Pho Nina

This is absolutely my favorite phở place. I have been eating here since 2012, and other phở shops just don’t nail the flavor of the broth like this restaurant.
It is small and the service isn’t trying to impress but that’s not why I go here.
The broth is seasoned perfectly for me, I always add a little lemon and basil (the vegetables are always fresh). I also recommend the summer rolls. They have fresh mint in them!
If you are living near campus this is a hidden gem, super cheap and tasty.

45 min wait for phở and there was no flavor. Seriously, it was hot water. I don’t even know how that happens

Tucked away on King St. (across of Sushi King and the Humane Society) is this little gem. If you blink you’ll miss it so keep an eye out. There is some street parking but also a small lot behind the building too.
When I walked in, it reminded me of the kind of neighborhood spot you’d go with your family where the food tastes homemade. And sure enough, that’s exactly what Phở Nina was like.
The restaurant is just the right size, very clean and orderly with friendly staff who made you feel welcomed. There is a nice selection of options beyond phở, but on this day I was craving some good and hot phở. The broth was seasoned just right, with the usual assortment of veggies to customize your bowl. I slurped the whole bowl and wished I had a little more! We also ordered some summer rolls which were fresh and seemed to be rolled just for us (since my pal didn’t like a lot of veggies). I definitely think Phở Nina will be added to the rotating list of yummy options for phở!

The husband and I had phở cravings late one Sunday morning. We had been here once before however, I’m not sure if there has been a change in ownership or if the restaurant simply had a «makeover» but it definitely looks nicer than the first time we were here. Interaction with our server was minimal. No greeting, no casual chit chat… just water and order taking. The end. We ordered 2 medium bowls of phở, an order of spring rolls and a Vietnamese coffee. Food took a very long time to arrive at our table. Coffee and spring rolls hit the table at about the 20 minute mark which is an eternity for any Asian cuisine. The phở broth is tasty with a good balance of flavors. Total bill was $ 31 which is on par with other phở places. What makes us unsure about returning is that the ambience during this visit was super awkward. It felt like we had intruded a Vietnamese stranger’s apartment. Other patrons in the restaurant were very loudly yakkity yak yakking away with each other while a few continually turned around to stare at us unabashedly, full on, face to face. It was as strange and totally rude and left us uncomfortable and feeling unwelcome.

First time here and it did not disappoint. Was recommended by friend who’s a chef, and we know that if it’s good enough for chef, it’s good enough for us. Ordered veggie spring roll appetizer. Crisp, light and cooked to perfection. Typical accoutrements of mint, lettuce, tangy dipping sauce. My main course was #17, Phở Ga (chicken phở), with its thinner rice noodles than usual cooked al dente in a hot bowl of what tastes like truly home-​style broth and a small portion of shredded white meat chicken (no fat blobs, thank you!). Garnished with fresh mung bean sprouts, Thai basil, peppers and a skosh of lemon juice. My lunch companions had the #23 Phở Tai Nam Bo Vien (phở with sliced beef, flank and beef balls), and #24 Phở Tai Gan, (phở with raw, thinly sliced beef and tendon). Lots of happy smiles at that lunch table. Service was quick and place looked clean.

still the best phở in town ! Spring rolls are good. Ice coffee is strong. lemon grass chicken is the best also. BBQ chicken is good. My Mom like this place to.

Uh… yeah this review echos the others. My husband was looking for phở and Bac Nam was closed on Sunday’s so we drove aimlessly until we found this place. Yeah, that was our mistake.
I decided to go for a different dish other than phở and settled on their Vietnamese pork chop and springroll. The picture they had displayed had a nice huge piece of pork on noodles with salad. Looked great. As we waited for a llllloooonnnngggg as time to get out food, a pork chop plate came out for the neighboring table, I thought at first it was for me since the other table had been there forever even before we ordered. It was nice and large and very delicious looking, It made me excited for my plate. Two minutes later the lady came out with my combo plate… It had two skinny spring rolls chopped up with what looks like the illegitimate malnourished love child of the first plate. The pork was very thin and chopped, about ¼ the size of the plate that came out before. They tried to spread it over the noodles but it only emphasized how small the pork actually was.
When I asked why it was so small they said it was because it was a combo plate and that is how they came. They were very defensive and asked if I expected the whole plate to be pork. I pointed out that it was not even half of what the picture looked like. They kept going on and was even making rude comments so I just told them I did not want it anymore.
I told my husband to go ahead and eat his phở, that I was fine with my ice coffee. The gentleman that was very aggressively defending the size of the pork asked my husband angrily if he didn’t like his phở he would take it. My husband said it was fine unless he wanted us to leave. The gentlemen then said it again, my husband again said it was fine, do you want us to leave? The worker just mumbled off into he kitchen. We would have left but the phở was not bad and since we had waited so long for the phở I told him to finish.
So yeah… if you decide to go… Just know the size of what you order may change due to how many people are there and if someone else orders what you did… your portion might be cut in half! Lol.
So in conclusion… Tasty phở… Bad service. (This also includes the fact that we had to get our own menus despite being the second table there and the long wait to get the food in the first place)

Great prices, yummy food, with a convenient location (near my apartment)!
Definitely recommend!

The food is good, but the service is shitty.
We had the chicken salad & spring rolls, they were really good. The chicken salad was super spicy though.
Sister had the combination phở, I had flank and beef phở, it was okay the broth was good, the size was good. She did however ask for no onions but they still put onions in it.
No one checked on us, sodas were warm, the two tables that got there before us got their food first. We literally waited about 1hr to get our food and I know this because the meter only had 1hr and 20 min in it and I had to go put more coins in it.
Not sure if I’ll come back

I came here couple times. Phở is good. I like the combination phở. However, I don’t understand why I paid more than the price on the menu couple dollars (even with the tax on).

Cozy little phở shop in the University area. Seats about 35 people. Fairly clean. Parking in the back or metered parking out front. Service is ok. It’s a family owned business so don’t be surprised if you find them having a meal in the dining area, sometimes the kids help out when their parents need a hand.
The food is pretty good here. We normally come here for their chicken phở or lemon grass chicken plate. Both are terrific choices.
Overall, I would recommend this place to my friends. Don’t forget to bring cash as they do not take credit/​debit cards.

Desperate and hung over I made my trek down King Street towards my friend’s house in Kaimuki searching for phở to help bring me back to life. I sadly learned very quickly that although there are so many phở restaurants, a lot of them tend to be closed on Sundays :(
I’ve been to this place before and as it was the last phở shop before I hit my friend’s house, I was overjoyed to see that the third (shop) was the charm and it was open! Their takeout is only in large sizes ($ 9) and although the store was completely empty, still kind of took a while for it to come out. In all fairness though this could very well be because I was hung over and with zero patience and a queasy stomach so time seemed to drag on.
The phở came with a decent amount of meat and a lot of soup and noodles and of course veggies. Is it the best tasting phở? Not particularly. Did it do on a Sunday when my other favorite restaurants were closed and was on the way? Absolutely. Service is also nice and even gave me a water while I waited. Maybe they could see that I was dehydrated and dying?

I live right down the street so if I want to get my phở fix I come here if I am to lazy to drive. Food is ok. The service is good. Restaurant is clean. Don’t have anything negative to say about the place.

Sorry, this place
is the first time I come and I’m sure it is also the last time. I went there at 11 lunch time, it was quiet and empty. The male owner looks unhappy. Bad impression. As usual, I order a medium size phở with beef and flank. He didn’t even ask me if I want meat inside or outside. When my food came, I was mad and shocked. It is the smallest portion in a medium size phở I have ever seen. Seriously, it is so freaking small! And it is 8.50. And the portion of meat is hella small as well. I think there were around 6 slices of meat in total? The taste is mediocre. So if you ever wanna try this place, don’t order a $ 8.00 medium
Go pay 9.00 for a large.

I was in the area and I was craving phở so I decided to try this place. It was a weekday and I went around noon. There were 2 other tables with customers. Everyone was eating the phở so I’m thinking to myself that the phở must be really good. I ordered the phở combo and summer rolls for take-​out. Their prices aren’t like Chinatown but they are reasonable. My food took about 15 minutes.
When I got to my destination and sat down to eat, I opened up the phở broth container and tried a spoon of it. It was bland but the temperature was still good enough to cook my meat. The presentation of the noodles and meats in the other container were very pretty. Someone in the kitchen actually took some time to place each item verses the ones that just wrap your noodles and meat in saran wrap. The summer rolls were like the same as all Vietnamese restaurants but their peanut sauce was bland. It didn’t have enough peanut taste and the consistency was runny. If I did dine in, I could have made my food taste better by adding in the condiments on the table. With take out, I only had hoisin and sriracha sauce. If you are in the area and you want phở, give this place a try. The one good thing about having bland broth is that there is less or no MSG so you don’t end up chugging water the next few hours.
As for parking, if you don’t feel like walking in the heat, there is street parking right in front of the restaurant. Just remember to fill the meter. If you can walk, park in the back of the restaurant because parking is free but read the signs and make sure you park in the correct stalls. I think the parking lot is shared with other businesses and residents who live in the build behind.

If you’re looking for tasty phở, then this is the place to go! The broth is packed with flavor and I love that it is NOT salty like many other phở shops around town. The combination phở is my go to phở and is both hearty and light at the same time. I can never get enough of their spring rolls, but if you’re more of a summer roll fan they’re just as good too.
The service is superior by phở shop standards, and the owner is very friendly and attentive to his customers. I’ve been a happy customer for a few years now and always leave with smile on my face!

I live right near by and this place is great for takeout! I have yet to sit down and eat at the establishment but their food is always consistently good. Phở is tasty and the spring rolls are delicious, I have yet to try other dishes.
Before they renovated the prices were a bit different and kind of inconsistent but they currently made a new menu and though the spring rolls and some dishes increased in price, their phở is still pretty much the same price! I’ll add photos of the menu for reference!

I love phở. And this is my new favorite phở place. Perfect broth and chili sauce!
I created a Unilocal account just to post this review.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve come here to one of my favorite hole in the wall Vietnamese restaurants.
Today was the perfect day for Phở, as the weather was a bit dreary & cold.
All my coworkers from the lunch gang was here today, so it was time to take care of our Vietnamese fix.
Got my usually combo #21 with the various meats in it. They also gave us a generous portion of veggies too! I like a lot of veggies in my Phở soup, without it, it just wouldn’t be the same.
Well today’s meal was just over the top I tell you… just look at the pics!!! I sure got my money’s worth today!!! I will be sure to not wait so long, before coming back here for a delicious bowl of Phở!

Wow, their phở is such a great deal, a large goes for $ 8 and it’s really big, they give tons of veggies. A medium is about a dollar less and it’s enough or a regular person. The quality of the veggies is so so, basil leaves are not as fresh but do give saw leaf. They are also very generous with the beef, it’s double the amount that Lemongrass restaurant in Kailua!
The broth is heavy with cinnamon and clove flavors with a touch of smokiness. Not exactly as good as the Chinatown phở places, but pretty darn close.
We also ordered the spring rolls, came out hot and fresh, filling is flavorful. Also, ordered fried shrimp, which is also pretty good.
Service is good, parking can be found in the back of the restaurant.
Recommended!