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We loved the place. We tried a variety of dishes and all were quite good- the waiter gave great recommendations about his favorites as well. Try the bubble tea! its fantastic.

was wary of coming here because of comments I'd read here about the service, but I found it to be an excellent choice. Service was perhaps not as efficient as in a fine dining place (we had to flag down our server a couple times), but food came out promptly and everything was excellent and super cheap. my friend and i both pigged out and had a bottle of wine and the bill was barely $30. you can't beat that with a stick. i'll definitely be back.

Nice atmosphere, good value of food (extensive menu)- It's a shame, I would like to return with a large group of people so that we could sample more stuff, but the service was poor. Our waitress never smiled and when I asked of a specific dessert, she brought out a different one and made me look at three different menus (for some reason, they were all different) to point out what I wanted and said "we don't have that" (ever?) and pouted when I sent it back. So long, Hai Yen, it's been real.

Caveat: My "5" food rating is relative to other Vietnamese restaurants, not to all restaurants in Chicago. That said, Hai Yen, a neat and clean restaurant on Argyle's Little Hanoi row serves, easily, the best beef noodle soups (pho) in the city. The pho comes in a number of varieties from those containing beef tripe, tendon and the other uunidentifiable bits and pieces that are integral to an authentic bowl of pho, to those with beef round and meatballs for the less adventurous. At ~$6-$7, it's a fantastic deal, and the pho comes with a generous plate of fresh veggies to garnish your soups with - a nice contrast to the anemic plate of bean sprouts and sole lime wedges you might find at lesser establishments. Other dishes to try: the barbequed meatballs you roll with lettuce into a sort of mini spring roll. Fantastic. I recommend that you stick with the Vietnamese dishes rather than the "concessions to chinese influences" dishes, that aren't their specialty. You won't regret it. The service ranges from good to completely space-y, but the food comes out quickly, to make up for the few extra minutes you might spend flagging down the waitresses.