Every morning, before the tables are set and the open kitchen comes alive with flames licking the air from the frying wok, chef Thanh Nguyen can be found winding through the streets of Philadelphia’s Chinatown in search of the freshest herbs and perfect cuts of meat. If the ingredients she needs aren’t available, rather than compromise, she'll drive anywhere to find them. She has driven all the way to New Jersey just to source ingredients for her patrons at Gabriella’s Vietnam, a restaurant along the lively East Passyunk Avenue. Inside, diners can explore authentic Vietnamese street food and home-style dishes: delicate water fern dumplings, herbaceous fried catfish that sizzles as it is served, fragrant hot pots brimming with fresh vegetables and smokey charred meat.
Gabriella’s Vietnam was born out of a longing for home—from both owner Thanh Nguyen and from all the Vietnamese individuals in Philadelphia. After earning a pharmacy degree in Vietnam, she chose to study biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, dutifully following the path her parents had hoped for her. Yet, amid long hours in the lab, she found herself longing for something different; a missing piece of her life back in Vietnam: the smell of herbs simmering on the stove and the quiet rhythm of cooking beside her grandparents.
When her husband opened a Vietnamese restaurant serving primarily pho and banh mi, Nguyen decided to step in after realizing the dishes served had none of the flavors she was accustomed to from home. Although she had no professional cooking experience, she quickly found that cooking brought her the same sense of familiarity and care she had once felt in her grandparents’ kitchen. She deepened her skills by experimenting and rehearsing the culinary traditions she had long practiced at home, until she eventually took over the kitchen herself.
After gaining restaurant experience, Nguyen wanted to create her own concept—one that reflected the flavors and traditions she had grown up with in Vietnam beyond the expected offerings of pho and banh mi.
“I really wanted to bring traditional dishes. I know it is different, but I miss it.” This desire led to the birth of Gabriella’s Vietnam, a restaurant named after her daughter.
Nguyen recognizes that whether they are immigrants, international students as she once was, or simply people missing that connection to family, many of her guests can’t go back home—for more reasons that she can account for. Her mission was to bring her home—Vietnam—to Philadelphia. “I always try to get at least 80% of the flavor back home,” she says. To ensure that, Nguyen travels regularly to Vietnam, where she immerses herself in the country’s regional cuisines so that she may return with both knowledge and ingredients to enrich her kitchen. This includes cast–iron pans from Central Vietnam and sea salt from the southern coast.
Her dedication pays off: I’ve had international friends tell me they come to Gabriella’s Vietnam exclusively for the water fern dumplings whenever they’re homesick. They sit down, order in Vietnamese to the waiter, and are met with warm smiles and responses in the same language, a small moment of reminiscing in the middle of Philadelphia.
“In Vietnam, everyone eats together,” Ngyuyen explains. “Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are always around the table. You talk, you share, and you laugh together. When I opened this restaurant, I wanted everyone who missed that to come and feel like it is their home.” Dishes are priced and portioned specifically for sharing, encouraging guests to enjoy the meal communally, just as they would back home.
Although every dish is prepared with meticulous attention to flavor and plated beautifully, Nguyen wanted the atmosphere to remain informal, so that guests wouldn’t feel ostracized by the need to dress up in order to dine.
But this didn't come so easily. “When I opened, people asked ‘Where is the pho? Where is the banh mi?’” For the first six months, many locals were unfamiliar with the cuisine and hesitant to try the dishes, with the restaurant remaining largely empty. But Ngyuyen didn't give up, stating “I could not because it is my dream, my goal. I will accomplish my goal.” With her perseverance, word slowly began to spread. Eventually, a review by food critic Craig Laban for The Philadelphia Inquirer propelled her restaurant into the spotlight. Now, Gabriella’s Vietnam has become a fixture in the Philadelphia dining scene, earning recognition from The New York Times, Eater, Philadelphia Magazine, Food and Wine, with accolades ranging from “Best New Restaurant” to “Best of Philadelphia” to the “50 most exciting restaurants in America”.
While having found her footing in Philadelphia’s dining scene, Nguyen remains steadfast in her goal of bringing authentic Vietnamese cuisine to Philadelphia. At the same time, to explore her creativity and apply the extreme precision of her biochemistry training, she experiments with inventive cocktails, describing the development process as though she were still in the lab. Using the very same ingredients that go into the food menu, she spent three months perfecting the "Pho Cocktail" with a delicate balance of spice, savoriness, and umami. Ngyuyen remarks that for guests hesitant to try unfamiliar dishes, the playful cocktails offer a first step into the robust world of her menu.
The night before I returned to dine as a thank you for taking the time to be interviewed, one of her line cooks had taken the night off. To accommodate for the lost manpower, throughout the dinner rush, she darted back and forth between the prep kitchen and the back kitchen, checking sauces, plating dishes, and ensuring order tickets were completed swiftly—all after having answered my email instantly the night before, at 12:00 a.m., confirming my visit. Even amidst this fiery chaos, she still took the time to ask how I was doing, whether I was eating well, and how I was adjusting to life as a student. Her care carries the same warmth that infuses every dish served, making each guest feel not just fed, but truly welcomed, like part of a family gathered around the dining table.
