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Since moving to the North Seattle area, I haven't been able to find good pho. The places on Aurora seem a little sketchy and I'm hesitant to try any of those just yet.
My friend took me to Pho Vietnam after a night of drinking. And you know what they say about pho. It IS the best hangover cure, no joke! But seriously, sometimes I can't quite taste the difference between pho broths, but I can usually determine whether or not it's good if I finish the broth.
Today I definitely finished most of the broth of my #2 with extra meatballs. I always add a bunch of bean sprouts and I dab my meat in the oyster sauce instead of pouring the sauce directly into the bowl. But anyway, the broth was sooo tasty, I don't know, maybe I was thirsty but it was some darn good pho.
I can't forget to mention the creampuffs too, they were very soft and the cream inside was quite tasty! I liked this place a lot!
Reminds me of pho at Than Brothers and all the other pho places on the Ave (U-District)...which means it could be a lot better.
Since it's the closest Vietnamese or pho restaurant near our place, we'd go there if we're REALLY desperate and craving for pho right away that we don't care about the quality.
To sum it up, this place is bleh.
Pretty decent pho. Cash only and their parking lot is up high on the curb so you bottom out unless you're driving a monster truck. It does not matter how slow you go, just park on the street.
My sister likes their veggie pho the best and it's filled with...duh, lots of veggies/tofu, and a broth that is lighter than its meat counterpart, which is a good indicator that it's truly veggie. Sometimes you just have to suspect that they use the same meat-based broth but throw in veg to call it veggie, not here though.
I ordered a small (medium is a size skipped on the menu, goes to large and extra large) #15, which I didn't read carefully..and is a more customized order. I really wanted a #14, which I believe I received. It was good, lots of variety, but I could have done for more marbled meat. Yum.
It did take some time to get the order packages up to go (at extra 50c per to-go order), which was kind of annoying. But everyone was nice enough. They've been in business at least 10yrs (from the review posted under each table), so congrats to them and the proprietor reminds me of my grandfather. heh.
The broth had cooled a bit from the less than 10mins drive home, but that made it easier to slurp after I added all the accompanying herbs, sprouts, and sauces (plus lots extra from my personal stash). The complimentary cream puff was meh so I didn't bother finishing it later at home. That's saying a lot because I love those things.
In sum, would go again but only as a call-in pick-up order, have cash ready, and park on the street! They are open late'ish, until 9p which is pretty cool. :)
I completely agree with brad
The bad:
1 star gone: The parking lot can take your bumper be warned!
1 star gone: The chicken is not well cooked, and probably not the freshest either.
1 star gone: Does not take a credit card, serious 2009! its the future now.
The good:
I really enjoy their beef Pho, get the thai iced tea.
The cream puffs are uninspired but tasty.
Doesn't take credit cards, ambiance is reminiscent of a high school cafeteria, only one or two of the staff speak English...hope you don't have to give them any special instructions. Beef pho is good, chicken is tough and strongly flavored. Thai iced tea and cream puffs are great.
Giving it two stars primarily because they don't take credit cards (automatic star off). Word of warning - their driveway is hazardously steep, and will tear the bottom of your car off unless you come at it from an angle.
Update: Rumor has it that the owner will have your car towed from the lot if he suspects you're not a customer. Comments about the surliness of the owners and staff are also correct. Bad attitude = no tip and a bad rating on Yelp.
I almost had my Pho attack today, luckily there is a wonderful Pho place near by, this pho joint don't mess around, they are definitely know what they are doing, the chicken Pho is always fantastic and the beef combo # 14 is amazing! The restaurant itself is kinda old and need some serious update, and the service can be slow. They only accept cash only, but understandable.
This is the best Pho i have ever had. It's cheap, great, they have Young Coconut Drink (coconut water... the FRESH kind!!!). The service is up and down, but it's always worth it. I have tried Pho downtown, lower queen Anne, Capitol Hill, the U District and all the way down to Tacoma.... This is AMAZING!!!!
P.S. Ask for extra cilantro
P.S.S. The cream puffs are so good that you should really eat it before you finish your Pho and realize that you can't put anything else in your mouth!
This was some of the worst pho I've had in Seattle. I ordered brisket/flank and was served one type of meat, thinly sliced, gray and tough. Tried the broth before adding any chili, basil and lime and it tasted like nothing. They helped a little bit once I did add them, but not much. The underbaked complimentary cream puff was disgusting.
The food ruined my experience on it's own, but they also don't mention that they only take cash, so I had to make a post-meal dash to the gas station down the street. The middle aged woman behind the register badgered me into leaving my driver's license as collateral, I guess in case I was thinking about speeding off without giving up the lousy $7.
Absolutely no reason to spend money here.
I have this friend Kevin who swears that if you find a particular restaurant that serves a solid type of food that you love (his example is always sushi), then why bother trying anything else because inevitably you will be disappointed.
With that said, I was traveling south on 15th running errands and I had an urge for pho. When someone says pho one automatically responds "Than Brothers". I've passed by Viet Nam many times and I knew I had to make a quick decision. Do I do a Kevin and head straight to TB knowing that I will be well satisfied or do I dare try this older looking pho joint in a very nondescript stretch of 15th?
I was very pleasantly surprised by Viet Nam. To tell you the truth, it reminded me of the original Than Brothers on Aurora Ave. It's older, dirtier, and rougher around the edges, but the pho is just as good and $.60 cheaper per bowl. A plus is that they also offer fresh and fried Vietnamese spring rolls.
My discerning palate did notice that Than Brothers broth is a bit sweeter that Viet Nam's, but all the same the portions and quality are on par. Yes...they also offer the complimentary cream puff.
My parents are old and retired. Forgive this enormously broad OVER-generalization but old people stick to what they know and they don't venture out. My parents are the epitomy of this. Why am I disparaging the old? I only do so to make my point about how great Vietnam Restaurant is. My parents eat at this place ALL the time. They do because they know that they are getting a great meal for under $6 bucks a person - including the awesome little FREE cream puff you get as a dessert. They know that the service is always great and the owners will greet them with a smile. And they know that the bowl of pho soup they get is always consistently hearty and full of great stuff. They stick to what they know and they know Vietnam Restaurant is worth spending just the tiniest bit of their social security check there.
I can't wait until I get old. =)
I didn't want to go here... I don't like change. I really like Than Bros, I go there a lot... then I was talked into going toVietnam, he was right, it is better, I hate that.
I will still eat Than Bros, I mean there is one everywhere you could possibly be when needing pho but when I have time, I'll go a little farther to Vietnam.
They are a little nicer and refill my water quicker at Vietnam, they also have spring and summer rolls.
The cream puffs at Than are better but who cares about the cream puff really!
the service sucks. the old lady would rather sit around and do nothing than come and take your order. the conditions of the place....not exactly ideal.
However! The broth is freakin awesome and the portions and prices are unmatched in my view. The broth is so good i have yet to encounter anything that is better. i have to say that this is a place where only the food would ever make me go back. and well....i'd go back and wouldn't go anywhere else.
Hands down the best Pho is Ballard. I've tried all the other places, and none of them compete with Vietnam. IT JUST TASTES BETTER. The staff is friendly and they put your order together very quickly. I usually order take out, but if you like the idea of 80's décor and lavender blinds, dine in to enjoy the ambiance. The only down side is cash only, but I suppose that's to be expected at a Pho joint.
Ballard doesn't have a lot of Pho restaurants. There's the obvious one that I won't call out by name and then there's the Monkey Bridge.
Annie's Teriyaki sells Pho, but it ain't nothin' compared to the good stuff at Vietnam Restaurant.
Now, it is cash only and it's a little (or a lot) gritty around the edges, but the Pho here is exceptional and the woman who is one of the owners is very sweet and almost always smiling.
I always get a small veggie, which is more than enough, with big hunks of fried tofu and a broth that's far tastier than the stuff at 'that other place.'
It's never overly crowded in here and they'll happily take your orders over the phone. There's always a lot of newspapers laying around here too on the tables when you walk in, which makes for a nice way to wait for your 'to go' Pho.
I've been going to this place for over 10 years, and the soup has NEVER changed. The restaurant used to be the room they use as a "prep" or "front" room, and after a couple years, they bought the large space next door and expanded. Through all that, the soup has been exactly the same. It's not my favorite Pho restaurant, that's in the ID, but if the mood strikes me, I'll come here once a week for months, and every time I'm guaranteed the same good quality of soup.
The place has never been very clean, but I've never found anything strange in my bowl. I never ever park behind the place, simply because it's the tiniest one-entrance parking lot in seattle, and I just don't need that kind of stress.
wow. this was awful...
i'm sick and wanted soup, and i didn't feel like going the extra 2 min to get to my usual spot so i stopped in here. MISTAKE. the food was terrible- it didn't even taste like beef broth, it was like water with over cooked noodles and the egg rolls tasted like flavorless tofu... i left well over 80% of my food on the plate becuse i found it so gross.
not only was the food awful, i watched the little old lady that was taking orders get in to an argument with one of the customers after she brought him the wrong food not once, not twice, but three times. the third time he told her it was the wrong order and when she ignored him, he ate one of the spring rolls, she came out to take the food away from him then started yelling at him for eating someone else's food.
long story short- next time, i'll go the extra 2 min to get to monkey bridge... and so should you...
I needed Pho like I needed a hole in my head, which is desperately, because my skull is like solid bone, man.
I was hungry. My friend had just gotten finished telling me about how she doesn't eat dinner anymore, but that didn't stop me from dragging her here to watch me eat. I SHOULD feel bad about that, but I don't. She makes for good company. And she was easily convinced to eat a spring roll.
It seemed unusually quiet in here. We came in here laughing and talking loudly, and immediately shushed each other. Every time we giggled loudly we looked around for Conan the Librarian to come skewer us with a bookmark. There were several other diners in here, but they were seriously into their food. Or were meditating, I dunno.
I'm a fan of eating noodles, not having them stick to my elbow. Or my friend's elbow. We would have been a lot happier if the table was a little cleaner. On the other hand, a series of noodle-elbow demonstrations had us laughing and shushing each other all over again.
We shared the complimentary cream puff. She asked me, "why did we get that?" I shrugged. I'm not one to question the whys and hows of receiving a cream puff. When the universe deigns to give you a cream puff, you accept. I think it was complimentary. Or it was our server's method of keeping us quiet by having us stuff our faces before our spring roll got there.
It got there, rather quickly. It was really good, too. I forgot about the noodle-elbow.
The pho was good. I wish I had gotten a napkin, though. On the other hand, it forced me to be very tidy, which is a good thing when you're out with someone you'd like to impress with clean habits. Usually when I eat pho on my own, I wind up with a small puddle around my bowl.
We sat and waited for the check, and finally gave up and headed up front. I'm pretty sure we could have just walked right on out the door and no one would have noticed.
Note: if you park behind this place, be careful to let the owner know you're a customer. His parking lot is a dictatorship, and he's the dic. He'll have your car towed within minutes of parking unless you show up inside. So... don't leave and head into the Waterwheel next door for a drink until you move your car first.
The broth is amazing, the ingredients are fresh and it's hard to beat the price. I always leave full and happy. The French style coffee over sweeted condensed milk is yummy. I find myself craving it on a regular basis.
I have my annual end-of-the-school-year cold.
They have warm, tasty goodness in a big bowl, friendly service and kind smiles.
mmmmm. happy.
This place is a fabulous dive. Super great tasty Pho, even if they did give me food poisoning once (I am sure it was the shrimp in the fresh spring rolls).
Agreeable service, super fast!
I love the chicken Pho, and the #9 with three kinds of meat is great too.
This place has WAY better Pho than Than bros and AWESOME french drip coffee - if you've never had this get it. It's tastier than the best espresso, let it drip into the condensed milk for a while until it's all in there and enjoy!
It's sometimes hard to find the fish sauce...I guess they think most white people don't like this stuff so you have to hunt around.
Tried the bubble tea once cause it was so good up at Yunny on Aurora, and it sucked. It was thick like a slushy and horrible.
Great freakin pho tho!
I went here last night w/ a friend of mine, b/c this is his pho spot and I have become some sort of walking pho freak. (I ate it the night before for dinner w/ a gf as well).
Anyway, so now that I think I'm awesome, I'll get onto the review.
We were the only ones in there, but I really liked the restaurant. It was very bright and clean. I am a big fan of all the "weird crap" you can put in your pho. I got the #12, it has everything in it, but i wanted mostly the fatty tendon and tripe, so I was more than excited to see they had given me more of the stuff I love love love and a good portion of the regular cow.
The broth is pretty tasty, vey floavorful, I could have eaten it w/o any sweet sauce or hot cock sauce (hehe), but I like both of them. I really like my pho spicy hot!!! The salad rolls were good, fresh and they give you a housemade cream puff w/ your entree. Crazy!!
I had a good time. Service was fast and good and tasty and i went home and slept from not being able to control myself. I ate everything. There were no bean sprouts left. There was 1 slice of green onion left in my bowl at the end. You should read the article on the table. He was in a Vietnamese Prisoner camp!
Dinner for two for $12! Yes, and that includes an appetizer, one large pho, one small pho and two creme puffs. If you want to get crazy, you can order a thai ice tea for an extra $1.60 or a bubble tea for $2.30. At that those prices you'd probably expect the food to simply be OK at best, but get this...it's really good.
Fresh limes, thai basil and fresh bean spouts accompany your pho. And, if you're lucky, when the pho arrives it will be carried by the owner/chef. The service is pleasant and fast. The pho is simply flavored and so delicious. They have bubble tea and creme puffs! Give this place a try.
Fair warning, if you want more than 15 creme puffs you have to order them a day in advance. Stop making that face at me. It says so right on the menu.
One of the things I miss most about Seattle is the Pho. ANd not even really the Pho, the cream puffs that come with the pho at restaurants there.
So, when my friends took me here, I was ready to stock up on some cream puff action, only to be told they couldn't sell us any extra ones.
You lose yourself one star Vietnam Restaurant. Your cheap and tasty beef soup overshadowed by a lack of sugary goodness.
For shame
If you want an alternative to Than Bros, then this is the place! (Not saying Than Bros is bad or anything, just suggesting an alternative.)
If you live in Ballard and you need soup in your life, then this place is trusty and a sure bet for completely reasonable meal. Any place where two people can eat for under 12 bucks including tip is fantastic, but the fact that the soup here is REALLY quite good makes me feel like I'm always getting my money worth.
It's the all year long Christmas greeting, the tanker of delectable veggie pho, the same three friendly servers that are at your table before your gloves are off, and the pho that is at your table before your hat is off.
These are all the reasons I would walk here in the rain and not to Than Brothers.
But I can tell you one thing...it is definitely not the music. Air Supply and pho do not mix! One day we walked in and they were playing KEXP. THAT was a 5 star day.
oh...and mushrooms in the veggie pho would be nice too.
I really wanted this to be a winner because it's close to my house, but, alas, I was disappointed. I'd hoped to quickly stop in and pick up some steaming hot, delicious Pho, but that wasn't the case tonight...
After phoning in my order, I found out they ONLY ACCEPT CASH (no cards/ no checks). Although Pho is very inexpensive, I was cashless, so an ATM visit was required (not fun on a cold, rainy night).
After parking in their lot, I entered the shabby little restaurant and was forced to wait another several minutes. Luckily, there was some quality reading material for me to peruse...a 2004 YellowPages and an expired book of coupons.
On a positive note, the staff was friendly and even smiled as I asked for my usual "extra sauce." Also, the food was expertly packed and not one droplet spilled during my 3 minute drive home.
After a few slurps, I decided the Pho was only mediocre in flavor, something was missing...not sure what. The fresh (not fried) spring rolls we ordered unexpectedly had shrimp and thinly sliced beef(?) inside; very unique, but not good (a bit fishy tasting).
Next time, its back to Than Brothers on Market; better Pho, better service and better atmosphere.
My first Pho ever was from here, and I'm guessing at this point that it will be where I get my last pho on my deathbed. I fell in love with chicken pho right away, and I've tried many other places since, and not a one compares. Some don't give you the cream puff, which in my opinion is an absolute must. Some have an oil slick on top, and I've had some chicken pho in which the chicken looks and tastes more like rat meat than chicken.
Vietnam's pho comes with good chicken, fresh basil and sprouts, an ample supply of sauce, and everything else that pho should come with, including a cream puff so delicious, we fight over them at our house. We also like the fresh rolls, or spring rolls.
I've eaten in the restaurant a few times, and oddly, I like to get my pho to go better, I think because they always put the perfect portion of sauce in that little container, and I think I tend to screw it up when given free license to season. Not to mention, I think the pho tastes best when it allowed to stew in a covered container after I put it together.
We eat here about once a week, sometimes more!
When I leave Seattle this is where I go last and when I come home it is my first stop. Family run and delicious. Their broth is the best in the city, and they never take down their 'Merry Christmas' sign. If you really luck out you'll get served by the one aunt who wears giant tennis shoes as clogs. Seriously- the soup is awesome and get a hot coffee with condensed milk but savor it so you have some left to go with the creme puff.
After my trip to Vietnam in 1996, and consequently being active in the Vietnamese dating scene during the 1990's, I've become sort of a Pho snob. I've eaten at probably 30 Pho places up and down the West Coast and this is one of the best I've found here in Seattle so far. The Owner is an ex-POW which also deserves my patronage. BTW, bring CASH ONLY.
This is my favorite (cheap) pho restaurant in town. They have those bowls you can bathe a poodle in for six bucks, and the cream puffs are so good, we always get a dozen to go. The broth is always fantastic and so is the lemonade.
My boyfriend and I love the flavor of their broth SO MUCH it has become a weekly ritual for us. I do suspect that they use MSG, but I really don't want to know so I don't ask. Even if they do, I don't friggin' care, it is SOOOOOO good! I always get #C - tofu and broccoli. One time recently I was super-hungry so I ordered extra large, with extra tofu, AND extra noodles. Boy, that was a serious TUB! The owner lady/our server thought it was hilarious and immediately brought out a to-go container. She kept checking on me to see if I was gonna eat it all. I gave it my best shot, but walked away with leftovers. The only downsides I've experienced are: they are stingy with the condiments (it seems you get the same amount of bean sprouts, basil, etc. whether there's one or two people) and the napkins. Plus they don't take credit cards - I don't carry checks so I always have to get cash beforehand. Despite the minor drawbacks, I'll probably never eat pho anywhere else.
Neighborhood: Ballard
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Ballard
Category: Vietnamese
Seattle, WA
Category: Vietnamese
Neighborhood: Ballard
Category: Thai
Neighborhood: Greenwood
Category: Food
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