On Wednesday, Vietnamese restaurant Grand Bistro (3195 S. Grand) opened in the former Pho Grand space in Tower Grove South. Traditional Vietnamese fare is now complemented by an equally worthy list of cocktails and house shots, with many inspired by Vietnamese flavors.
Grand Bistro is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Here’s what to know before you go.
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The Backstory
Grand Bistro’s story is one of change and continuity. The Trinh family, who operated Pho Grand for 33 years, are still in charge, but Andrew Trinh, the son of Pho Grand founders Michael and Tami Trinh, is now at the helm. Respectful of his parents’ legacy and equally aware of what Pho Grand meant to so many in the Tower Grove South neighborhood and beyond, Andrew is keen to put his stamp on the new restaurant without discarding the tried and tested.
“It’s not Pho Grand. Don’t get me wrong—it’s very similar, but it’s still a new chapter,” he says.
At Grand Bistro, there will be room to try new things—a selection of signature cocktails instantly grabs the attention—but the ethos that made the former restaurant so popular are still very much in the mix. “I just want it to be a good restaurant that provides great service, great food, and decent prices for the neighborhood,” Andrew says. “If I can do what my parents did, even for a third of that time, it will be a great success.”
Andrew grew up working in his parents’ restaurant and took on a management role over the last year or so of Pho Grand’s run, before it closed in 2022. While the family took a break from the day-to-day hustle of running a restaurant and started to plan for what would eventually become Grand Bistro, Andrew tended bar at The Golden Hoosier, honing his skill for making and creating cocktails. He also hosted a series of pop-up dinners, showcasing his own recipes, cocktails, and sense of hospitality.
“I want the level of hospitality and service to be my biggest thing,” Andrew says. “I love serving people… I want it to be like, ‘I had a really great experience when I was there, and I learned so much—I want to come back.’”
The Food
The changes to the menu are almost entirely cosmetic and practical. Where Pho Grand’s menu was a book of multiple pages, Grand Bistro’s menu fits everything onto two sides of card stock. Yet only a few items have been sacrificed.
“We were going to shorten it further, but when you have all of the ingredients to make a certain dish, you might as well just put it on the menu, because it could have been someone’s favorite,” Andrew says.
If you knew your Pho Grand order by its number on the menu, that’s going to be the same, too. “Your 18.01 is still your 18.01—it’s nice to keep that familiarity,” he says.
Likewise, if you had a favorite item at Pho Grand, then chances are you’ll find it at Grand Bistro: appetizers, various combinations of beef and chicken pho, bun (vermicelli noodles), banh cuon (rice-flour crepes), stir-fried dishes, seafood, pan-fried noodles… It’s all here. And if our order of goi cuon (steamed spring rolls), pho tai bo vien (pho with sliced eye of round beef and beef meatballs), and bun thit nuong cha gio (rice noodles with charbroiled pork, lemongrass and egg rolls) are a reliable indicator, you’ll find Grand Bistro’s flavors identical to those you remember from its forerunner.
When we visited on opening day, perhaps the most common response to servers checking on customers and asking “How’s your food?” was an emphatic, “Exactly as I remember it.”
The Drinks
Nostalgia is sure to be a compelling force in Grand Bistro’s early days, but if you want to find out what’s new, perch yourself on a stool at the 10-seat bar, and take a look at the cocktail menu. Andrew says he loves innovative drinks and “pushing the boundaries of what’s food and what’s a cocktail,” but for this space he settled on a specific vision. “It’s six classic cocktails but through the lens of Vietnamese food and flavors.”
There’s the house Old Fashioned, with pho spices, star anise, and overproof rum blended with bourbon and house bitters. The Saigon Sour is his take on a gimlet, with Thai basil oil adding herbal notes. The Lemongrass Lady is a spicy margarita with Thai chili, lemongrass, and pineapple, in addition to the traditional tequila and lime. For the Ca Phe Sua Da Martini, an espresso martini meets Vietnamese coffee, complete with sweetened condensed milk. The three house shots (named after the Vietnamese words for “one,” “two,” and “three”) add another unique twist.
Andrew says he wants Grand Bistro to be able to grow and evolve, and the cocktail list is one place that can happen. “I have to make sure I don’t turn myself into a tequila bar,” he says, noting the collection of agave spirits. “But it works so well with Vietnamese flavors—the cilantro, the lime, the fresh herbs.”
The Atmosphere
Comfortingly, the restaurant feels like its forerunner, and the changes are enhancements: A few tables were sacrificed to make way for a new granite bar topped with Brazilian marble, while a new banquette by the hostess stand adds variety to the seating options. Andrew says one friend described it as “going to your grandma’s house but she got new furniture.”
Pho Grand could be a case study on the emotional bonds that restaurants inspire among devoted customers and communities. During Grand Bistro’s first lunch service, the room was filled with stories of childhood memories of visiting the old restaurant, how Pho Grand was their introduction to Vietnamese food, of the friendships formed with the Trinh family over the years.
Rich Dee, a regular at Pho Grand since 1995, was patiently waiting outside when Grand Bistro opened its doors Wednesday morning. “The Trinhs, no question, are family to me, and vice versa,” Dee said. “I’ve probably spent over $120,000 at this restaurant, but every meal I’ve ever had here has been just delicious.” Dee’s order was the stir-fried chicken with hot chiles and lemongrass, and he appeared more than impressed. “I’ll be here again—probably tonight,” he said.
And while Dee is happy for the simple pleasure of enjoying his favorite pho again, he also believes that Grand Bistro will have a positive effect on the South Grand neighborhood. “There are other businesses around here that are just going to thrive as well,” he said.
The Team
When Pho Grand closed, in May 2022, Michael and Tami Trinh said they felt ready to retire. Not that ready, it turns out: Longtime Pho Grand customers will be happy to see both Michael and Tami helping out wherever they’re needed at Grand Bistro.
“I love having them here,” Andrew says. “They’re a wealth of knowledge, and they miss working.”
Michael backed up that sentiment with a laugh: “Watching TV 24 hours a day isn’t for me!”
He also admitted that he’s still getting used to the restaurant’s slightly tweaked layout and finding his way around the space, where he’s spent so much of his life. “I’m asking ‘Where are the spoons?’” he said while shuttling busily between the kitchen and front of house, stopping to greet past regulars returning with broad smiles after the Trinhs’ almost three-year hiatus. On both sides of the conversations, the sense of a homecoming was evident.
A number of longtime members of the kitchen and front-of-house staff have also returned. One new face is Charly McKnight, who worked with Andrew at The Golden Hoosier and has experience running various locations of Crazy Bowls & Wraps and Crushed Red. Customers will see McKnight front-of-house and behind the bar. “He’s a great bartender, a wealth of knowledge, great at hospitality, and a great leader,” Andrew says.
Andrew said he may keep the place open a little later under certain conditions. “If the bar is popping or people want to hang out and have a drink at the bar, I’d probably open till midnight on weekends or 11 p.m. on weeknights,” he says, “but I also want to read how the staff feels.”
