With new menu, new chef and new design, this North Quincy mainstay has reinvented itself

QUINCY − Occupying a former bank at Hancock Street and Billings Road, the former Pho Linh restaurant served traditional noodle soups and rice plates to loyal customers for the better part of two decades. In February, second-generation owner Tam Le reopened the North Quincy mainstay as Le Madeline with a new dinner menu featuring creative twists on Vietnamese cuisine.

Le, who owns three restaurants (Le Madeline, Pho Hoa in Dorchester and Chashu Ramen + Izakaya in Worcester) and one café (Reign Café in South Boston), first considered major changes during the pandemic.

When Covid hit, he closed Pho Linh for six months before installing a takeout window. Not until November 2022 did it reopen for indoor dining.

"Everyone had time to think," Le said. "What made sense post-pandemic?"

As people grew accustomed to takeout and third-party delivery apps, and as food inflation made eating out far more expensive than cooking at home, Le said he had to reassess what value restaurants provide.

"We had to make a really compelling reason for people to come out," he said. "That was pretty much the thought behind the changes."

So Le renovated the dining room and applied for a full liquor license in the late spring of 2023. In the fall, he began implementing the new menu unannounced to gauge response. Last month, Pho Linh closed for a week as Le made final tweaks before reopening permanently as Le Madeline, named after his daughter.

The concept behind the rebrand is to introduce new techniques and ingredients to authentic Vietnamese dishes, or take classic American favorites and put a Vietnamese spin on it.

But longtime customers needn't fear. The older menu of traditional pho and rice plates is still available for lunch, and the dinner menu has a section called "Pho Linh favorites."

There's a new chef in town

In reinventing his parents' successful pho restaurant, Le partnered with chef Peter Nguyen, 33, the driving force behind Le Madeline's new menu.

Like Le, Nguyen is the son of Vietnamese immigrants who grew up in Dorchester. In 2018, he left Boston for Houston, where he worked at Riel Restaurant, eager to add new methods and flavors to his repertoire.

"Southern cooking is way different," Nguyen said. "It's much heartier, more comforting."

Nguyen's Gulf Coast sojourn is reflected in new menu items such as the Viet Cajun crawfish noodles and a marinated filet mignon on a bed of rice.

Reflecting on what he called the "circle of food," Nguyen noted that French traditions influence his creations through the Cajun culture of the American south as well French colonial domination of Vietnam from the late 1800s to 1954.

Staples such as banh mi, Vietnamese iced coffee, paté and beef stew all bear Southeast Asia's history of French imperial rule, Nguyen said.

"They left a bunch of stuff," he said. "We had to learn what to do with the scraps, and we made it delicious."

Nguyen has also put his own spin on a New England classic, the lobster roll. With fried lobster meat on a buttery brioche roll, garnished with tamarind and kobiko, his tôm hùm rang me was recently named one of Greater Boston's best lobster rolls by Boston Magazine.

"It's not authentic at all," Nguyen said. "If you want just a butter lobster roll, go somewhere else."

New manager adds Vietnamese twist to classic cocktails

Le's other partner in the Le Madeline rebrand is manager Allen Yee.

"He created the whole bar program," Le said of his friend. "Every cocktail − he put's so much thought into it."

Like many of Nguyen's dishes, Yee's concoctions put a Vietnamese spin on classics. For instance, the Margarita Cay Nóng − a spicy tequila with mango puree − incorporates a traditional Vietnamese snack of mangos dipped in sugar and fish sauce. In Yee's cocktail, the sugar and fish sauce dip rims the margarita glass.

Another exciting creation is Yee's "Bonfire." Made with Mezcal, pear liqueur and bitters, it's garnished with a Szechuan "buzz bud," an edible flower that, when chewed, produces a tingling, cooling sensation in the mouth. The sensation is electric in itself and serves to accentuate the sweet, citrusy flavor of the drink.

A guest chef series begins in early April

Another innovation will bring acclaimed chefs from across the country for one-night-only ticketed events at Le Madeline.

The series is another one of Nguyen's innovations. The first special guest will be his mentor, Ryan Lachaine, executive chef and co-owner of Riel Restaurant in Houston.

On April 9, the restaurant will close to the public for the event. Ticket-holders receive a five-course meal with dessert from Randolph's Sweet Piglet, all for $125 including gratuity.

Nguyen described the program as "a fun, chef-driven night" for about 70 people. Tickets are available on Le Madeline's website.

A meticulous interior design. The paintings at Le Madeline

Inside the restaurant, bright murals and framed paintings decorate the dining areas. The blue tiled bar, once a serving station, stands out against pale yellow walls. An elaborate light fixture − cascading lanterns interlaced with floral arrangements − creates a focal point in the main dining room.

Le said there is a story behind every square foot of the interior. With a degree in fine arts from Brandeis, his aesthetic sense permeates the space.

Two paintings in particular, which Le personally commissioned, have attracted the gaze of diners since 2014. One, by artist Paul Zapeta, is an abstract portrait of a woman in white, her form sinuous and elongated, holding roses in one hand and a black fan in the other.

The other, by Le's Brandeis friend and fellow artist Ari Lankin, depicts his mother and father in profile over a verdant landscape of terraced agricultural land in Vietnam.

If the landscape, which Le described as "paying respect to our ancestors, our motherland," points with reverence to past generations, the new name points to the future. Le Madeline is named after Le's 8-year-old daughter and first child, Maddy.

"When we had Maddy eight years ago, it was the best thing that ever happened to me," he said.

Hours of operation and reservations

• Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

• Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Reservations can be made online and are recommended for peak hours.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Pho Linh restaurant reopens with new name and new menu in North Quincy