Invited to the Family Table at Mời
The dining room at Mời
March 2026It’s a family affair at a new Vietnamese restaurant in the St. Claude corridor - just outside the Marigny – and happily, everyone’s invited.
– by Kim Ranjbar
photos by Kim Ranjbar and Ellis Anderson
This column is underwritten in part by Matthew Peck Gallery
Many people exclaim that their mother’s cooking is the best, but at Mời Vietnamese Deli & Homestyle Cooking, the proof is in the cà ri gà. Launched late last year, Mời (pronounced muh-y) is a different kind of Vietnamese restaurant created by mother and daughter team Selena and Cindy Nguyen.
Located in a former shotgun double on St. Claude Avenue, the space was once home to Poke-Chan, a fast-casual poke joint, owned and operated by Cindy’s sister Lauren Han and a friend of the family, Dalena Vo. After a seven-year run, the friends closed the restaurant just this past summer to pursue other horizons.
“It was kind of a no-brainer for mom [Selena] to take over the restaurant,” says Cindy. “She has always cooked for us – every family event, for her friends – and everyone loves her cooking.”
A refugee from the Vietnam War, Selena fled Ho Chi Minh City and migrated to Cambodia and Thailand before finally making her way to New Orleans in the early 90s. Although she eventually opened a nail salon, Selena always possessed a passion for cooking.
“She would recreate dishes we ate on vacation by memory and every single time it’s blown our minds,” says Cindy.
Cindy, Selena and Tiffany Nguyen of Mời Vietnamese Deli & Homestyle Cooking.
Though she’s devoted to cooking and has an innate talent to recreate dishes by taste memory, Selena had no culinary mentors growing up, nor any experience working in restaurant kitchens before opening Mời. Apart from adjusting to commercial equipment, one of the most challenging lessons she’s had to learn is consistency.
“She was not used to writing down recipes or ingredients she used at all,” says Cindy, laughing. “It’s so sweet because now she’ll run out of the kitchen to tell me she added ⅓ cup of this or a teaspoon of that. She has quickly learned so much and she’s really trying to be the best she can be for this restaurant.”
Selena’s zeal for cooking notwithstanding, the menu at Mời goes against the prevailing standard with dishes not typically offered at other restaurants. From thịt kho trứng, caramelized pork shoulder and hard boiled egg braised in a caramel sauce, to bún riêu, a fresh tomato-based noodle soup with rice vermicelli, pork, crab and shrimp paste, the dishes offer the average diner an entirely different perspective of Vietnamese cuisine.
Bún riêu, a fresh tomato-based noodle soup with rice vermicelli, pork, crab and shrimp paste at Mời
Spring rolls stuffed with grilled pork sausage, fried wonton pieces, and green apple served with a "special" orange dipping sauce at Mời
A stylish glass of cà phê sữa đá at Mời
Ian McNulty’s favorite - fried tofu stuffed with pork simmered in a tomato broth at Mời
Fried tofu in a spicy curry sauce with lemongrass at Mời
“We’ve had so many people come in for pho but we don’t have it,” explains Cindy. “There’s so many restaurants that offer pho, but our focus is homestyle cooking, so we try to bring flavors that people aren’t as familiar with.”
In Vietnamese, mời is a term of respect used to initiate a meal, offering welcome or an invitation to eat. Aiding this narrative, the restaurant features a monthly special menu offered on the weekend called "3 Món," a family-style meal featuring a trio of dishes made to balance one another: mặn (savory), xào (stir-fry), and canh (soup).
A meal meant to be shared, past 3 Món menus include dishes of silken tofu stir-fried with pork in a fermented black bean sauce, canh bí or wintermelon soup, and cá kho tộ, catfish braised in a clay pot. This month, the 3 Món features caramelized pork and shrimp, king oyster mushroom soup with carrots and ground pork, and garlicky stir-fried green beans.
“Since we started, everyone has been asking what the next 3 Món would be. Some are dishes we all loved that my mom would cook when we were growing up. They are mostly dishes that people don’t know.”
Another interesting menu quirk at Mời is their choice of French bread. Instead of using Dong Phuong Bakery’s bread for their bánh mì, Selena opted to use the crispier, more delicate baguettes made at Hong Kong Market on the Westbank.
“I think a lot of people appreciate that we’re not using Dong Phuong – not because it’s not good, we love Dong Phuong – it’s just different.”
Bánh mì chạo tôm, a sandwich made with pan-fried sugarcane skewers of shrimp paste made with minced pork at Mời
In keeping with their homestyle vibe, Cindy altered the restaurant’s atmosphere to incorporate the green and growing, from an abundance of plants to the wallpaper awash in lotus leaves and flowers.
“The wallpaper I chose is so beautiful to me. It was a little bit pricey, but I really wanted it to feel cozy, [and] organic.”
Like Poke-Chan, Mời has been widely embraced by people in the community and beyond. NOLA.com’s food writer Ian McNulty has visited numerous times and has even recreated the restaurant’s fried tofu dish that’s stuffed with pork and stewed in a fresh tomato sauce and shared it on social media. “Everytime he’s here, he raves about the stuffed tofu.”
But more significant are the Vietnamese diners who are warmed by the experience and reminded of home.
“Some of them either moved away for so long or they just haven’t spoken to their parents. One man told my mother ‘Thank you so much, this reminds me of my mom’s cooking. I haven’t talked to her in a while and I’m going to call her.’”
There can be no higher compliment.
