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Home > Restaurants > Silent H

Silent H

Critic's Pick Critics' Pick

79 Berry St., Brooklyn, NY 11211
at N. 9th St.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
718-218-7063 Send to Phone

  • Price Range: $$

    Key to Prices and ratings

    Upscale
    • Almost Perfect
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    Cheap Eats
    • Best in Category
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    • Very Good
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    • Moderate
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  • Reader Rating:

    6.8 out of 10

    8 Reviews | Write a Review

  • Cuisine: Vietnamese
Photo by Bumblebee Studio

Official Website

silenthbrooklyn.com

Hours

Tue-Sun, noon-4pm and 6pm-11pm; Mon, closed

Nearby Subway Stops

L at Bedford Ave.

Prices

$12-$18

Payment Methods

MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

  • Dine at the Bar
  • Lunch
  • Outdoor Dining
  • Reservations Not Required

Alcohol

  • Full Bar

Reservations

Not Accepted

Profile

In reaction to the diffuse kitchen-sink menus at most Vietnamese restaurants, Nguyen has kept his small and focused. Because pho is so widely available, Nguyen won’t serve it, and he restricts his roster of bánh mì, the increasingly popular Vietnamese sandwich, to the counter-service “street shop” lunch menu (his bread comes from a Polish bakery around the corner). Which isn’t to say that fans of the delicate, fish-sauce-seasoned cuisine won’t find anything familiar to eat. The summer rolls are textbook, with diaphanous wrappers and ultrafresh fillings; Nguyen’s mother was assembling them herself one sunny Sunday afternoon. Most of the other appetizers are fried, with varying results, like the fine (if a tad bland) spring rolls. Most appealing was Nguyen’s own invention, bruschetta-like toasts topped with a smooth, tasty rice-flour-tapioca-starch batter mixed with mung bean and taro, studded with a choice of tiny shrimp or mushrooms, and then placed under the broiler until golden brown. Highly addictive—especially when dipped into Nguyen’s tangy nuoc cham, and a good counterpoint to the other standout appetizer, thin slices of marinated beef served with a fiery dipping sauce.

Ideal Meal

Shrimp street toast, beef carpaccio, caramelized black-peppercorn pork chop.

Related Stories

New York Magazine Reviews

Featured In

6.8 "Mixed Reviews"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10
Write Your Own Review

amazingly delicious, succulent food

youdontsay from 11211 | Posted on 12/4/08

Overall Reader Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 10
Value: 10

Every time I eat at Silent h I end up dreaming about the meal I had for the next few days. The food is truly delicious. Don't pass up the shrimp street toast appetizer or the beef stew entree--trust...Read More

Naysayers, time to revisit!

privateparty from 92648 | Posted on 6/24/08

Overall Reader Rating: 9 (Highly Recommended)
Food: 10
Service: 10
Décor: 8
Value: 9

I felt the need to sign up for an account just after reading these horribly misled and one-sided reviews. I've been to Silent H frequently since they first came to the neighborhood and consider myself a "regular." I know...Read More

Read All 8 Reviews >>

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