Mars Pho House opens in Bethpage

Let’s say you need to renew your driver's license while nursing a craving for Vietnamese pho (rice noodle soup). Or you’re registering a vehicle but can’t get your mind off banh mi (baguette sandwich). In either of these cases, choose the Bethpage DMV because, just steps away from the branch, is Mars Pho House.

The two-week-old eatery serves yet another market: halal diners whose Vietnamese pickings are slim.

Mars takes over what had been the second location of Lâu Vietnamese Pho, which opened two years ago. (The original Lâu, in St. James, is still open.) The menu is smaller, concentrating on the Vietnamese dishes Long Islanders are most familiar with. Pho comes in three varieties, traditional (with thinly sliced beef), vegetarian and short rib (with a big honking bone-in short rib). You can also create your own bowl with grilled beef or chicken, meatballs, shrimp, etc.

There are fresh shrimp summer rolls, fried spring rolls and banh mi which, instead of ham and pork pate, is made with sliced brisket and chicken pate.

Some Chinese specialties are also available: orange chicken, fried or steamed chicken-beef dumplings, fried rice (traditional or with lamb) and grilled lamb skewers (a Chinese Muslim specialty). You can also order Vietnamese chicken wings, peppered fried calamari or waffle fries.

Manager Fan Yang said that the restaurant was named for its owner, Mars Ma, whose first Vietnamese restaurant, New York Pho House, opened last year in Flushing.

Yang explained that Ma, a Muslim from Lanzhou, in Northwest China, originally intended to open a restaurant specializing in that city’s specialty, hand-pulled noodles. But there was too much competition in Queens and so he pivoted to Vietnamese noodles. "He saw that most of the halal food was Middle Eastern and thought this would be a good option."

The concept worked in Flushing and so Ma decided to bring it to Long Island.

Mars Pho House, 4037B Hempstead Tpke., Bethpage, 929-774-0842. Open Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.