Pho #1

My go to place for Vietnamese food in Albuquerque. Family run establishment serving up great bowls of phở and entrees. Consistently tasty food and consistently friendly service makes this a regular spot for me.

I am having a really hard time finding great phở in New Mexico. There is good phở, okay phở and not so great phở. Phở #1 falls into that last category. After having read some positive reviews my wife and I decided to give it a shot. Let me state, the people who work there are some of the nicest around and that is why they are getting 2 stars instead of 1. That said, the appetizer we ordered was suggested by our server, egg rolls. Normally, I wouldn’t order egg rolls at a Vietnamese restaurant but he said they were great. They weren’t. They tasted like something purchased and heated up in a gas station microwave. If I was still in college and hung over they’d be barely edible. On to the phở. Many people on Unilocal state that their phở has no flavor. It’s true. Zero flavor. It is as if they don’t use any star anise or ginger. It is like a watered down broth with some hints of beef flavor. I ordered #37 because I love tripe, flank, tendon and meatballs. I asked the server if there is a lot of meat and he told me there was in #37. Nope. Wrong. Fail. A few thin pieces of tripe, a few over cooked pieces of flank, 1 small meatball cut in half and they completely forgot to add the tendon. When I asked for the tendon they forgot I received a side bowl with ONE small piece of tendon. My wife’s phở was equally as boring and devoid of meat. Oh and they don’t give much in terms of greens for the phở. In fact, they only gave us a few strands of basil which was brown along the edges and some bean sprouts that were slimy. Totally depressing meal.
I won’t be back and if I was you I’d chance my meal elsewhere. The people who work here are indeed friendly but tho food is a sad wreck.

Don’t judge a book by its cover.
A friend took me here the first time I came, and I was honestly scared. There was no one in the restaurant and just the location alone (being off San Pedro and Central) had me very hesitant.
I took the recommendation of my friend on what type of Phở to order, and I was very impressed! The soup was the perfect temperature with just enough of all the ingredients. The service is always very fast and they make sure you have everything you need.
This has now become the only place I’ll go to get Phở. They’ll always welcome you with a smile, and the food is always consistent.

This place is decent, but not exceptional. I would probably come back if I were in the area, but might not make a dedicated trip. Overall though, if you live nearby, it serves up average to good Vietnamese fare. Also, the staff is great, so that is a definite plus.

I’ve been coming here for years, and it’s still my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in town. Everything is super fresh and super flavorful. The beef combination phở is great. If you’re not into tripe or tendon, the vermicelli bowl with lemongrass beef is a solid choice. Highly recommended.

Super solid Phở. The broth is very clean and the noodles were the perfect consistency.
The cha gio (fried spring rolls/​egg rolls) are also highly recommended. Perfect amount of meat and crispy skin.
Definitely come here for an authentic Vietnamese food experience

I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 ONLY because the phở was decent. Everything else on the menu is pre-​packaged, processed, deep fried garbage soaked in generic high fructose corn syrup sauce. Bleh.
Despite the Phở being decent, there is definitely better Phở in Albuquerque.

I went in and ordered phở and it had no flavor! It tasted like water. I told the lady what happened and she argued with me. She told me that it wasn’t bland! I don’t understand how she could know how my food tasted. I had two spoonfuls, and I told her I didn’t want it and she said no because I had some already. I took a picture of the hardly eaten food and how light the soup was. The vegetables were also going bad… I told her I would pay for it but for her to take it away so I could order something else but she didn’t understand me and got defensive with me. She gave me this dirty look and kept shaking her head. So then I decided I wouldn’t order anything else. I told her that she gave absolutely the worst customer service. She didn’t seem to care at all. Her only response was that they were the best in town. Apparently not today. I was very disappointed. I will never go back! I have pictures of all the food. The glass doors were filthy and chairs were sticky.

So comforting to walk in those doors and be hit with that smell. Phở. It’s awesome and this family will blow your taste buds out of the water. The owner is so nice and she always adores my children. Fast and friendly. Very clean and I think it’s the cheapest meal around. The spring rolls, egg Foo young and any of the phở are what I suggest. Oh yeah the salted lemonade soda will knock your socks off. I have never been disappointed.

Best in town. I keep going. Sometimes it has it bad days, but I can deal with it. I once banned them for 6 months after getting my carry out 45 minutes late. I guess they forgot my order. No biggie — 6 months ban was the price they had to pay (lol). You have to give it a try. I only order #82 (Vermicelli Bowl).

The absolute best phở in town, can never get enough of #37. Family run spot where food is excellent every time

I love eating places that make me think, «back when I was in ‘Nam…»
This was one of those experiences. The phở was delicious, and just as I remember it on the streets of Da Nang.
A great place to bring your family, and enjoy the traditional foods of Vietnam.
Will be back!

Dang! I still like this place, but it wasn’t great this time. I ordered for pick up and was given cold broth that I had to microwave when I got home. It didn’t taste quite as good as before either.

Yum! I’ve had seafood phở and rare beef phở here. The broth is richly flavored in both and the fillings (not just the noodles) are very generous. Very good pork and spring rolls, freshly prepared. The eggrolls have delicious sausage in them, another winner. And the vermicelli patties with pork and shrimp are addictive, make sure you douse the dish in the sauce that comes with it. You’re not going here for the atmosphere, but the parking is easy and the service is prompt. If you like Vietnamese, this is the place to go.

It’s apparent there are many Phở connoisseurs in the 505 but i can’t agree with most of y’all, sorry. My last review for Phở #1 was back in 2011, so I decided to revisit one of the top rated Phở spots in the area to see what I missed.
–Price: The price of the Phở was averaging $ 6-​$ 8, 3 sizes; small, large & extra. Add 1.50 for extra large.
They DO accept credit cards.
–Broth: The broth was different this time. It was clear and free from too much oil but it had an interesting flavor like they had used corn when they prepared it. Not a fan.
–Noodles: Very clumpy took me a while to unravel.
Spring rolls were not fresh.

Phở#1 offers some great spring rolls and pretty tasty Phở I got the combo Phở which was pretty good and like all the other places the portions are huge. The only real downfall to this place was seeing cockroaches run across the floor really grossed me out.

Holy Colonic Batman! The best, most delicious and most perfectly spicy phở EVER! Absolutely fresh and crisp veggies, although you have to hunt the owner down to get extra.
Got the Sate version which was crazy delicious. If I were dying, I would come here to rise from the dead with this transformative life phở-​lixir. Go Phở #1!

I don’t know if I would classify their Phở is either authentic or good? Growing up eating Phở, I think their Phở is just simply not good. It’s just not right, my maw tried it and she said she would not come back again. Also it is annoying trying to have a conversation whilst the owner’s children and roaming around and screaming and kicking and crying.
I like kids, i like how innocent they are, i embrace that. However, this is a place of business, not a place to have your kiddos running around as if i was the hunger game in real life…

I feel weird giving such a good restaurant 3 stars, but competition is pretty fierce around here and there’s some damn good phở ’round these parts. I think Phở #1 is indeed A-​OK. This place might have been a little too authentic for me. I just felt like I couldn’t communicate very effectively in english because I couldn’t really tell if they understood what I wanted and then I smiled and paid and waited and took my order home to find out that no, they didn’t get a word I was saying. This is partially my fault, I was trying to get the combo phở but with pork instead of tripe and was off-​menu.
I had a combo phở. Which was full of all kinds of beefy goodness. Including a few surprises. The broth was great, needed little condiment. Came with the standard veggies on top. I had a tofu stir fry. I didn’t like the flavor so much. A little elevated on the garlic and fish sauce. I thought the veggies had a bit of a stale tannic taste. Not bad, not the best.
I did enjoy the food, I usually don’t seek out tripe, but «when in Viet Nam…». Unfortunately by the time it came out my friends had to go back to work so I wound up with three meals all to myself and I was charged for four meals. That’s what happens when you don’t communicate well. That’s alright, I’m not upset at all because the owners were really nice. In fact I was absolutely amused by the fact that the brother and sister who ran the place were cracking each other up like crazy.

Did not know what Phở was til yesterday so figured I better go give it a try…
was greeted upon entry and found a table… (everything looked to be tidy and clean)
gave the menu the once over but really wanted to stick with Phở so placed my order…
waitress questioned my order (55B) and asked me if that was what I wanted, admitted to being a «phở virgin» and she quickly gave advice to change order…
she could not have been more right, broth was spicy and flavorful (jalapenos and red chile flakes), sprouts on the side added a nice crunch and sprig of whatever (tasted like licorice, but unsure what it was) added some bite. Meat was flavorful and juicy and two kinds of noodles in dish …
topped off with an avocado shake (tons on different and unique flavors)
As this was my first Phở I have nothing to compare it to but liked it very much…
Will definately be back …