‘French Vietnamese’ Restaurant Landing on Halsted

A new French-Vietnamese fusion restaurant will open in Lake View Friday, with the head chef saying he’s excited to introduce a new style of upscale Vietnamese food to Chicago.

Opening in the former Erwin Café at 2925 N. Halsted St., the new Vu Sua Restaurant has been undergoing a transformation since November, says chef Mack Chan. After a lot of hard work, they’re ready to open this weekend with a genre of food Chan says is unique to the city.

“Everyone knows Vietnamese food is not very high end,” Chan said. “You can pick it up anywhere—take it out. But this will be about 80 percent Vietnamese and 20 percent French, with the presentation being more French, and us including more cream and those elements.”

Chan says he’s been experimenting with this concept of Vietnamese food for five years, and has already opened seven restaurants in his lifetime. Now, with the popularity of bahn mi sandwiches blowing up, Chan is ready to open the new 90-seat bar and restaurant.

When the 3,000-square-foot restaurant opens on Friday, Chan says they’ll just be serving dinners between 5-11 p.m. and will be BYOB. Later, when Vu Sua’s liquor license is approved, it’ll have a full bar until 1 p.m., dishing up late-night bar food after 11 p.m.

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That’s combined with plans to also introduce Saturday and Sunday brunch sometime in the near future.

Entrees at Vu Sua range between $18-$25, with appitizers costing anywhere between $8-12. In addition, Chan says the eatery will also feature a fresh spring roll bar.

“I’m tired—this was a lot of work,” laughed Chan. “… The food will just be really fresh with great herbs. It’s something I wanted to do as a chef.

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