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Mon-Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
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We stumbled upon this place and decided to give it a try since it was raining - perfect day for soup. Not bad for a pho place. Cleaner than the usual spots we see. Nice location - easy to get to and you can't miss the triangle shaped building.
Hubs had the number 1, large. He devoured it, said the broth was pretty tasty. I had a vermicelli bowl, pork with an egg roll. Not too bad, lots of meat. But the sauce they give for the noodles was watery, hardly had any taste to it. But I did like that the pork was not covered in fat and tendons. Egg rolls were just ok.
What cost a star for me - I love the lemonade from pho spots cause it's usually fresh squeezed lemon with sugar at the bottom. This one tasted like a powder mix - boo. At least try to fool me with lemon bits at the bottom.
Overall - ok. We have our usual spot that's closer to the house we'll just stick to. Can't say we didn't try.
3.5 stars.
People weren't kidding when they said that this place is FAST. I was already impressed by how quickly they brought out our water and French drip coffee, and seriously no more than two minutes later we had our pho magically appear in front of us, even though the rest of the restaurant was PACKED.
Not to mention how inexpensive this place is...$5.95 for a large bowl of pho? Sign me up! They also give you a decent amount of meat--probably the most that I've ever had in a bowl of pho before.
Quality wise, the pho is OK. Not bad, but not quite spectacular either. The meat was a bit overcooked and the broth was not as flavorful as it could have been, but for the price and the service, this restaurant is a pretty good deal. A good place to run in and out of if you have a craving for pho during your lunch break.
The french drip coffee, on the other hand, was really yummy! Strong, sweet, and creamy. Would totally come back here just for the coffee someday. And for a pho place, the restaurant itself is pretty clean and spacious.
Reasonably priced pho place that also serves a killer beef stew.
Service here is super-fast, especially if you order from the pho menu or ask for the beef stew. On our last visit, our food was at our table two minutes after the waitstaff left with our order. That's fast!
The pho here is reasonably consistent. Each bowl comes steaming hot with a medium-sized plate of fresh bean sprouts, basil and pepper rings.
The spring rolls, rice plates and other standard Vietnamese fare are all quite good as well. We especially like the grilled meats on the rice plates - yummy and cheap.
About the beef stew or "Bo Kho" - This angry-red stew of beef brisket can be ordered with rice, noodles or French bread. The sauce of the stew has hints of five spice powder, fish sauce, ginger, bay leaf and star anise. The red color is probably due to the tomatoes and carrots. Since the stew probably just continually cooks in the kitchen, it comes steaming hot and the meat just melts.
We have frequented other pho places in the Bay Area and as far as we remember, none of them serve this excellent dish. Too bad since a deconstruction of the stew shows that most of the ingredients there can be found elsewhere in the typical Vietnamese restaurant menu.
Parking is plentiful.
My only gripes are the hours suck (closed at 8pm? Seriously?) and the interior looks dated and out of place. Every time I go here I feel like I should order a stack of pancakes and a coffee, not a large No.1 with Thai iced tea.
I ordered the seafood pho this time and thought it was alright. The soup is pretty much standard. I've had better experience with their beef bowl than the seafood bowl. Thogh I was a little turned down because they don't serve egg noodle, which I like with seafood bowl (they only serve the typical rice noodle). Service was mixed (food came quickly but waiter wasn't too friendly) but price was great.
Went during the lunch rush hour; was impressed by the quick service! The soup was good, not as rich as I would have liked but quite good nevertheless. The egg rolls were very good, I would come back for that.
Good food at low cost.
Nope.
Service & prices are fine, but the pho broth was weak and the peanut sauce for the summer rolls was way too sweet. The basil, limes, & sprouts were a little old. Nothing actually tasted bad, but with tons of pho joints in the area, there's no reason to come here.
My husband and I eat here several times a month. We call it the fatty pho place. The portions are generous. The soup is very beefy and flavorful. Their pork chop sublime.
Stay away from the seafood pho and the kimchi sides tho. Those are nasty. Their special combination dessert drink is a little small and pricey but its too good to resist.
Got sick next day. But you know. Maybe just bad luck.
First, a qualifying disclaimer: I am not exactly the world's greatest Vietnamese noodle soup expert. Oh, sure, I'm not a TOTAL newbie at such things. I mean, it's not like I've never had pho before, or that I hold the spoon by the wrong end, or anything tragic on that sort of scale. That said, I am not a savvy veteran of the whole process, delving headfirst into the terrifying end of the menu where inexperienced white people such as myself dare not tread. Feel free to let this color your review accordingly.
The service at Pho Nam? Was DAMN FAST. Seriously, I'm pretty sure that my order got served more quickly here than at the last Baja Fresh I went to - no small feat for being an honest-to-gosh sit-down-style restaurant. Took me longer to eyeball my way through the "newbies should consider something from this portion of the menu!" offerings than it did for said selection to find its way to my table. Color me impressed. (Bonus points for the menu actually being sectioned by level of experience, too, keeping all of the esoteric offerings for crazy pho veteran palates segregated away from the please-treat-me-with-kid-gloves options I'd find in my wheelhouse.)
My pho was most tasty, arrived piping hot, and was of good portion size to boot. Doubly so considering how inexpensive it was - $6 for a large serving, as I recall. Me, I'm sold; if I ever feel any strange pho-related urges coming on, this place is totally on the short list of places worth visiting to sate those needs.
Packed during lunch
Had to take out
Ordered #50 ($6.45 + tax)
Needs more sauce/flavor
Ate only half
Many cheap items
It gets packed during lunch, but turn around time is quick! Probably you'd only have to wait a minute? If it's a larger group maybe 5 minutes? If I am here again I do want to try the other items (pho, smoothies, etc.) My order #50 was a lot. And all that vermicelli noodles filled me up quick! I wanted to keep eating, but I quickly ran out of space in my stomach. =\
Okay... my husband first introduced me to this place a few years ago and at the time I couldn't appreciate good pho. But ever since I was pregnant with my son, my body began telling me that pho was a necessity. So in order to fulfill my needs, we returned to Pho Nam. My husband told me this is the place to go since it is the cleanest pho place around and the noodles here aren't overcooked. He was right. The doneness of the meat was perfect and the amount of food was really fair for the price (5.95 for a large bowl of beef pho, only .50 more than it's regular sized counterpart.) The staff has a smile on their face and they quickly take your order without having to write anything down. We were able to bring our son with us, who is only 2 months old, and place his carseat on the booth seat. The setting was peaceful enough for him to sleep through our dinner. I would highly recommend this place for quality of food, cleanliness, service, and pricing.
Accompanied my brother on a drive down to Santa Clara and as we were headed back to the City he asked me if I wanted to grab some lunch. It was about 11:30AM, so we knew it would be good to eat NOW before the lunch rush.
I had been to Nam before with a friend and I remember it being a favorable experience. I really wanted the bun, b/c that's what I had the last time I had been there. Unfortunately my daughters didn't want that so we shared a rice plate. The grilled chicken with the fried spring roll. My brother ordered the beef stew with pho noodles.
They are DEFINITELY quick here! I swear we just ordered and sooner than we know it, EVERYTHING came right out! And everything was piping hot even. Do they anticipate the lunch rush? Maybe so b/c once our food came out, the place was packed. We were the first ones in our area.
My brother loved his stew, told me to try it but I just wasn't into it. The chicken was perfect. Moist and delicious and so was the spring roll. Oh yeah we shared an order of the fresh spring roll too and that was good as well. My dish came with a side of broth and normally I down the stuff. Something wasn't so good about this bowl of broth.
Huge parking lot shared with a Michael's and various other small restaurants. It's a strange shaped building, like something you'd find in Tahoe with the A frame roof. We're thinking it might have been a Hof Brau or something. And there's even a defunct fireplace in the joint.
Good, cheap, and fast.
My wife and I have eaten here roughly ten times. We realized after the seventh time or so that we kept getting seated in the room to the left. It appears that the room to the right is reserved for Vietnamese. It's something we laugh about each and every time. We keep telling ourselves that we'll make a break for that more exclusive room even if motioned to the left by the staff. I'll report back about all the magical treasures we encounter when we do. Stay tuned...
This place is wonderful. I like it so much that I decided to write about it on the yelp. It's hideously decorated, and looks like crap inside, but I like that about it. I like the back-lit strange photography on the walls of asian children having good times. Its something I wouldn't mind displaying in my '76 Winnebago someday.
The food is great, much more fresh than most of the pho that I have had. It is super cheap also. The service is quick, friendly, and the bathrooms are filthy. They remind me of a truck stop on 5 where I'd always have a nice relaxing bo-bo. I'd find myself face-to-face with a penis sticking through a hole in the stall wall. It's not my town, so I'm not one to judge or make waves. I just go with the flow and get back on the road. Anyway, the bathrooms at Pho Nam bring back good memories.
I have been going to this restaurant for two+ years. The reasoning behind my 5 stars is simple really. Although they don't have the best pho in this area, they make up for it with great service, prompt delivery, and a clean environment.
It usually goes like this; I order my pho as I walk in, sit down, water is brought to the table, and two minutes later the food arrives. It is really prompt service. The waiters/waitresses are pretty friendly too. Quite a hard characteristic to find at a Vietnamese restaurant. Hope this review helped!
Very yummy and has a good feel to it. The service could be better. Also if you don't finish you very generous portions you can get it "to-go" in a "Pho-Cup" (Say it out loud for a chuckle)
Good times and good eats here.
It's pho. Yum.
This is the best pho restaurant I've been to, but I haven't been to many. They'll give you the meat raw and on the side if you want to cook it in the pho yourself.
Funky building and decor, but they serve a mean pho.
My pho had a generous helping of meat and veggies. My tummy was very happy and satisfied when we left. Service as quick - especially good for those times when you're really hungry and you want food NOW!!
Just don't look around and concentrate on the food.
I love this place. They are fast, delicious, cheap, and willing to give me my meat on the side so it doesn't come out overcooked like it does at the Pho place on Castro.
I would give them 5 stars if they upped the decor a bit and were open later.
This is the twilight zone Pho restaurant. Seriously.
First off, the building is crazy. It's shaped kinda like an Alpine house with huge windows everywhere. Inside it looks like some 70's kickback, complete with neon striping down the walls. And it's clean... really clean.
That almost put me off completely but before I could change my mind, a server quickly and politely whisk us off to a table. Yes, I said politely. I'm getting more suspicious! This was followed by extremely polite ordering, from menus that were laid out easy enough for even a Pho-virgin consumer (and veterans like me). To test them, I even ordered extra cilantro, lemons for my water and a straw. All of them were delivered promptly, with a smile. Check this, they even handed me the straw with a napkin so they wouldn't touch it.... *faint* By this point, I was sure the food wouldn't be good. But it was.
My Pho Chin Nam came with TONS of cilantro and was good! It was a perfect soup for the rainy day... *sigh* It's not the best I've had but was definitely good... and in my neighborhood.
See ya there!
For Southern style Pho, this is my favorite place. Their broth is good. Service is excellent, more than I expect. And price is low. This is a great place for me to go lunching.
Complaint: Boozing and dancing, pulling an all nighter.
Assesment: Fatigue, dehydration, lethargy, body aches, just a tad bit of audio impairment.
Diagnosis: Ethyl-Danceitis
Treatment: Piping hot bowl of Pho, with thinly sliced steak for protein and delicious rich nourishing broth
Evaluation: Feels better already! and ready to go out again!
"Small #23, chicken broth, with extra carrots."
Somehow, I've become a regular here and the very friendly waiters always recite my usual order to me before I can even open the menu.
I always get the vegetable pho, since it is the only meatless item on the menu. It is super cheap, around $5, warm, filling, and delicious, especially with the extra carrots. The service is almost always super fast and very friendly too.
There is nothing special about the pho here, but it is good and cheap. My coworkers and I love coming here, so I will probably be a regular for a long time.
I'm not the biggest Pho fan to begin with, which is why I gave this place 3 stars...but it's not a knock on this establishment..I simply won't ever get too excited about Pho ever
--the service is very fast, like most Pho places...I went with the #21 Chicken Pho small bowl...they give you the option of putting in jalapenos and bean sprouts..we also ordered an egg roll appetizer, which was equally tasty
--decor is blah but I'm not expecting anything epic you know..prices are cheap, service quick..so if you want a cheap quick decent tasting place to eat, try it
full of goodness. they put a lot of the fixings. it's cleaner than other pho joints. I spent $7 (including tip) for a small bowl. i would go back to try their rice plates.
These guys rock. Good pho with tasty soup (this is key), service above and beyond what you would expect and really tasty beef rolls.
Solid value in Pho, one of the best Pho places close to Mountain View/Sunnyvale.
Situated roughly…
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Mmm, Pho. It's fast, fresh, piping hot, and cheap. What more need I say?
The place gets pretty busy around lunch time, so come early or take it to go, or be prepared to wait for a table.
Their setup for to-go Pho is not very convenient. The container for the soup doesn't have enough room to put in all the noodles, bean sprouts, and beef. So you pretty much have to put in a little, eat some, then put in more. Just make sure you put in the bean sprouts and the raw meat first, so they will cook in the steamy hot broth before it cools down.
I've never tried their other dishes, since I only come here when I have Pho craving. But I've seen other people eat the rice plates and they look pretty tasty too. Me, I stay with the Pho.
Compared to the pho places around the south bay, and more specifically with a short driving distance from Cupertino and Mt. View, this is the place to eat.
It's cheap and even cheaper than most pho restaurants with prices in the $5 range. The quality of their broth is very flavorful, and portions are generous.
I got the #1 and also egg rolls, and came out extremely satisfied. Definitely my pho place when in this area.
-1 star for service. They didn't give us the plate of bean sprouts/lime/peppers/basil and I had to ask the server 2x before I got it... My noodles were actually relatively cool by the time we got them.
This is my FAVORITE pho restaurant. I've been coming here for over 10 yrs and yes, the décor is exactly the same as it was 10 years ago.
The pho usually comes out piping hot and the broth is clear (a very good sign). The vegetables are always fresh and plentiful (even during winter). The chopsticks can be a little questionable; if you don't already, always remember to wipe down your utensils prior to use.
The service here is typical of a pho/Vietnamese restaurant. The employees are all very nice people and remember regulars which is nice.
An honorable thing about Pho Nam is that even thru the gas price hike of last summer and the current economic situation, they haven't passed the costs onto consumers. Their prices are still the same as are the portions and quality of the food.
If you want vermicelli noodles (w/ grilled meat) or rice plates, I'd recommend going to the other Pho Nam (off 101 and Lawrence); those items taste better over there but the pho is best here.
Not a 5 star restaurant for me tho because I never see Vietnamese people eating here...
Fast service, standard pho shop in one weird building. Came here on a friend's recommendation since I wasn't looking to travel to the other side of SJ just for pho and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
Portions are decent and relatively cheap, large is 5.95. Good amount of options to choose from and it's accompanied with pictures for newcomers to pho but that's rare these days, especially in the South bay.
Best part of this place is definitely the meat. I ordered a number 9 with just steak and flank, nothing too adventurous but the flank was really good, soft and tasty. Satisfied my pho craving but I don't think I'd drive down De Anza just to eat here, only if I'm in the area.
I used to live a few blocks away from this place. Today I came here for lunch realizing how much I miss this place. In my opinion this isn't the best PHO in the world, but it is cheap and pretty good for what you pay for it. I also like that you can pay them per person as opposed to having one bill for a whole table. They also don't expect much tip. I still give them a tip anyway in their Cup in the front and they give me a smiley face.
The Rice dishes and Vermicelli's are great too along with the drinks.
The pho here is good, but the dry vermicelli noodles are BETTER.
They have the dry noodles that come with the bbq pork wrapped green onion...a deadly combination of good food.
Service is fast, parking is easy...this is the place to go for a nice lunch with the co-workers on your average weekday. They have something for everyone and the place just feels like a pho place.
Nothing like a nice bowl of pho after a heavy night of drinking.
Their thai ice tea tasted alright, although something about thai iced tea i enjoy is the part where you swirl in the cream for it. This one came already mixed.
Other than that, the portions are decent and well deserving of the price. A large for about $6. Also, they give tonsss of meat so gotta love that. And most importantly, the broth is good too.
I thought the broth here was very fresh and tasty. Not as much noodles as there could have been. A small bowl here is a little bit smaller then what I get at other pho restaurants. Our total for two small bowls of pho were $11.80 and we left a $2 tip.
Service was typical for a pho joint. Sit down, and within 2 minutes the guy's at your table asking if you're ready to order. We ordered, and about 3 minutes later, really really hot, steaming bowls of Pho Tai came out.
Super fast. After that, he disappeared and we never saw him again, but you don't need much if you're just eating pho.
It was a clean restaurant, with mismatched soup spoons. Most of the tables here are booths, which is nice. It's quiet too.
Parking is ample, as it doesn't look like the other stores within the plaza attract much business.
It's kind if far from where I live, but I go to Cupertino somewhat often, as one of my best friends work there, so I may revisit ocassionally.
This review is for the beef stew I tried there last night. An ode to the beef stew if I have to name this. This stew is the God of all beef stews and the best I've tasted in a year. Tender, juicy, big chunk of olfactory pleasure complete with tasty rice. It nearly derailed my quest to vegetarianism.
The place has a no-frill look to it. You go in and pretty much seat yourself. Nothing to comment on in terms of service - you order, you eat, you pay, you get out. The seats are not condusive to post-dinner conversation. Aside from the godly stew, the only remarkable thing about this place is that there's nothing remarkable.
Four big bright supernovae for the 'stew!
Another hot day, another bowl of hot pho for lunch. Sweat is good for your skin though, trust me. This place has a good amount of seats inside, but it was packed today, like most places are in the South Bay. I guess I have to get used to that. Anyway, on to the pho:
Broth: Good mouthfeel, obviously simmered for a long time, but cinnamon outweighed the anise and clove. The broth also had some impurities from the beef floating in it, as if it wasn't strained properly. Good beefiness though, not watered down. Broth also had plenty of cilantro foating on top.
Noodles: Not many in the small bowl, soft texture.
Beef: Beef balls were my favorite, nice and peppery. Tai was ok. Gau was horrendous. The brisket slices had about 1 inch of fat on both sides, it was a dried out fat though, not gelatinous. I took off as much as I could, but had to submit to eating some of it.
Garnishes: Fresh basil, raw sprouts, a ton of jalapeno slices and lime.
Skip the cha gio (imperial rolls), as they are wrapped with a generic eggroll wrapper, and the filling isn't that tasty. Nuoc cham had a nice balance though.
I'll give it a 3 since the broth was tasty and I'd give some of the other beef cuts a shot.
UPDATE 9/08: Revisited the pho here and tried Pho Tai (steak) Chin (well done brisket) Nam (flank).
This was much better than my first bowl and I also ordered the "Onions in Hot Oil" on the side. This turned out to be long pieces of scallions in a bowl of fattier broth. This went excellent on the side as I was able to adjust the richness of my broth on command. The long pieces of scallion were tasty as well.
This is one of the few places that has these types of condiments on the side, so it gets an extra star for that. They also have onions in vinegar which I might try next time.
UPDATE: Skip the Pho Ga, it comes in beef broth and the chicken pieces are pretty tough.
Had the onions in hot oil again and this time it was straight beef fat, kinda scary really. The beef broth isn't my favorite and they always seem to skimp on noodles so back down to 3 stars.
I always end up kicking myself when I go for pho - not because I don't love the slowly, simmered broth - but rather because the broth ends up all over me rather than sitting warmly in my tummy.
That's not really a complaint about Pho Nam, though - really rather an observation about my inability to neatly eat vermicelli that has been sitting in soup. That aside, this place is solid. The parking and service are a snap. They offer lots of menu combination options, very fresh basil-sprouts-chili-lime fixins on the side, and have good, classic French drip coffee (the spring rolls, however are just ok).
Next time I'm here, and there will be a 'next time' soon, I will order bun, a dry vermicelli bowl (they looked really good!) rather than pho so I will get to eat my food rather than dress myself with it.
FUN FACT: this location is Pho Nam #1. Do you know where Pho Nam #2 is located? In good ole' Fortworth, Texas!
Yay! I'm a fan.
This is indeed one of my favorite pho places to go. (The other is Pho Y on Capitol Expressway in San Jose). I really like going here because...
1) when I'm really hungry and I want food NOW, it really does come out ASAP.
2) it's good. What else can I say?
Oh!
3) and because it's cheap! They don't charge you an arm and a leg for their tasty bowl of delish!
One negative thing I'm going to add about this place is the fact that they don't open late. I think they close around 9pm.
Distinctive looking triangle shaped building on El Camino Real. The prices are great, the large is only $0.50 more than the regular $5.49 pho. Service is very fast and the portions are extremely generous. There was lots of flank, tendon, and brisket in my large #7 Pho.
No bill is brought to the table, so when you're ready to leave, just go up to the front counter and tell them what number table you sat at. If you're planning on using a credit card, make sure you've charged at least $10 otherwise you'll have to pay a $0.50 surcharge.
Wait... was it an IHOP? was it a Weinerschnitzel?... it's a Pho place now? sorta with the construction?
We went here for lunch yesterday.... not bad... not great... Pho.
Pretty average place aside from the decor, but good to know as another alternative for pretty good/fast/not terribly unhealthy food.
Sunnyvale, CA
Category: Vietnamese
Sunnyvale, CA
Category: Vietnamese
Sunnyvale, CA
Category: Vietnamese
Sunnyvale, CA
Category: Vietnamese
Los Altos, CA
Category: Vietnamese
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