Pho So 1

By the way it looks like it phở so 1 is no more after being at this location for many years I came to try it out and to my surprise theres a big and yellow sign stating under new management and the name has changed. To .
Phở Ro 11

Even though this place has an odd location in an questionable area, I have to say it is one of the best I have been to. We come here whenever we are in the area getting fresh strawberries in Oxnard.
The food is great and the service is awesome as well. Just a word of advice, Im not sure that this would be a good place for beginners in Phở or Vietnamese food. I could be wrong tho =)

There aren’t too many Phở places in my area (which is Camarillo) so I was pretty excited to try this place out. I wasn’t too impressed when I first sighted the restaurant after looking it up on Google, as it was located in one of those small shopping centers next to a Mexican bar that blasted music and had people chanting and cheering.
My opinion was changed when I walked in. I felt like I had walked into a Phở restaurant in Santa Ana. The décor was good, not overdone, and the tables clean and the restaurant smelled nice (which is good, as not all restaurants have these). So we sat down (my girlfriend and I) and started looking over the menu. The restaurant has a good selection of food but I went with the classic Phở Dac Biet Xe Lua with a Sinh To Bo (avocado smoothie).
The food was good, but not the greatest. The food had a decent amount of meat and noodles, and the broth was on par with many great Phở places, but it just lacked that extra bang to bump it up to five stars. Another reason why this place is only getting 4 stars instead of five was that the smoothie just wasn’t great. I’ve had plenty of really good ones before, and sadly I was a little disappointed by this one.
So all in all if you are having a Phở craving and don’t want to drive all the way to Santa Ana or other places in the LA/​Orange County area, this would be a good place to get it.

A delightful restaurant.
It is in a mediocre area, but who cares. The prices are great, the staff helpful and friendly and the food is delicious.
If you are just into Phở’s, ok, they have great ones. But I suggest trying their vermicelli paste. It is not really a paste. It is more a pad of noodles. They are served with fish sauce (into which you dip the noodles), great grilled port, herbs and garnish, all of which you roll into a large lettuce leaf. I challenge you to find a better tasting dish anywhere.
Try Phở So 1. You will love it.

If I was a race car driver, I’d like Phở So to be my pit stop crew: fast, prompt, and friendly while getting business done. Stopped by here to get lunch, but we were in a hurry because the bf only had 30 mins to eat. Well, traffic sucked up most of that time so this was going to be a grab and go situation. Place is in a small strip mall. I’m not familiar with this part of Oxnard, and it seemed like a random place for this restaurant to be in. Our greeter was friendly and quickly took our order. Drinks came out and the food was ready 5 mins later. We were in the restaurant a total of 10 mins. The food was nicely packed for travel and they made sure to put the container with the broth inside another plastic bag just in case of spillage. Thank goodness! Smelly spillage can really mess with your day, not to mention your clothes and car!
The phở broth was yummy and the charbroiled beef that I had a taste of was equally yummy :)

BEST PLACE FOR PHO!!!
This is my absolute favorite place. I wasnt turned onto phở until I moved down to Oxnard. I actually found this place by accident. The Oxnard Phở place on Ventura Rd is closed on Mondays and then I saw that there was this place. Since then ive been a loyal customer. There broth is so robust and tasty. Their fish sauce is homemade. The best Ive ever had. Also the staff is very kind. The food is VERY inexpensive and you get a lot of food for the amount you pay. My favorites are;
#14 Beef Phở
#23 Shrimp Phở
#53 Char-​broiled beef on vermicelli
#85 Char-​broiled beef on rice
#96 Spring Rolls
You cant go wrong with these dishes.

Second Phở place that I visit Oxnard this week, I agree, What the Phở is up with that?
Like I said before, Oxnard has a measurable amount of Vietnamese immigrants living here in the city. If you ever get the chance to come here, you’ll notice that there is a hand full of Asian customers who eat here, it makes it feel more legit! After all I am Mexican, what do I know about Phở.
I’ve also express my feelings about this shopping center call Babilou, less than 10 stores and it’s probably the most diverse shopping center per square foot in the county. You have a Mexican, Japanese and Vietnamese restaurant.
OK, so Phở So 1 has good food. It was a cold day so I had the beef Phở along with egg rolls, this was for lunch. Let me start by saying, a lot of food and plenty of vegetables. The egg rolls were good, I am a fan, along with their sauce, good enhancement to the rolls.
The Phở, a little different from the Phở I had earlier this week, however it was also delicious (in its on way). The broth was good, the noodles were fresh, and the beef was tender. Can’t say it’s the best Phở I’ve had, considering that I am not an expert. I felt that it was spicier than the previous phở that I’ve had.
This place is closer to home and work, and does not disappoint, so I actually see myself coming here frequently during cold days.
Even though I think this place is Phở-​ntastic not a place where I would take friends to make an impression. But over all experience was good. Staff was also friendly and fast, that always helps.

Big portions
As authentic as I know it to be
Good service
Pretty darn good food
Economical prices
I’ve come here a couple times and am always surprised by the amount of food that gets brought out. Last time i tried the phở and it was a bit spicier than I had remembered it to be, it didn’t stop me from eating the whole bowl.
This place has everything and anything you could think of.
Great spot!

Best PHO in the Ventura county, by far! I am so happy I was able to find this place. I have tried the others around the area and none of them was as good as PHO SO 1!
I love to PHO!!!

First time eating here today. Ordered the Phở noodles with chicken, along with an order of their award-​winning eggrolls, which were unbelievably good! The Phở was very very good – delicious broth! My new favorite eatery in Oxnard!
Follow-​up: Visited again in the same week… got take out… consistent quality, very delicious broth, and the left overs were just as flavorful.
PS…wish they would offer a smaller order of eggrolls (like 1 as a side) with their entrees.

Wooh. Just finished eating at this phở restaurant. I’ve been here plenty of times and this time was no different than any other time. Straight delicious. Definitely the best broth in Ventura county. I like the phở with the rare beef and the brisket fat. Its great. Like a lot of the other reviewers say the parking lot and strip mall is a joke but once you’re in there you feel right at home.
The only knock I would have here is that the water glasses are way to small but they are constantly filling them up so I never hit the bottom of the glass. Definitely delicious.

OK, I was really skeptical about a phở place in Oxnard and let me be the first to say, «I was wrong». This place does have good phở, about as good as some of the places in Garden Grove, not maybe not the best. Still, a 4 stars for me as a visitor to the city of Oxnard. The Cha Gio was pretty damn good as other Unilocalers have suggested.
You know what makes a good bowl of phở that Phở So 1 gets right? It really is the damn broth. The broth is everything. I mean, of course the meat and the rice noodles count, but if you have crappy broth, you are sure to get crappy meat and crappy noodles. Phở So 1 makes a pretty mean broth — maybe a little on the salty side for me, but it still tastes like what phở should taste like. The Cha Gio is seriously good, better than some of the places I’ve had in Garden Grove.
If you’re ever out here in Oxnard, doing whatever it is that you’re doing out here, stop by Phở So 1. Get the phở. And get the Cha Gio. You can’t go wrong!

Oh my, a phở place in Ventura County that doesn’t taste like it’s from the can (ahem Phở Oxnard). But really, this place is super delicious, comparable to good places in OC where the rest of us Vietnamese are located. It’s like I was transported to Little Saigon for lunch.
The Phở: Lots of soft meat. Lots of fresh vegetables. Most importantly, the broth is spot on!
Spring rolls were nice and big. The sauce is great.
There were a lot of non-​Vietnamese in there too! Makes me proud to have other people enjoy bits of my culture. Good job Phở So 1! I like your Reseda location too but I think you taste a little bit better. =] Ooh in that case, I’ll try the Pineapple smoothie if they have it next time.

Simply Awesome Phở
In Oxnard on business, I had a hankering for Phở, so i checked out Unilocal,and this place got good reviews. I went there. The little strip mall its in looks totally run down, but the inside of this restaurant was great.
Like every Phở place, order came fast, and it came piping hot (got the Steak + meatballs). Broth was phenomenal! Meatballs were great and not rubbery like at some Phở places.
Service was awesome. I asked for my Vietnamese coffee to be delivered when I was done with the food, and that’s exactly what they did. Oh and the coffee was fantastic.
I will be visiting Oxnard quite often and I will definitely come here every time I come to town.

First of all, I grew up on Phở! My parents are from Vietnam (although they consider themselves chinese instead) and I have had all the great Phở in Little Saigon and the new china town (monterey park). It’s all about the broth and Phở So 1 is really good and flavorful. For a chain, it’s surprising it would be this good.
I come here atleast once a week for lunch and the food never takes more than 2 minutes to arrive at my table. So it is great to take people here if you are low on time.
The other dishes are great too. The Cha Gio (eggrolls) are excellent for the avid vietnamese food eater and a great way to introduce new vietnamese food devourers to the this great cuisine.
The only dish I had here that had more to be desired for is the Bun Bo Hue (it’s like a red pork blood (it sounds more disgusting than it is) noodle soup). That is probably also the most adventurous meal on the menu too but I have tasted better versions.

I was on a business trip and took the great reviews from Unilocal to heart and ate here. Phở So is fantastic. Very reasonable and the Phở was outstanding. I will go back here Phở Sho next time I’m in town.
FYI no AMEX

Two Words: AVOCADO SHAKE. For that, I should give it 5 stars; It Rocks!
Soup = very good. Egg Rolls also rock ~
The toughest part is choosing what to order as there are so many options. The staff are friendly and happy to help you navigate the menu.
I like that the beverages are served in glass, not plastic. Yes, it makes a difference!
The owners have a few more locations… Gardena comes to mind. Yes, I’d stop in again if I was in the neighborhood. I wouldn’t make a pilgrimage (too many other good-​to-​great phở places between where I live and this location) but, I’m glad we stopped.
Can’t sign off without one more shout out:
AVOCADO SHAKES RULE!

My wife suggested I try a Phở place, so I gave it a shot. Here’s the thing I am no expert on Vietnamese food by any means, but I found the food to be fresh, flavorful, and delicious. I am not a big fan of liquorish flavors, but If you add just enough soy and lime in your soup you can’t taste it as much. I have only tried Phở two times and both times, once I was able to get rid of that slight liquorish flavor I really enjoyed it. The servings are very big and the egg rolls, oh my the egg rolls! Come here just to see what an egg roll can be. Nice atmosphere, clean, friendly staff.
Favorites:
Egg rolls the pork kind you wrap in a lettuce leaf
Shrimp Phở
Beef Phở
EDIT:
Since my review above I have become completely addicted to Phở!!! Number 15 and 95 on their menu are incredible and I can seriously eat here or at Phở Saigon at least 1 time a week, and have done for the past month. I have also been adding the sweet and spicy sauces they have on the table to my phở, very awesome I usually don’t do spice with most foods but man its good in phở. Again let me just say EGG ROLLS!!!
for these new reasons, and because just writing this review makes me want to leave work now and go get some phở, I have upped my original 4 star rating to 5.

Phở So 1 has the best Phở (Vietnamese Beef Noodles with Beef Combo) I have tasted so far, and their egg rolls are pretty good. Been wanting to try other dishes but end up eating their Phở again and again.
The only one time I am not eating Phở was when I saw someone grilling meat using the Vietnamese hotpot. The combination of the marination and slow grilling filled the restaurant with captivating aroma that I decided for once, not to have Phở that day!
I can say I have made the right choice! Not only was the food splendid, the grilling was fun with the need to dip raw meat into sauces, grill to cook and eat as a wrap with rice paper, lettuce, carrots, rice noodles and fresh fish sauce.
Check out the photos to see how good it is!

The Power of Unilocal [1]
So, I’m minding my own business this morning, reading & voting on Unilocal reviews, forwarding selected ones to other Unilocal friends, when I stumble upon Kay N.‘s review of this restaurant.
My initial inclination was outrage that a *foreigner* [2] had snuck into Oxnard and announced herself as if she deserved to be here. After reading her review, though, I wholeheartedly believe she does. In the interest of reclaiming my territory [3] from people like Kay N., though, I committed myself to a large lunch at Phở So 1.
— Phở Tai $ 6.00
— Egg rolls $ 6.00
— Tsingtao lager [4] $ 2.95
Highlights:
— Delicious beef broth
— Generous supply of rare beef
— Delicious spiced pork, carrot, & mushroom egg rolls
Lunch Photo:
Footnotes: [5]
[1] Was anyone reminded of Huey Lewis & The News, Power of Love?
[2] By *foreigner*, I meant Westminster, CA.
[3] I live about 5 miles from this place, so it’s not really my ‘hood.
[4] I requested a Vietnamese beer, but I got Chinese instead.
[5] I promise to beat this addiction to excessive footnotes.