5ive Spice Taco & Banh Mi

"A few doors down from Ruby’s—the eternally busy Australian cafe that always feels like a Tinder convention—there’s a relatively calm restaurant called 5ive Spice. 5ive Spice is a mini chain, and we prefer the location in Park Slope, but this Nolita one will do in a pinch if you need a bánh mì. It’s not hard to get a table, there’s some outdoor seating, and everything on the menu costs less than $20. (For the record, we also like Ruby’s. It's just so annoyingly busy.)" - bryan kim

"There are few things we like about 5ive Spice, a casual Vietnamese restaurant in Nolita. First off, they have outdoor seating. Also, you can pretty much always get a table here, nothing on the menu costs more than $20, and the bathroom is hidden behind a bookcase (which is fun). Will the food blow your mind? Not really. The phở is pretty basic and could use a little more flavor, although we do like the bánh mì and bánh xèo tacos, both of which come packed with meat. This isn’t a destination restaurant, but it is a useful place for when you want a quick, reasonably priced meal in Nolita." - Bryan Kim

"5ive Spice, a Soho restaurant known for its pho, bánh mì, and Vietnamese-style tacos, now has a second location in Nolita." - Luke Fortney

Don't get me wrong, there's LOTS of good Vietnamese pho places around -- this place just has a really good spare rib pho and the meat just fALLs off the bone. It's so good. Also, this place has a bathroom that's hidden in a bookshelf wall. It's great to watch everyone confused while trying to go to the bathroom.