Pho Dollar

Definitely one of the hidden gems of Buffalo, NY and one of the best Vietnamese restaurants that I’ve been to. It’s located in a not so good part of town; probably wouldn’t recommend coming here at night. There is plenty of parking in the Dollar General lot adjacent to it. The phở is absolutely fantastic as is almost everything else that I have tried. Definitely will come back next time I am in Buffalo. Highly recommend this place for anyone that likes viet food!

Super yum!
Bhan mi and phở, you gotta go!
Friendly, clean, fast, I hope it lasts!
My wife and I had take out lunch, good prices and can’t wait to go back.

Great Phở. I always get chicken Phở and its really satisfying on a cold day. Definitely recommend!

Man oh man is this Phở delicious. I went on a cold Sunday afternoon and this couldn’t have been a more delicious meal. My boyfriend and I split the spring rolls and I got the #19 Phở – It was hearty, flavorful and delicious.

Kind of tiny and gross.
But best bun no hue I’ve had in Buffalo and NY state and I’m from NYC.
Will come back.

Ordered delivery last night and was disappointed that it took over an hour to arrive. The individual we placed the order with on the phone claimed it would only take 30 – 40 minutes. Mind you, I live five minutes away from their location. Oh well.
The food was good not great, for the most part, but the Vietnamese Style Chicken Wings are a MUST. Cooked to perfection every time we order and always are super tasty. Try them. Believe me. #17.

Though it may be a little ways from school, this is by for the best Vietnamese place I have been to in Buffalo (Sorry Phở 99)! Their Phở Xe Lua is very flavorful and hits the spot with every sip you take of the broth, and the noodles and meat were done perfectly. But to top it all off, they have Bahn Mi. That’s right! Every time I go to Phở Dollar, I make sure I get at least one. Though the sandwich may be small, the taste really makes it a bang phở your dollar!

I love going here. It’s very authentic and delicious. Proportions are large and they explain well of you don’t know what to order.

Phở Dollar is a hidden gem on West Ferry Street. After over a year of hearing how wonderful this place is, I finally went for dinner with two of my friends. The food was just as good as they described! I was extremely impressed by the service. Our servers were so friendly and attentive.
As soon as I opened the menu, I knew that I was in trouble. There were about 10 pages of entrees and I wanted to try them all. They offer: phở, vermicelli, fried rice, crispy rice noodles and stir fry noodles– with all types of toppings and sauces. They also offer many combination meals and appetizers.
We ordered tea and appetizers. The tea was served piping hot, which I always appreciate. For our appetizers, we split an order of fresh spring rolls and deep fried spring rolls. Both were delicious! I especially loved the variety of dipping sauces they served with the rolls. The peanut sauce was divine. I could have eaten it with a spoon!
I felt quite overwhelmed when it was time to choose our entrees. Because it was my first time at Phở Dollar, my friends insisted that I try the classic Phở with thin sliced beef and meatballs. Before they brought out my soup, they brought out a dish with herbs, spices, jalapenos and bean sprouts. I liked that they let me choose how much of each spice I wanted in the broth. I ended up using all of it, and it was perfect! The broth was delicious and refreshing. The basil and culantro (closely related to cilantro) were my favorite additions. The thinly sliced beef and noodles in the phở were absolutely phenomenal. I wasn’t as impressed by the meatballs, I would probably leave them out next time
My two friends ordered a vermicelli dish and the «bird’s nest» with crispy noodles, chicken and vegetables. I tried both of their meals. They were both great, but the bird’s nest was exceptionally tasty! The crispy noodles mixed with the sauce, chicken and broccoli was a unique and wonderful combination.
I will certainly be returning to Phở Dollar to try all of the other amazing options. Everything that I tried was phenomenal, and I was very impressed with the reasonable prices and casual atmosphere.

This review solely pertains to their banh mi which is dope. It’s nicely priced and all of the elements are well-​balanced. The bread was toasted on the outside and soft on inside. The meat was crispy but not burnt. Too often have I been oven chewy pork on my banh mis. I’m only giving out four stars instead of five because I wish there had been more meat. But otherwise, this place is awesome. And as a plus, the waitstaff was friendly and not fake.
P. S. Shoutout to the table of people who called the waitstaff over to settle their bet about how phở is pronounced. WILL THEY EVER KNOW???

I don’t know why I don’t come here more often. I think th at I just forget that it’s here because I think of places in the EV and Allentown when I’m tossing around ideas of where to eat. From now on, I promise to make a point of including Phở Dollar in my regular options because it’s delicious.
I’ve only been twice so far but based on the quality of my meals and the portion sizes I have already been recommending it to friend and foe alike. Everyone deserves a good meal, right?
I’ve had noodle dishes and rice dishes so far. I guess next time I’ll have to try the phở. I mean, it is in the name and all. When I do, I’ll let you know what I think. I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be tasty!

My first vietnamese experience here, we came I guess at a dead time as only one other patron was having lunch, and i guess the asian family that operates the facility. our waitress wasn’t of vietnamese decent, but thats actually nothing new to me. She was quick to bring us our drinks and order.
Dad tried the phở and felt it was too salty for his taking and lacked flavor.
I ordered the bun dac biet. I have never seen Bun like this before! It had a variety of meat in the dish, plenty of vegetables, and a ton of noodles! The nuc mam was flavorful and I was satisfied with my meal. The meat was real tender and flavorful, the eggroll was nicely fried, the pork was different but I enjoyed it and everything about my dish … beside the fact that i had paid nearly 14 dollars for a vietnamese dish –_​– brushing off that because this may just be a northern economy thing though…
Cool interior, has bar seating (actual bar), booths, and tables … upstair and downstair seating. Could see myself come here again for a vietnamese fixing untill i find something more college friendly

I’ve been here twice now, and each time I’ve really enjoyed what I had! The staff is very friendly, they’re quick to keep your drinks topped off, and the food is fresh and plentiful.
Both times I was here with groups of 6, and while the tables are a little tight for a group of that size, the servers can handle groups with ease, which is actually really refreshing – I’ve noticed most places for some reason fall apart if there’s a 5^th person at a table. I’ve never understood it, even when I was working in a restaurant. Weird. Anyways, Phở Dollar does not have that problem, they’re really good for small groups.
While the food is amazing and fresh, I’ve never actually been obsessed with coming back. Like, it’s good and I’m quick to agree to meet here, but it’s out of my way and nothing something I’d make a special trip for if it was just me or me and my husband. But it is something to make the drive for when meeting people and wanting to try a great Buffalo restaurant.

Had a phở beef !! So delicious! The waitress was so friendly and polite, the service was good. Not my first time here, I keep coming for more!
It’s a must have!!!

Summary: In my opinion, don’t come here if you are vegetarian.
I don’t slam a restaurant for not being vegetarian. And, honestly, I don’t expect authentic Vietnamese food to cater to vegetarians (there’s a reason I go to Toronto for Phở — because they do make it with vegetable broth in certain places). But, if you are going to boast a vegetarian menu, at least have things that are vegetarian on it. As other Unilocaler addressed, there used to be a photocopy menu or something. Now, the menu is quite put together and there’s a special section for vegetarians. One advises that there is beef in the dish… so, that’s not vegetarian. Seriously, folks, I’m used to people not realizing that fish isn’t vegetarian, but beef *certainly* is not vegetarian. And, yes, if you use beef or chicken broth, it’s still not vegetarian.
As another Unilocaler already noticed, the vegetarian dishes are basically indistinguishable from each other — they are all stir fry with tofu. I went with the Vietnamese fried rice and tofu because, hey, at least the rice might be special. I received a flavorless batch of oily rice with unseasoned vegetables and tofu. The rice was as if I ordered it at any hole in the wall, greasy restaurant. Plus, I had asked what was in the rice — as I don’t eat egg in my rice — and the waitress had no clue. She couldn’t describe it nor seemed to be bothered to check. The tofu was fried until flavorless and I got about $ 1.50 worth of vegetables on a bed of rice I didn’t eat. Terrible value and no seasoning, taste, or cooking skills needed.
Which brings me to service — it was pretty bad. When we sat down, the waitress immediately came up and asked «You know what you want?» No, I don’t — I just sat down. The vibe of the entire restaurant was awkward as well, with people being kind of scolded, a lot of passive aggressive behavior, and people coming in for take out that was taking too long. A side note, my friend ordered his dish to be mostly lettuce and less noodles — instead, he got almost no lettuce and almost all noodles. Needless to say, we left a plate of rice and a bowl of noodles at the end of the meal because neither were what we wanted.
Anyway, I won’t be coming back unless they advertise a real vegetarian menu. If you are vegetarian or have any dietary restrictions, I don’t recommend coming here as you won’t be able to get an answer about the food. If you like authentic Vietnamese, this might be the place for you. I don’t like giving it such a bad review, but since every aspect of the meal was terrible and I can’t even be sure if the rice I did eat was vegetarian, I’m okay with one star.

AMAZING! I so thoroughly enjoyed the meal I just had here! Their menu is really big its like a small book I had no idea what to order it all sounded so good. Luckily I had an Asian friend of mine from NYC who is very familiar with Vietnamese cuisine there to help guide me.
I ended up with the pork bahn mi and the traditional Phở (which was number 20 on the menu I believe). I also ordered a strawberry bubble tea. The pork bahn mi was excellent to say the least. The pork was cooked just right and had the perfect sweet flavor. The bread was fresh and soft and chewy and the vegetables in the sandwich were nice and fresh. The cilantro on the sandwich added the perfect amount of extra flavor kick. So good I badly want another one right now while I’m writing this.
The Phở was really good. If you’re unfamiliar with phở it is basically Vietnamese soup that has meat, noodles, and vegetables in it. They give you bean sprouts and lemon grass to add to the phở plus there are spicy sauces that can be added as well. You basically add what you want as much or as little and make your own flavor adjustments however you like. Either way it is so good.
They have a lot of different flavors of the bubble tea to choose from. I honestly can’t really comment on the quality of the bubble tea compared to other places because this was my first time trying it, but I did like it.
The inside of the restaurant is done up really nicely and they even have a really nice full bar that you can sit at if you want. Service is timely and prices are reasonable. I can tell you honestly that this place is extremely popular with all of the people I know who have been here before me. I will most definitely be back here as soon as I can because I need some more of this awesome Vietnamese fare.

Phở Dollar’s banh mi sandwich is on point! I met my boyfriend and his friends here for dinner one night and the second I walked in, I could tell i was in for a treat. The place is quaint and cute. It smelled of sprouts, beef broth and fresh basil. When I arrived, the group had ordered appetizers and left me my share. I had ¼ of the banh mi sandwich which was amazing. I am used to having these crunchy, salty and tart sandwiches back home, so it was so refreshing to have it in my home away from home. The bread was wonderfully toasted and when I bit into it, it had the amazing crunch as the juices from the sauce and pickled carrots oozed out WITHOUT having the bread cut my face open. If you’ve had any type of toasted roll, you know what I am referring to.
I ordered phở (duh) and my goodness was it good. The broth was on point and the garnishes extremely fresh. My tripe was flavorful, and cooked to the perfect consistency. Compared to the other phở place I used to go to in Buffalo (Phở 99), Phở Dollar’s portion sizes are a bit more modest, BUT they definitely do not skimp on the flavor and meat portions.
Tucked away in the West Side, Phở Dollar is a gem that only recently opened (about a year ago). I definitely will be returning to try out other things on their menu. Aside from phở, my favorite Vietnamese dish to get is the cold noodles with crunchy spring rolls. I was so torn when I saw it on the menu — must try soon! (Maybe when I’m off paleo).

My husband heard about this place and wanted to give it try since we love Thai. We were not disappointed!
We walked in last friday night at 7:45 and were able to sit right down in the upstairs seating area. The waitress came right over smiling and brought us menu’s with waters. I ordered the #60 Com Chien Ga’ which translates to the fried rice with chicken. My husband ordered the #6 Goi Cuon to start which was like a spring roll with a very tasty peanut butter dipping sauce and then for his main course he had the #20 Phở Tai — Very large bowl of rice noodles, broth, veggies and your choice of meat, he chose the beef. It looked like fresh roast beef from wegmans deli!
The Goi Cuon came within a few minutes of ordering and was gone a few minutes later! It was excellent! About 10 minutes later our entrees came. Both were very large portions! The fried rice had great flavor, the only thing that would have made it better would have been to add pineapple to it. Maybe I will ask next time if they can add some in.
Bottom line is, we are making plans to go back next week and we are bringing friends!

Hmm, where do I begin? This was THE strangest dining experience I have ever had. They keep the second star for the once again amazing Goi Cuon spring rolls with peanut dipping sauce and the rather tasty Jasmine Tea with Limeade.
This time, I went for dinner with a friend and I decided to try the famed Phở. Maybe I ordered the wrong one because while it wasn’t bad, it was rather flavorless. I have definitely had better.
When we first arrived, my friend asked for a drink from the bar. But we were told there was no bartender working and thus, only beer was available. I counted at least three employees in sight but I guess none of them were capable of making drinks.
But here is big the thing: our table was swarming with fruit flies and at least one regular fly who I assume was their leader. It was kinda gross.
I doubt I will be back.

After one visit to Phở Dollar, I am sure I will be back. Based on what I’d heard about the restaurant, I was expecting more of a take-​out joint with a counter and a few tables. Instead, there was a full bar and dining room with several tables and lots of room.
There was only one server working the entire dining room on the night of my visit. Yet, she was extremely nice and handled the crowd very well. She even took time to explain menu items to us. Seeing as I don’t eat meat, I asked if it was possible to get phở without chicken or beef broth. To my surprise, it was! I ended up ordering phở with vegetable broth and shrimp and it was amazing. My date ordered some type of rice noodle bowl with grilled shrimp and seasoned pork and loved it.
This is the type of charming restaurant with great food that will suffice a typical Buffalo foodie’s cravings. I hope they put a menu up online soon so it’s easier to order take-​out over the phone.