Phobulous

I have not been to this place in four years. I came in with seven of my friends to do a group study while eating. The place is as charming as I remembered it to be with local patrons. Although my friend who is Vietnamese who lived on the island said the place has changed owner. We all got phở except one person who got the charbroiled chicken with rice.
Our friend recommended getting extra vegetables. While I don’t usually go for vegetables when I get phở (simple meat and rice noodles with sprouts and herb seemed sufficient) she was totally right on how much it added to the phở. I ordered a small Phobulous specialty (P1) with extra vegetables (+$ 2) and the bowl was full. Two of my friends there have never tried phở before so this was their first experience. They really enjoyed it.
The place was a bit short staffed and our one friend who ordered the chicken had to wait a good 15 minutes after the rest of us got our food before getting hers. I was a bit embarrassed since I love Vietnamese grilled meat and had recommended that she order that instead of teriyaki chicken. It was good that in due time that she got her food and she was able to finish with the rest of the group. Other than that wait, the experience was very pleasant. The staff members accommodated our party and put tables together for us.
I am glad that the local community continues to support this restaurant. And like another Unilocaler wrote, a small bowl was really more than enough.

I found a cockroaches in the soup. It is disgusting. I called for the waitress and he went back to the kitchen to ask for owner. I waited for 15 minutes and did not see anyone come up. I have to leave because iam running late for doctor appointment. I will not eat at this restaurant again. Do not eat here.

I had their special phở and spring rolls. The food overall was so-​so. The broth was oily, the meat tasted a little funny (I suspect it’s not very fresh), and the amount of noodle vs. Meat was definitely overwhelming. There was nothing special about the spring roll. Definitely much better phở places out there. Service was the only good part. Will not be back.

They have switched owners and the food is very consistent. I have had the chicken and beef phở which is full of flavor and they skim the fat off very well so you don’t have a weighted feeling in your stomach after your meal. Their Thai Ice Tea is also phenomenal. Although 4 dollars is a bit much for a tea I find it better than Pon Proem’s and Anise Thai Cuisine’s tea. The atmosphere is nice for groups and if you are alone they have a large TV that can entertain you.

Phobulous is a hidden gem in Mercer Island — I’m a big fan of supporting local family businesses, and there’s just something nice about recommending a restaurant that serves delicious eats with a friendly smile.
I ordered a small phở tai (with rare beef and meatballs), spring rolls with peanut sauce, and Thai ice tea with jelly. Hands down, this place has THE best Thai ice tea I’ve ever tried! I’d want to bottle that up (possibly in a flask) and sip on it everywhere I go. The spring rolls were also scrumptious and the peanut sauce matched well with the rolls. Their phở is also good, and the broth has a nice savory blend that’s not overly salty. When it’s cold and rainy, there’s nothing like phở to make everything all good in your tummy!
My friend ordered the seafood pancake and the vegetarian phở. I didn’t try those items, but my friend said the phở broth was one of the best she’s ever had.
Additionally, I thought the customer service was great. The waitress was super friendly and extremely welcoming.

We have been eating take out and dine in there for a few years now. Tonight, we ordered take out and were told to wait 20 minutes. When we brought the food to our house it was ice cold like never been cooked and the spring rolls had ½ shrimp. I don’t think we will go back there any time soon. Don’t think you have a captive audience because the island has limited choices. Even after you offered to replace our food, 49 minutes later with starving tweens, I am not happy.

Not as good as I remembered. Missing items in our order, cold rice bowl, slow service.

Best Phở on Mercer Island — BUT DOUBLE CHECK YOUR ORDER.
I want to give this place at least four stars, however I can’t rate this restaurant higher than three. If I’ve been there twice and they’ve messed up my order twice, that’s 100% error rate. For those keeping score, that’s worse than Taco Bell! The first time I ordered a chicken & rice combo plate with brown rice, I ended up receiving vermicelli. Tonight I ordered a three-​piece chicken eggroll and got three three-​pieces instead. If that’s what I wanted I would’ve ordered «nine eggrolls». Annoying.
Anyway, the food itself is fairly good. Not the best I’ve ever had, although it’s certainly the best phở on the Island. Their rolls are good. Their Bubble Tea is tasty and they have a moderate variety of flavor selections. Their Thai Tea is also decent. I prefer the P3 — Phở w/​Well-​Done Beef. Their Banh Mi is a large sandwich and is good — their competition up the street has them beat on the sandwiches. If I’m looking for some Viet food on MI, especially some phở, I will go here hands down.
The restaurant itself is small, décor is meh. Nothing fancy. The place isn’t usually busy so there always seems to be a table open. A good place to go on a low-​key date night. The young man behind the counter is friendly however he has been the person who has messed up my orders twice… They do have a large TV up front usually on some public-​friendly station/​show. Kind of an odd note that new mothers will appreciate is they did allow my fiancée to breast feed inside the restaurant without complaint.
Something that bugs me slightly about this place is that their online menu is subpar in appearance and they don’t have a take home menu. That, plus the ordering slippage, definitely knocks it down a star to three for me. However, the taste and price are better than that.
Cheers.

cute, clean place. my teenage daughters liked it. server was courteous and fast. food was prepared right — just the way we like our Phở

Ordered Vietnamese Chicken curry with 4 stars and brown rice.
The restaurant was not crowded but they did delay my dish but were courteous enough to inform me that it’s on its way.
The staff is very friendly and constantly checking on you.
The Vietnamese Chicken curry had a great flavor, good spice level but sadly the chicken was undercooked/​old and tasted weird. Had to keep all my chicken out and just eat the curry!

Love this little Phở place on the Island! It’s clean, bright, and the staff are very attentive. And their Phở is delicious! Can’t wait to go again.

after my last review I stopped going for a few months. 8 months ago, I started ordering phở to go… So far so great. Finally back to the flavor they started with. They’ve been consistent so far. Haven’t dined in, but right now, very satisfied with my to go orders.
Broth is light, sweet, and salty… Very good balance where you can smell and taste the aroma of the spices they use. Too bad they don’t have the original sriracha sauce for to go.

My absolute best and healthiest option for lunch and dinner! Even with many food allergies, they are flexible, courteous, and have a huge repertoire of delicious options to choose– from great Phở and Bahn Mi to green papaya salad and grilled meats and seafoods. The vegetables are cooked with a light hand and served tender and attractive with lots of fresh garnish! I’ve never tried the bubble tea but it seems to be a popular choice for many. You can’t go wrong here. Holly and Eric and their kind and pleasant staff do a great job.

It has been a few months since I ate here… nonetheless it was good.
I had the calamari and it was absolutely perfectly fried… no rubber bands here.
My friend had phở and he enjoyed it very much.
I don’t go to M.I. very often, when I do I go to the M.I. thrift store, good buys there… many items still brand new with tags still attached.
When there hit up both… as they are good bargains.
P.S.
The owner is super friendly, has a great sense of humor and he made us feel very comfortable… that’s something lacking in many businesses these days.

This is some of the best phở in Seattle. Clean, low-​key neighborhood spot with fast and friendly service led by Holly and her family. The broth and ingredients are always fresh– beef broth and chicken broth are both delicious. The green papaya salad with shrimp is a favorite, too. The G11 barbecue is also good.
They have a full menu that identifies GF, Vegetarian, and Vegan options, so anyone you bring can find something they’ll like. I wish I lived closer so I could eat here every day!

Worse 20 $ I have spent in a while. I asked for it not to be spicy and it came out very spicy, 3 stars. The chicken was also undercooked. I will not be back. Service was great, just not the food.

Yum! I am a vegetarian and have found it hard to find flavorful veggie options, but this place was great! I got the tofu banh mi which was actually super flavorful and delicious, and the veggie phở (with vegetable broth) was delightful. Looking forward to coming back. Prices are reasonable, too, which was a nice surprise for the MI area.

I had never been to this restaurant before and will not be returning. I asked the waitress two times to take my order and she asked me to wait both times. Finally a different waiter came to take my order after waiting for an exceptionally long time. If you prefer a place with at least decent service and the ability to hear the person across the table from you, you will find to select another place! In fact, there is Thai restaurant, Pon Proem, right next door with great food and service.

We went back to this place and the lady owner was fabulous! She made up for the bad service we had last time. She recognized me from my previous Unilocal review and apologized for the past bad service. We will come back again. Food is awesome. Their Vietnamese bread is very fresh and tasty. My picky eater son loves the kid’s phở.

The restaurant is under new ownership. The food remains at the high-​quality that it was with the previous owner. Today I had a pork Banh mi which was one of the best that I’ve had. The new owner is extremely personable and goes out of her way to make one comfortable. I am looking forward to sampling the rest of the menu to compare with the quality that it was with the previous owner. I’m sure that I won’t be disappointed.

I really wish this place was good. The broth is meh. Enough said. But service isn’t bad.

Are all phở noodle shops created equal? I’m trying to find out.
Based upon vicinity, I have been hitting up a different phở joint and wanted to mix it up. I ordered the Phobulous Phở to get a sample of everything and spring rolls. Typically a small bowl of phở will fill me up, but I was famished. Let me just say this: $ 2.50 spring rolls, what?! Now, I was expecting the rolls to be bare minimum, basic and tasteless given the price, but they’re some of the most memorable rolls I have ever tried. Here’s why: there a surprise inside… a good kind! Embedded in the rice noodles and lettuce, there appears to be a piece of fried wonton. You get a satisfying crunch that you typically miss out of when avoiding the fried rolls. At least now you can savor your healthier decision and get a little crunch action.
As for the phở, if you see me make any additions (Hoisin or Sriracha sauce) within the first few bites, that means I am trying to mask the flavor. I did not have to do that here. The broth was more on the clear side, meaning less of those oil bubbles you see floating around the bowl. Although I did not have to add other sauces, the broth was a little on the weaker side. On the other hand, the meat was not overcooked. On the other, other hand, the soup overall could have been hotter.
The cloth napkins and lime-​colored chopsticks are a nice upgrade. The restaurant is bigger than most places, it did not have a cramped feeling. I would come back for the spring rolls and give their other dishes a shot.
They also have free dum-​dum lollipops to abate your phở-​y breath.

New owners in September. Sadly the old owner just lost it and it was getting worse every week. The new owners have greatly improved the consistency and their food is excellent. They are very pleasant. It is getting very busy again so I recommend that they add some help. Prices are quite high for Vietnamese but I guess that is because of the high Mercer Island rent.
I highly recommend the new management team and the restaurant.

With a quick glance from the parking lot, Phobulous appears to be closed as it looks quite dark inside. I relied on the OPEN neon sign and walked into this small restaurant patronized by the locals.
I was seated way back in the restaurant, got the menu/​water, but it took awhile for the only server to come take my order. I got a small veggie phở (no vegetarian broth available). The food came out pretty quickly along with a plate of bean sprouts, basil, jalapeño slices, and lemon wedge. Yes, I wrote LEMON not lime.
The veggie phở had a good amount of veggies (broccoli florets, cabbage leaves, carrot slices, green beans and deep-​fried tofu chunks) and tons of noodles. The broth was not bad, but it was lukewarm. I really want my phở broth to be piping hot. It is cold outside; therefore, I order phở!
It is really OK, but I think I’d rather drive to another Vietnamese restaurant if another phở craving strikes.

Phobulous is a cute Vietnamese restaurant located in a small shopping complex. There really isn’t that much to eat on Mercer Island so you gotta take what you can get.
I’ve been here a few times for their phở only so I can’t comment on the other dishes. The phở here is solid. The broth is actually a bit sweeter than I expected so if you don’t like sweeter broths, keep that in mind. The small is the perfect size for me but I imagine that most people would be okay with the large.
Sometimes service is a bit slow because there’s usually only one person doing everything.

It’s on the island so expect to pay a little bit more.
Pretty standard in terms of food and dishes to expect at a Vietnamese restaurant. Let’s just say it was decent and I will end up eating here again, but wouldn’t go out of my way if I have other options. I ordered rice with grilled pork and egg roll. They gave me extra shrimp on the house but they were dinky. The pork was well seasoned, but lacked herbs. The egg rolls were kind of on the greasy side. Came with a couple of pickled radish and carrots and salad with dressing.
I think a lot of people order take out (just my observation). There were only two other patrons in the restaurant during the lunch hour. My friend is a regular here and apparently the owner is super friendly with him and accommodating with dishes not on the menu.
Plenty of parking.