Bowl of PHO

The food was full of so much flavor. My six year son loved the pad thai with chicken. We definitely visit again.

As a Viet-​nut, I’ll travel far and wide for Vietnamese eats so count me as surprised when I found a SECOND VN restaurant right near my office. Bowl of Phở is just a couple of blocks down from Phở 9n9 but is a totally different experience, here’s why.
Located in a free-​standing building, Bowl of Phở has a slightly more modern, decorated feel to the dining room which is long and narrow. Beer/​wine specials on a board (woo-​hoo!) and the usual menu of phở, banh mi and apps. I’ve tried their bun bo hue and phở, it’s solid but the broth may not be quite as flavorful as Phở 9n9. Service is super-​quick and nice, you can get out in 30 minutes for lunch.
So if you’re in the hood and want to try something different for Vietnamese, give Bowl of Phở a whirl. It’s pretty similar to Phở 9n9 but less popular. You’ll find very similar food here and some of the dishes may be better but I’d still have to give Phở 9n9 the edge in flavor and selection.

I’ve been here a few times now for lunch when I’m craving a nice hot bowl of phở. I will say that most of the Vietnamese food in the area is not all that spectacular in general but this is one of the better ones. Service is good and staff is super friendly. If you’re feeling something spicy, the beef stew with ham and pork is yummy.

Fantastic phở! Service is hit or miss, but the phở makes up for it. If you go in for lunch, plan on being there for about 40 minutes.

We were happy to stumble upon this place on a rainy afternoon. The prices are reasonable, portions are large but not crazy, and the service was excellent. It wasn’t crowded, and our hostess found the time to hang about and chat with us, which was really nice.
We started with the summer rolls, which I wasn’t the biggest fan of, though my husband quite enjoyed. There was nothing offensive about them, but they lacked flavour, and I wouldn’t recommend them.
Our mains, however, were tasty. My husband had the small Phở with brisket– which is not small at all. There was a good amount of meat, and the broth was good. I had the Vietnamese Stir Fried Noodles with chicken. I had requested that they be made spicy, and it was nice to be listened to. Most places they will nod, but return with food that is not spicy at all (even when it is in the name of the dish) but this place was really good about the spice level, and taking me at my word. I enjoyed the nice hit of chili. It was convenient to have the condiments and utensils on the table already, so you don’t have to keep flagging down someone for sauce, forks, or whatever else.
They also have bubble tea, which is always good. I look forward to going back.

Could this be the restaurant to bring me out of review writing retirement?
I’m honestly not sure how I managed to overlook Bowl of PHO in the years I lived in Raleigh and Durham. I may have found my go-​to rainy day lunch spot!
I popped in on a Tuesday afternoon, just after one. There was one other patron dining and while I was finishing my meal another couple arrived. I wonder if Bowl of PHO is usually empty. There’s ample parking out front and plenty of seating. The décor is simple and clean.
I ordered the tofu summer rolls, which were fresh and arrived quickly and served with peanut sauce. I also ordered the vegetable noodle bowl, which made the summer rolls seem completely unnecessary. The bowl had enough broth, vegetables, and tofu for a grown man to drown his sorrows in the delicious broth. I regretfully didn’t come close to finishing my bowl.
I liked that the tables featured spoons, chopsticks, and forks already in a caddie. I didn’t feel like I was bothering staff by wanting to switch between or use multiple utensils. Sriracha and hosin sauce are also on the table top– much appreciated!

We dined on a Saturday night at around 7:30pm and we were the only guests in the entire restaurant. Maybe they are busy at lunch but we were the only guests. Needless to say, all the service and attention was on us and the owner and server took great care of us. We started with the Spring rolls with shrimp and pork. I did not like mine only because the lettuce was old (little brown on the sides). The phở on the other hand was piping hot and very fresh and I enjoyed it very much. The prices are good at $ 10 a bowl for a large beef phở and the fresh basil and bean sprouts are included on a plate on the side. Parking was easy and it was a casual set up and a few articles on the wall mention an Asian restaurant in Wilmington, NC named Banyan. There is some connection there with that chef and the Thai dishes on the Bowl of Phở menu. All in all, it is a good place for a bowl of Phở.

Met my boyfriend here for lunch… ordered the crab angels but they said they were «out» and suggested fried Cambodia rolls intead so we agreed to that and also ordered the phở bo vien. About one minute after taking our order the waitress brought out the Cambodia rolls… there is no possible way that they were made fresh. They werent even warm and they tasted like feet. It seems like they were made for another customer or by mistake and got pawned off on us twenty minutes later.
The soy sauce bottles were sticky and disgusting from being refilled and not wiped off. So nasty.
Finally the phở– they cut the noodles to short two inch noodles, the meatballs were the worst quality I’ve had at any phở place and THERE WAS AN ANT IN MY SOUP.
No…just no…

By far the best vietnamese I’ve had. The Phở is tasty, and the broth is CLEAN. The sandwich is crunchy and filled with lots of pork. I will be back!
Also, I caught a glimpse of the kitchen when paying and saw how spotless the kitchen was. I’m very impressed!

I’ve been scouring for the best phở place in the Triangle region for a while now, and I’m really surprised that I hadn’t heard of Bowl of Phở earlier. My friend and I went to Bowl of Phở for a late lunch at around 2pm on a Sunday, and the place was completely empty. The building where the location is situated looks pretty shabby, but the inside is very clean and roomy.
My friend ordered the beef Phở with all the meats (well done brisket, raw slice beef, tendon, tripe, & beef ball) while I opted for the Egg Noodle Soup with Tofu. The serving sizes of both dishes were very large. My friend said that they gave him a lot of meat in his phở, definitely more than in the average phở that he has ordered. The beef broth of the phở, which I had a chance to try, is on the sweeter side, which is delicious for people, like me, who love sweetness in savory foods but less enjoyable for people, like my friend, who would prefer saltier broths. Overall, a very decent phở, and we would definitely come back for more.
I really, really enjoyed the Egg Noodle Soup that I ordered. The broth was super tasty and, in my opinion, the perfect salty broth for my egg noodles. I enjoyed the texture of my egg noodles a lot — they were thin and still retained their firmness despite soaking in the broth. Also, because they were soaking in the broth, the noodles retained a lot of the broth’s tastiness, making them delicious! I’m not the biggest fan of fried tofu, so I think that the soup would have tasted better with soft tofu and more vegetables, but overall, I thought this was a great noodle soup.
I will have to try the bubble tea here too (though I think I will stray away from the Thai food and stick with the Vietnamese dishes since they just seem more authentic). A little pricier than most of the other phở places in the area (it was around $ 12 for), but definitely very high quality tastes and really big portions. If you’re a phở fan, you’ll want to try this place!

Phở here is delicious! Thai Tea boba is even more of a must have.
Service is actually not bad (for vietnamese). The speed of the food delivery is subpar.
Skip the Thai food here. The Ban Mi and most other Thai dishes are fine, but not great. For Thai go to C&T Wok in Morrisville — see other review.
However, it is a place called Bowl of Phở, so I am rating based on Phở. The rare beef Phở has a good amount of spice.
If you are looking for Phở, this is your place.

This place opened up right by our house and I would never have guessed in a million years it would be good. From the outside this place looks like it might give you food poisoning. I thought it was a trailer. But we had heard from friends (and Unilocal reviews) that it was actually good so we gave it a shot… and it was delicious! My husband had the phở and I tried the green curry. They have a pretty big Thai menu which surprised me since most of the reviews were for phở. I figured I’d give it a shot since I could taste test my husband’s phở at the same time (and I love Thai food).
My husband and I agreed that the phở was very good but still not the best we’ve ever had. We are harsh critics tho since we love phở and come from CA where you never have to settle for sub-​par Vietnamese food (or any ethnic food). The curry had great flavor as well — I loved the bamboo! It was a little more «soup» than I usually like it, but once I added the rice it was fine. The portions were huge too. I have to eat gluten free (celiac) but I don’t have to worry much with this type of food. Phở is always gluten free and curry is most of the time too. I would only be wary with the pad Thai and other dishes where there might be soy sauce.
Don’t come here expecting a great ambiance/​décor or service. The servers were very nice but there’s no frills whatsoever. Come for the phở and Thai food! We will definitely be back!

Tastes better than it looks!
Phở had a Very Nice Flavor 4 stars
Pork BBQ was ok, maybe not A-​OK
Lemongrass Beef was better than most of the ones I have eaten
Sandwich (NO Mayo please) was pretty Good! BIG!
The Following are extra Details that have NO Barring on my Unilocal star rating of this Business!
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Service was Excellent and everything we ordered was served exaktly as Ordered!
Dated Décor, so ugly it’s charming (in a way)!
I did not like that all the Chopsticks and Flatware were Unwrapped and in a container on the table

«Good phở on East Durham»
We tried this place for dinner on a Saturday night. There were a few other tables of people, but not crowded at all. We only saw two staff working. The phở is all in a beef broth, FYI.
Positives:
+ Taste. I had the vegetable phở– not bad straight up, but delicious with some basil, hoisin, and sriracha. Lots of broccoli, carrots, etc., in it, and a big helping of noodles. Unlike some other reviewers, I found the noodles fine– they absorbed the taste of the broth well. As another reviewer noted, the broth was not overly oily either, which was nice. My dining companions had the tofu phở, the «race slice» steak phở, the tofu and vegetable vegetarian noodle soup, and a red curry dish. Everyone really liked their foods as well.
+ Price/​value. $ 8 for a small bowl and $ 10 for a large bowl of phở. The large bowl is REALLY large, too– I was barely able to finish mine, and I’m a big eater.
Negatives:
— Setting. Mostly clean but not a nice-​looking building by any means. Pop music playing. We appreciated the practicality of the large number of spoons, forks, chopsticks sitting on the tables, but they diminished some from atmosphere, and I can imagine some people finding that «unclean» that their silverware was on the table for who-​knows-​how-​many previous guests.
— Service was mixed. On the one hand, the staff were friendly whenever they visited the table. On the other hand, they rarely checked on us, and there was a long span of time when some of us had food and others didn’t (maybe 10 minutes or more). We got refills on our drinks, but mostly when we flagged them down to ask for them (though once on their own). It’s possible there were only the two staff working, so they were struggling to keep up.
Synopsis:
Overall, we were very happy with our dinner, and I’d happily return. A-​OK. 3.5 stars.

So yes, the broth was pretty dang good. This is probably one of the best phở places in the Triangle area.
This restaurant has a very casual ambiance, with a shifty-​looking side door and a congenial-​looking main entrance. It looks like it must’ve once been a very country, low-​key American diner at one point of time, with fluffy striped blue and white curtains framing the windows. I had a good feeling about this place when I first walked in.
That being said, the boba smoothies were awful. My green apple smoothie had a strange aftertaste of mung beans, and my boyfriend’s mango smoothie was very sweet and artificial. The boba pearls were also of a strange texture and seemed a little… watery. Don’t get the boba here. You will probably be disappointed.
The phở is good. It’s very good and flavorful. They give a fair amount of noodles and meat too, which is nice! The price is reasonable as well. It’s strange that they don’t offer combination phở on the menu though, it seems that you only select a particular type of meat to go with the phở. My noodles at the bottom were sort of sticking together to create a clump, but they were not too hard to take apart.
The service is the main reason I give it 3 stars. Once they give you your dish, they don’t seem to check up on you again, meaning no refills. Just don’t order boba and drink water slowly, and the experience should be rewarding. I will still be on the lookout for the perfect phở place, in the meantime.

I enjoyed my bowl of rare beef phở (though it was fully cooked). Service was friendly and very quick — I was in and out in under 30 minutes. Broth had a nice flavor and the meat was very lean. I will try the veggie version (but ask for beef broth) next time. They also offer chicken phở, but it isn’t listed under the phở menu — just ask for it. I’ll be back on the next cold day.

This spot is near my work & based on outward appearance, you could be forced to do a double take. For me, I took my chances on this particular day when it was about 20-​some degrees out.
I ordered the traditional phở (can’t recall the menu item, I want to say it was #1) & a coke. I kinda chuckled when she brought me out a can of coke & a glass with ice. I actually just drank the coke from the can since it was cold.
For lunchtime, the restaurant was empty. It was only me & one other customer. The spot was clean though & there’s plenty of seating for groups.
I didn’t wait but about five minutes & out came my huge bowl & plate of add-​ins.
Hot & yummy, everything tastes amazing. The add-​ins of basil, shoots, lemon wedge, & jalapeño, we’re all fresh. The broth was delicious & the noodles were perfectly cooked.
Prices are very reasonable & they do have specials.
Parking is not an issue. Friendly employees.

If you live in the Triangle you know good phở is hard to find! This restaurant is one of the newest around and in my experience has the best base for their phở. The broth is awesome, it definitely has a made in house flavor, the noodles are good, don’t come out in a block like they just poured out of a package, and the beef is tasty too. I ordered the brisket in my small bowl of phở ($ 8) which was a little fatty but very tender. I also tried the rare beef which was more chewy.
We ordered the fresh spring rolls as well ($ 4 for two rolls) and while they were good, they were only that. I think they lacked filling, it was a little underwhelming although the flavor was still okay. So why the three stars even though the phở is the best I’ve had in the area: service! My visit was about 6:30pm on a weekday and two servers were on the floor. We were seated immediately and our ordered was taken, but after it was delivered we were forgotten about. They brought 10oz cups of water when you first sit and even after requesting a refill we never received more water and the waiter wouldn’t so much as acknowledge our table after food was delivered, even after trying to wave him down and get his attention several times.
I would like to return to Bowl of Phở and give them another try but I’ll have to give it a little time so I forget about the terrible service.

On a cold Winter night, I decided to give Bowl of Phở a try for take-​out. I went with the small Phở with raw beef ($ 8) and egg rolls ($ 4 for 2). I was eager to get home quickly to try the Phở, so much so I think I was speeding.
I have to say the small size was plenty for me. I thought the broth was very flavorful, and the rice noodles, sprouts and other condiments were all plentiful. I was really pleased with the raw beef, as I have gotten this type of Phở at other local Vietnamese restaurants and the beef always lacked flavor or had a lot of fat and gristle (or both). Not here. The beef was a perfect amount in proportion and actually tasty.
You won’t be wowed or impressed with either the exterior or the interior of B.O.P, but if it’s all about the food (which it should be), then you will find this place to be a hidden gem.
I will be sure to re-​visit for their bahn-​mi sandwiches and also interestingly enough they have a Louisiana inspired menu as well including chicken wings, so I have those on my radar to try as well!

I’m not a phở connoisseur, I just like phở. But I really dislike when there are oil puddles floating on the soup. The phở here had some greasiness, but nowhere near as greasy as Phở Far East’s. However, the broth is so yummy. I always used to add hoison sauce and a ton of sriracha. But all I needed was a spritz of lime juice, and it was the tastiest phở I’ve ever had.
There’s also bubble/​boba tea. Not as many flavors as Mo-​Te, obviously, but you’ve got the basics. I enjoyed the avocado smoothie (no boba for me).
Since this place is new, it was a pleasant experience in the bright, cool colored, cleanliness. Service is very friendly, however, they disappear in the back when it’s not that busy, so they never refilled my water. And after eating a bowl of phở, this girl was super thirsty.
I had a delicious bowl of phở here at Bowl of PHO. The broth won me over.