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I really love their soup broth. I live near Westminster and I've tried many a pho place around but I was very surprised to find that this place is my favorite and it's in Tustin! I usually get their medium bowl of brisket, tendon, and fatty flank and I'm always satisfied when I eat here.
I've tried their spring rolls and I'm not impressed with it. The sauce they have is not peanut based and it was not to my taste. Their plated meals are a great bargain, though. You get a lot for not a lot and they taste pretty good!
Oh, quick tip: if you're a student, mention that you are and show your ID you get a 10% discount on your bill. Though this place is pretty affordable, you can save on the tax at least! =D
This is a regular lunch stop with coworkers and was my first bowl of pho. The pho with brisket is my usual. Sometimes I get it with egg noodles. The broth is pretty good, doesn't seem super complex, but it's aromatic and flavored well with herbs and tarragon, which is nice.
The rice dishes are tasty too. Again comes with a little cup of broth, mmm. I have always enjoyed everything I've tried here, which includes spring rolls, fruit drinks, and boba.
The service is always quick and friendly, very consistent quality, and a good value.
3.5 is a dead on rating. It was a bit above average.
The broth in the Pho was a little salty for my tastes. Portions were good. Everything else was fine.
Service was quick, like most Pho places. The restaurant was clean and a little bigger than I thought it was going to be.
Nice to know of another Pho place in an area I don't frequent much.
Not much else to really say.
I have been comming here since I started work off Walnut/Redhill, and saw a Pho place close by.... and I haven't stopped since. I like to come here once a week to fulfill my pho cravings, and when my friend's mom decides to not cook pho.
The waiters are all nice, and the owners are especially nice (to both repeat and first timers) The owner's daughter also occasionally works there, and is pretty cute/nice. The service is so fast, I can get in and out, fully satisfied, in less than 30 minutes.
I usually split between Pho Dac Biet and Pho Ga, depending my mood, and they are both delicious. I have to sip the soup before i start to add on the Thai Basil, cilantro, lime, sprouts, peppers, Hoisin and Sriracha . After im finished, they usually bring around some tapioca dessert that cleanses the palette.
I've had their shakes, and they are also very good. The salted limeade is very good too! It was recommended to me by the owner when i was having a sore throat.
So my experience with Pho Bac Ky has always been great, and nothing has given me a reason to not ever come back.
I'm definitely a fan of this place. My only advice is that you may want to stick with Pho. I tried a few of their other items, and I noticed I'm always a happy camper if I just get the Pho.
I am a Pho Tai lover myself, and I'll occasionally be daring and order flank as well ;)
The broth is nice and savory, the servers are fast and nice.
I love going here for a quick and inexpensive lunch break :)
Pretty good, I'm gonna keep them in mind for the future.
I came here on my lunch hour the other day. They were really friendly, my food came out fast, and it was good.
I got the spring rolls and the charbroiled pork rice dish. The spring rolls were ok, nothing really special here. They were kinda flavorless. The peanut sauce was a bit watery and didn't really add anything. The charbroiled pork was good. It came with a little soup thingy, veggies (tomato, carrots, cucumber, and cilantro in a vinegary sauce) and rice. The pork was really well prepared and had great flavor. was definitely my favorite part of the meal.
I will have to come back here to try their Pho sometime. I just didn't feel like eating soup in my car (was running late coming back from my lunch because I got lost...not used to the area yet).
Been here maybe 15 times, and I've gotten the House Special Pho every time. Normally I venture a bit into more unknown territory, but the pho is very good, very fast and cheap. I have only eaten here at lunch while at work and am usually in a rush to get back to my little slice of Hell.
For $6, you get a pretty big bowl of the "everything" pho. It is filling and tasty, and you'll be in and out of there in 30 minutes or less.
They do have some interesting sodas there, too. They give you a really tasty dessert for free, too! Someday I'll come here for dinner or a long lunch, and try the other dishes...
This is a great place to come for a quick lunch or a cheap dinner. Service is pretty fast and the food is good. I can really only comment on the spring rolls, pho tai and beef brisket, though. The prices can't be beat either. Dinner specials are super cheap ($3.99 pho tai), although the amount of meat they give is reflected in the lower price, which I think is lame. Try the pineapple paradise.
After numerous times of driving by this place off Red Hill, I wanted to give this hole in the wall place a shot. This place is located in the Stater Bros plaza and parking can be a bit sparse during lunch hour and evening traffic.
This quaint lil place and staff I would consider goes beyond the expectations compared to neighboring Vietnamese restaurants around the area (excluding the Garden Grove/Westminster area of course).
On every visit, I tend to measure the quality of the Bun (Rice Vermicelli) dishes. On both visits, I had ordered Charbroiled Shrimp, Pork and Eggrolls. First time around, they had forgotten the shrimp but remembered to bring it separately even before I had even realized it was missing. Service on both visits were quite fast despite the lack of or constant rush of people at their restaurant. So service would be considered pretty consistent and fared pretty well in my books. Ate at the restaurant during dinner time on the first visit when not many people were eating. The 2nd visit is a big plus for their lunch crowd it was packed and our wait to sit was approximately 5-10 minutes. Our orders were taken a minute or two later and within 15 - 20 minutes possibly shorter, our food was placed in front of us.
The only negative side is possibly the pricing of their food which is priced slightly higher than the average Vietnamese place you'd find. My order was priced around $8 and their Blended Taro was priced at $3.75.
Shrimp and pork was nicely charred and not overly cooked. Pork was plentiful on first time around than 2nd visit. So its a hit or miss with the amount of pork in the order.
Ambiance is pretty average as their emphasis is the quality of the food and service than the look and feel of the place. Tables are somewhat close together to fit a larger number of capacity.
Nonetheless, definitely will return for more and great local spot.
This place has great pho! The broth is clear and delicious. The sprouts, basil, and cilantro that they brought out was very fresh, not wilted like some places. I didn't think I would find another place that had outstanding pho outside of Little Saigon. The portions are good with a choice between small or large bowls of pho. There are other dishes on the menu ranging from dry noodles to rice dishes as well. They also have quite the selection of colorful drinks and desserts. I recommend the Thai iced tea here. It's great! I think they are the sister location of Pho Bac in Irvine. The only reason that I docked them one star was because they switched my order with my friend's order. No bueno! I ordered number 17, which was the pho with rare steak, well done brisket and tendon, while she ordered the special with everything. I didn't bother to tell the waitress, but made due. Other than that the food was great. I would come here again if I was in the area.
Ordered take out here a few weeks ago. They are very busy inside, but also very efficient. They share a plaza with a few other eateries, so just keep your eyes peeled when backing your vehicle.
Food was tasty and cheap. I got one of the chicken and rice dishes, husband ordered a big bowl of soup. They have some good specials as well, but for dine-in customers only. There's a lot of seating inside, but we weren't wanting to hang out.
this place is your typcial vietnamese pho restaurant. they do a good job of getting the basics served well. they also have a dinner special that is 25% off the regular price on select items. i would go back to this place if i am feeling like having Pho since it is close to where i live.
Cheap and yummy
After reading the reviews about the $3.99 Happy Hour, my sister & I came here after catching a matinee of (500) Days of Summer - brilliant movie, by the way!
We both ordered the $3.99 bowl of Pho Tai & a Thai tea boba for her. Our food arrived quickly - two small steaming bowls of pho-tastic pho! The size was smaller than I'm used to, as I normally can never finish an entire bowl but this bowl was slurpped clean. I thought it was tasty and tasted like a typical bowl of pho. For $3.99, there wasn't much room to complain. We did have to flag down our server to ask for the small dishes to squirt our hoisin/sriracha sauce in. Service isn't the greatest but they are friendly. I believe in getting why you pay for, so I'm not gonna rag on them for not upping their game in the customer service dept. I'm glad to also say that the restrooms appeared clean and no cockroaches were spotted (based on some of the scarier reviews posted).
I will come back and try their rice dishes and perhaps a larger sized bowl of pho. I like the $3.99 price, but it was more of a kiddie meal for me.
I work in the area, and hade a craving for pho. Read the reviews, and had to stop by. Glad I did! Ordered the #10 - Rare Steak. It was awesome. I spiced it up with the chili and sriracha, and was sweating by the time I finished. I put the fire out with a great iced coffee. I shall return!
Nice lunch spot. Nothing fancy. Plenty of tables and the service was quick. I ordered the small rare beef pho..$5.75. I was hungry but worried that the $3.99 special would be too small. The soup was good, not great but I love pho so I will be back. (closest Vietnamese rest. to my office) With a soda, tax and tip I got out of there for less than 10 bucks. Some Vietnamese ladies next to me were eating a plate of hot food that looked very good. (I have no idea what is was).
Once it cools down, I will be back.
Nothing like a piping hot bowl of pho on a cold day. THE perfect way to end the work week!
I really want to give this place 4 stars, I really do. Although this place serves some mean ol' good pho, I have an issue with the cleanliness. When I came here last week, there was this gigantic cockroach. I mean it was huge, it looked like it was on steroids. I watched it for awhile to see if anyone would notice. Someone walked by and knocked it over on it's back, and it was helplessly wiggling it's legs as if it would turn itself over. I couldn't stomach the site anymore, so I finally told the manager.
Also, the guys serving your pho don't exactly look like they wash their hands everyday. Today, this guy that brought my pho had bits of food on his hands, freakin' GROSSE! That and he was holding the bowl at the brim, where you'd normally sip on your soup if you drink from the bowl. Blech! Good thing the pho was so good that I totally forgot about all that ickyness.
Still my go-to at work pho spot. Still busy at lunch peak hours. Parking still sucks. Nothing has changed!
I have a soft spot for this place only because I've been coming here since my college days. It's as… Read more »
Good hole in the wall place, great if you're local.
I've eaten here a number of different times. The $3.99 special is a small bowl of pho, but I've gone with a good amount of people and it usually isn't an issue. The appetizers are good, the staff is friendly, and they'll make arrangements for groups as well. Drinks are a little pricy, but they generally balance out the price for the special I suppose.
Worth checking out if you're local. I've had better and I've had much worse (for more $ actually).
I'm assuming "TheChef K." is Korean, so therefore he really doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm Vietnamese and have actually eaten Pho in Vietnam, twice! I think this place makes a better bowl of Pho than what I ate in Saigon.
I always try to take my friends here, especially if they're really poor. They love the Happy Hour $3.99 bowl of "Pho Tai", which is pho with rare beef. It's incredibly filling and really tasty.
I've tried lots of the other dishes too, and my favorites include "Com tam bi cha suon nuong" (Jullienne pork, egg quiche and charbroiled pork chop) and "Com bo luc lac" (Filet mignon with a variation of garlic butter rice - SO GOOD!). The drinks are also pretty amazing here. Make sure to try out the smoothies. If you're adventurous enough, try either "The Black Sea" or avocado smoothie. You won't regret it!
After wards, I always have to make my boyfriend drive due to having food coma whenever I come. It also helps that the food bill is incredibly reasonable!
I got a regular pho with brisket. There's nothing fantastic or mind blowing about their food but it's pretty good. The only reason I'm giving this place a 3 instead of a 4 is because when they brought out the plate of bean sprouts and basil and cilantro, the basil and cilantro was covered in mud. I could have asked for cleaner vegetables and I'm sure they would have changed it but I just cleaned it myself. Although I give them 3 stars, I'm going back because they have this regular beef pho deal. $3.99 Monday through Friday from 3-9 and weekends from 11 to something. I forget. $3.99! Great deal.
They gave us a little dessert at the end of our meal. I don't know what it was but it was sweet and green with tapioca. It was yummy. It was room temperature and probably would have tasted better cold but whatever it was still good.
Ok...before you read any further, I just want to let you know that I'm not a pho expert. Never had pho in Vietnam. My only pho experience is in Orange County...oh and at Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.
I had the chicken pho and my wife had the ever popular rare steak pho. The 1st thing I notice is there isn't any cilantro in the soup. Isn't that kinda like a red velvet cake without the cream cheese frosting? Or Bert without Ernie? Or McDonalds without a KFC across the street? I can go on for days... Anyways, it wasn't a big deal...just something I noticed. Everything tasted good. Nothing spectacular. I would have given it 3 stars but they deserve 4. Here's why:
1. You get free refills. I don't believe this is very common in Asian restaurants.
2. The lime they gave us was full of juice.
3. The broth isn't oily at all.
4. Very friendly staff for an Asian restaurant.
5. Diverse customers
6. 10% discount if you're a student
7. They play Kost 103.5 music
Before coming to this place a few years ago, I could never find a pho place that equalled my mother's pho...and then I came to pho bac ky! I mean, of course, I would never tell my mom that their pho is just as good as hers, but when I want some good pho, I go here instead of making her cook for me hehe.
I always get the pho bo vien, but I will occassionally get the pho seafood too. For some reason, the broth at this pho place tastes really natural...as if it came from the beef bones itself.
In addition to great food, their service is excellent too. I don't think you ever have to wait more than around 5 minutes for your pho. The people are really friendly too but a little awkward...haha. When I was younger, I'd always come here and once, my friends and I were counting money and one of the older Vietnamese men thought we didn't have money, so he let us have our meal for free...so nice! haha
But yeah, I would definitely recommend this place...and their Black Sea boba drink! haha
This is my favorite place to go to for pho. Surprisingly, I hardly ever get pho when I go there now after discovering the #42. *drool* Chicken with lemongrass and green chile.
But the pho is still fabulous!
The food prices are very reasonable. The drink prices are little more than I'd expect to pay at a hole-in-the-wall place but maybe they need to make payments on their drink machine.
The people are friendly. My husband goes here a lot at lunch so they know him. I like that they have a punch card for repeat visitors. They have a student discount and a dine-in $3.99 pho lunch special.
It is located in the strip with the Stater Brothers so it isn't fine dining. But the food comes out fast and fresh and the service is friendly.
No fuss. No muss.
[ATMOSPHERE] Hole-In-The-Wall Gem.
[FOOD] I've tried a few dishes and they've all been great. The broth sells me every time.
[BEVERAGE] My roomates and I JUST DISCOVERED 'The Black Sea' which has this really unique flavor. Perfect as a dessert drink.
[SERVICE] The staff is always friendly and helpful.
[PRICE] Our meal for 3 is usually around $25-- a steal.
One of the best hole in the walls I have ever been too!!
the service is great. I have never had a bad day there.
I love the food here so very much.
I always get the same thing though when I am in a hurry the "rare steak" But I come here alone a lot and just sit down bring a book and try somthing new.
The avacodo smoothie is amazing! But I would stay away from the boba thats the only down fall from this place.
It's a little hard to find but, when you're on Red Hill, look for the plaza with Stater Bros. in it. It's also by the 5 freeway.
I ordered #20, I believe it was the Pho Tai Nam Gan Sach (large bowl) and my girlfriend ordered I THINK the Pho Tai Nam (small bowl). The menus have pictures of a few of their dishes if you don't know what their portions look like or if you've never had pho before.
The food came out pretty quick (we were the only ones there at the time). The meat is thin, but they gave me a lot of tripe! The soup was good, definitely had flavor :9 They didn't give me that much for a large. It just looked like a lot because their large bowls are pretty big. They seemed to be more generous with the meat for a small bowl.
As for drinks, they have boba, juice, and sodas. Oh yeah, what REALLY surprised me was their FREE REFILLS! :D I was like, "WHAT!? Free refills!? DAMN!" Because Asian restaurants almost always never have free refills, so this was a plus... but I didn't get a soda though, lol.
Scott M's review seems pretty far fetched and exaggerated. :p Anyways, from what I saw it was clean, I don't know about the restroom though. It's probably like all the other asian places if you know what I mean :/
It was a litttttle pricey, but remember to show them your student I.D. and you'll get a 10% discount. Not much, but it's something! I would give them a 3.5 stars. Maybe a 4 because of their free refills, yay :D
Pho Bac Ky is a really AWESOME pho place! They have a lot more than just pho there and I personally love the egg rolls they serve. Yes, there have been occasions when they have forgotten part of my order, but they are always prompt in bringing it out so it can be forgiven.
I know Asian places are not always known for their great customer service, but I thought the staff here was rather amicable.
Also, the drinks they have there are amazing. Avocado shake is delish and the Black Sea drink is even better. I have no idea what it is, but I loveeee the jelly.
AND they give a 10% student discount which is great for me because I'm broke and love Vietnamese food.
Okay, this is my first yelp review and I thought I would start here since I just finished lunch at Po Bac Ky. I know that everyone boasts the pho they serve here. They're right; it's full of flavor and comes with fresh veggies and herbs.
However, the real star of the show is the Combination Claypot Soup! Oh man, I had this once and now I get it every time I come here! This is the most satisfying dish on so many levels. The taste is dynamic and, like pho, you decide how you want it to season your dish. The portion is massive and it's completely loaded with fresh veggies and lean protein. Just when I think I'm almost done with the dish I run into a bed of rice noodles at the bottom. I appreciate that something so healthy can taste this good!
Also if you have room, try the chilled shrimp spring rolls. So good and the peanut sauce is incredible!!!
Ok.. so this is one of my favorite random- hole-in-the-wall-vietnamese joints of all time!! And I'm vietnamese/french.. so that says a lot. I work in the area so I come here sometimes at least twice a week. And it never gets old.
Here's the thing.. I don't come here really for the pho. Never been a big fan of pho. Just not in general. The broth is too fatty that's why. Anyways.. I come here mostly for the Chicken Fried Rice! It's absolutely amazing and delicious!! Topped with a good amount of the chilli paste they have there on the table.. makes it one of my favorite asian dishes. If you happen to like steak more the Bo Luc Lac Friend Rice is just as tasty too. I have tried other rice and noodle dishes as well and everything I have ordered has never been a disappointment.
Service is good and the food comes out fairly quickly. I can't really think of one complaint about this place.
Enjoy and bon appetit!
What a perfect day for Pho! The only trouble is...everyone had the same thought so there was quite a bit of waiting on my part but I didn't mind because this is one of my favorite Pho places.
What I really like about this Pho place over many others like it is the quick turnaround time from ordering to eating. It's a popular place & they know it too so they get the food out pretty quickly so you don't sit there watching others eat while listening to your stomach grumbling. I usually order a small #10 (rare steak) with egg noodles for $5.75. Yes, yes...I know but I like it better with egg noodles. I saw some guy order it like that there so I tried it & I liked it better that way. I appreciate the fact that none of the servers give me grief for ordering it with egg noodles or telling me to go try the ramen place up the street. They just nod & bring it out to me sans the chef's spit or other 'special' ingredients.
There's a $3.99 dinner special during certain hours for the rare steak or rare steak/brisket Pho. They also offer a 10% discount for students so make sure you dust off those old college IDs that you normally use for the movies & take it with you when you come here. If you're hooked like I am, make sure you ask for a frequent buyer's card so you can rack up stamps to get a free meal or drink.
A very friendly and user-friendly pho restaurant. Nice decor (for a strip mall pho place!), very clean and staffed with super-nice staff. The pho is pretty good- better than average tasting broth, with average meats and veggies (overall= good!) and the prices are hard to argue with. The spring rolls (menu item #1) are larger than most and are very tasty.
Service is quick. Would I come back? Pho yeah!
Attention residents of Tustin...do you like Pho?? Are you on a budget?? If you answered YES to those two questions, Pho Bac Ky is your place to go!! This restaurant is probably a secret to all those outside the area of Tustin, but this is a definite steal to the people who are fans of pho.
The restaurant's special is the $3.99 for rare strip steak pho. With the restaurant's expansion into the next suite, the service level may have diminished since my last visit. They still have the same amount of servers for there expanded restaurant. If they were not busy I would think they would serve you just fine.
I wish I could say that I have tried their other dishes, but what keeps me coming back is the $3.99 pho. Although I would like to note that after looking at the prices of the other dishes...I'll stick to the $3.99 special pho.
There are better places around... there pho itself might be "eh, ok"... but
definately pass on the vermicelli (Bun). The vermicelli noodles were thicker then I prefer, which is one thing, but even those were ill-prepared, too soft and all stuck together. Sure the sauce loosens it up, but I should need to rely on that. It just mean the noodles are over cooked and/or has been sitting there too long, and they didn't take the time to try and fix it. Grilled meat was only so-so. The veggies (only shredded lettus and sprouts) looked old :(.
I'd say go to the one near Barranca and Culver in Irvine if you have to go to some Pho Bac chain, or go to Pho Hung Vuong down the street, esp. if you're with others who don't plan to eat Pho.
Others noted their bo luc lac... so if I happen to come back for some reason, I'll try that.
Great Pho at an affordable price. The staff is very friendly and the restaurant is kept clean. As a Caucasian I don't always feel comfortable in some of the more "authentic" Pho restaurants. I have no problem going to Pho Bac Ky by myself or with friends!
Okay, I love vietnamese food. Okay, I love their soup called PHO (Pronounced F-U-H). I wanted to find another great place to get my favorite soup not to mention the egrolls! This place was really tasty. I haven't had a Pho meal like that in a while.
However, the service was not good. Very rude, not very attentive, but I've come to expect that until you become a regular at these types of places.
Good thing their food was great!
SO SO HOLE-IN-A-TUSTIN-WALL VIETNAMESE PHO PLACE
OK pho with regular broken rice dishes. Drinks are kinda pricey $3 and up. Nothing spectacular with any wow factor. Incidentally with a bowl of regular pho and tip, you can walk away with like $8-$9 bucks. Not a good value with larger bowl with bunch of soups and some raw mint leave stack.
Try to go back but couldn't think of good reason why, nothing outstanding, cuz all my memory is now tainted about the price increase.......:(
Yeah....I'm gonna have to go ahead and umm... disagree with you there Casey C...
I know you are all up to speed with the Vietnamese eateries but let me say this about Pho Bac Ky; try the #14 (flank and tendon pho) and if you don't like that, then move on... That's the best and only thing I get there. Nothing else is standout really. The tendon melts in your mouth (I know, that sounds gross) and the flank is (almost) always tender.
I must also say... that the noodles are chewier than any other pho noodles that i've had at least around Irvine, store bought or Westminster. Even that super popular pho restaurant (Tang Long?) on Bolsa with the big orange wall-of-water doesn't have noodles as good.
Nothing beats a large bowl of steaming hot pho on a cold winter night. I love Pho Bac Ky! And their bo luc lac is super tender, juicy and full of flavor.
I'm so happy I live only 5 minutes away. =)
Who ever thought you could find such a good pho place in Tustin? After moving to the area my roommate and I were craving some pho. I had driven past this place once before, and since it was right down the street and around the corner from where we live we figured we might as well give it a try.
Let me tell you, we were not disappointed! The pho broth was tasty and not too greasy, and the meat was good too! Their drink menu was awesome, and so was the rest of the menu. All at affordable prices (they even have this special meal which consists of soup, salad, an imperial roll, a spring roll, rice, and an entree all for $8 - it's enough to feed at least 2 people!) Their $4 pho special is amazing, and to me this is what a pho restaurant should be like!
Now we have our regular pho spot close to home, and I couldn't be happier!
First stop on my Labor Day trip to San Diego. After sitting through hours of LA traffic on the 5, MS and I finally made it to Irvine to have lunch with DY. MS has been craving pho for a while now... so pho it was.
Pho Bac Ky was a nice little neighborhood joint. The pho was decently priced and decently portioned and I liked my flank/brisket/tendon combo, especially after prodigious amounts of bean sprouts, basil and hot sauce. The Taiwanese red bean drink was a little weird and rather difficult to drink with a straw, as the red beans were whole and didn't quite fit in the boba-sized straws. Oh well.
All in all, a solid meal that really hit the spot, though I'll be honest and say that I prefer Taiwanese beef noodle soup over pho. Interestingly enough, the background music started off as Mandarin pop, then segued into FM radio.
Tustin, CA
Category: Vietnamese
Orange, CA
Category: Vietnamese
Tustin, CA
Category: Chinese
Irvine, CA
Category: Vietnamese
Irvine, CA
Category: Vietnamese
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