Pho Kauai

First of all, this place is right next to a laundry mat and a bowling ally. The food, that’s why we are here right?! The food is so good. My wife had the chicken fried rice, and I had the steak fried rice. Also we had a pork roll. It was ok. I know this one isn’t long but the food is top notch, the digs are ok. Kinda like a cafeteria style.

I believe there’s only 2 phở spots on Kauai. One in Lihue and the other in Kapaa. I’ve been here 4 times now, and each time the food has been good and consistent. My usual order is #18 and the fried eggrolls. We tried the chicken wings and they were surprisingly good. I even ordered take out and the phở kept its shape and flavor.

Small and rude… The place and its owners. Food plain about as seasoned as the servers attitudes. I would recommend PHO Kapaa instead much better food and host|owner. He smiles and thanks you for coming. He’s gratefuL not rude.

Definitely not the best phở I’ve ever had but certainly not the worst. But on the hawaii islands I’m not expecting a phở place to be amazing. Got the phở dac biet here. Solid solid phở. Just by looking at it however you can tell its very different. Bowl seems a lot emptier and they skimp out on a lot. Whatever. As long as the broth was the decent and theres noodles and meat i was fine. Service took a while since the place was pretty crowded with teenagers getting milk tea drinks. Overall not bad though. Very simple viet place.

Growing up on Kauai, there weren’t a ton of options for Vietnamese food. I’ve been eating at this place since I was in middle school and I can say that I’m still a fan! Whenever I come back to visit we still hit this place up!
It’s located in Rice Shopping Center between the bowling alley and Ohana Smoke Shop so parking is usually okay/​easy to find. They are also open pretty late by Kauai standards.
The service here is great! Everyone who works here is super efficient but also very friendly! I honestly love coming in here because of the people who work here. The prices are more than reasonable; around $ 8 for a bowl of phở. It only comes in one size, however, and is smaller than what I’m used to getting on the mainland. Don’t worry, it’s still enough to satisfy your phở cravings. My biggest con is probably their broth. It’s not as deep and flavorful as other broth that I’ve had, but it’s not the worst.
If you’re not into phở they have other dishes like com tam and bun thit nuong. Actually, the menu is pretty huge so you’ll definitely be able to find SOMETHING you’ll like. Personally I’d recommend the phở dac biet or bun thit nuong. Add a café sua da (Vietnamese iced coffee) and you have a perfect meal for under $ 12.
If you’re used to getting phở on the mainland, this place might come up a little short compared to what you usually get, but it’s still worth checking out if you’re craving Vietnamese food on Kauai!

Not much of a looker, but the Phở was good, service was fast and the owner really cared for his customers. I felt right at home. I loved the orchids they had on display and the owner snuck us the last tapioca pudding for dessert.

We ordered a house special fried rice, phở, crispy prawns and teriyaki chicken. All the items were really good.
When you drive in to the strip mall, the place looks really shady. The restaurant is located between a laundromat and a bowling alley. We walked in on a Wednesday evening and the place was crowded. We decided to get our food to go. The owner was really really nice to us. He even offered few extra packets of their home made hot sauce (chilly in soybean oil) to go.
The Phở is not as good as the ones you get in the bay area but still it was a good one!
If you are near Lihue, make sure you eat here at least once.

Good food, fast, inexpensive, well run, and just a spot in a strip mall — but don’t pass this one. It doesn’t look like much but the meals were very good and amazingly cheap.
It was just a late dinner for us after a long day on the west shore so we weren’t looking for anything other than «food», we weren’t that hungry and didn’t really care what (or if we ate) but popped in here and it was a nice surprise. Mostly (all) locals, friendly and sweet staff.

Great phở. Broth tastes light and healthy. Chicken is soft and full of flavor! Lots of local people inside so we know it’s pretty popular — and good!

Not bad… Service is not. Utensils are located on other tables and if you’re not sitting on those tables, you won’t get them from your server, you have to get it yourself. They don’t serve mint for your phở and a small piece of lettuce with a tiny bit of rice noodles to wrap around your spring rolls.

One of my frequently visited place. They cook their soup well so be sure to order their soup noodles. Their fried rice and spring rolls are also tasty.
Price is fair on Kauai and the location is great. A lot of parking in front of the store.

Home of the best waiter in America. Excuse my exaggeration but this short, stoic man was the most efficient guy I’ve ever seen in a restaurant. Hardly an ounce of emotion, (quite intimidating actually) this guy was no frills all drills. You’ll see what I mean.
Kauai phở seemed family-​owned. And who cares about ambiance when the Vietnamese food is so great? Nothing special but plenty of tables. We were attracted by the very affordable prices and even came back the next day for lunch before departing from kauai. I ordered the bún (vermicelli, or rice noodles). It was so flavorful and I felt like I had eaten healthily.
Quick, deicious, healthy, and inexpensive. Really, what more can you ask?

Being from the Bay Area we are used to some good Vietnamese food and having a vietnamese girls friend my standards for vietnamese food are pretty high. This place cooks up some of the best food I ever had. If you are on Kauai and on the look out for good food or vietnamese food specifically try this place and enjoy some seriously good food.
What I really like was that I had a request for some specially prepared fried rice and they actually seamed happy that I ordered something out of the ordinary. Awesome food and very good service. Truly nice people running this place. Thank you Phở Kauai

First, I have to say that this is a small, locally owned, family run (I think?) food stop. Don’t come here with high expectations as far as ambiance goes.
With that being said, the food is great & I have never had a bad meal here. The service is fast & the owners are always so friendly. I eat here at least a few times a month, and while I was taking classes at KCC, this place was a frequent lunch spot.
There’s one guy that’s always serving, and he can come off kind of standoffish and maybe even rude upon first impressions, but he’s actually really nice and funny.
Give this place a try if you’re looking for good Vietnamese food! I definitely love giving these folks my business.

I came here for dinner one night during my vacation to Kauai. It was just ok, but given that Kauai doesn’t exactly have the most abundant food options at night, my family and I decided to give it a go.
First, I’ve had phở in Vietnam and being that I live close to one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the USA, my standards for phở are pretty high. I tried their phở tai and it was good, but just not the best I’ve had. Since this is probably the only phở restaurant on the island, I would say it could satisfy a phở craving, but it’s not the best phở out there. Portion was good and the price was under $ 8 for a bowl, which is pretty standard and not bad for being on a small island.
Also tried their green milk tea boba. Unfortunately this fell flat for me. It had a strong powdery taste and the boba was on the hard side. There aren’t really any boba shops in Kauai with this being one of the few places that has boba. So definitely don’t bother with the boba.
Service was good. The whole process was quick and smooth. We didn’t have to wait long for our phở. Location is in the Rice Shopping Center in Lihue. They open everyday except for Sunday.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the meal I ordered but the other three in my group really enjoyed their food. The combo fried rice and the fried shrimp with rice looked to be a much better option than the chicken curry I ordered. It was ok but not near the explosion of flavor I am used to at thai restaurants. The menu has over 100 items on it so if you can’t find something you like here you must be the pickiest eater in the world. I was a bit overwhelmed so I would ask the waiter for recommendations. This is a good option in the Lihue area and the current four star review is a good sign you will leave satisfied. If you don’t you can come back another 100 times and surely after trying the whole menu you will find something you like!

First of all… the menu goes up to #115…so you should definitely be able to find something you like! I tried the fried rice with grilled shrimp. The rice wasn’t too exciting-​someone else at our table got one with pork/​chicken/​Chinese sausage and that looked great. The shrimp actually seemed fried not grilled, but either way it was delicious! Yummy inexpensive food, not just Phở but Thai and Chinese too!

This is a little Vietnamese restaurant in a sketch shopping center between a bowling alley and laundromat. Lock your car and keep an eye on for that matter. Random people living out of their cars and people loitering.
We waited about 5 mins for a table — the place was packed on a weekday for lunch. We were seated, ordered, and the phở arrived about 2 minutes later. We didn’t even think it was ours because of how fast it came out. My husband ordered the brisket and flank steak phở (comes with a side of jalapeño, basil, lime and sprouts) — he said it was decent but had had better.
I had the chicken and shrimp vermicelli bowl — problem was I got beef and shrimp… we also ordered egg rolls and summer rolls. Another thing about this was that they never brought the egg rolls and the summer rolls came after our main dishes. I can see why people complain about service. Overall decent food seemingly on an island that doesn’t have much to brag about food-​wise.

Great phở. If you know what that is, you will like this place!
I have tried the thai food (pretty tasty curries!) and the phở (all the traditional drop ins you would expect.)
This is the ultimate hangover cure, and also great if you feel a cold coming on. The taste is powerful and the ingredients healthy. I love phở, and while I have had and made better, this seems like the best on Kauai.
+very consistent
+no weird feeling like you don’t belong there if you’re white, like some other Asian restaurants.
+pretty inexpensive for Kauai for food this tasty
+located in Lihue, which seems like a place for bad restaurants to open shop. It’s a great alternative.

Diversity of cuisine isn’t really Kauai’s strong suit. Breathtaking views and scenic sunsets are really the calling cards. So, if after a few days, you’ve grown a bit tired of heavy plate lunches, the varieties of poke, and had enough variations of Teri burgers or Kalua pork fries, you might find yourself here.
Phở Kauai is one of Kauai’s most popular Vietnamese noodle soup establishments as well as one of the few. Located in Lihue and not too far from popular tourist trap Hamura’s Saimin, Phở Kauai is the better option for your noodle fix.
With a menu featuring an assortment of phở, com tam, and dry bun noodles, the food is authentic with a Vietnamese speaking sounding staff in the busy kitchen.
We tried a selection of items including the phở, egg noodles and rice plates and the cuisine was a welcome break from Kalua pork and spam musubi.
While my phở dac biet seemed to be minus the tendon and tripe and wasn’t available with rare beef on the side, I recognized this was a remote island and far better than the Chinese cuisine I had sampled last visit. Broths were served hot and were tasty and the rice plate was particularly strong.
Phở Kauai was a nice stop for this noodle soup fan and seems to be doing great business. Phở Kauai accepts credit cards.