Pho Bistro

This place is decent but there are definitely better phở places. The server was unfriendly. She didn’t seem happy that customers were coming in, she seemed annoyed.
For my appetizer, they got my order wrong. I ordered summer rolls and they brought me spring rolls. I pointed it out and she said «oh, sorry.» and walked away. They didn’t offer to correct the mistake.
My phở came out incredibly hot. I’m talking like, boiling hot. Not just warm soup hot, but scalding, third degree burn hot. I appreciate the effort to make warm food but I had to wait 20 minutes for my soup to be edible. Most other phở places have figured out to give you the soup when it isn’t boiling. (My soup was literally boiling)
Once it cooled down, the phở itself was good. But with everything considered, I’ll go somewhere else next time.

They refused to except our groupon. Walked inside, the place looked liked a dirty kitchen. Smoke overhangs and smells like overgrilled meats. Tables were not cleaned. Do not recommend. Plenty of phở restaurants in the vicinity to fill your appetite for good phở soup.

Quality of food and customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Will not go there again.

Bait and switch — warning to other customers, they don’t take groupons anymore. This was a really annoying experience. First, they said they don’t take groupons anymore and I don’t understand why. The groupon was just advertised this past week and she said they stopped taking it last week. Sounds like a major bait and switch to me. This was really inconvenient as we made sure to come between 2 — 6 pm as stated in their conditions. Okay, maybe the food will make up for it. We ordered the lemongrass beef and cubed beef rice dishes. When it came out, it was mostly rice and onions with a little bit of meat. They totally skimped on the good stuff. Definitely not worth the money. Will not be coming back.

So disappointed. The food was okay, edible at least, but I’ve had much better phở in the DC area. Also, the restaurant was freezing. Went during the coldest of winter months, but still, you have to do something to keep your customers happy and comfortable, and I had to keep my coat on the whole time. Our waitress was non-​existent. She never asked us how our food was, never refilled our water, never cleaned our plates off the table. We had three appetizer plates, empty, sitting out, when she brought our phở, and never cleaned anything off the table. All in all, it was an appalling experience and I do not plan to visit again.

The quality, staff and atmosphere of this place has dropped off significantly and it is extremely smoky. Eat here and your clothes will stink. Last year I asked about all the new faces and they claimed the management hasn’t changed, just new employees.
The last three times I came here, each time a couple months apart, there has been a haze when you walk in the door. You can’t miss it. And the smell is a burnt grill odor, not delicious grilled meat which would at least be tolerable. You will leave and everything you are wearing (coat, sweater, pants, hair, etc) will stink for days. It’s quite gross.
The last time I walked in I said something to the girl and guy working there and they seemed completely surprised by this as if to say, «what smoke?» They claimed it only happens when the kitchen forgets to turn the fan on. How you could you stand in here all day and not notice the smoky haze? And having noticed this on multiple occasions, I knew it was not a one time fluke. There is a ventilation problem in this kitchen.
I used to come in here weekly, with laptop, free wifi and a very friendly environment. I’d work and eat for an hour or two, have a couple coffees, and leave satisfied and not smelling like smoke.
Food was still okay the last few times, but not as good as usual. To be honest, I may have just been tainted by the odor. It will be a long time before I try Phở Bistro again, let alone bring anyone here.

I have been here on two occasions. Both with a groupon.
First Time: The restaurant was freaking ice cold (It was cold outside) and the place was being heated by a measly space heater that couldn’t set a fire if you dumped gasoline on it. The food came out in time and was good but the whole experience was ruined due to the fact that I was freezing to death. To top it off, they said the groupon was only to be used from the hours of 2PM to 6PM. Seriously, what demographic of person are they going for? Too late for lunch and too early for dinner. They took it that one time and I was kind of okay with it because the food was good.
Second Time: I was told that they didn’t take groupon anymore due to groupon not paying them (Sounds like a bunch of idiots who don’t know how to use groupon). Walking out immediately and then proceeded to get a refund from groupon (They refunded BOTH my groupons which means these idiots didn’t even redeem the first one).
Do not go here, there are many alternative phở places that are better. They get one star overall because at least the chef is good at what he does, management has the foresight of a turkey sandwich after thanksgiving.

It’s almost as cold inside as it is outside. At one point I saw my own breath in here. I was not asked what size phở I wanted. The server just assumed I wanted a large. Took us 30 minutes to get our coffee and it ended up being hazelnut coffee, not Vietnamese coffee. Don’t know how the owners can even be proud of having this restaurant.

The food is excellent, albeit smaller amounts of meat in the phở than we are accustomed to. What merits the three star review is the service; it was abysmal. With only a few tables of patrons, we still received inattentive, disjointed, and at times rude service, i.e. in the middle if taking out order the waitress walked away to address the concern of a table that was loudly complaining about something. All of that being said, I would eat take out there any night of the week.

I ordered #16 brisket medium rare flank steak. Phở broth was good. They have beer, that was good. They also have their own hot pepper oil which was spicy but added an extra boost that made the soup even better. Meat was good, but ran out quickly, maybe because it was a small portion. Overall, I gives three and a half stars. Not the best, but certainly very good. I’d come back.

The food is good, Server did not ask me I wanted a small or large phở and assume I wanted a large, I could not finish the whole thing. I could have used more jalapenos besides the 2 pieces they gave me (I prefer japs over sriracha).
The place is clean, definitely a plus!

This place is now under new management and they’ve done a little remodeling. The dine in area is a little bigger which is nice and they have frosted glass windows now so people can’t easily watch you while eating (if that’s a fear of yours.)
I decided to get take out as the weather has been getting colder and I didn’t feel like being out. I walked in around 7:30 pm and there was no one else in the restaurant which is about the same from the previous management (lunch is when they did the most business in my eyes.) I was immediately greeted which was nice. As I was making my selections, she asked if I had dined before. I explained I have but under previous management. I ordered the large eye of round steak with meatballs and asked for extra meat no onions. She notified me of the extra charge for the meat which I appreciated and I said it was fine. I stressed to her that although I’m not allergic, I really don’t like white onions. She said it wouldn’t be an issue and asked if i’d like to add a drink. I asked if they carry bubble tea. Unfortunately she let me know they don’t but suggested mango jelly which is just as good — I opted for the mango jelly and was happy.
As I sat waiting I also noticed that their business cards say they deliver which is AWESOME because that could save me the trip. I was already planning in my head how this could possibly be my new Phở spot for the winter months as it’s close and they deliver.
The service was quick and I got my food in no time. I thanked them and left to go home. Here comes the reason why I only gave 3 stars: there were onions… green & wihte onions. Now, this wouldn’t be an issue if all the meat was left in a box to be put into the soup when I’m ready to eat but everything was mixed in the soup already so I ended up spending a good 15 minutes shifting onions out of my soup. That wasn’t a big deal because once I sat down I was still excited to eat. The soup was almost tasteless except for the flavor of salt but the broth was a brown color which was odd because usually they are full of flavor. The meat was oddly fatty for eye of round steak but the meatballs were good.
All in all they’ve got a few things to work on but this place isn’t horrible. I“ll have to double check my order at the restaurant before I leave. It’s not my top choice for Phở but I won’t rule it out if it’s snowing outside and I am craving for Phở.

I have NO IDEA how this place has three stars! They must spend a lot of late nights creating fake Unilocal accounts to do that. If I were them I’d spend that time cleaning their damn restaurant. The condiments were GREASY. Sticky! Everything was sticky. If that’s the dining room, what does the kitchen look like?
The food. Disgusting. What’s that green coloration to the flank steak and brisket? Why is it green? No other Phở joint in MoCo has green meat. This isn’t Dr. Suess Cat in the Hat. No green meat! The noodles clumped and weren’t fully cooked. The broth was gross. The veggies were old. This places is right next door to an Asian supermarket, don’t tell me you can’t get fresh veggies!
AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Family wanted to try it. We got there and there was practically no one there! I can give an explanation as to why. Service tried to be friendly that it became pushy. Waitress asked if we wanted anything to drink. We said water is fine thanks which is supposed to mean we don’t want your overpriced drinks, just water. But to her, that meant keep asking if we want any other drinks multiple times.
Food wise, phở was not good and I was really hungry. The broth wasn’t tasty. I can’t even describe the unusual taste. I ordered a small bowl with no meat while everyone else ordered with meat. Not only was a small bowl higher priced than any small bowl anywhere else but I have never been charged the same amount for no meat as with meat.
I have no idea why anyone would give this place more than 2 stars. Maybe they haven’t been to an actual good phở place. For higher priced food I expected better food.

Food-​wise, taste is definitely there. The beef on vermicelli is delicious and super flavorful. Broth for phở also very tasty… Unfortunately, they really skimp on the amount of meat per serving… the phở with meatballs came with a total of 2 meatballs cut into 8 pieces. The eye-​of-​round and meatballs came with 2 pieces of meatball (½ a meatball cut into 2) and 2 pieces of eye-​of-​round. The phở that supposedly had eye-​of-​round, tripe, tendon and a few other meats listed only came out with three types of meat and only a piece each… very disappointed with this aspect. Not sure if I’ll be returning…

This place is right next to our gym, so we would see it all the time and wonder if it’s any good. But when you’re planning on working out, you don’t want to sweat phở, and after you work out, we’re feeling too virtuous (and sore) to eat here.
However, one day, my husband hit the gym without me, and afterwards he was starved. So he headed to Phở Bistro to grab a quick bite, and saw their special wings, which were made with fish sauce. Now, my husband is a fish sauce addict. My totally Chinese-​grew-​up-​eating-​fish-​sauce-​like-​it-​was-​water family is even astounded by how much fish sauce the man could consume. So clearly, he had to get these. They were so surprisingly good that he saved 3 and brought them home for me to try. Even cold and greasy, they were pretty delish.
Fast forward a month. We were thinking about dining some place different, and my husband brought up Phở Bistro and the magical fish sauce wings. I was so in.
My experience… was way more meh.
To start with, they were out of the fish sauce wings, so that was a little sad (but no stars were deducted for this — running out of delicious product happens, and while it was disappointing, I’m not going to penalize them for this). So we got the grape leaves skewers, and I ordered a bowl of phở, while my husband ordered the grilled pork with «broken rice».
The grape leaves skewers were OK. They had a nice char on the outside, but it was very salty. Then my phở came… without the sprouts or basil leaves on the side. Thinking that he was going to bring it out, I sat patiently and waited (plus my husband’s food hasn’t arrived, and while I know that phở is a dish you’re supposed to eat hot and not wait… it just seemed a little rude. Plus you know, I was still missing the sprouts and basil). A few minutes later, my husband’s dish came out… and again, still no basil or sprouts. Finally, I waved the server over and asked for it, and he looked surprised that I’m asking for this? Huh? No matter, I have my food now, right?
The phở is decent. A little more star of anise and cinnamon than I normally like in my phở broth, but it was meaty and flavorful and there were lots of tendon and slices of meat. Yum. My husband’s grilled pork was so tender and flavorful and juicy, but the «broken rice» was just normal white rice. I think we missed something?
Anyways, we finish eating (and our water was completely gone — no refill), and we had to ask for the check… and nothing came. Finally, my husband just got up to find our server to pay. Our server was nice — it just was that he didn’t seem like he was paying attention to what was going on. Eh.
So the food is pretty decent — 4 stars. The service was 2 stars. We’ll give it another shot. Especially since I really want to get the fish sauce wings fresh!

***THE OWNERS HAVE CHANGED. This review was written prior– (7÷18÷2013)
Best Phở Ga ever. (Chicken Phở)
The chicken breast was super tender, and the broth was so deep and delicious. I would definitely recommend! Their spring rolls too… I don’t know what they put in them, but they are amazing. The dipping sauce is different than other places. Not your traditional fish sauce. You must try it. I ordered the pork chop with rice and egg for my boyfriend to go, and the dish did not make it home! He didn’t even want to heat it up. I did not try it, but judging from his reaction it was just as delicious as what I ate while I was there. Phở Bistro is definitely a hidden gem, trust me on this one!

Big portions and very fresh… inexpensive and mom and pop all of the way!
Bun Bo Xao Xa — Got the sauteed pieces of beef with sprouts, lemongrass, vermicelli and the whole nine yards for only $ 10 with beverage. It really hit the spot!
Nice friendly people but keep in mind CASH$$$$ only.

This is also a little like a before and after since we came to the place before the grand opening and after. I came with my best friend on 8÷22÷12 around 6:45pm.
Food: ⁴⁄₅ stars. The food was delicious. My best friend ended up talking a lot about how the food made her feel. She got the phở, just a plain phở, no meat. She said that the broth tasted… homemade if you get can understand that. She said compared to other like Phở 75 and Phở Nam, it just wasn’t the same. She said with Phở Bisto’s soup you can’t taste all the things that are unhealthy. I dunno. As for me, I got to taste the broth and it was pretty good. 4 stars worthy even. It was definitely different, maybe… less salty than most but I felt it was plenty flavorful so it was really good.
I got the Grilled Pork Vermicelli. This thing was HUGE! My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw the portion sizes. For the $ 9 that I paid it was pretty awesomely sized. So, in the bowl, you get vermicelli noodles, with some raw veggies and grilled pork along with a little sauce bowl on the side with some sweet sauce in it. I was a little disconcerted at first because I wasn’t sure how plain noodles and raw veggies with pork would taste, but then i dumped the sauce in and it was delicious! Did I mention it was yummy? cuz it sure was.
We also got their bubble tea. We both got Mango. I have no idea was the base was, but it was great! Not milk bubble, just straight up tea bubble tea! I liked it, it tasted like tea just like it should. And that’s all that matters to me.
Service: ⁴⁄₅ stars. The owner greeted us as we came in the store, and then quickly went and got his english speaking daughter to come be our waitress. Smart move dude! She was very friendly and attentive, making sure to answer all our questions and even being fairly nice about my best friend ordering phở without meat (she’s a vegetarian and she is quite aware that the broth is made out of meat). It wasn’t on the menu, but they did it anyway, Thanks! No 5 stars because she kind of just disappeared after we ordered and got our food, except to clear our dishes away when we had finished eating. I would have liked if she had checked on us at least once. But overall, I really liked her.
Décor: 3.5÷5 stars. Totally better than before! It had a nice homey feel to it. And we really liked the lights. My best friend said it was like a little whole in the wall phở place except better looking. More modern I think. It was nice, not tacky. No frills, which is good.
Overall, I guess I would give it a 3.75÷5 stars because it’s not a place I would come to regularly, but If i’m in a phở or viet food feeling, I would totally go to Phở Bistro. I think the biggest factor that knocked it down a little is that there was absolutely no one in the restaurant at 6:45pm when we showed up. My dad has this saying, if there are Asians in an Asian restaurant, then you know it’s good. For about 30 minutes, I was the only Asian in that place. I hope my review will get more people to go, because it really was GOOD FOOD.

Three and half stars: Very good flavored phở broth, reasonably priced menu, modern décor dining, and good service. Unfortunately, it’s far from my location that I can’t be a regular. See my pictures.