Pho Mau

The lower valley of Kent/​Auburn lacks good Vietnamese food, Phở Mau fills that void. Though it’s in an unknown strip mall, it’s worth the visit if you’re in need of some warm Phở broth on a cold day or to cure a solid hangover.
I haven’t had anything else on their menu to comment but their phở broth is pretty legit. No MSG added and all made from scratch. You can taste the quality of the broth. The only thing I would complain about is if you get cold easily bring a jacket because I don’t think they ever turn on the heat here.

I recently discovered this place, and is now a die-​hard fan. Their food is so well seasoned! I am a so picky about authentic Vietnamese food, because my family used to own a restaurant, my sister sold it because we didnt have time to help her take care of the business — we all had our own job — so I appreciate authentic from imitation.
I have not tried everything on the menu, but what I have tried so far I am hooked — the com tam dac biet (the rice plate special) was so worth the PRICE, you can split this dish into two meals — it is the only thing my husband will ordered when we go here. The fresh shrimp roll, DELICIOUS, believe me, you can go wrong making this simple appetizers. The 5 colors dessert, YUMMY! and the Rice Vermicelli with beef or pork… I had tried both, and like them both
The service is wonderful, friendly, and your food comes out hot and quick. The restaurant is kept very cleaned and organized, and I love how spacious it is, that you dont bumped into other customers table as you walked.
highly recommended!

I’ve been looking for good phở since falling in love with it a year ago in FL. Needless to say, I was so excited after reading reviews and seeing all the pics, to try this place. I got phở and spring rolls to go. Double checked with the lady that there was siracha and I was assured that yes, everything was in the bag. Imagine my sadness when not only was there no siracha, but also, my bag of phở goodies contained only sprouts, no basil or anything. I’m really bummed that my experience is not at all what I had hoped for. Maybe next time I’ll dine in…

Phở Bo Vien is my favorite. but the broth is a hit or miss sometime. Otherwise I usually return just for the Bo Vien part.

Oh. My. Goodness. This place has been down the hill and sooo close all this time!
We decided last minute that we wanted to grab phở, but had already passed our regular spot. I’ve seen this place tons of times and double checked with Unilocal on reviews, and we decided it was worth a shot.
First impression was that the entrance was pretty cool — it was like a big arch, and the place itself looks like it used to be like a real estate office or something similar. The inside is very clean, which was nice to see from a phở restaurant! They didn’t have any music going, rather a TV playing for everybody to see, which I liked.
The service was lukewarm — the reason being was because they were understaffed. I think I only saw two employees for a pretty busy time. It took a while for us to get our order taken, which was the only «bad» thing about this place. The staff is incredibly nice and they make sure they get your order correct. The man who was working (I think he may have been the owner), was so sweet! He made sure to call out and say goodbye to everybody and wished them a nice day — he always gave us a nice «enjoy your lunch!» when he brought our food to the table.
The phở was very good! The broth was full of flavor and exactly how I like it. The only downside and another reason for a deducted star was that the noodles were kind of soft, almost a little mushy. Other than that, I really really liked it.
Seeing how they are just down the road, have great food and great service, we will definitely be back in the near future.

I’ve been spoiled by cat sang. The egg rolls were very bland and expensive just for 2. The spring rolls was disappointing. Only thing good about it was the fresh, crispy iceberg lettuce. My beef stew was very flavorless. I kid you not, I almost choked trying to swallow that tough piece of meat. I had to spit it out. The reasons for 2 stars are because my husband’s phở was good, and the mango bubble tea. I won’t be back.

Craving for a bubble tea and since it’s close to our place we decided to give it a try. I ordered avocado bubble tea and my boyfriend ordered the 3 bean dessert. I’m so disappointed that they use powered avocado for my drink, all I can taste was the powder. And to add up on our disappointment, the 3 bean dessert has a piece of probably 2 inch hair, if we can throw up what we’ve already eaten that moment, we would. Omg! Never to this place again. My boyfriend doesn’t want to confront them though, so we just left right away. He’s really disgusted about it that he doesn’t want to stay any longer. First visit and bad experience.

I wasn’t a big fan of their phở broth — it was VERY bland. I had to add a bunch of condiments in it so it could actually be edible. I ordered a medium-​sized phở bowl, which it should’ve been advertised as a small. You have to ask for sugar and chili oil as they don’t keep those condiments out at the tables. The peanut sauce for the spring rolls had a gooey type of texture and it didn’t taste fresh at all.
I’ll give them 2 stars for the customer service because they were very nice. Although, I do have to mention that no one refilled out water even though we were the only customers dining in their restaurant at that time.

My boyfriend and I have been going to this phở place pretty much since they opened up. It’s great that it is right down the street from our house.
Walking in, the staff is very friendly and inviting. It’s oddly aggressive, since every phở restaurant I go to just asks me «how many?» and «for here or to go?» They’ve gotten very chummy with us, calling my boyfriend «brother» and I «sweetie.» We can’t get over the customer service.
Anyway, the phở and springrolls are good. The broth is flavorful and tastes fresh each time we go there. The springrolls themselves are huge compared to other phở places. And they are always quick to bring our food, possibly because we are «regulars» and we pretty much order the same thing each time.
All in all, I am a repeat customer and this place is worth giving a try if you’re in need of a phở fix in Kent.

A solid Phở place in Kent !
They have all the usual suspects for a Phở place. the broth is very good .
It’s always clean and usually quick service. The employees are very friendly and engaging. While I eat my soup its fun to watch them engage Latino customers in particular as they want to learn Spanish and try hard to engage in Spanish
Price is very reasonable.

You can never go wrong with Phở on a sick and cold day. Heard a lot about this place on Unilocal,& it’s definitely true to it’s reviews. Great environment, clean and the phở was good!

Decided to stop by to pick up a menu and ended up getting bubble tea. The drinks were disappointing but I do want to come back to try their food. They offer the usual Vietnamese fare. The interior is spacious and clean. The staff was friendly. They have delivery (1 – 3 mile radius), catering and they are open 7 days a week.

What a nice treat Phở Mau turned out to be as I found myself in Kent one morning.
Quick well developed broth, all on the cheap, everything a phở place SHOULD be. Friendly service, this is definitely a go back establishment.
On the con side, there really isn’t one but I’m a little worried it was empty at 10am on a weekday. Only a con in that I won’t be able to go back to it.

Thanks Ken L and Mya for the reviews and check-​ins. Finally got to Kent and had to try this place out. Wow, beyond pleased and satisfied! The phở broth was hot (that’s important), seasoned well and not too salty, nor too much star — anise nor too sweet. Just pure deliciousness. The combo had the steak, fatty flank, tripe, tendon and meatballs. Love that they include meatballs whereas every other phở restaurants charge extra for that.
Now, that combo rice place, C01, is just BOMB! Tasty, tasty, tasty. The meat, pork chop, egg and THAT SHRIMP CAKE is so filling and fulfilling. I could eat that every single week for a long time. Too bad I don’t live near this restaurant. However, I will find way back here as frequently as possible.
Oh, can’t forget their fried rolls. One of the best in King county. At least for me it is. Lastly, the customer service here is superb. That male waiter (you know who, the one always smiling) is so friendly and welcoming that you just smile looking at him. Good luck finding this hospitality in the ID. You won’t.period.

Great food and the friendliest service!
My new spot for Phở.
Have been here every weekend since finding this place and it gets better everytime!

Phở Dac Biet was very good. Broth and meat is good too. A must try if your in the area or are looking for phở in the south end. They’ve been open for about 9 months now and I think it was the owner I spoke to that said he use to be at Phở Bac in Seattle. This place is better than the Phở restaurants in Federal Way and Auburn.
Update: The broth is so good that you don’t even need lime, plum sauce or shiracha. Nuoc Beo adds that fatty flavor and nice big chunks of onion. Yummy… Everyone in the kitchen wears a hair net, its comforting to know I won’t potentially find hair in my food.
The BBQ pork spring roll which looked and tasted like grilled pork was really good and flavorful. The peanut sauce was runny but had the right flavor. I prefer this thicker, I have a bad habit of spilling food/​drinks on my hair or shirt.
Overall this place is delicious and clean.

No monosodium glutamate added! You know, that evil additive we all know as M.S.G. I recognized immediately that their chef used to cook for Phở To Chau at the Great Wall Shopping Mall. A conversation about broth and its features revealed that their soup base is concocted from cooking bones anywhere from 8 to 10 hours.
HIGHLIGHT: Their Vietnamese beef stew phở (Phở Bo Kho) distinguishes itself from the traditional Viet beef stew with its large honking pieces and a totally different preparation method. If you have ever eaten this at Phở To Chau, it’s very similar. At first, I thought the meat was chewy but then I discovered it is about how you eat it to fully enjoy[1]. Here’s how I do it: take the big piece of beef, PULL it apart and eat parts of it at one time dipped in the salt/​pepper dip. You can create the traditional Vietnamese salt n’ pepper dip by combining 1 part salt to 3 parts pepper and squeeze in several lemons in a separate dish. Wow, what a difference this change made!
In regards to their regular phở, the broth has enough depth and can compete easily with the surrounding areas. At most phở places, a way to add additional flavor to your phở, if you choose to do this, is ask for «Nuoc Beo». Nuoc Beo is actually a flavoring oil that is saved from the fat that floats to the top as the broth is cooked. This adds a fatty component that rounds out the richness that some of us (ahem) prefer.
4 stars — rounded up from 3.7 due to a clean dining area, friendly folks and decent food.
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Note:
[1] I used to just put the whole piece of beef in my mouth and started chewing… WRONG WAY!!!

I stopped in since I was in the area and had the brisket phở. It was okay — not great, not bad. I would come again if I was in the area. Service was good. Not too busy when I arrived. Restaurant was clean.