Vietnamese Restaurant Gets Cold Reception

At their meeting on Wednesday the Zoning Board of Appeals sent a proposed Vietnamese restaurant at 286 Humphrey Street back to the drawing board.

The applicants, Nam Nguyen and Tho Thi Lam-Nguyen, want a permit to renovate the building, formerly occupied by an insurance company and law firm. The restaurant would seat 61 diners inside and 20 outside.

Opposition came from several board members who said an Asian-themed exterior would not be appropriate for the neighborhood.

Immediate neighbors objected to having a restaurant at that site, which can have only six parking spaces.

One neighbor said the delivery truck noise and the proposed dumpster would create problems for his property.

The issue was postponed until new drawings of the proposed restaurant could be created.

The Swampscott restaurant plans to serve a variety of traditional fare including a Vietnamese specialty called pho, a soup with rice noodles, chicken or beef, vegetables, bean sprouts, lime, Thai basil and other ingredients.

Nguyen’s will feature food with traditional Vietnamese ingredients like lemongrass, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, fish sauce, mint and ginger, as well as the pho.  Fish, chicken, beef and pork are staples in the Vietnamese diet, and many varieties of seafood.

Also, many Vietnamese dishes focus on the vegetarian tradition established by Buddhists.

The Nguyen family bought the property on Humphrey Street from Beatrice Insurance, who will be moving to a new location in town.