Pho 888

I’ve lived in Des Moines my whole life and I have only been here a few times. One Sunday, a bunch of my friends and I decided to come here for some much needed hangover phở. We were able to put in our orders really quickly and the food didn’t take too long to come out either. Unfortunately, there was a small mix-​up between who had what kind of phở but other than that, the service was pretty good. I ordered the #21 and a café sua da; all of which only set me back $ 10. That’s an amazing deal after living in a place where phở is over $ 10. The phở was very filling and pretty tasty but I’ve had better. I haven’t tried anything else on their menu but I’d definitely like to! Overall, this place is good to come and eat some Sunday phở with friends.

Banh mi sandwiches are great… cockroaches crawling on the ground while you are eating here: sickening. Seriously, has the health inspector ever been to this restaurant? The high chairs are sticky & dirty, much like the tables you eat on.

The phở here is amazing! So full of flavor. So are the spring rolls!!!
The bubble tea was good. Not the best in town but rely good.
Cleaning could be better. The chopsticks at the table and the sauce holder was sticky.
This is not in a great area. The parking is a bit scary. There was a homeless panhandler coming to each table asking for money.
It took forever for service and to get our bill. The waitress was friendly when we did get to see her.
Overall good food but not the best atmosphere and area of town.

Extremely good small phở ga. They also have medium and large. I love their mix of spices on the table as well. Spring roles are good.

Dined here with a group a while back on a whim and realized we really should have looked at a menu first. It was really last minute so we didn’t think to do so. We thought we’d have some meatless options, but there was really nothing we could get besides fried rice. I tried to order a bahn mi sandwich with tofu (as I had at many other Vietnamese restaurants without an issue).
They brought out a side of tofu and vegetables plus the bread (uncut without a knife) and said I could just make it myself. They also brought it out long before the rest of my tables’ food. The whole experience made for an awkward lunch all in all. The servers all seemed really all over the place and frazzled when it was really not busy at all. I’ve never dined out and been told to make my own food before. Weird, guys! We definitely don’t plan on going back. If you’re a meat eater, you may enjoy the food, but the service is very lackluster.

This is the best phở in Des Moines. The broth is rich and textured and oh, so delicious. They get serious bonus points for putting serious chili oil on each table.
You can tell they are serious because of the restaurant layout, bright lighting, and laminated menus. You can tell a phở place is going to suck if they try to put in dim lighting and pretend that they aren’t a phở place. Phở 888 has bright lighting, laminated menus, and a very open table arrangement that just screams, «serious phở restaurant!»

The Bahn Mi is great. Delicious and inexpensive. My favorite thing to eat in when I’m in Des Moines. The only reason I’m not giving it more stars is because this place could use a major cleaning. I always take my sandwich to go to avoid eating in there.

I got the beef phở and an order of krab ragoons. They have extremely fast service here! The phở was very tasty. This is my go to spot for phở!

I eaten here so many times I couldn’t even count. I’ve tried everything on the menu. Never had a bad meal. I’ve even gotten to know the owners and they’ve suggested things not on the menu that have turned out to be some of my favorites. I’ve tried Phó every where in town and this still is my favorite. The broth is made with love and you can taste it in every luxurious slurp you take. Their Bun Mi are a perfect balance of spicy and meaty and inexpensive.

Phở is a staple here, with great hot plate options. Huge menu with a variety of Viet, Thai, Laos and Chinese foods. The food looks and tastes fresh every time. The location is kind of sketchy with parking and the like, but they’re moving soon. The décor is traditional Chinese and the dining room is large and open. Staff is fast and will explain any menu item to you, even pronunciations. The Vermicelli salads are all worth a taste and the phở is wonderful. The spring rolls are so fresh, I’ve never had herbs as fresh as 888 does. The food is beautiful is presentation, not oily or greasy and both smells and tastes fresh.
Definitely try Phở 888 for all of your Asian food cravings, they’ve really got something for everyone to love.

The service is usually tereible. Couterintuitive to what you would think, the full time regular severs are the worst. Sometimes you may get one good experience if you go when it’s slow. Because if this, I had taken this restaurant out of my phở rotation. Came with a friend during lunch because she drove and it was as bad as I remember. The food is decent to pretty good. Prices are good. Try Phở 515 inside C Fresh or Fawn’s or Golden Triangle if it’s a family outing and service is important. Not only will they screw up your order, they won’t come back to the table or refill drinks.

First time trying this place & I was very pleased. Service is okay here but the food was delish. I got the #26 vermicelli & spring rolls. Along with the Vietnamese coffee. Def will come back here again.

Had phở #20 and Vietnamese ice coffee here. Both were very good and taste is better than homemade. The parking is not idea since the parking lot is small and shared by several small business. If you are in the mood for a good bowl of phở, this is the place to go.

Despite my previous review I still frequent phở 888, I just make sure to avoid anything I’m allergic to. The waitresses there have remembered me enough by now that when I order something they ask me if I want the shrimp on the side.
The food is so good we always come back. The 26, vermicelli salad is by far my favorite. The phở is excellent and you always have to start off with the spring rolls.
The service can be very basic, so it’s best not to expect the world of them, they are getting better though!

This place will be hit or miss for some people. The service is either great or very poor, but place is usually packed during lunch and dinner time.
This place is very affordable to eat. They have a variety of Thai, Lao, Chinese and Vietnamese food on their menu.
This is what we usually order when we come:
Fried shrimp rolls with cream cheese — these are quite good and not on the menu.
Egg rolls — Vietnamese wrap and Chinese version are decent.
Phở dac biet — the broth on a good day isn’t too bad. I would recommend eating phở earlier in the day :) comes with decent amount of meat and noodles. If you want to try something different get egg noodles instead of the rice noodles.
Lad Na — noodles are very thick and generous amount of meat. Not my favorite but edible.
Combo fried rice — this one is usually for the kid. You really can’t go wrong with this dish.
Banh mi with the grilled pork — grilled and season pork with sesame seeds with some carrots, daikon, cilantro, jalapeño pepper along with some Vietnamese dipping sauce. One of my faves here.
Café su da — can’t beat Vietnamese iced coffe. Highly recommend!
The restaurant could use a good cleaning and bathrooms are a but scary.
Overall don’t be afraid of exterior — decent food for decent price.

We stopped in on a Sunday afternoon for some Phở. The place wasn’t packed as usual. I tried my wife’s seafood wonton noodle soup. Oh man. I wasn’t impressed. It was salty. The seafood wasn’t fresh at all. The squid was chewy and rubbery. My mother in law found a toothpick in her beansprout. Yes. You read it right. A toothpick. How did a toothpick end up with the veggies? (beansprout and basil come with all the Phở soup). I’ve been asking myself that question.
The bathroom was dirty. It looked more like a custodian’s closet than a bathroom. I’ve been to Phở 888 before and it’s never been this bad. I will not come back to this place.

I have heard great things about this place, and decided to drive out there to check it out last night. Apparently they are closed on Tuesdays? FYI. Am looking forward to checking it out some other time.

My friend told me it was amazing #IRL so here I am.
Felt a little sketchy parking but yeah get over it.
This place is real. Food was perfect. Service was well… bring a book or something.

BEST PHO IN THE WHOLE CITY. The chicken or seafood Phở is so warming to the soul, flavorful broth and quiet ambiance makes this place a nice place to eat. It is on east 14^th and kind in a not so hot location but the Phở makes up for it.
I recommend not getting the large bowl because you won’t be able to eat it all — even if your a big guy!
I’ve also had the spring rolls which come with a tasty peanut sauce… Mmm so good! The crab Rangoon are very good also.
I had the chicken pad Thai last time I was there, and was some of the best pad Thai I’ve ever had. Love it an love this place. Thank you to my gorgeous fiancé for introducing me to this place!

We were visiting from Colorado and my brother took us here with the whole family. I ordered chicken phở with fried pork belly and it was quite good. My niece’s strawberry boba shake was the bomb. And my husband, who decided to order Thai even though there was a specific Unilocal review warning against it, ordered the pad see ew, Thai hot. THE PAD SEE EW WAS AWESOME. Except for, not hot at all. My husband is one of those crazy people who want to see how many taste buds he can burn off so he eats ghost peppers, etc., and can tolerate a lot of heat. He was disappointed in that, but loved his meal, as we all did, since we all tried it.
Great place, all in. Do try.