Eatz Vietnamese Restaurant Announces Move to Clifton
Eatz Vietnamese Restaurant announced it plans to move to a new location on Frankfort Avenue in Clifton.
In an announcement on Facebook, Eatz called the move from its Barrett Avenue home “a bittersweet change,” but that it plans a move date of June 15 to 2244 Frankfort, the former home of Fork & Barrel. The latter business announced in April that it would merge into its sister restaurant’s location, which is Morning Fork, located just a few blocks away at 1722 Frankfort Ave.
Eatz also noted that its new location was once the home of Basa Modern Vietnamese, making the move there a full-circle event for the building.
The restaurant opened in its original space in 2018, set in an old shotgun house with a tiny but cozy dining room and a concise menu of Vietnamese favorites like pho, banh mi, eggrolls, bento boxes and more. The new location will be larger, allowing for more seating, including al fresco dining.
The current location of Eatz will remain open until the day of the move, per the announcement. Below is a review I wrote for Insider Louisville during my first visit.
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It would be difficult not to be utterly charmed by a place like Eatz Vietnamese Restaurant, a new addition to Barret Avenue.
Looking like the reason the word “cozy” was invented, the restaurant is set in an old shotgun house with a tiny dining room that features a fireplace, hardwood floors, ceiling fan, knickknacks, random art on the walls and three high windows that let plenty of natural light into the place. For warm weather, there’s a small deck out front that probably comes close to doubling the capacity of the place when in use. It’s that small. And dining there almost feels like you’re having a meal in someone’s parlor.
I stopped in for lunch to find just two other parties in the place; I took a seat and was quickly brought a menu and glass of water with lime. The menu is nearly as small as the restaurant, but it focuses keenly on Vietnamese favorites: pho, banh mi, starters like eggrolls and crispy tofu, and entrees like bun thit nuong and hu tieu. Nothing on the menu is over $15.
I first took a look at the appetizers menu and was immediately intrigued by fried chicken wings coated in fish sauce, so I went for it, bypassing rolls and grilled meatballs. I had a tougher time on my main course, as I was tempted to go for an order of pho with bone marrow. Instead, I went in another direction and ordered a banh mi sandwich.
My wings were about five minutes in the making, and they came out sizzling hot, right out of the fryer. The order was five medium to large wings, three flappers and two drumettes, coated in lightly-sweet fish sauce with black and red pepper and fried. The sauce created a bit of a sticky glaze, making the wings glisten.
The skin was fried just to the point of crispness, locking in plenty of juice in the tender meat. They were well cooked, quality wings, and I gobbled them up, finishing the last two as my sandwich arrived. Only one problem with the wings: I wasn’t given a plate for the bones, so the tiny rectangular plate they came on had to serve double duty. Slightly awkward, but I made do without issue.
The sandwich was served in a wicker basket with plain white liner. The banh mi was a good 10 inches long, made with a crispy baguette and cut into halves. I had ordered mine without cucumbers, but this sandwich wasn’t lacking for ingredients, as it was stuffed with a medium-thick steamed pork patty, head cheese (an interesting choice), house-made pate, mayo, carrot, radish, jalapeno and plenty of fresh cilantro.
The baguette was warm and downright crunchy, even crumbly, standing in contrast to the cool vegetables, which added plenty of crunch of their own. The pate certainly was pleasing, and while none of the flavors really jumped out – save for moments of heavy cilantro – it was a satisfying sandwich. And for just six bucks, it was a heck of a value.
I did find a bit too much cilantro stalk on the sandwich (I’m in it for the tasty leaves) and the lengthwise slice of jalapeno didn’t add much spice, but those are my only mild complaints about the sandwich. The takeaway from the experience, based on what I ate and what I saw from other orders that came out, is that Eatz is serving quality food with plenty of care in the preparation.
Also, as I was leaving, a server brought out an order of pho – to call the bowl “huge” might do it a disservice. I’m definitely going to try the pho when I make my way back.
In addition, Eatz offers a few bottled beers as well as beverages like hot green tea, fresh-squeezed lime aid and Vietnamese iced coffee.
(Below are photos taken during my initial 2018 visit.)
