Pho Gardena

I think this place may be under new management. Either that or it just changed its name or another phở place moved into the same spot. I forget what it’s called now, but it’s not Phở Gardena.
Anyways, I happened upon this place and found it to be excellent. For $ 7, you can get a small phở (still pretty good-​sized) and a huge Vietnamese sandwich. I opted to pay an extra dollar though and get the phở with a side of steak and rice. My girlfriend got the sandwich combo. Tons of food for little money. The phở was very good, one of the best that we’ve had in the area. And the steak/​rice dish was delicious as well. Highly recommended. I wasn’t a big fan of the sandwich, but maybe you will be. For the extra 50 cents that it adds to the combo, it’s worth a try.
We were the only people in the restaurant the whole time, and it was a Saturday at 1pm. So this place may not be around too long. But if you’re in the area, I suggest giving it a try for a good, cheap meal.

I’ve tried this place because it’s so close to work, but unfortunately it is some of the worst Phở that I’ve had. The broth tastes like water with beef bullion. The portions of meat were really small, and for the price, you are better off at any of the other Phở places in Gardena. Service is Ok, I don’t like writing bad reviews but the food is just too bad for me to recommend to anyone especially when there are better options elsewhere.
Lastly the smell of the place also makes me feel sick, I don’t like feeling like I’m sitting in bleach.

I liked this bowl better than the Phở. The best part was the flavorful wontons. Soup is light style and while it is decent, it’s not very deep in flavor.
One minor gripe is the freezer burn after taste from the BBQ pork slices, it became more and more noticeable towards the last slice. Not severely so but it’s there.
The interior seemed a lot nicer than the last time I was here, they’ve done something to make the place even more relaxing and cozy.

the search for decent phở on the westside is often a futile endeavor. however if one opens up their perspective and considers what is available south of washington blvd, relief is in sight.
based on appearances, phở gardena just opened up. everything is super clean, the bathrooms are immaculate. we tried the bun, phở with all the trimmings, and a banh mi with sausage. the bun was a fine example of the bright colors that good vietnamese dishes have with the noodles, grilled meat, and fresh veggies. the broth was a bit over-​onioned and the noodles weren’t perfectly firm but it was still satisfying. the bread for the banh mi was utter perfection, a mélange of crunchy crust and chewy dough.
what really seals my intent to be a frequent customer is that phở gardena is roughly 15 minutes from my regular surf spot. knowing that a great sandwich awaits me after having to suffer through the summertime kooks (y’all know who you are) takes the aggro edge off of this bro. and for the season when the days grow short, the water temps border on inducing hypothermia, and steam curls off of my body when i strip off my wetsuit, nothing could be better than getting served a steaming bowl of post-​sesh noodle soup.