Pho Ly bringing taste of Vietnam to downtown St. Charles

The family-owned Vietnamese restaurant opened in February at 305 W. Main St. in downtown St. Charles. The space had formerly housed Puebla Modern Mexican restaurant and before that The Finery and Blacksmith Bar restaurant.

St. Charles resident Minh Ly owns the restaurant with his brother, Hai Ly. Minh’s wife, MongDep Tran, also is an owner.

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Pho Ly Vietnamese Cuisine opened at 305 W. Main Street in St. Charles. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com)

“I really enjoy working with my family,” he said.

This is their third restaurant. Minh Ly knew that he wanted to open the restaurant in downtown St. Charles.

“Being a resident of St. Charles, I always loved the atmosphere of downtown and the small businesses surrounding the area,” he said.

In putting together Pho Ly’s menu, he decided to feature some of his favorite foods as a child growing up in South Vietnam.

“Strolling down the streets of Vietnam, you would see the food we sell on the many street markets nearby,” Minh Ly said. “Us offering many choices on our menu guarantees our customers that they are bound to find something they enjoy, as well as bring them a sense of comfort biting into a delicious bánh mì.”

Bánh mì is a short baguette with a thin, crisp crust and soft, airy texture. It is also known as a Vietnamese street food sandwich.

“I remember living in South Vietnam, my mother would teach me and my brother how to make food like this, so bringing it over to the U.S. and showing people a little bit of my culture brings me joy every day.”
— Owner Minh Ly

Bún bò Huế (noodle soup) and Bún Đặc Biệt, rice vermicelli with a combination of chicken, pork, shrimp, beef and egg rolls, are among the most popular items at the restaurant.

The recipes are family recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation. Minh Ly believes those recipes are what make Pho Ly so good.

“I remember living in South Vietnam, my mother would teach me and my brother how to make food like this, so bringing it over to the U.S. and showing people a little bit of my culture brings me joy every day,” he said. “Not only is our food good, but it is authentic.”

He hopes people enjoy the food. And he hopes to open more restaurants.

“Good food on an empty stomach is the best feeling in the world,” he said. “Opening more Pho Ly restaurants would honestly be a dream come true to me. Coming into work everyday, seeing my employees, my customers, my team, brings me a sight of bliss, so imagining experiencing that multiple times would bring me so much happiness.”

Information about Pho Ly is at pholystcharles.com.