The Pho Bar

I think this place might be closed???
Anyway, when I’ve been there, it’s been great!

I don’t understand why people aren’t willing to pay +/​-​$ 10 for Vietnamese food, or for other «ethnic» foods. I think that’s just a stupid bias people need to get over.
They run an environmentally-​sustainable restaurant, have modern fresh accents on food, are very accommodating, serve your food quickly, have fresh ingredients, and have cool décor. I actually think, with all that beings said, the food is a bargain. Around my circle of friends, this is a favorite of ours.
Plus, the vegetarian phở is vegan. Also, I can have a young coconut as my drink. Yum, yum.

I’d actually give this place a rating of 3.5
The décor is really interesting – there’s a really long table that looks like a tree log that’s been split in half, with the sriracha, hoisin sauce, and utensils running down the middle. It feels kind of hipster.
The food is pretty great, but definitely not worth the prices. The regular bowl is smaller than almost every phở place I’ve been to and it’s $ 9! Way pricier than I’m used to. Granted, I think the broth tastes better than a lot of places I’ve been to; I like it better than the times I’ve had homemade phở. Still, it’s not so much better that I’d regularly pay the price hike.

One of the fanciest phở restaurants I have ever been to. Turn to the right and there is a full, decked-​out bar. Turn to the left and there is a canteen style seating area littered with individual group tables here and there with kitchen in the back. With the oriental, modern Vietnamese style décor, it really is a fancy place that calls out to you, in contrast to the pizza dive-​y La Val’s and the hole-​in-​the-​wall taqueria that’s actually a small chain La Burrita.
You look at the menu, and you are in shock. The prices are really high. No matter what you get, you’ll be paying upwards of $ 10+ for your meal. Vietnamese food has its appeal for being cheap, good comfort food, and The Phở Bar completely demolishes that image in exchange for a fancy yuppie-​ish restaurant that really does not fit anywhere in North Berkeley. Granted, there is such a thing as a fancy Vietnamese restaurant, but a place that specializes in phở and banh mi has no place in trying to pass off as one. You’re paying Anh Hong prices for Phở K&K food.
Now, how’s the food? To be honest, not bad. But also to be honest, not necessarily authentic Vietnamese. The phở isn’t bad; it’s just not what I would expect from phở. Likewise, I can say the same for banh mi. Honestly, if you want something authentic, you are not going to get it from Berkeley. Period.
The one saving grace was the shoestring fries and sauce, which have since seem to have been replaced with basil and sea salt fries. ‘Tis a shame. Somehow, I find myself coming back here for some reason, and somehow, my expectations are never really met.
TIP: I have no tips or recommendations.

I was actually sad when I left this place… Which should never ever happen after eating phở.
It was a cold, rainy day and I just wanted some hot broth and to slurp up some noodles. Should have just gotten a coffee from Northside Café. They never let me down.
Well anyways, the moment I walked in and saw the menu for $ 11 phở, my eyes kind of popped out of my head. WHAT?! Okay, fine. I’m in Northside… BUT this is PHO. I have never paid more than $ 7.55 for phở in my life. My desire for some hot soup overcame the incredulity of the prices and walking back into that rain was not so favorable.
SHOULD HAVE WENT TO GET SOME COFFEE.
Alright, so I pay for the freaking crazy overpriced phở and I go sit down. There’s not many other people in the restaurant, but I usually don’t worry myself about that. However, five minutes later, I hear a bell ding from the chef. Another five minutes later, I hear the bell ding a few more times, each time more frantically than the last. Finally, fifteen minutes pasts and the chef yells out a name. The waitress runs over, yelling at the chef that she can hear the bell; she is not deaf. The chef tells her to always serve the food first or it gets cold. They yell some more.
Sure enough… After watching their awkward yelling match. I receive my phở and it is lukewarm. Sob sob sob. I don’t even mind the wait– 15 minutes isn’t that long… but my phở was lukewarm. What the hell.
The waitress seemed to be having a bad day so I didn’t want to bother her. I couldn’t tell the chef or the chef would just get pissed off. It was an awkward situation…
AND THE PHO SUCKED. There was absolutely no flavor in the broth and it was just not good. NOT GOOD.
I ate the slightly overcooked noodles and definitely over-​cooked meat and left.
I didn’t make a fuss, but I definitely won’t be back for overpriced, tasteless phở. Just gonna get some coffee next time.

The phở here was pretty good but overpriced. The regular portion is pretty small especially compared to other phở places. The vegetables are self-​serve, which is great as you can take whatever amount you want. I like having the extra lime and bean sprouts. I was disappointed though when I didn’t see sliced onions.
The broth was very clean tasting and the slices of meat were pretty large and tasty.
The interior is nice with long wooden tables, hand towels and tea.

Especially since it’s in a convenient location, I go here once in a while (during my frequent phở cravings) and I definitely prefer this to the Camille phở.
The broth is a-​okay. Enough to fill your phở-​thirst, but again, could do better. It’s overpriced, but the atmosphere is pretty nice. You have to kind of self serve, like the tea, water, and many people forget the vegetables/​herbs on the side (right side of the eating area)

We wanted to eat at North Side Café for lunch but relented once seeing the huge line from a block away. We wandered on the street and came across The Phở Bar. With its quieter setting, we decided to dine here.
I was feeling really hungry at that hour (having woken up at 7AM for class that day) so I chose the rice bowl ($ 11) which had two generous pieces of pork chop, a fried egg, some veggies and rice. My friend chose the combination phở with 3 toppings (regular: $ 11, large: $ 13).
Rice bowl: The portion was sufficient, though more rice will be appreciated (especially for guys with big appetites). Pork was tender. Overall okay dish but though price was on the higher side and nothing too special.
Phở: The noodles used aren’t proper phở noodles! There was a small portion of phở — my guy friend left hungry while my female friend left feeling just alright.
Overall, I expected much higher quality (and quantity) of food given the higher price, nice interior design and seemingly «native» accessories with each table having bottles of soy sauce and cups filled with chopstick. If I had more time, I would venture Phở K&K for Vietnamese instead.

I’ve had way too much phở K&K, so i decided to look for another phở restaurant and found a pretty fancy looking one up on northside.
When i first heard of this place, the phở bar, i imagined something like toss on shattuck, where you customize and choose what kind of broth, noodle, veggies, and meat you want in your bowl. But nah, its just like any other phở place you can find.
I’ve tried the original sandwich and the classic noodle. They were both all right. The only think i liked was that there were a ton of soft slices of meat in both the sandwich and the soup. But they had dirty plates and spoons that kinda grossed me out. Not really worth climbing all the way up to northside for a bowl.

I’m sorry for the other customers that had a bad experience here.
I came here with 4 other people. Only about 8 other customers. Monday at 9pm.
Comparing to other Phở places:
–I love the design, very modern and hipster.
–It’s clean
–The Phở was good, their bowls are smaller, but it’s because they don’t trick you with extra water/​soup.
-$ 11+tax for Phở.
You can find Phở in Berkeley that is better/​bigger/​cheaper. But this is not a bad one.
What matters most: I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.
Customer service: 9 out of 10
:)
Amin B.

I thought the Phở Bar was pretty good. the broth wasn’t as flavorful as I like, but the quality of the beef made up for it. And the banana tapioca dessert was yummy! I’d go back to try the che.
Broth: 3 stars
Meat: 5 stars
Dessert: 4 stars
The waitress was nice and prompt even though there was a steady stream of customers (mostly to-​go). I like the atmosphere.

The Phở Bar looks very nice, clean, and modern. However, the food itself leaves a lot to be desired.
The phở is, put simply, wrong. Something about the flavoring of the broth just doesn’t taste right. The amount of noodles and meat is really not that much considering how expensive the phở is (at most any place you can get sub-​$ 10 phở, and more of it).
It’s just mediocre in general, and I’ve never really had an incentive to come back here after trying it a few times.

DO NOT ORDER PHO!
Instead, order the [jicama and tofu] noodle salad or broken rice with the fried egg. The noodle salad tastes amazing and is a good amount of food; however, the restaurant skimps on the vegetarian spring rolls, jicama and tofu. They bring you this tasty salad dressing sauce (fish sauce?).
You’re honestly better off eating at La Val, which is located next door.
Nonetheless, the décor of Phở Bar is wonderful and upscale. You can see the kitchen and chefs from your seat. Free tea is served, and the Vietnamese coffee (which drips onto a layer of condensed milk) is to die for!

It could be a fun joint, but right now the Phở Bar has no clear identity and the food is bland.
I feel like I could like the vibe and overall atmosphere of the restaurant. There is a bar at the front and the dining room is open and comfortable. The problem though is that the restaurant is usually empty making the the mood seem gloomy and the kitchen is surprisingly noisy.
Both the Bahn Mi sandiwiches and the Phở are not particularly cheap. I tried the phở once and it was surprisingly skimpy on the meat and it had possibly the blandest broth I have ever tried. No amount of hoisin and hot sauce could save it.
I was also tempted by their happy hour appetizer platter once, but it was disappointing.
Despite serving beer and wine, it closes at 9pm. If the restaurant did not close so early and served better food it could be a cool hangout place for after-​work happy hours on Thursday evenings.

What *IS* authentic phở?
As you contemplate answering this question, these are the things I liked about the Phở Bar:
No MSG. I did not feel parched dry after eating the phở here. Wow, I can even bring my friend who refuses to eat phở because she gets migraine headache when exposed to MSG.
The noodles. Usually at other phở places I get congealed noodles that make me think they pre-​cook the noodles, which then sit around until I order. Here, the noodles were freshly cooked, but then again I came late in the evening and there were only two other people eating.
The green attitude. They hand you a cloth napkin when you order at the front desk. Also, I read on their website you can order take-​out in a re-​usable container which you return for repeat orders.
The veggie bar. You pick up the veggies to add to your phở at a bar. The veggies were really fresh. I like that.
The décor. Long wooden communal tables, and hanging lamps. Definitely nicer than many other phở restaurants.
Not liked so much.
Meat scarcity. I guess they use good quality meat with no growth hormones, but for my regular size order with steak and brisket, I got 3 slices of steak and 2 little pieces of brisket. I was disappointed, and this is kinda big failing for me personally.
So… really 3.5 stars.

Before I get into the nitty gritty about this place, I have to say ask my fellow Unilocalers to forgive me for not listening to them. I read and re-​read reviews about this so-​so place, but like a naughty child, I did not listen!
The Good:
1. Fun and trendy look — metal/​wood come together for a hip bar-​like atmosphere that you might find somewhere in San Francisco. The ambience is much more relaxing than the jampacked restaurants (La Val’s, La Burrita) next door that share the courtyard.
2. Soft banh mi bread that doesn’t cut your mouth.
3. DELICIOUS Vietnamese drip coffee with condensed milk ($ 4).
Annnnnnnnnnnnd…that’s about it…
The Bad:
1. More or less tasteless banh mi — could barely taste the pork, only one jalapeño…
2. It was my first time, and I didn’t know where the condiment bar was. I’d expect the guy who rang me up to tell me these things at least.
The UGLY:
1. Completely DISGUSTING phở — probably the worst phở I’ve ever had and PAID ($ 10 combination) for in my life. The phở at the Unit 3 dining commons is better than this place. The broth was utterly bland and flavorless. Like others have said, it tasted FAKE.
Even though there were quite a few other patrons, if you want something AUTHENTIC, don’t even bother with this place. What a rip off!

Finally made it back to try the Banh Mi ($ 6, got Ham & Pâté, also grilled pork, chicken, and edamame/​tofu fritter are available) and ordered up some Cha Gio (spring rolls, $ 6) on the side.
Cha Gio comes with sprouts, cucumber slices, lettuce, vermicelli and nuoc cham (
) More roll wrapping issues. Different diameters yielded under-​fried (
), burned (
), and just OK Cha Gio. The lettuce was limp and wilty and not a good for wrapping (
). 2 stars
The banh mi looked pretty good (
).
The baguette needed more toasting to give the crust the typical crackle. Nice flavorful cold-​cuts. The baguette appeared to have been gutted for a better bread to filling ratio, but still the pâté was barely noticable. The daikon & carrots needed more pickling. 3 stars for flavor, but $ 6 kinda steep.
Lowering Phở Bar overall to 3 stars.

No… just no. Here is why:
I go in, and order a regular #1 with an ice tea. $ 10.88 (#1 = $ 8).
When I get it, I realized that it’s a smaller regular portion than other places. I pushed the thought aside, and dug in.
My first impression was the broth. For starters, I know this place is supposed to be healthy, but the broth didn’t taste like anything. No salt, no non-​MSG flavors, no nothing. What worried me was the fact that the broth was brown, just like any other phở. It didn’t taste like beef, chicken, or whatever broth! I added some Hoisin sauce (which I never do to phở broth), and it still tasted bland.
On top of the non-​flavored broth, it wasn’t even hot! When you order raw meat, you expect the broth to be nice and hot — to cook the meat. I took my slices apart, and they were still mostly red. Seriously? I believe one why to stay healthy is to consume (semi)cooked meat!
Second disappointment: the noodles. They were either undercooked, or they were from a cheap packaged intant-​phở you find at your local Asian mart.
Service was ok. I was amused that they didn’t retrieve my number after having given my order. The lady came up to me, and asked me multiple times to make sure I had everything I ordered. I don’t know why, but ok…
So, all-​in-​all, that phở was definitely not worth $ 8. Sure the place looks nice, but it’s all about the food! You could go to the janky-​est place in the world, and the food could still be amazing!
Will not be coming back…

I kind of expected this when I saw the décor.
Expensive phở for a small portion. The soup is bland, it tastes slightly better than the phở soup at Café 3. Phở is not a fancy food! I wish the business could see that and focus more on food quality than to make the place a fancy restaurant.

I had the chicken Bahn Mi and the beef noodle soup (the works) tonight and neither of them were very impressive.
Bahn Mi: the pickled vegetables were bland and they were very stingy on the meat. I didn’t think the sandwich had very much flavor. I actually had to put some extra hot sauce and hoisin sauce on it to make it taste like something. The bread was pretty good but it was 70% of the sandwich because there wasn’t much of the filling.
The works beef noodle soup: Soup was toooo sweet. Tasted like they put too much MSG or something in it. It doesn’t have that phở taste. It wasn’t a very good compliment to the noodles or meat and it definitely didn’t carry the dish very well.
Ambiance is very new and trendy. The modern décor infused with a mix of vietnamese flare gave the place a real kick. I like how the old and new came together at this place. It looks like a nice café place to chill and read/​surf the web for hours.
Service here was very friendly and fast. I’m a very impatient person so when I say the food came fast, there’s no question about how fast this place is!
Price was on the expensive side. For a bowl of phở…$ 10 is a bit much. The bowl was HUGE but it was mainly a generous serving of soup with a side of some meat and noodles. Which really should have been the other way around. $ 6 for Bahn Mi that is bland and mainly just bread… not worth it.
Overall: I don’t think I’ll come back because it’s expensive and judging from the wide range of ratings this place is getting, their food is not very consistent. They have their good and bad days, I don’t want to risk it and come back on a bad day again.