Just a couple of steps away from the Kendall/MIT Red Line stop, hungry commuters find the bustling Eastern Edge Food Hall. On an early Friday afternoon, each table is packed with customers enjoying a meal from one of the nine grab-and-go restaurants in the market. Fresh and fragrant smells drifted from the Việt CITRON stall, which opened a little over two months ago and is the chain’s third location in the area. Many passersby were lined up to give it a taste.

Despite the busy atmosphere, the service was quick, with employees walking around and taking orders both while in line and at the counter. While waiting for food to be done, customers can watch the chefs efficiently prepare banh mi, pho, egg rolls, or other traditional Vietnamese dishes through the plastic divider. The food was ready remarkably quickly — with an order estimated to arrive in six minutes being finished in just four.

A slim menu allows Việt CITRON to master its flavors. The 48-hour Ballerz Special Pho is a rich, aromatic soup packed with noodles and beef brisket, tendon, tripe, and springy meatballs, accompanied by crisp beansprouts, fresh herbs, and lime. This Special Pho — the type of pho with this combination of protein — is extremely flavorful, with well-cooked and not overly chewy meat, as well as a beef broth steeped with comforting flavor.

It paired well with youtiao, a deep-fried stick of fluffy dough hailing from China. The sign on the counter encouraged restaurant-goers to order the youtiao alongside the pho, and the doughnut-like sticks pleasantly retained their crunch while soaking up the hearty broth.

Though the pho was a satisfying and wholesome meal, there were too many noodles and not enough meat, offsetting the balance of the bowl. Coming in at $21, the bowl was on the pricey side — compared to the $17.50 XL special pho at Le’s Vietnamese in Harvard Square, for instance — and the pleasurable eating experience did not make up for the cost. The other pho dishes at Việt CITRON vary widely in price, ranging from $15.50 for the vegetarian pho to $28 for the beef ribs pho.

Understandably, the food is served with disposable dishware and cutlery on aluminum trays, convenient for the food hall environment. However, the option to dine in or take out was just the difference between putting a plastic lid on the food or not. Perhaps, opting to dine in is the wrong choice, as the food can get cold while searching for an open table.

The star of the menu is the banh mi. Served with a choice of protein, pickled carrots and cucumber, jalapeno, and house-made mayonnaise on a warm, toasty baguette, Việt CITRON’s banh mi is an extremely well-constructed sandwich. They do not skimp on the filling, and unlike some banh mis, this one was not too dry nor too soggy.

Upon choosing the protein, cheesy names emphasizing it’s size turn out to be true. The chicken was truly great: well-spiced with a rub, not dry, and sliced into manageably sized pieces. The only downside was that it was difficult to get all of the flavors into one’s mouth at once, as the ingredients were stacked vertically in the roll rather than horizontally.

Besides the banh mi and pho, Việt CITRON offers a selection of sides: house-made eggrolls, youtiao, pickles, and half-pound servings of the sirloin, chicken, or tofu. They also carry an inspired collection of drinks, like salted limeade, hot honey citron ginger tea, and Vietnamese iced coffee.

If one finds themselves on the other side of Cambridge with their stomach rumbling, Việt CITRON is worth a stop. The herbs and vegetables are fresh, the meat is tender, and the atmosphere is bustling, perfect for a quick, warm, and satiating meal.

— Staff writer Avani Shah-Lipman can be reached at [email protected].