Phoever Maine, the Vietnamese restaurant located at 100 Larrabee Road, in the space once occupied by Top Dog, is set to open on Friday, May 31.

“Finally, after 20 years were at the point where we’re ready to share our family recipes with everyone. Everyone who’s tried our food raves about it, but we’ve never taken it to the next level, until now,” said Truc Huynh, co-owner of the restaurant, along with his sister-in-law, Mai Huynh. His three brothers and two sisters will cook in the restaurant.

The family, which immigrated to the area in 1989, will serve a mix of traditional Vietnamese comfort food, including pho (a hearty soup), spring rolls, and shrimp in a blanket. Many of the menu items have names with a Maine twist – for example shrimp in a blanket is called “the way life should be” on the menu.

A Chinese take-out staple – crab rangoons – also appears on the menu, but Huynh said his father created a recipe using real crabmeat, something many Asian restaurants do not use.

The 45-seat restaurant, with full bar serving local brews, is open for lunch starting at 11:30 a.m., and closes at 10 p.m., but there are plans to extend the hours once the restaurant takes off.

Huynh said, like Chinese food, pho is good food to eat after a long night out on the town. He hopes one day to extend the restaurant hours until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. and serve a pho-only menu.

“It’s hydrating, and anecdotally, I think it’s got a lot of medicinal properties. It’s like eating mom’s chicken noodle soup – you don’t know what’s in it but it cures everything,” Huynh said.

– Suzanne Hodgson