It’s not easy to find good no frills Vietnamese food in these parts, at least not for those of us spoiled by the abundance and access to it in California. But if you don’t mind some frills and a cocktail menu, there are some places doing the cuisine justice albeit disguised as a trendy spot that food loving hipsters flock to. Enter Di An Di: a cheerful plant-filled restaurant that from the curb looks a lot like the many other trendy restaurants in Greenpoint but upon closer inspection reveals itself to be a cool contemporary Vietnamese restaurant.

Dreamed up by a Vietnamese American chef from Houston, Di An Di isn’t trying to be authentic or cater to the Vietnamese crowd (on any given night, the crowd skews, well, definitely not Viet given the neighborhood). Rather it takes the ethos of Vietnamese cuisine and offers playful takes that showcase regional cooking (and diasporic cooking) while incorporating influence from local ingredients. To their credit, knowing the clientele that flocks in, they call things by their name on the menu, inviting patrons to familiarize themselves with the words that describe the foods they are introducing to their palates (yes, that also means raising ca phe trung to the espresso martini). The menu ebbs and flows with the seasons, but they consistently deliver punchy Vietnamese flavors with modern creative flair, making it an easy essential to the north Brooklyn food scene.