Pho 36

Bummer that they closed I would go here since I was 6 years old I’m 20 now; they were such nice people. And the food was the best.

What! It’s closed. The lady there was so nice and the food was good. I have a sore throat and was about to head over there :(

Since Phở 4000 closed, I like Phở 36 the best in Koreatown. This is a nice mom and pop joint. We got the #1 egg rolls, #12 combo with had all the meats even the meat balls and #18 no meat. The broth has a deep flavor. They have good service too.

I usually love this place but we were calling since 8:30 this evening to place a to go order. My husband got fed up and drove over to discover they were closed. Not honoring working hours is not the way to do business!

I’m a Phở addict so trust me when I say this place is amazing! I tried pretty much all of them in Ktown and in my opinion this is the best.

This is my go-​to joint for a good bowl of soup. I went in on a whim, had one taste and was so pleased that I no longer had to drive downtown to Pho87. The food here at Pho36 is good, comes quickly, is plentiful and server is always very polite. She is all business, but she is polite. Did I mention the food is really good?! :-)

(+)
Lots of fresh herbs, lime, sprouts, onions
Sauce dishes to hold your hoisin, sriracha
Health Grade A
Lots of parking on street
Large portion of noodles and broth
Cheap prices
Fast and good service
Authentic/​Vietnamese owner
(-)
Fans instead of A/​C when I was there
Smells kind of like old rags
Broth not clear
Broth tastes like MSG
Lower quality phở noodles
Skimpy on meat

This place is pretty average in my books. Nothing really stood out. nothing to write home about.
They really need to get the AC/​Vents going. I came in here around 10:45am and it was already pretty warm and smelled funny because it was stuffy. Luckily there was only two other guests. I can’t imagine how hot/​stuffy it gets around noon or one with more bodies + more heat + more hot bowls of soup noodles being served.
Service was fast. Food is reasonably priced and the portions are good. I will say that my noodles were slightly undercooked when they first came out, but with time they softened after soaking in the broth. The other two customers had something to say about the noodles as well. it honestly didn’t bother me that much. The soup base was average. Usually when the broth is really well made i i’m hesitant about putting too much siracha etc. in it because I feel like it masks the flavor. but I definitely had to add a bit + oyster sauce + basil to add a little extra flavor.
I’ll definitely come back if I get the early morning phở crave and there aren’t alternatives that are open. it’s definitely not on the top of my list but it’s not bad either.
To sum everything up in one word? «meh»

Always tasty phở! I usually order to go, and they are super fast. Yum yum!

Went for the first time today, loved it. My new favorite Phở place around here! I’ve been to most of the Phở places in Ktown, I think this was the only one where I actually heard Vietnamese being spoken

I appreciated the fact The food Was Cheap and good quality. intimate Environment the service was excellent too.

I love this place. One time I drove here without checking if it was open while it was raining. They’re not open on Tuesday guys. I had that moment where it was pouring rain (which is rare in LA) staring at a closed down phở restaurant, sobbing internally. Possibly externally. There were a lot of wet things going on.
Don’t make that mistake.
Cheap, quick, and yummy. I like my phở with rare steak, brisket, tendon, and tripe. It’s a solid place on Western, and a little more low key.

I’ve be there for so many times. Everything is good. Fast, friendly, cheap…

i like coming to this place. simple, clean, and very good Phở. the lady waitress is no nonsense but she’s cool. after all sh has a job to do. thumbs up.
i recommend the Phở Ga (chicken)

I actually really like this place. Being Vietnamese, I am a phở snob and enjoy a nice hot bowl of phở tai and this place has it! Whenever I am in need of phở, it is either this place or simply phở you. I like this place better because it’s cheaper, less popular, has bigger portions, and a parking lot! Plus it’s a lot closer to me. I guess one of the downsides is that they do not offer rice plates and a lot of my hungover friends who do not like phở (ludacris) don’t like eating here with me. Also, I’ve came here a few times when it was busy and I think the poor lady works by herself. Quite frankly, I don’t go to authentic phở restaurants to spark up a conversation with the server. I come to eat Phở. And this place has it!
It is around $ 7 a bowl and they only accept credit card over $ 10.

Best phở in Koreatown. Friendly family run business. I give it 5 stars because for Koreatown, it’s the best phở place. I prefer Alhambra and Westminster phở but it’s way too far of a drive.

First time writer for the place! It’s my new favorite place for phở in this area! The phở is $ 7 AND some change which is pretty cheap. I have seen phở from $ 7-​$ 11 range.
I ordered a rare steak with extra noodles b. c there isn’t a large or small. I always ask for raw white onion and sprouts and lots of jalapenos, to toss into it along with oyster sauce!
My boyfriend got a chicken phở. All white meat which is always a good thing. Sliced thin and it was so juicy!
The egg rolls were pretty amazing as well!
Thank you!
Everyone who writes anything negative about this place.
DON’T KNOW PHO!

Came to this place as an in-​between spot to meet up with an old friend. I walked in and I immediately noticed how hot and humid the place was! No air conditioning? «Well, it’s OK» I thought to myself because I was greeted with a smile by an older man who appeared to be an employee or owner of the restaurant. So, I thought the place would have great service, despite the discomfort of the restaurant.
I sat myself down at a table and remember feeling disgusted at the state of the menu. The menus were not only limited in selection (only appetizers, phở, and vermicelli dishes — all rice dishes were crossed out), but it was also sour-​smelling and grimy to the touch. I didn’t even want to touch the menu, but thank goodness I had hand sanitizer. I was craving Phở but due to the hot environment, I was going to settle for spring rolls or a vermicelli dish.
The waitress came over to my table to take my order. I told the waitress (don’t know her name, but only that she’s an older lady who wore a blush-​colored top that night and had her hair in a pony-​tail) that I was waiting for a friend, so I’ll start off with a lemonade.
10 — 15 minutes passed and I still hadn’t received my lemonade. I went outside to make a phone call to my friend and that’s when I think she remembered that she had a customer who was waiting for her lemonade. Almost immediately when I walked in, I saw her pour my lemonade.
I tasted my lemonade after my friend met up with me and noticed that it was way too sweet… I don’t know how much sugar she put in but it tasted like pure sugar water! Not sure how most of you like your lemonade, but I don’t think it should taste like pure sugar water.
I asked the waitress for another lemonade and she reacted like I was attacking her. Her eyes got big and her tone of voice was argumentative. She was telling me that she cannot take back the lemonade. She insisted that I put more ice or water in my lemonade. Then she proceeded to say that I was supposed to tell her not to put that much sugar in my lemonade before I tasted it. How was I supposed to know that it was going to be THAT sweet? She blamed me for wanting to return the lemonade. To avoid further conflict, I said «never mind» and wanted to just drop the issue and just drink water. She kept pressing the topic like she didn’t understand my attempt to reconcile the issue. My friend was getting annoyed and said «can you please just cancel the lemonade»? As my friend handed the lemonade to her, the waitress snatched the lemonade from his hand and stormed off from the table.
My friend and I were left sitting at the table, wondering if she was going to come back to take our order. She proceeded to serve other tables and acted like my friend and I didn’t exist. After 5 – 10 minutes of ignoring us, we decided that we’ll have to catch up somewhere else. We wanted to try this place, but felt forced to walk out because of the hostile environment this lady created.
Maybe it’s the heat? I don’t know but I’m very disappointed with this place. If I could give this place a half star or even a ZERO star, I would.

Came here for lunch with my SO since it was down the street from where I live. First sign was that there was no one here… around lunch time. We got Vietnamese Iced Coffee, Summer Rolls, and The Vermicelli #9 dish.
The iced coffee was definitely powder… as it just came out in a cup without a dripper. This is coming from someone who’s dating a coffee snob. The summer rolls were decent, but the peanut sauce was definitely mediocre — too watery and surprisingly spicy. The noodle bowl was OK, but the portion was small, and the sauce on the side was definitely not fish sauce… it had no taste… maybe cold Barley… watered down fish sauce???
Service was also sparse. Lady sat us and was attentive until she delivered the food… then all service went to hell. Never saw around until she gave us the bill. And it’s a HUGE no-​no to give the bill without clearing dishes.
This is the place to come to if you want to be reminded of what Vietnamese food is, but not what it actually is. Oh, and no rice dishes either. What?!

It’s gonna be 1.7 stars for me. I’m usually really nice so 1.7 is saying something.
I have no idea why this place has 4 stars because the only thing this place really has going for them is the broth, which is still only slightly above average at most. Other than that, there was nothing super authentic or excellent about the phở here.
Cons:
1. Warm and stuffy inside, which is not acceptable for a place serving hot soup dishes and in the summer.
2. Half the menu was missing… they crossed out all their rice dishes (sad for my friend who wanted rice) and they ran out of all the vermicelli dishes (sad for my friend who wanted vermicelli).
3. Only one waitress doing everything from taking orders to bringing dishes to collecting money etc. So it was s-​l-​o — w. I thought she forgot our water at one point but she was just delayed.
4. Ok, this was the BIG UPSET of the day: no mint NOR basilllll??? We thought they didn’t serve it or ran out, but after reading other Unilocal reviews, turns out you have to ASK FOR IT! Which is just plain ridiculous, as those are what make a phở dish truly phở. Hmmmph, go figure!
I will not come here again, nor would I recommend this place…