The readers of Scott Joseph’s Orlando Restaurant Guide have voted Lac Viet Bistro the Best Vietnamese in our Foodster Awards for Independent Restaurants. Second place went to Viet-Nomz and Pho Vinh was third.

Lac Viet opened in 2005 in the Mills 50 district (before it was known as the Mills 50 district). Longtime area residents will remember that Lac Viet took over the space that for many years had been home to La Normandie.

Several voters praised the restaurant for the quality of its pho, calling it the best in tow or even the best in Florida.

Viet-Nomz is the Viet quick-serve concept that started on University Boulevard in late 2016. The owners recently opened another location in the Waterford Lakes area. Two more stores and they’ll remove themselves from eligibility in the next Foodster Award vote.

Of the third place winner, George David Ballentine wrote: “My wife and I have tried other restaurants on the list, and they each have their positive points, to be quite fair, but we continue to return to Pho Vinh more often than any other whenever our thoughts about where to go for Vietnamese food.”

And Thomas Vazquez was downright poetic when he wrote, “Pho Vinh for the win!” Pho Vinh is on Primrose Drive in Orlando.

All of the finalists on the list received a good number of votes, which only means that we have a lot of terrific Vietnamese restaurants in Central Florida.

Congratulations to the winners.