Nestled in the middle of downtown La Grange at 50 S La Grange Rd, surrounded by pizza places and a burger restaurant that scream stereotypical American cuisine—Omai Vietnamese is anything but typical. While it looks fairly non-descript and bland from the outside, just a typical building with a small sign and out-door seating—but like the old cliché says, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. The tastes that you’ll find inside are full of interesting, rich flavors and many menu options allow you to explore the delicious exotic cuisine of Vietnam.

My friends and I had never experienced Vietnamese food before, and I’ll admit, we weren’t sure what to expect. Upon entering the restaurant, nothing special stood out; there’s a very simple décor of plain tables and wooden chairs and we were immediately seated by a very speedy wait-staff who handed us a large menu.

While the décor and atmosphere of the restaurant was nothing spectacular, what was phenomenal was the food. While seemingly a little pricy at first (an entre was about $12, and $16 with seafood), the shear amount of food given to us more than made up for the price. We ordered five dishes, and were given enough food to feed an army.

The appetizer of vegetable rolls with tofu was fairly bland on it’s own, but when paired with a hot peanut sauce given on the side, they were transformed into a completely different taste—spicy, flavorful and peanuty with a crunchy texture.

For entrees we ordered a traditional Vietnamese beef “Pho”, which was served in a bowl the size of my head, and filled to the brim with warm broth, succulent beef and perfectly cooked noodles. While I felt that the Pho had no problems what so ever, my friends did say that they felt it had a strange, minty aftertaste—either way, we ate the entire bowl.

We also had a duck salad and Hanoi noodles with shrimp, both of which were incredibly flavorful with perfectly cooked and flavored meat. The noodles were spicy, but still delicious, and the duck salad was covered in an interesting but savory sauce.

The one thing that we ordered that didn’t meet the exceptional flavors set by all the others was the chicken fried rice. It was mushy, and compared to all the other flavors we had at the table, very bland. Chicken fried rice is traditionally a Chinese dish; so if you make the trip to Omai, make sure to order the traditionally Vietnamese food.

My friends and I left Omai pleasantly surprised and stuffed with amazingly exotic flavors, succulent meats and lots and lots of noodles. I then proceeded to go home, and attempted to convince my mom to go back for dinner. I’ll definitely be making a trip back to Omai, and would recommend it for family dinners, as it’s a little pricier than your typical teenage hangout, however Omai is defiantly worth the price.

Bottom Line: Though it doesn’t look like anything special from the outside, the incredible flavors, large sizes and variety found inside Omai Vietnamese make it a must visit in La Grange.