Phở No 1

I was there for a party. The host ordered a special banquet menu a day ahead. The chef was very creative and we tasted some unique fusion style Vietnamese cuisine. The special dinner needs a minimum of 10 people. Just let them know the budget you want to spend plus tax and tip. A special menu is designed and text/ email for approval. Note CASH ONLY.

Updated review 10/24/2022: Pho #1's garlic noodles $14 are only OK. The last time I was here, the waitress said their version of garlic noodles are better than the ones at PPQ. It is not. Pho #1's version is greasy without a good garlic burn and came with sliced onions. PPQ's version has grated parsley with a hint of butter plus a thing of lettuce and pickled sliced carrots on the side giving it a contrast between the carbs and the meat. The beef at Pho #1 had good wok flavor. Other than that, this is just chow mein without the characteristics of Vietnamese garlic noodles. I hope they survive because I was the only customer dining indoors on a Monday at dinner time, 6pm. You kind of start worrying about a restaurant when the employees outnumber the guests. The people here are nice. Original review: During the lock down in 2020, Pho #1 was all boarded up. I remember getting take-out across the street at the now defunct Wing Hing and looking at their sad store front. Fast forward to 2022 and they are opened for indoor dining. I came here a few times before today for take-out and remembered they had decent vermicelli dishes. Tonight I got their black pepper beef noodles $14. It had a pleasing black pepper taste with good wok flavors. The chef did a good job. Service was fine as there were only one other party in the restaurant.

I usually came here several times a year when I’m in the neighborhood. Their food is fine: hot, edible, and clean. Their service is minimal— waitress brought glasses of water and food to the table. No refills offered and she doesn’t check up on you. All the utensils are self-service and napkin dispensers are on the table too. Prices are competitive. Portion sizes standard. Unfortunately I had a bad experience. We had 5 people and the waitress automatically added her tip to my bill. She refused to give us a breakdown of the subtotal, taxes, and her tip amount. She kept saying the total is $89 with tip and walked away. When I asked for more clarification, she just read off the name of the items ordered and said, “what don’t you understand. That’s what you ordered” and walked away again as she spoke. See attached photo of the “bill”. In the past, I’ve had 6 people at the table and I was allowed to determine the tip amount. I’m unsure if there was a change in ownership. There was absolutely no miscommunication since we spoke in her language. If the waitress was transparent and wasn’t so curt, then I would have actually given her my normal tip percentage which is actually a lot more than what she demanded. I recommend the food here, but I do not recommend the dine-in experience.

Decent, but nothing-to-write-home-about pho. One benefit is being open at 10am for those eager to get a fill before lunch time. Seafood Pho — basic, but lacked a depth of flavor in broth. Noodles were slightly overcooked.

This is my definite go to spot for some soup pho, BBH or bun rieu.. the staff are always very nice to us when we come in. They actually know our order by heart, almost. Parking is a little hard and this place only accepts cash!