Viva Pho

Been here before and enjoyed the food. But today’s visit sent me home with food poisoning. Probably not going back after this.

Can’t say enough positive things about this place, and I have absolutely nothing to critique. It was a cold and rainy night, so obviously the first thing that came to mind was phở. From the minute I walked into this cute little joint I knew this was going to be a pleasant experience. Right when the door opened, the aroma of their delicious food hit me right in the face, and I instantly had pretty high expectations after that. Fortunately, Viva phở did not disappoint in any aspect.
The server was efficient, seated us right away and asked for drink orders. He was very patient and respectful, even though I felt really bad that we arrived at the restaurant 30 minutes before closing. He provided suggestions off the menu, and even told us that we could pretty much create our own combination for the phở. SO accommodating! All the food was brought out hot, fresh, and within 10 minutes of placing our order. Very impressed with both the service and the ambience (modern, cozy, and cute).
The prices are extremely reasonable as well, in fact, I don’t recall seeing anything above $ 12.95 on the menu. The phở and most other dishes were around $ 7-​$ 9.
What we ordered:
1. Phở Dac Bet (noodle soup with rare filet mignon, beef brisket, tendon, tripe, and beef meatball) and added shrimp to it for an extra dollar. OMG delicious, best phở I have had thus far in San Antonio considering both quality and price. It was cold and rainy outside all day, so the warmth of the soup felt AMAZING. Like most other places, they serve a plate of jalapeños, lime, holy basil, cilantro, and bean sprouts to add to the soup. DO IT. ADD IT. ITS PERFECT. The jalapeños here are actually spicy and combined with the hot soup its everything I expected and more. The filet mignon is so tender it melts in your mouth, and they were really generous with the shrimp as well unlike other restaurants (why must everyone always skimp on the shrimp?!)
2. Bun Bo Xao (Vermicelli with stir fried beef and vegetables) — We asked for it spicy (⁸⁄₁₀ spice level) but it really was not that spicy at all, so I might dare to order ¹⁰⁄₁₀ next time. Regardless, this was absolutely perfect as well (sense a trend here?) This place really knows how to cook their meat, because the beef was tender, seasoned/​marinated so well, and they provided a generous portion. Most other Vietnamese restaurants I have been to give a lot of vermicelli and not enough meat to go along with it. I definitely did not have that problem here. I usually love adding sauce or something extra to the side, but this dish really didn’t need any of that because it was already so flavorful.
Alright, I think I’m done raving about this place. The restaurant is really close to the medical center area so I will definitely be visiting often. Looking forward to trying the boba next time!

I’m a vegetarian, and at viva phở i always choose a vegetable phở and its taste really good. a price is reasonable too. Good place and good food.

I think I have found my go to place for PHO!
I could smell the delicious aroma wafting through the parking lot as I approached the patio upon arrival.
We walked in and at first it was unclear if we were to seat ourselves or wait to be seated.
The man who was at the counter spotted us shortly after we got there and he told us to have a seat anywhere.
The server was very respectful, suggestive and efficient when we had to place our order.
First of all it is not clear that they serve vegetarian/​vegan PHO on the menu. Oh boy but they do!
It has to be the BEST vegan PHO in town too!
The server was very astute he picked up on that we were vegetarian (I only occasionally eat seafood) because we did not announce it only asked if we can add tofu to the PHO as our meat choice.
Since I had not seen that as a option I was already leaning toward the seafood phở since it seemed to get a lot of great feedback here on Unilocal.
The server asked my boyfriend if he was vegetarian and when he said yes the server told him that they are happy to make the order any way we like there.
Pleased beyond belief to hear that! So awesome!
The setup for out PHO was so nice!
Plenty of fresh limes, just the right amount of basil & cilantro. Every sauce that should be available is right there at the table with you. :)
Both PHO dishes were incredible and so was the amazing BOBA drink we ordered. Taro is my fav but they have plenty of choices. I was even able to get my picky son a strawberry one with pop boba only in it and be loved it.
The décor is nice and its not too bright and obnoxious in there so you feel at ease when you are pigging out. Whoops (I mean eating the food).
I think I went into a trance for a hot min there. The music was like EDM a bit and I am not talking about the Eagles Of Death Metal.
Will be back and if I do not see them sooner than later I will be ordering them on the app.
So delicious. Mmmm scrumtrulecent.
The broth was perfect. Btw whatever the issue was about the dark vs (clear?) nonsense was just silly.
This is the most excellent soup you can ask for.

You cannot go wrong with this place, just close your eyes and randomly point to something on the menu and you will be amazed how it tastes.
Allergies to certain foods? No problem, just mention to the wait staff to leave out that food item and they will happily accommodate your meal without it.
Very respectful and moderately quiet place, good to sit down and have a nice talk without it getting too loud like most restaurants. Customers in the restaurant are usually in a pretty good mood as well, that’s how good this place is :)

Phở lover of viva phở, phở life.
Service — there was a little language barrier but the man who waited on us understood everything of our group and did not make one mistake. Also he was very nice despite all our little add ins.
Ambiance — it’s very clean and they had plenty of seating and an outdoor patio.
Food–
Summer rolls– which I make at home all the time but had to order theirs just to try. It was so packed with fresh ingredients and shrimp. I enjoyed it and would order again.
Crab ragoons — they served a lot and it was tasty!
Our group ordered a lot of other appetizers but I was so happy with mine that I didn’t try it.
Chicken fried rice — a gigantic plate with flavorful rice and chicken
I had the veggie phở without tofu but added shrimp to it. It was so so so so delicious. Oh my goodness, the serving was huge. I loved it so much. It was loaded with great veggies like zucchini, carrots, etc. and the broth was to dye for. It was light and healthy. It was everything like I remembered phở being and more. I never eat leftovers but asked for a togo bowl because I couldn’t let that phở go to waste. (I had it for lunch the next day)
Beef phở — again a huge serving and he described it as something filling, and something perfect for the chilly weather. It had a lot of meat! He already wants to go back in December when the weather drops.
I would recommend to anyone and I am planning on going back in December :-) prices were great and servings were huge!

Right as you walk in you are greeted by your waiter and are told to sit down anywhere. They have a great selection of phở but they also have a lot of rice and noodle dishes as well. I ordered the #30 filet mignon phở, my husband ordered the lemon pepper chicken wings and fried rice. We also came with two friends. The appetizers came out fast and hot and everything tasted fresh and delicious. Their spring rolls are addicting! The phở broth was incredibly delicious, I will definitely be back to try other kinds!

Ordered there take out last week friday night and picked up in about 15 min. Got orange chicken, crab rangoons, and their seafood phở. The qhite rice and egg roll that came with the orange chicken were very good, as was the fried chicken, but the orange sauce missed the mark for me. The crab rangoons were very good, highly recommend them, crab, cream cheese, and crunchy goodness were amazing! And very well priced. The seafood phở was good and disappointing at the same time. The shrimp and scallops were cooked perfectly, the squid was terribly overcooked and rubbery, maybe avoid that and you’ll be alright, the fixins with the phở were fresh and plentiful, and packaged very conveniently. The noodles were very good and packaged separately, and the broth was nice and hot. All in all decent food, maybe dine in is better

I had the tamarind wings. This was an excellent dish. The phở was hearty with a very savory broth. They serve imperial spring rolls.