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Category: Vietnamese [Edit]
Neighborhood: International DistrictMon-Sun. 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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Get down with the Banh Xeo. It's a messy thing to eat (break off a piece of stuffed crepe, wrap it in greens, and dip it in sauce), but its golden goodness. Get in early at lunch time - it can get pretty crowded some days after 12 noon.
Good broth for pho - I usually get the Tofu with beef broth when I'm looking for comfort, and the all veggie affair when I'm not in need of extra comfort.
CASH ONLY
This place use to be my go-to pho shop whenever I was in the ID. However, after a several month hiatus I came back here with high hopes and found them to be crushed.
Service here has been TERRIBLE, I first thought it was an off-day and a one time thing because I have fond memories of prompt service, but I have returned here several times in the past few weeks and still find it hard to believe how bad it is.
Their pho broth has also seemed to gone downhill, it doesn't feel as flavorful as it once was. And now that I have tasted the pho at Pho Bac further down Jackson (the one next to Viet Wah) I simply can no longer bring myself back here for pho alone.
The one thing that has held true about this Pho Bac is that they still make the best Banh Xiao's hands down.
This is by far one of my favorite pho restaurants (and trust me I've been to a lot). The servers are… Read more »
I love me some brisket in my pho with a mountain of bean sprouts in it. And Pho Bac does it right without putting too much noodles in my bowl. There is a balance that has to be followed.
Consistently good broth no msg, and praying I don't ever find a hair in my soup although that wouldn't be a deal breaker. It's a good thing they keep it dim inside.
It's cash only, and the scaffolding outside has been there at least two years. Yes, it's ghetto but he'llooo it's 7th n Jackson *snap. It ain't a pop quiz, I'm sayin.
Underwhelming....the portions were ok, service was not to be expected, and prices were fair for downtown Seattle.
it's located next to a Greyhound station....the interior is very drab but not biohazard bad....wasn't sure if we needed to order and sit or sit or wait for a host....
I wasn't impressed with the broth, there was no depth. Spice combination of the broth was decent but the beef flavor was not very potent (MSG was the prominent flavor component). I think it's the best option for the immediate area, but that's not saying much....next time its either capital hill or Chinatown for pho during lunch hour.....
I'm downgrading this place because the inside is really getting grimey. There are holes in the walls and the floors and tables are sticky. Not a good sign.
Oh, and cash only! I always forget that!
Another hole in the wall place. It looks eww from the outside. Actually, a little ewww on the… Read more »
4Star Food
5Star Ghetto
Im standin outside and all i see are metal support beams all long the face of this ancient building. We hear a commotion, so we look across the street and its "Jade Garden", it looks clean and packed with hungry ppl waitin for seats. We look back inside of "Pho Bac", its dark, empty, and grimy looking... My friends and i look at each other, shrugged our shoulders, said fuck it, n walked in.
The first thing i noticed was half the celing was missing - revealing hundreds of sharp nails pointing at u while u eat. Luckily, there are huge holes in the wall, that u can seek refuge in just incase the "ceiling of death" rains on u.
Now the FOOD. I got pho tai bo vien (rare beef n beef ball in noodle soup). The broth was hot and tasty (gotta love that msg baby). The meal was surprisingly good, probably the best out of all the Vietnamese resturants ive tried thus far in seattle.
I certify this place to be Ghetto-Fabolous =)
This is THE pho place in Seattle.
We've try our fair share of pho in the International District area, Downtown, Ballard, University District... and also couple places here and there but this is by far the tastiest one in town!
Try the pho with everything or any meat combination, good broth is not all they offer. My favorite item is the beef meatball, it's delicious! Spring roll, egg roll, and the vermicelli noodle (salad) are also great to try. Price for pho used to be 4.50 for the small bowl and 5.00 for the large but since then price has increased but still afforable.
This is not a pretty or professionally decorated place but they try to keep it clean and you can tell they recently updated the wall, paint, and some of the flooring (and looks like an on-going night project). The first timer will probably be shock by this hole in the wall but their pho is really great and the ladies there are nice - so don't let your first impression scare you off.
Tips about this place - go during the week and preferably during lunch time because 1) weekend crew sometimes are different, so broth is a little different (don't ask me why they do that... I don't get it either) 2) During lunch time, this place can get crowded sometimes with all the Amazon people but the wait is not bad. At night, this place is so quiet that it's a little creepy... haha... so get there before 12:00 or after 1:00. Oh and they only accept cash!
Love the spring rolls.
Love the egg rolls (one of the best I've ever had). Be sure to ask for lettuce on the side.
Love the noodles.
Love the broth.
Hate the rare steak in Pho Tai. I think they use a fattier cut of meat because it was overly chewy and had a tough time firming up in the hot broth.
Portion is small. Expensive.
Food is decent, nothing special.
Loved it! Loved the Pho! Loved the egg rolls!
Didn't like the hair in the steamed rice.
This is my new Favorite place for Pho !!!
this place has the best broth in town !!! and I eat a lot of Pho so I would know, if you have not tried the Pho at Pho Bac then don't walk but run your ass off and get some yummy goodness
I had the rare beef Pho # 8 on the menu and it came out super fast, and hot the Pho was just right the meat was a little red still and cooking to perfection in the broth
they give you lots of Jalapeno, Bean sprouts and Basil to in your Pho
the Broth was so yummy I was tipping up the bowl to get every last drop out of the bottom.
Just wish they were open later at night
This place brings back so many wonderful memories.
I haven't been back in a while, but it was my favorite place for pho as a kid. My grandparents and I would eat here every Saturday when we would visit Chinatown to buy groceries.
Being married to an Amazonian means that someone knows all the eating places in the International District and is a great guide. Swearing that this would be the best Pho I had ever eaten he brought me here. I was not disappointed... I had the vegetable Pho which was very tasty. The place itself is kind of a hole.. but it is clean. The other thing to get is the coconut water which is sooo tasty.
This place gives you ton 'o' food & it's damn good at that. You may walk past this restaurant when wandering in the ID but I am glad my friends showed me this gem. It's affordable and did I mention how much food you get? I've had the vermicelli bowl and the plate of stir fry noodles with meat, both of which were bomb. I gorged myself on the noodles and didn't eat for like an entire day afterward.
Only thing I can mention that may be helpful is that it's cash only, I think.
I know you can hit a million dim sum places for lunch but this place gives you a whole lotta Vietnamese bang for yer buck.
pho was okay and bland...Not much green in it and the broth was not tasty at all. I saw a hair strand in my soup and heck didnt tell the owner...just paid and left. Wont be back again!
First, do not get this Pho Bac confused with the other Pho Bac on the other side of I-5. The other one is a small little hut situated between two roads-- I'll save it for another review.
I went with a group of 9 people around 8pm on a Sunday. We were their last customers of the day, and you can kind of tell they were getting ready to close shop until we arrived. We all ordered pho and a few orders of spring and summer rolls. It took a while for it to come out because they probably turned all the burners off.
Special requests are not easy to make here. Like many Vietnamese businesses in Seattle, English is limited. When a few in our party attempted to ask for no cilantro, the waiter merely looked confused. The menu is fairly simple: $6 for a small pho, $7 for a large. This may seem much for pho, especially in Chinatown, but the sales tax is included.
The best thing about Pho Bac is indeed its broth. For lots of people, pho tastes roughly the same wherever you go. Sure, some broths are saltier, others sweeter, some bland, some oily, etc., but for the most part, you know pho when you smell it. But at Pho Bac, you can taste a difference. With just the right amount of hoisin sauce, the soup was probably some of the best I've had. So good, that when you're really full, just sipping what's left in your bowl is appetizing. You can tell it is beef broth, not imitation or powder soup.
The really big downside was that there was a hair in one of the spring rolls. It happens and it's not all too common, but if it can be avoided, yeah. Other than that, it would have been 5/5.
The noodles are good enough, they could be chewier, but the broth is heavenlike. They don't take credit card, so don't expect to go without any cash.
Finally had a chance to check out the best hole in the wall for Pho! Found it! I have pho on average twice a week and have somewhat of an addiction to it, but I digress. After reading about how shady the interior was, I was relieved to find it wasn't actually too bad. Better than I had anticipated and more "Airy" than Than Bros. at Green Lake. Anywho, found a seat by the kitchen and we ordered the raw beef Pho,(#8?) one large, one small. 1 minute 38 seconds later, bam! Let the tasty-ness begin. We tried it without the srirachi sauce at first just to sample the broth. We don't need no stinkin Srirachi! But after quite a few slurps spice free, had to get in there and get sweaty. It was quite delicious and plentiful. In between our conversation, every minute or so was the satisfying sigh of, "mmmmm, this is so good" It was indeed. I kept eating although my stomach was questioning my boldness. I was full for like three hours after, which usually is not the case when having Pho. We didn't have any other sides or anything but am looking forward to trying some of their spring rolls. It was very inexpensive and delicious as advertised. As we got to the register to pay, the lady offered our change and said, "OK, see you tomorrow" LOL, that had us laughing.
Apparently there are a lot of Pho Bac restaurants in Chinatown but I think this is the better one even though it's slightly hidden...you can see the Yelp stickers outside their door if you're unsure. It was freezing cold when I walked in with my friends for a late lunch (heater broke?), but that didn't keep me from enjoying my pho.
The broth was surprisingly flavorful and slightly sweet which I enjoyed. I usually have to squeeze a lot of sauce into the broth to get more flavor at most pho places but I think you can still enjoy the pho here without the sauce! Now that's good pho...AND there's no lingering smell on my clothes! A small bowl is $6 and a large is $7, which isn't too bad. It's also cash only. The service was pretty good and they fulfill your requests without you having to wait forever for them to give you something. I finally found a new favorite place for pho!
Great pho. Hands down the best broth I have had in a long time. So saturated in flavors, it didn't need hot or hoisin sauce. They had really interesting fluffy snowflake upholstery as their table clothes though, which was a bit of a distraction. But if you only focus on the food, it's great! Their vermicelli bowl is also large enough to feed two.
Just don't forget cash! They don't take credit.
I can't say that I would necessarily know good pho from bad but I like the pho here better than pho I've had anywhere else.
After a friend introduced me to the wonderfully delightful healing powers of Pho, I decided that I wanted to try more! Much, much more! I couldn't stop raving to my boyfriend about how enticing and delectable the bowl of Pho was, so he wanted to try it out too. Being a Pho virgin, he also had his speculations that a bowl of soup was really THAT much to rave about. I brought him to Pho Bac because of yelp reviews, and they definitely didn't disappoint my little Pho virgin dinner buddy! Pho Bac was where he realized that he likes the broth part of the soup the best. It was thick and flavorful and hearty and he was hooked! We did have fun figuring out that the place is CASH ONLY and then there was the mad dash to the nearest ATM, so make sure you bring some cashola with you on your way to cure your hangover or flu ;)
Word.
I tried the Pho Tai Chin here to have a taste of what Seattle has to offer. I found the light Southern broth a bit too sweet for my liking, with not enough beefiness. We came right before closing though and they seemed to have run out of ingredients for Bun. I'm not sure if the soup stock was running low so maybe they just threw a shitload of MSG in our soups.
My SO's Pho Ga had a whole lot of sauteed onion flavor, which I typically like, but hardly a chicken flavor, and plenty of sweetness as well.
The beef and noodles were fine, and they gave us a whole bunch of fresh basil and bean sprouts.
Weird table cloth and seat covers! They had fluffy snowflake designs. I couldnt stop looking at them bc they were so weird.
The pho was average, nothing to rave about so I have nothing to write about.
The BEST PHO RESTAURANT in Seattle from a PHO expert! My two favorite items here are special Pho and Bun Bo Xao. The Bun Bo Xao (Beef Stir fry over vermicelli) comes with pickled vegetables and lettuce. Did I mention the servings are huge? Clean. The best broth of all the pho places in Seattle so far.
I've been to this place twice now. First time total solid hard core mama gonna knock you out 4 star! The broth was perfect I mean perfect! I didn't need to add pepper and could have left out the jalapenos and it would have still been the shit! But this time the broth was at best 2.5 star because it was a bit salty. I don't know maybe mama Ling Ling in the kitchen was having an off day? I know it can happen so I am going light and giving the place 3 solid stars. I will be back though once the weather cools down and give Pho Bac another whirl though because I have faith in Mama Ling Ling in the kitchen. Now with the food out of the way lets talk about the establishment. First: CASH ONLY! NO CHECK NO CREDIT! No cashie you no eat lound eye! You leave NOOOOW!!! Second: Decor. Well this ain't no fancy eatin place. The ceiling is exposed and you can see the sharp pointy parts of the nails. I pray that I am not in there during an earthquake LOL. Third: Don't expect the daughter Ming Ling to wait on you hand and foot. You want fancy service go to Morton's! OK? You sit where ever you want and she brings you the food and your beverage. Go for the food plain and simple. Because that is why you are there right?
If their broth didn't have a sweet tinge to it, they would've scored higher.....I like my pho spicy, not sweet, damnit!
Spring rolls were very tasty and very well put together (read not sloppy and falling apart at the seamless), although I like the touch green leaf puts on theirs with the crunchiness on the inside.
Next time I'll try the restaurant and something other than pho, since the bac has everybody coming bac (yeah, corny, I know)
Awesome. Pho is delicate yet flavorful and presentation exemplary. Fried roll is perfectly done and served with tasty fish sauce.
The one in the Greyhound station is also good but this one is better.
A classic hole in the wall joint in the ID. First learned of this from my good friend Travis. Their broth is PHO-nomenol! Makes all others seem like water! So bring some cash and try to imagine the "decor" adds "character" and isn't just dingy.
So this is more than just a review it's a little story on why I love living in Seattle.
I had the day off and was wondering around Belltown and when the #22 pulled up I decided to hop it downtown to Pioneer Square...I was aimlessly zigzagging through Occidental Square and popped out on 3rd Ave right into the wise Yelp Sage Ron M.
Weird, right? Sometimes a city is smaller than you think....Ron broke it down with some cool lunch spots in the Pioneer Square area, but I told him what I could really use was a bowl of pho....
As the wise one spoke, I listened. Pho Bac. In the ID. On 7th between Jackson and King....We broke huddle and I headed off with the thought of Vietnamese Noodles in my head...
I arrive at 7th Ave a little chill in my bones on this blustery December Afternoon...One neon sign of a bull's head...another that read "Vietnamese Noodle Soup"...and on the door 2 "People Loves us on Yelp" stickers....wow it couldn't be easier to find if someone threw me through the front window....
The nice lady inside gestures me to a near table....Menu under glass and plenty of sauces and utensils on the table....I look up and the scene puts me instantly at ease...I'm in for something special I can feel it all the way down to my pinkie toes...
The interior is homey, and a little exotic, with the perfect amount of far easterness....not garish or overdone in any fashion....
I get a hot pot of tea...and a small pho tai($6, $7 for a large)...The pho is on the table in less than 5 minutes. I sip the broth first to see how it tastes before I make it orange w/ the Sriracha....delicious...add Sriracha...even more delicious....I look up, the kind lady forgot my chiles and lime, I didn't even notice....A squeeze of lime, all the chiles in the bowl....ahhhh phoctasy.....
I left...A smile on my face...My nose running down 7th Ave...and thinking that I might write in Ron M for Mayor on the next election ballot.....
Yessss! I finally found my favorite pho spot. Move over Pho Cyco, there's something leaner. Or whatever. ;)
Perfectly seasoned broth (not too sweet), noodles al dente, NO WHITE ONION, and fresh, crisp sprouts and basil. Service is predictably no non-sense, but deal with it, people. It's worth it.
Bring cash. And don't go to the other Pho Bac on Jackson (that place is scary!).
Of all the pho places I have eaten at, Pho Bac has the best broth. There was a period of time that I went there every day for lunch for like three weeks. I couldn't get enough of that stuff!
I've found that ordering the small bowl there to be quite filling. I don't think you get much more in the way of noodles when you order a large bowl there. You just get more broth. I suppose that's a good thing! You should try their cha gio (egg roll) and banh xeo (Vietnamese crepe--more like an omelette with pork and shrimp) which are very good.
I've gravitated towards their bun ga xao (chicken) in recent years. It's really filling and I don't have to worry about splatter marks on my shirt due to broth.
They do get pretty busy at lunch rush, but they are open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. You can get your fix pretty much any time.
I went here today for lunch and loved the pho...but was not too stoked that I was eating hot soup in a really hot room. If only there had been a fan, or even better an AC, I would have been the happiest person eating pho in the world.
The soup is delicious, they can custom make the soup, mixing and matching meats and veggies, and the portions are HUGE. I'll just have to go try it again on a not so hot day.
Here in Seattle for 36 hours, as my taxi pulled up toward my hotel, and it being lunch time, I see the backlit blue and white sign announcing the presence of Pho Bac. Instinctively, I fire up the browser on my handheld, go to Yelp mobile (http://mobile.yelp.com) and see that at least 13 locals approve of this spot with a 4 star average. I'm sold.
After checking into my hotel, I grab a copy of The Stranger (yes, the one with the Yelp advertisement on page 14!) and go straight to the counter and order vermacelli noodles with imperial rolls. It was either that or the pho, and I was in a rush, so this time it was bun.
I ordered right at the counter, which I liked, and the food came out quickly. I was in and out of there in under 25 minutes, but no one else was in a hurry, and they seemed to linger and leisurely enjoy their lunches.
The food was tasty, generous, and fairly priced (7 bucks for a solid square meal). The people were super friendly, and they somehow knew where I was sitting, which sort of mystified me.
I liked it, and would confidently recommend other Vietnamese fans to check it out.
By the way, it's sorta weird, but it is connected directly to the Greyhound Bus depot. Not sure what that's all about, but if I'm coming to Seattle for the first time on the bus, what a treat to land inside a Vietnamese restaurant that averages 4 yelp stars!
The food is good, big, and cheap here. The service is great and it is packed at lunch time. The ambience is a bit dark but works ok. I really like the old ladies who are working in the kitchen. They always seem to be having fun.
The pho is huge and tasty. The food has a lot less MSG than Pho Cyclo. Originally I went to the Pho ac 12th and Jackson. They only have Pho there and it is nothing special. This place is much better and has more traditional food.
Tom Douglas comes here all the time for breakfast by the way.
I am going to have to agree with Melinda below. This Pho was pretty salty for my taste. I have a feeling it was the crunchy fried onion things on top. I had a had time finishing once my water ran out.
The service was slow and the prices are not as cheap as some of the other pho shops.
I love Pho Tai... The broth here is the best and the noodles aren't soggy, the lime is juicy and the basil isn't brown. I think the broth define Pho and this is the best I've found. I usually am there by myself at lunch and always get a seat!! After just 4 times they recognize me! I need to start trying the other stuff on the menu, the bun looks great too!!
The inside smelled like a mildewy basement and the sauces on the table were covered in grime and the tables were sticky. Not a good start, I was weary while ordering and I got my usual vegetarian pho my friends got chicken and veg and beef pho with spring rolls as appetizers. Surprisingly the food was awesome! the egg roll was a little white peppery for my liking but good. The broth was delicious and the tofu was super good. Once we started eating all the grossness of the place was easy overlooked. I will definitely go back.
PHO TO GO!
They get five stars just for that. Broth in your standard styrofoam container, beef and noodles in another, and the veggies (sprouts, mint, lime, etc.) in a small bag.
In this, the season that is bringing us many and varied ailments, I raise my glass to Pho Bac! (The good one, not the bad one.)
Nothing warms you up in the rainy Seattle winters like a good bowl of Pho. I've had pretty good ones and really bad ones but I think Pho Bac takes the cake for top Pho I've had in Seattle (so far).
This may sound obvious but the key to good Pho is the soup. From eating at a bunch of Pho places, it seems harder to get right than one would think. Some make them too bland and others make them a little too strong and pungent. Pho Bac offers a really tasty soup that's smooth and not over-flavored. Add in solid noodles and all the usual fixins and you have a wonderful bowl of noodle soup.
I'll have to try some of the other items on the menu but it seems like Pho is their specialty. Give it a try on those cold wet winter nights.
Since moving to the ID I've been a little dissapointed that this is the only Pho shop within walking distance. There are places along Raineer that I'm sure are better, but since i've become a city dweller, I've become loathe to hit my elevator and start up the old hoopty.
Anyhow, that said I suppose I can't really complain. The Pho is good. Although the place is a chain, I'm assuming that each one is owner operated and they all seem to taste different. No consistancy, but it is good. Here's my drawback, within a mile there are probably a hundred little Pho shops that are the dingy local only joints that probably kick the crap out of this place. If you can't spare the time or the trip down to get your hep. shots, you're probably going to be better off comming here if you're hankering for Pho and in the I.D.
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