Vietnamese Restaurant and Sushi Bar to Open

Stacks of glossy new plates, cups and bowls line the sushi bar at the Vietnamese Restaurant and Sushi Bar set to open Nov. 18.

Dining room tables and chairs await final positioning as do bottles of wine in the mostly empty wall rack.

Co-owner Kevin Nguyen totes a handheld drill. His brother and fellow co-owner John Nguyen moves with boxes among the tables, bar and kitchen.

They are preparing for their opening at 286 Humphrey St. and look forward to serving specialties including pho, kobe steak and sushi.

Pho is traditional Vietnamese fare, a soup with rice noodles, chicken or beef, vegetables, bean sprouts, lime, Thai basil and other ingredients.

The sushi will be cleanly presented and the rice that goes into it will be exclusively brown rice, for its health qualities, Kevin said. 

He said earlier that the restaurant will feature food with traditional Vietnamese ingredients.

These ingredients include lemongrass, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, fish sauce, mint and ginger.  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 restaurant will seat about 60 people. Its hours will be Mon-Thurs 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturday noon to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.

When the menu is finalized we will post a copy of it on Swampscott Patch.

The Nguyen family bought the property on Humphrey Street from Beatrice Insurance.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam and came to America in 1987, settling in California, where he met his wife Theresa in high school.

“We lived on a boat on the river after the war ended, then we moved to Thailand before coming to America,” Nguyen said earlier. “My sister lived in this area and we loved it, the town of Swampscott, the location next to the water, it’s beautiful."

The restaurant's telephone number is 781-592-0047.

Kevin also owns Maki Sushi in Peabody at 43 Main St.