Find out what Zavy Kitchen Vietnamese restaurant has planned
The East Village is about to get a Vietnamese restaurant.
The owners of Pho Real Kitchen & Bar, the Court Avenue restaurant that specializes in Vietnamese pho and Asian cuisines, plans to open a second restaurant in the East Village.
Zavy Kitchen takes over the former Franka Pizzeria space at 111 E. Grand Ave. with “modern Vietnamese” fare.
The restaurant owners say the name “Zavy” (zah-vee) is a wordplay on “gia vi,” seasoning in Vietnamese.
“While Pho Real remains the cozy haven for late night phos, Zavy Kitchen takes those flavors and elevates them to an unparalleled level of sophistication without compromising the authenticity that defines our dishes,” the Pho Real Facebook page shared.
What will Zavy Kitchen serve?
The menu at Zavy Kitchen leans into noodle soups. The restaurant’s Facebook page teases dishes such as a crab tapioca noodle soup, beef noodle stew, wonton soup, and crab tapioca noodle soup.
Vietnamese meatballs, sizzling beef, crispy Vietnamese crepes, grilled pork with broken rice, and crab-fried rice join sticky rice, char siu rice bowls and grilled pork spring rolls.
Zavy also plans to serve fried catfish, fried silver pomfret, and fried tilapia in a tomato sauce.
The restaurant already hung a sign and applied for a liquor license.
Pho Real Kitchen & Bar opened on Court Avenue in Des Moines in 2019.
Franka Pizzeria closed on Sept. 16. The restaurant space at 111 E. Grand Ave. was sold to “another local business,” according to a popup on the Franka website. Frank has a location in Clive.
Zavy Kitchen promises a spring opening.