Lang Van

Review! Charlotte, North Carolina // Vietnamese restaurant // endearing

it used to be a laundromat 😮

so much love from the community!

the ELEVATOR PITCH

Sometimes trying a new restaurant can be daunting for me. Will the staff be friendly and not mind all of my questions? Will the food be worth the price? Will the dining experience be a positive one? With my mind slightly preoccupied with these uncertainties, you could imagine my surprise when we were so enthusiastically greeted by the hostess Lam, a non-stop smiley, bright personality, right when we walked through the door. It’s the type of greeting that you’d give a close friend you haven’t seen in a while or your favorite family member at a holiday gathering. It was a greeting I didn’t know I needed to scatter all of my glass-half-empty thoughts like a light to cockroaches.

Then you taste their delicious food (wow, the flavor bomb! I absolutely loved my beef lemongrass curry), and that, combined with their endearing staff (we had a hostess who would refill our waters even if we had sipped a millimeter), it’s no wonder that Lang Van is so loved by the community (evidenced also by the massive number of holiday cards that covers one of the walls like wallpaper).

Lang Van is a hole-in-the-wall and one of the only Vietnamese restaurants in Charlotte that offer more than just pho or banh mi. I highly recommend a visit if you’re looking to broaden your horizons on what Viet food can look like, because it certainly broadened mine!

menu items

the spread

honest reviews below 👇

#2: GOI CUON

Classic Vietnamese summer rolls with boiled shrimp, mint, bean sprouts, lettuce, rice noodles, all wrapped in rice paper with the addicting hoisin x peanut dipping sauce to inhale it with. These are always so underrated; if you haven’t tried them I highly recommend you order a serving! No notes on the ones from Lang Van. (rating: 10/10)

#27: PHO TAI

A friend’s order that I didn’t try—the classic pho of rare cooked beef with rice noodles! You get to add your choice of basil, bean sprouts, lime juice, etc. as you see fit. (rating: NA)

#44: CARY GA

A friend’s order that I didn’t try—Vietnamese curry with chicken (rating: NA)

#50: BUN BO XAO

A friend’s order that I didn’t try—cold vermicelli noodles with salad greens & stir-fried beef; my friend was disappointed that not much protein was given (rating: NA)

#122: COM TAY CAM

This was a house special clay pot with shrimp, beef, chicken with rice included on the bottom! The sauce and the way everything was stir-fried on top was very similar to American Chinese takeout methods of “beef and veggies”/etc. Overall very enjoyable! (rating: 9/10)

#136: BEEF LEMONGRASS CURRY

I ordered this medium spicy, and it was very doable to enjoy with the rice, lettuce, and bean sprouts that it’s served with. I didn’t expect a “dry” curry, where the sauce coats the meat and is sort of “cured” onto it in a very tasty way. This was absolutely delicious and I would highly recommend you try it! (rating: 10/10)

another visit in fall 2025

honest reviews below 👇

#27: PHO TAI

My friend ordered this one; it’s one of his go-tos! I didn’t get a chance to try it so won’t add any of my notes :) (rating: NA)

#45: BUN TOM, THIT NUONG, CHA GIO

I had been craving cold vermicelli noodles since my first time having mind-changing ones at Golden Deli in Los Angeles’ SVG. Sadly, there were a couple of differences between the two that kept me from being head over heels for this one at Lang Van—notably, Golden Deli had twice as much protein, a lot more herbs, and a dressing that was explicitly more refreshing—but the Bun at Lang Van was still able to satisfy my cravings even with those notes! (rating: 6/10)

#67: HOUSE SPECIAL HOT POT

This dish had Chinese cuisine leanings, especially with the way everything was stir-fried on top. The tomato rice had the characteristics of risotto—thick and creamy, with a lot more soupy liquid than you would expect from your typical “side of rice”. The flavors in this were all so good, I’d order this again in a heartbeat! (rating: 9.5/10)

#107: HU TIEU XAO BO

My other friend ordered this one, it visually closely resembled beef chow fun to me and looked like there was a decent amount sliced beef. The beef was also fairly tender and flavorful! (rating: 8/10)

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the RÉSUMÉ

address // 3019 Shamrock Dr, Charlotte, NC 28215

operations // every day, 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM

logistics // call to place reservations, but walking in is also perfectly acceptable!

• the turn into the restaurant from Shamrock Dr. can get a little awkward depending on which direction you’re coming from, so stay alert!!

• additional parking can be found behind the building

vibes // very “mom & pop shop” feel, down-to-earth and warm. You don’t need to dress up to come dine here, come as you are.

• very attentive service: the host/bus boy refilled our waters every 2 minutes it feels like! Lam, the hostess, was very friendly & smiley, and was very intentional in wanting to remember our names 😊

menu //

• appetizers/starters (< $10.00): skewers, Vietnamese spring rolls, crispy quail, fried tofu, etc.

• entrées ($12.00 - $20.00): curry, pho, cold vermicelli noodles, claypots, etc.

recs // the beef lemongrass curry is 10/10! The physical heat from the beef softened the rawness of the lettuce and bean sprouts and I found it lovely to all eat together.

site // Lang Van