11:00 AM – 10 PM
Friday and Saturday: 10:00 AM – 12 PM
Sunday: 3:00 PM – 10 PM

Photos: LaVui