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88 Pho Cafe
Category: Restaurants Vietnamese Vietnamese [Edit]
1495 Beach Park BlvdFoster City, CA 94404
(650) 638-9956
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 9 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
13 reviews for 88 Pho Cafe
13 reviews in English
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Review from Myly P.
Foster City, CA
Updated - 7/26/2010
I wanted to post another review because I really do like this place and I hope it doesn't go under like the last 3 places in that space. The food is very good. True, it's not the BEST Vietnamese food I've evern had, but who cares! When I'm craving Vietnamese food, this place gets the job done at a very affordable price. I had pho this time and the broth was fine, not too oily.
RESPONSE TO JANELLE I. - I really need to respond to Janelle I.'s one star review. Being born in Vietnam, and having eaten a lot of pho in my 40 years, there is not one "authentic" pho broth. Come one, is there one authentic tomato/marinara/spaghetti sauce? Even it Italy, people add their personal touch to their sauces.
Okay, if you didn't like the flavor of the broth, fine, say that. But don't say it's not authentic. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY CHINESE SPEAKING PEOPLE IN VIETNAM! Here are the list of Chinese districts in Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City: Cho Lon, Tien Giang, Dong Nai, Kien Giang, Tra Vinh province, Hai Phong, Bc Liêu, Ca Mau. In 1999, there were 862,371 Chinese-Vietnamese in the population. They are authentically Vietnamese, but they speak Chinese. Get it? So, unless you asked the owners if they were from China and they said yes, please don't judge based on language. Research before you post.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/11/2010
You GOTTA try the Vietnamese sandwiches here. They come with french fries (never had them served… Read more »
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Review from Kim L.
12/19/2010
I really wanted to like this place..especially since there aren't any good pho places in the peninsula. We all ordered the pho and then wished we didn't all order the same thing...but then again, isn't that what you're supposed to do at a pho restaurant? Have pho? Sure..if it's good pho..but unfortunatley, that's not the case here.
There seems to be debate going as to whether this pho is authentic so I'm not even going to go there. I will say however, that this pho is definitely sub par. The barely there broth was bland and the noodles were mushy. The man who took my order smelled of cigarettes and couldn't speak English didn't understand me when I requested "beef on the side." Such a big disappointment since I live so close by and thought we could put this restaurant in our dining rotation.
Sorry but unless something about this place changes, I'm not going back.Listed in: Noodle Joints - The Good, Bad,…
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Review from lauren y.
7/13/2010 1 Check-in Here
There are many many Vietnamese restaurants in the Penninsula.. sure none of them are as good as those on Larkin St., or in the South Bay or even SoCal like in Westminster, but some are close, as in 2. These places in my book are 1) Saigon City of San Mateo & 2) La Petite Camille of Millbrae. So, compared to the ones in the area, this place is A-OK, meaning, I'm not a fan.
Came here with 4 other friends and we got the imperial rolls, the spring rolls, the raw beef, 2 large phos, one bun cha, a rice plate and a sandwich. We asked about the YELP special and the girl looked confused, smiled and pointed to the noodles on the menu. Hmmm. YELP special said free imperial rolls, but since they were only a little over $4, we didn't really care that they didn't honor it.
When my friend asked for some white vinegar, the girl gave us bowls. I asked her again for some cause maybe she didn't hear my deep- voiced friend correctly, but it turned out that she just doesn't speak/understand English very well. Maybe that's why she didn't understand the YELP special we were asking for.
The food was okay. It wasn't disgusting, and there was flavor, but I think it was all just almost. The imperial roll fillings were good, but the wrapper was not tight enough and it wasn't rice paper but the "regular" eggroll wrapper. The spring rolls were HUGE but a little dry. the rare beef was okay, but just missing something to make it tasty. It had cilantro, fried shallots, onions, .. idk. I had the combo banh mi and it was good. No Saigon Sandwich of course, or Lee's, but I really liked how the french roll was warm and toasted. The only thing is that I wish it came with more mayo because it was toasted, it made it a bit dry.
If I had to just rate the french fries that came with the sandwich, I would give them 4 stars. They were McDonald's quality... YES, I KNOW. The only thing was that the ketchup wasn't very tasty. .. yea, i'm so picky.
thumbs up: french fries, portions, friendly staff, clean place, menu choices, cheap
thumbs down: taste was just almost.
Overall, A-OK, but I think they just could be better. Maybe they just need a little more time to grow. -
Review from Alan Y.
7/31/2010
As soon as I walked in, I knew something was afoot.
This place is clean, too clean. And someone took the time to try to do some modern decor. Everyone knows that a GOOD Vietnamese restaurant is filthy, with greasy tables and questionable cutlery. Likewise, the restaurant should look more like a strip mall box decorated with sticky vinyl covered chairs, not something out of a West Elm catalog.
Seriously, right when I sat down, I realized that the food was going to be inauthentic. But we hadn't eaten all day, and I wanted something fast. So here we were.
I ordered the "rare beef". This is probably their version of Pho Tai, but the menu is strictly in English with no Vietnamese names, and a subtitle in Chinese. Likewise, the Cha Gio was entitled "Imperial Roll" with the Chinese words fried-spring-roll trailing like a whisper. A whisper saying "this ain't Viet food..."
Further clues were the liquor license with the last name Zhao written on it. And a thick ass Beijing accented Mandarin flowing out of the kitchen. Damn, these folks aren't even Viet-Chinese or anything. But ok, I was willing to give the food a chance.
As soon as I got the Cha Gio, it didn't taste right. The size was good, flavor was off. Wasn't rolled tightly enough, wasn't fried hard enough. And the fish sauce. Well, it was diluted down for non-Asian folks.
The real crime though? The real crime was the pho. The broth had absolutely ZERO flavor. There was no scent. I think 88 Pho missed out on two things: star anise and MSG. Cause this broth tasted like hot boiled water. That's it. Other than being brown, it wasn't pho broth AT ALL. The meat was very lean, but just didn't seem to be the right cut, or have the right fattiness.
There's nothing wrong with people serving food incongruous with their ethnicity. Hell, I've had plenty of Korean and Taiwanese sushi, and we all know that many cooks in many restaurants are Mexican. But damn, DO IT RIGHT PLEASE.
I think the other folks in this place liked their food ok, but they were white, and had obviously never had Vietnamese food before because they were trying to eat all of these dishes family style as if this was a Chinese restaurant. I know that's odd to say, because this actually IS a Chinese restaurant.
1 star for the food, 1 star for the decor. These folks are nice enough, but the food just ain't right. Sorry.
Pro-tip: you're not supposed to split a bowl of pho. -
Review from Janelle A.
Hayward, CA
Updated - 4/19/2010
***To clear up what I was trying to say about Chinese owners of a Vietnamese restaurant*** I mentioned at first I was disappointed when I noticed this, BUT I still wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Yet after finishing our meal I still was not impressed. Fact, point. I came into this restaurant wanting authentic TASTING vietnamese food, especially when it comes to the broth of pho which contains many aromatic spices and specific steps to achieve.
To Steve H.- I did not state Chinese people CAN'T cook Vietnamese food! They CAN but only if they get the flavoring right! This can easily be done by following an original/authentic/common way of the recipe. And unfortunately my tastebuds weren't picking any of that up. In my defense, I have a few Chinese owned Filipino Restaurants that I frequent that are super authentic tasting. So why wasn't this one?
To GaLei J.- It's a funny thing I used to work at Panda Express back in high school and you are right, it is very true there are Mexicans working in the kitchen (in fact the store I worked at had ONLY Mexicans in the back). BUT the difference is they are cooking by a specific RECIPE of ingredients and steps they must follow, which goes for any restaurant. In other words to get the right taste, get the right recipe to follow. As you said also with those successful Japanese restaurants (which I know a few too).... they obviously have the right flavoring to please. I had my hopes up high during my meal but unfortunately my palate wasn't pleased here.
Sorry if my words sounded offensive, but I was trying to express how this situation of restaurant can somewhat deceive peoples' expectations. I hope this cleared up what I meant. Furthermore, everyone has their own taste, so right on and yay to everyone who finds this place pleasing. But personally for me I'll have to pass.
Happy Yelping! =)1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/13/2010
I assume this Pho place is owned by Chinese because I overheard the server talking to the kitchen… Read more »
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Review from K F.
San Francisco, CA
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Review from Neal B.
Foster City, CA
4/17/2010
Love this place. So far I have had the Rare Beef Pho and Five Spice Chicken Vermicelli. Both were excellent and used high-quality cuts of meat which I often haven't found in pho restaurants. The spices used on the chicken made this an especially tasty dish. The Vietnamese coffee was brewed at the table, as it should be, and was perfect. I intend to work my way through the menu. It appears to be a family business with the daughter waiting tables and mom doing the cooking. They were happy to explain how dishes were prepared and the service was wonderful. Try it and you won't be disappointed.
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Review from Daisy A.
Pacifica, CA
10/2/2010
So this is actually my second experience here. The first time, I thought their service was excellent, food delicious and price on the $10ish / person (with drink).
My second experience (which was yesterday) was very mixed.
It was most likely because I arrived at the very beginning of lunch rush, but the service was very attentive. As soon as I sat down, I was given a menu and glass of water. I ordered the grilled pork chop with rice and an imperial roll and a Thai Ice Tea.
While waiting for my meal, I tasted the water which unknown to me had lemon flavoring in it (kinda gross if you're not prepared for it). I immediately asked for just plain water which arrived promptly.
Next came the Thai Ice Tea. Not impressive at all. It was very milky, but I chose not to say anything to the waitress about it.
About 10 minutes of ordering, my food came and I started immediately. First I tasted the Imperial Roll. Delicious. Then I cut into the pork chop and I immediately thought how juicy and tender it was. It took me by surprise, so I actually looked at the pork chop and realized it was blood red inside.
I called the waitress over to let her know and she took the plate back to the kitchen and told me they were getting me a new plate. By now the restaurant is getting busier and my new wait time is about is 20 minutes.
My "new" food finally comes and I immediately begin to examine it. Unfortunately, the pork chop was still very red on some parts, but other parts were cooked just enough. I ate only the rice and the cooked portion.
When I signaled for the check, the waitress asked me if everything was okay this time. I let her know that the pork chop was still red, but I just don't have the time to wait for a new plate.
She apologized, and proceeded to give me my check for the entire amount.
Like I said....a mixed experience. The waitress was nice enough, but unfortunately, she didn't reduce my bill or anything despite the food not being cooked all the way through. Which is why they only got 1 star from me and a promise to myself never to return there again! Thankfully, they are not the only Vietnamese restaurants in Foster City. -
Review from Peter M.
Belmont, CA
7/15/2010
Came in for lunch. Shrimp Spring rolls were OK, nothing special - but then I had a bowl of chopped pork pho, which was on the daily special.
Wow, it was excellent ! Fantastic broth - great flavors and not too oily or oversalted. A definite cut above surrounding Vietnamese places as far as pho goes, based on this one visit. I'll be heading back there soon. -
Review from K L.
Burlingame, CA
9/8/2010
The combination pho with rare beef, meatballs, tripe, and tendons was A-OK ($7.25 for the large size, $6.75 for small), and the decor inside the restaurant was nice, better than I expected from the way it looked outside.
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Review from Anna W.
San Francisco, CA
5/6/2010
This place is a gem! They have all the good qualities you look for in a bowl of pho: soothing broth that is seasoned just right, good noodles plus high quality of meat and a good variety of pho to choose from, some of which you wouldn't find in other places. Thumbs up to their beef cappacio, beef and chicken pho combo, seafood pho in tomato broth and fried chicken wings!! Must go!
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Review from Randy L.
San Francisco, CA
8/12/2010
i'm gonna keep it real and short. beautiful location, friendly staff, nice decor, good food, reasonable prices. what more can you ask for? i love to have lunch here and afterwards, take a stroll next to the water and take in the gorgeous scenery.
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Review from Michelle P.
San Mateo, CA
7/21/2010
this place was...fine
