Pho of the Desert

We have been coming to this great restaurant for a while and really enjoy their friendly services and tasty dishes. Their price level is fair and affordable. The quality of the food is top notch. Our favorites are grilled pork chop rice plate, summer rolls, combination Phở, etc. Each visit is always very satisfying and we sometimes even go back to visit right next day when we are in the area.
Will highly recommend this place to all Phở lovers!

In the middle of the desert In Indio, there are few places that can satisfy that mid-​Coachella Asian craving. Well, if you’re looking a giant bowl of phở, you’ve come to the right place! Located not too far from the festival grounds, Phở of the Desert is exactly what it sounds like: an oasis in the middle of the scorching heat.
The phở was d-​e-​l-​i-​c-​i-​o-​u-​s! I never thought a hot bowl of phở and noodles would be so satisfying. I would suggest getting the regular size bowl. Even though the large is only like $ 1.50 more, the regular is quite a bit of food. I would compare the regular to an almost large in other LA eateries. Can’t really complain about the food!
The only downside is the wait time. When we came to Phở, it wasn’t crazy crowded. There were tables filled here and there. Unfortunately, we waited around 45 minutes for our food. Being starving festival-​goers for the past two days, we were DESPERATE for food. There were a few tables in front of us that actually came later than us and got food before us. Somewhat annoying, but eh what can you do.
I would definitely recommend this place if you’re stuck in Indio and wanting to fill your empty stomach with some good old phở.
tl;dr — If you’re coming during Coachella, get ready for a long wait, but the food is definitely worth it!

Came here after seeing all the good reviews, as I wanted phở for recovery after coachella. I don’t know what happened but the service was garbage today. I almost felt bad as the waiters didn’t seem like they knew what they were doing at all
Food– food is alright, pretty generous portion for the chicken phở. Avocado smoothie was good, had some coconut for extra flavor in it. Veggie spring rolls were also good (although we didn’t order this).
Service– horrible. So many mistakes in just one meal. First, they brought out the wrong spring rolls, veggie although we ordered shrimp and pork (gave it to wrong table too). Then they took 30+ minutes to bring out my smoothie, and I had to remind them 3 – 4 times. Then the waiter gave us a beef phở on accident but we had him take it back. After our chicken phở finally came out, they brought out another two chicken phở for us… Wtf does it look like two people need four large phos. Don’t come if your thirsty because there’s no point hoping for a water refill.
Overall, this place seems like it could be decent but service was horrible today. I have never seen such confusion from the workers and general lack of sense.

The worst service ever! Waited over 45 minutes for our food. Got attitude from the waiters. Also the table and floor was not clean. DONT EVER COME HERE!

The food took over half an hour to come out, the stir fry noodles SUCKED, I had to send them back and the Phở was no better.

How is it that they carry the best phở in the middle of a desert? That’s two for two now for Coachella weekends. Last weekend I had phở at Phở Vu recommended by a local. This weekend is phở at the desert and both can easily blow San Diego La in Vegas fall out of the water. I travel extensively and I eat so probably at least once a week all throughout these previously mentioned areas the fall here in Palm Springs or the broth is just so hard they cook the bones for so long and you can taste it’s clarity. The vegetables are fresh how the fuck

I love their food! it’s so hard to find a good authentic Vietnamese restaurant here in the valley. Once I tried their food, I’m in love. Their Vietnamese sandwich is pretty good, number #82 I belief. Whenever I order phở, I can only go with the regular size because they give such a good portion of it. Highly recommended!

Came out here in Indio for Coachella and felt like getting some phở. This place was the closest and had the best rating so decided to come here and it sure as hell did not disappoint.
We got the normal phở soup (phở tai Gan) my favorite, just eye round steak and tendon and the portion in huge AND it tasted amazingballs. And also the dry phở, which is super delicious as well. The sauce has a smoky taste to it which makes it so interesting and you just can’t stop eating it. We also got their shrimp and pork roll, it had a little crunch inside which makes the texture that much better when you’re chewing! We also got the strawberry smoothie with boba, they use real strawberries to blend their smoothie but the boba tasted pretty normal.
If you’re in Indio and craving some phở, this is definitely the place to hit up!

I have visited quite a few Phở style restaurants in the desert but this one in particular I enjoyed even though I was clueless of it. Now the location is in a not so nice part of Indio but the food more then makes up for it. The menu items are extremely similar to the other restaurants near but the sazon is what keeps bringing me back.

Came here for lunch today, while at my office in Indio. They don’t use MSG, so that is why I came here. I ordered it to go. There was only 4 pieces of tofu in it, so that sucked. The veggies and noodles were decent, so was the broth. I am used to going to this place in Simi that has to die for Phở! Bigger portions, tons of veggies and tofu. To me it wasn’t wroth the 9.00 I paid. The customer service was nice though. In a big shopping center with Food for less.

Good phở, good service, nice atmosphere. The regular size had a lot of meat, I hate it when places skimp on the meat. The Thai iced tea with boba was good. I would recommend this place.

Came here while at the Indian wells tennis tournament because we were craving some Asian food. Food is decent and generous portions. Service is friendly and attentive. Space is clean, large, and open. «This place knows phở,» says my boyfriend, a self proclaimed phở connoisseur. Also, the sultry sounds of brian McKnight & other soft rock love songs in the background was an enjoyable touch. We’ll definitely be coming back next time we’re in town.

We frequent this Vietnamese restaurant because the food is good, price is fair, and friendly people. We like the phở soup with brisket or tenderloin. The fried tofu soup and chicken are also delicious. It’s a better deal than the place in La Quinta.

I can echo a lot of the previous reviews. Not the place you’d expect to find great Vietnamese food. «Where should I go for really good phở?» «Oh, in Indio, next to the Radio Shack!» «Okay…»
Amazing broth. I can’t speak to «authentic», since I’ve never been anywhere near southeast Asia, but I can speak to «delicious «, which this was. No need to add any sauces to this. I slurped my whole bowl down quite happily.
Quick friendly service. I had my appetizer within a few minutes of ordering. Spring rolls, very tasty peanut sauce. My entrée was out almost before I was done with the appetizers, the standard phở with round steak. Condiments were on the side, where they should be, Thai basil, bean sprouts, lime, and jalapeño (I think). Thai iced coffee was a tasty complement.
Will definitely be back here again! Can’t wait, actually.

I visit a new phở restaurant at least twice a week and I must say this one is one of the worst. The service is satisfactory and the staff is super kind, but the amount of oil the phở has should be illegal. It’s appalling to me how greasy and unhealthy this otherwise healthy dish is. I got a seafood phở and could not get past the amount of oil the «broth» had.

Best in the desert. Been here at least 5 – 6 times. Great phở and friendly,
efficient service. Adult son was impressed and we will both be returning for more!

Phở is an experience and if you have yet to try, come to Phở of the Desert and you’ll be in for a treat.
Start off with the fried egg rolls as an appetizer which is also known as Vietnamese spring rolls. Wrap it in the lettuce they provide and dip it in the fish sauce for an amazing melt in your mouth combination!
For your entrée order the #21 in a regular size. I made the mistake and ordered a large thinking it would be perfect since I eat a lot. Boy, was I wrong. The large size could feed 2 adults + 1 child, that’s how big it was. Even the regular size looked pretty big but that is their smallest size so I would be opting for that in the future.
The bf got the #35 (tofu & vegetables) in vegetable broth, they were very accommodating that he is a vegetarian. He liked his dish along with the fried tofu appetizer he ordered.
The taro smoothie with bubbles was really purple for some reason, maybe they use a different powder than I am used to? Other than that, it was sweet but overly sweet so I was not a fan hence the –1 star. The thai bubble tea the bf enjoyed plenty.
Phở of the Desert will see me as a regular once I move into the Indio/​LQ area.

This is probably the best Phở in the Coachella Valley, and ironically, it’s in Indio. You might think you’d have to go to Palm Springs, but you’d be wrong. Forget about Palm Desert.
That might surprise some, but truth be told, Indio has some of the best flavour, and this restaurant is no different.
First, the benchmark for all Phở is the quality and the consistancy of the soup broth. Phở of The Desert is much, much better than Phở Vu and the broth is always good here and very consistant, and I’m in there at least once a week.
The waitstaff here is polite and the food is authentic. Very authentic. They haven’t americanized any dishes, and rightly so.
The only thing that trips me out is when I order a cup of regular drip vietnamese coffee, it comes in a drink cup and not a coffee cup. The also dont have Soda Xi Muoi or Soda Chan Muoi, but maybe they’ll put it on the menu this year.
The cooking here is top notch and I’m thankful this spot is near my house.

Wow! I’m so full of yummy Phở! I couldn’t even finish it all… I tried but sheesh soooo much Phở… I feel like I’m gonna POP! Haha
Ok, but seriously the food is great! I had the Phở & the Hubbs had a rice plate… He said the presentation was better than another Phở place we frequent & the egg loaf had a little more flavor. I tasted a bite, it was good.
The Taro Boba smoothie was good… We took advantage of the 2 for $ 20 deal going on right now… 2 milk teas & 2 entrees for $ 20… Yay!
I seriously couldn’t finish the small bowl of Phở… There was a lot of meat & noodles in it & the broth was a deep rich flavor… Nice!
Angel & a gal (sorry don’t remember her name… she was nice though) were our servers… It was so funny to see Angel in there… Funny because he’s worked at the other Phở place k the Mongolian place… As usual, his service was outstanding… He adds to the funness (new word, look it up at
) of the dining experience!
The restaurant was very roomy! We will be back!

A friends been trying to get me to go here all month… So glad she finally drug us out there!
Good food, reasonable prices, clean restaurant, clean bathrooms. I ordered to tofu and vege soup and my husband ate the pork. Both were yummy. We came in late at night. They are open till 10pm. We still received good service even though they were ready to close up. I’ll come back for sure.
I was really surprised to find such a great restaurant in that part of Indio. Also, the size as well, we all noticed it had comfortable seating compared to many local restaurants with similar cuisine. Usually you find yourself squished up next to the next table and very uncomfortable. This one has booths and tables and plenty of room.