Pho So 1

Phở So 1 always seem packed during busy hours so we wanted to give it a try. It’s located inside the same plaza as Honeymee and Boiling point.
I ordered the phở with rare steak and brisket (fat). I order this same dish at all phở locations. At Phở So 1, they indicate the brisket is fat but it is literally all fat. The phở wasn’t bad and I wasn’t mad at it. But it wasn’t amazing like Phở Ever which is not too far down Western. We also ordered the egg rolls. The egg rolls came out with batter around it and it didn’t look like the pictures on the menu. My boyfriend ordered a vermicelli dish and he really enjoyed it.
If you’re in the plaza and you’re craving phở, I wouldn’t mind it. But if you’re looking for a good bowl of phở, look elsewhere. Try ordering a vermicelli dish here, they seem to taste better.

This place is my family’s to-​go option for Vietnamese food if my mom is not in the mood to cook something and we don’t feel like driving all the way down to the OC for good Viet food. It’s in a busy plaza where all the Asian foodie places are at in the South Bay. Parking here can be a problem if you come during busy/​peak hours!
I’ve been to this place since it first opened and I’ve seen it changed over the years. Waiters/​servers come and go and I heard bad things coming from them about the manager of this particular location (how’s he is cheap and treat them unfairly). Though, service here is meh. It can be a hit or miss.
The food here is pretty meh. Nothing too special in my opinion. When I crave for phở, I would order it but it doesn’t really excite me. It just temporarily fulfills my appetite/​craving for the moment. There’s times when they make the phở really good (when it’s slow) but when it gets busy, the phở tastes not that great. At times I would order the Bún Thit Nuong beef or pork with egg rolls (if I don’t want phở). This food option is alright and safe. I haven’t really tried other dishes because I can tell that everything seems and tastes pretty basic. If you just want phở, then you can come here. But if you want really good phở, go to the OC where it’s all at!

Thoroughly impressed w/​the Phở broth.
Dare I say it’s comparable to the pho79 in OC? Yes. The broth was very good. The meat portion was great. Parking is terrible (it’s the layout of the plaza), but the restaurant itself was pretty spacious.

This is definitely one of my favorite phở places which I have been coming to for at least 6 years! And I’ve never been disappointed! I find their phở broth to be very tasty, and I believe they don’t use any MSG unlike some neighboring phở places. I’ve also had their Vermicilli Bowls with Charboiled pork (Bun Thit Nuong) and I have never had a better bowl anywhere else.
However I had to take off a star for their customer service. It’s never really been a problem until recently, maybe from new hires that I haven’t seen around before. One of the more recent times I visited I had to ask for water three times and was told it was coming. By the time I got it I was already halfway done with my phở! I was also given a little attitude after I asked the third time. But since this isn’t always the service I get, I will still be coming back for their tasty food!

I wouldn’t go out of my way to try this place but if you’re in the area and are craving Vietnamese food, then it’s worth trying.

Food is good. Usually, they serve a lot of meat during lunch time and less meat during dinner time for some reason. Don’t expect good service and don’t order thai ice tea. The food is great that’s why im still coming here once in a while.

I ordered regular soup and noodles (phở) no meat and it was yummy! Also the Thai iced tea was sooooo delicious!!! The staff was a bit rushed by how crowded it was and they weren’t as friendly as I expected but overall good rating.

Sadly this is not my phở spot anymore. It’s a B rating which is a big no for me.

Phở was actually really good but the service isn’t worth coming back to. They do stay busy but when the line starts building up for seating, they’ll rush you to finish because people are waiting. Lots of other good Phở places in the area with better service: Saigon dish, Phở Ever.

Service? HA. Don’t expect to be treated well here. But I’ve had Phở & the egg roll Bun (no meat). I will say the egg rolls are really good, and they serve two cut up in the bowl and great for a lunch option. Oddly enough, the other day we had lunch here, and there was a small PIECE OF GLASS in my fiancé’s bowl! He even chewed on it! I’m surprised he didn’t chip his tooth, but we called a server over and let them know we needed a new bowl of food asap. They didn’t really react, or even send over a manager, just moseyed back to the kitchen. The food does come out quickly, and that’s a plus when you are limited on time.

This place is always crowded no matter when I come in! I’ve been going here every now and then and it never fails to impress me with the large crowds.
Recently, I came in with my brother and sister on a early Sunday afternoon. Because it was around 1pm, I was ready to have to wait a while since there was a plethora of people chilling around outside. When we went in, a server came up to us immediately and asked how many of us there was and after I said 3, he walked us over to a table. Score!
We ordered drinks and our food and surprisingly, the food came out before the drinks. The phở was tasty, but a bit heavy and laden with just a bit too much salt. The basil on the plate they gave us was also good, but with so many holes in them from bugs eating at the leaves. I’m sure they were fine but people still stay away from them.
Server never came back afterwards, it was busy I get it but no water refills or asking how the food was.

Came home from Hawaii to ugly raining weather. I needed some feel good soup to cure my depression from leaving the beautiful islands. Headed straight to our usual Phở spot «Phở ever» but sadly it was closed. Decided to explore and try somewhere new.
Phở So had very good flavors. I got the number #2 which is supposed to have «rare steak, well done flank, brisket, tendon and tripe» I asked for extra tendon. I also ordered an order of spring rolls. The BF ordered shrimp phở with rare steak.
Our order came out super fast, with the exception of our spring rolls, which never made an appearance. I patiently waited and waited but it never showed. I guess I could have asked what happened to them, but we were half way done with our soup that we didn’t even want it at that point.
Regarding our soup: my extra tendon came in the Phở along with one or two small pieces of brisket but no rare steak or any other meat such as tripe or well done flank. My bf’s soup came out just as ordered.
Being very hungry as well as happy with my extra tendon, I never complained or brought it up till the end. The person at the cash register was very nice and apologetic.
At the end. I would come back again when craving phở just for the flavors alone.

Phở So 1 Gardena is a far more Southeast Asian down home version than the one in Simi Valley which is more tricked out as a suburban eatery that must cater to suburbanites who expect more updated décor & fancier ambience & table setting. The Gardena branch has almost communal dining since so many of the tables in the center of the dining room are mashed together for more seating. Private table dining seems far more psychological than physical.
Almost as soon as I sat down, the waiter came with a menu which is rather extensive. About 2 minutes into studying & having my face in the menu, the waiter came back to take my order even though he could tell that I wasn’t even ready. Phở So 1 in Gardena does things the old school way where nuanced service is not a factor. I asked him to come back in about 5 minutes which although I didn’t time him, it seemed like exactly 5 minutes when he came back. It seems that the waiters are trained in high table turn over.
I ordered the Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong which has Bun/​thin vermicelli rice noodles, Cha Gio/​fried egg rolls, Thit Nuong/​grilled slices of pork accompanied by raw bean sprouts, sliced cucumber, green leaf lettuce & Nuoc Cham/​sweetened fish sauce.
The Cha Gio at Golden Deli is far better especially since the wrapper is thin rice paper which fries up light & crispy, shattering when bitten into. The Cha Gio at Phở So 1 has a thick wrapper made of mostly wheat flour which fries up rather bready so that it feels heavy like inferior Chinese egg rolls. The pork slices are moist & meaty and have a smoky flavour as though it were touched up with some liquid smoke essence. At first the artificial smoke flavour seemed to enhance the pork, but as you kept eating the pork, the smoke started to taste artificial & contrived. The large amount of green vegetables added a refreshing palate cleansing feel and hopefully, had anti-​cancer properties to counter-​act the possible carcinogenic smoke essence.
Phở So 1 in Gardena doesn’t hand you a paper bill at the end of the meal. You could wait there for a long time waiting for the check before some waiter tells you to pay up at the cash register which really defeats their goal of fast table turn over. The cashier must have eagle eyes since he remembered where I had sat & produced the appropriate bill. Don’t expect friendly waiter service at this old school joint since traditional Vietnamese eateries like Chinese don’t pride themselves on friendly warm service. 3 Unilocal stars for good basic Vietnamese food at an inexpensive price.

This is one of the places my coworkers and I go to when we have a phở craving. It’s not too far from work but one of the things I hate about going here is the parking! Ugh I cannot say enough about it. The spots are tiny if you aren’t lucky enough to get a spot in the front so beware if you don’t want your car to get dinged. There’s also this weird stench and not enough lighting at night. Minus one star for the parking issues.
FOOD:
We usually don’t order off of the menu here: large bowls of phở with rare steak, tripe and tendon. Gotta do it big or go home. Jk. Large bowls are only slightly more in price compared to the small bowl and you get more bang for your buck. It only makes sense to go with a large. My coworkers always ask for extra sides: culantro (not to be confused with cilantro), basil, bean sprouts, and lime. We like our vegetables. Here the phở broth is flavorful and savory, which I think is essential when eating phở. The noodles are a bit al dente and they give a decent amount of meat. I think in recent years they have skimped a bit on that but a bowl of phở here always manages to fill me and my coworkers up.
Overall: ⁴⁄₅
SERVICE:
It’s a hit or miss. When it gets really crowded, sometimes their service is lacking and they take forever to just bring out some iced teas. Other times, however, the food arrives promptly, just minutes after we ordered.
Overall: ³⁄₅
DECOR/​AMBIANCE:
The restaurant itself is pretty clean with few paintings and decorations on the wall. Tables are pretty well spaced for people to comfortably move around.
Overall: ⁴⁄₅

Chicken phở, spring rolls, with iced café sua.
Good and satisfy my craving. Not my go to phở place but would go if I’m in the garden area.
Can get really full during dinner and lunch times.
Parking is crazy, the lot is too small for all the good eats in that plaza.

Ok, I don’t generally change my mind but I have had a change of opinion regarding Phở So, not that it needs an extra review since it’s obvi the most popular phở place in the South Bay. This eatery plaza has so many different options from FuRaiBo to Boiling Point to soon to come Honey Mee. And my favorite pie place, Marie Callendars. Anyways, I was craving Asian (Chinese, Korean, Thai, etc.) so we stopped into Phở So. The service is quick and the waiters are attentive, the food is good, and you can be seated right away.
Deetz on the food:
Small or large bowl of Phở w steak: If you order a large, you can split with (2) if you just order extra noodles – I thought that was a great idea. It’s large enough to share without ordering extra noodles if the other person has their own entrée. I appreciate that they give you (2) medium size bowls and silverware to share. Sometimes places are snooty about providing extra bowls. Not Phở So!
Vermicelli with pork, veggies, and egg rolls: It comes with not one but 2(!) egg rolls and the sliced carrots are perfectly marinated in vinegar. The rice noodles were also nicely chewy (which I love about noodles) – you might only notice this if you don’t drench the noodles in the fish sauce. The last time I came here the fish sauce was spicy but I did not have this experience this time.

This is our phở spot. Now… this is a seedy hole in the wall place. Don’t come here on a date or anything! haha. It’s a little grungy, but I really like their phở and bun.
We always get their pork eggrolls. Oh man, have to be made in house! Better, but comparable to the Ugly rolls at Yellow Fever. I love wrapping them in the lettuce leaf with mint. If we don’t get an order of the rolls, it’s because I’ve gotten the Bun bowl with them already in it.
My husband usually gets the rare steak phở. (Suggestion: just get the regular size. The Large is just a larger bowl and maybe more broth but we can’t usually finish the regular size.) If I get phở, I get veggie phở, which isn’t on their menu. Its full of crunchy veggies and fried tofu. I assume it’s still made with the beef broth, which I think is some of the best broth there is around.
Note, even if you want water, you need to order when you order your food. Also, free hot tea, you just have to ask.
Service is pretty good… although, we are regulars there, so they treat us differently than when we first started going.
Hole in wall. Go with low expectations on service and cleanliness. Leave with a cheap fulfilling meal.

The great thing about this place — they open at 8am. Just in time to cure a hangover. But that’s it.
I don’t know if they wait for the bus boy to arrive later to clean all the empty bowls and dirty tables in the morning but by 10 am there were only near five tables out of 84 748 393 that haven’t been sat at and still clean. I don’t know what their system is but it was kinda gross.
Their phở has really poor quality meat. No one ate the meat and we all ended up just taking it out cause majority of the meat was fat. The soup also oily.
We came here cause it was the only phở place that was opened at the time. I’d rather wait for other places to open next time.

I dont know how long I have been a customer here but a pretty long time. I have stopped coming here ever since Phở Consommé opened nearby but I remember my dining experience here fairly well.
Service is nowhere to be found. They are extremely slow and no matter how many times you tell them & remind them, they will easily forget. There wer many times that I didnt even get my cup of water until I left the restaurant. Their water is nasty. Tap water that somewhat tastes like chlorine or some chemical reagents.
Food is mediocre at best. Not a true fan of Phở but their soup is pretty greasy and oily. You can literally see all the oil droplets floating in your bowl of phở. So the soup tastes very greasy and fatty and I did not like it. Food comes out super quick but I dont know. I rather wait and get some decent quality food.
The spoons and sauce plates are pretty filthy. They are at every table for you to serve yourself and I know theyre cleaned but its so greasy. I try to wipe them with a napkin but it wouldnt go away so I just avoid using them at all.
Their rice/​vermicelli dishes need to be improved because they are seriously yuck! Vermicelli was overcooked and it was so sticky I couldnt even get it with the chopsticks. I would never order anything from their vermicelli or rice section. It was so shitty I didnt even eat them. Phở Consommé has wayyyy better food even though they are about $ 1 more.
I found hair in my food a couple times. No, not once but more than once. So ever since then, I stopped going.
I would not go back. I went recently because my boyfriend wanted to compare this place to Phở Consommé and he figured out that this place is no comparison to them. Goodbye.

Eeeek, found a hair in my soup! Don’t believe me! Check out the very last photo!
I was faced with the dilemma wether to have a granny rant at the restaurant or walk away like a lady.
I chose the high road, but This place is full of shame!
Granted it was a tiny piece of hair, but dirty thoughts kept lingering in my head. What if there is a bigger piece of hair that I just ate, or what if theres a toe nail, a finger, rodent or a fetus? Hell who know!!!