Bun

Lamb lollipops

Photograph: Shani Bar-on

Michael Huynh, the peripatetic Vietnamese chef (Bao 111, Mai House), recently left his fourth New York restaurant, Bun. Though his name remains on the menu, both the kitchen and dining room are in the hands of his partner, Tony Lam—a voluble host who can be found most nights telling his guests why they are VIPs. Huynh laid the groundwork for this downtown gem with an enormous, well-priced menu (everything’s under $12) featuring 26 small, shareable plates and ten main-course bun—the rice noodles, with or without the soup, for which the restaurant is named. A former architect, Huynh also designed the space, hanging contemporary Vietnamese art on the walls, and lining the long bar with bright beaded lamps. Though the menu’s fusion impulses have been scaled back somewhat, the food remains several notches above the usual neighborhood-Asian fare. Traditional nibbles like cool summer rolls filled with pork belly and shrimp are deftly executed, as are more unusual offerings like plump, earthy wild-boar blood sausages with pickled green-papaya slaw. Though lamb lollipops may sound like a catering cliché, the cinnamon-scented mini chops, lacquered with fish sauce and honey, are infinitely better than that. Among the meal-in-a-bowl bun offerings is a rich and invigorating spicy lemongrass soup, Hue-style (named for a city in Vietnam)—studded with sweet roasted pork and brisketlike beef shin. Desserts—the two options are cool pandan panna cotta and warm coconut tapioca—are light and refreshing, and as pleasantly surprising as everything else that comes out of the kitchen.

—TONY