nOma Food & Co

Located at 2403 Battleground Avenue in Greensboro, nOma Food & Co offers Vietnamese and Thai soups, sandwiches, curries, rolls, and bowls for lunch and dinner. Online ordering is available.

nOma’s motto is “Fresh. Asian. Fast.” and that is a good indicator of what you can expect here: Viet/Thai-inspired dishes made to order in a fast casual setting. It’s an appealing concept, and one that the owners (one of whom, Kieuanh, also owns Boba House) are determined to make work. While there is definitely room for continued improvement, there is also enough promise here to suggest staying power.

Nestled in a shopping plaza near Maxie B’s and Krispy Kreme, nOma tries to make the most out of limited physical space. The green-hued interior is bright and clean with descriptive, easy to read menus and a bird’s eye view of food preparation. It is, however, still quite small, and despite the decorative touches, it may be better suited for take-out than dine-in.

The menu here is limited: don’t expect more than banh mi, pho, rolls, bowls, curry, and bubble teas. However, keeping it simple allows for some measure of quality control, and many of the dishes are customizable. Not only are vegan fillings available (as well as beef, pork, and chicken), but larger and smaller portion sizes are also among the options. Even the larger (32 ounce) phos and bowls top out at $7.95, which makes for a fairly decent value.

Further, nOma lives up to its promise of freshness: dishes are prepared in front of you, and the ingredients appear to be quality. The creamy Thai curry is a standout: try it with chicken and jasmine rice. Unfortunately, other dishes simply fail to eclipse the competition. Pho Hien Vuong has better pho, Saigon Bakery has better sandwiches, and both have better rolls. Nothing here was unpleasant, but the flavors came across as somewhat muted.

Though nOma would not be my first choice for Vietnamese or Thai, it has all the makings of a solid option for quick, cheap, healthy eats.

7.75/10