Pho 54

Waiting for pick up order and they gave me free iced tea for the wait.

Service is good.
Phở is too cooked so it broke into pieces.
Watch out for recycle vegetables! I saw the young gal at the register walked around. picked up un-​used veggies and brought them back to kitchen???

Large restaurant with a lot of tables and high ceilings. Food service was fast and efficient, so even though the restaurant was always full and customers were constantly coming in, turnover was quick and there was never a wait at the door.
Most customers are probably regulars and know what they want to order, as we barely had a few seconds after opening the menu before our waiter came to ask for our order. I requested a minute, so he waited at our table for about 10 seconds before chiding, «one minute!» Rather than read each item, I just asked if they had the dark red broth soup (Bo bun?). They don’t, so we ordered a number 1 and number 2. I actually still don’t know what the difference is, but I felt too pressured to take time to read, hah. The soup broth is good, light and not too oily or peppery, which is nice if you want to dress it up with the garnishes or sriracha/​hoisin sauce. Portions are big, $ 7.95 for a hearty regular size, $ 8.65 for a giant basin of a large size.
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Close to my house, win! A friend recommended this place and from the reviews, it definitely lived up to it. It DOES look like a laundromat from the outside and the servers DO persistently ask you if you’re ready for them to take your order. Portions ARE huge here and broth IS delicious! Everything tasted fresh and even the limes were super juicy. So glad to have found an authentic tasting phở place so close to home!
Warning: CASH ONLY!

Best phở place hands down! I tried many places around San Jose, but this place always hit the spot. The portion size are huge and hearty. Service isn’t that bad too, if you compare it to other phở places. Sad part is cash only!

Don’t let the sterile cold light, somewhat reminiscent of an inner city laundromat, fool you, this place has the goods to back up their excellent rating.
Their portions are huge, and their rice pates come with a side of heart-​warming broth with a little mini portion of cilantro and green onion. The meat itself (pork rice plate) is well marinated, flavorful and plentiful.
Service is also very quick and efficient.
CASH ONLY

I used to go on phở runs at 3 am after long nights of drinking and as a result, I unintentionally conditioned myself to throw up phở every time I eat it. TRUE STORY. I never eat it because without a fail, I will throw it all up.
So anyways, my boyfriend was telling me about this phở place that served cooked beef blood (from the bones used to make the broth) with an egg yolk. Sounded interesting and delicious to me! I’m a sucker for blood, organs, etc. by the way. Continuing with my super cool story; our friend picked us up early from the airport and it was cold as balls outside so we were like, «Let’s go to Phở 54.» I was like, «Okay cool.» This is the best part — I DIDN’T THROW UP! I haven’t had phở in a long time and I wasn’t disappointed. They don’t skimp you on anything here. The portions are huge! Like I couldn’t even finish my small bowl. I would definitely come here again and that beef blood thing was really good. Don’t ask me what it’s called though cause I have no idea.

This used to be my favorite phở place, but Phở 54 fell off, and it fell way off.
Their broth is salty (MSG) and they skimp on both noodles and meat. I know countless places with more generous servings and healthier broth. Even with MSG, Phở 54’s broth is watery and weak. I once found the ambience charmingly humble and unassuming, but that was when the phở was good; now the place just seems like a run-​down hovel.
The last two times I came, I was deeply disappointed and the phở gave me an unhealthy feeling in my chest that made me feel like going for a run. Phở isn’t supposed to do that. For these reasons, I won’t be eating at Phở 54 ever again. They lost the spark that once made them the best. I scoff at anyone who henceforth claims that Phở 54 reigns king of San Jose phở.

Phở place is just ok. Like all Asian places, don’t expect great service. It’s not a 5 star restaurant where they’ll put cloth napkins on your lap for you and ask you what wine you’d like to sample. You get in, eat, and get out. Most people that go to phở places already know what kind of order they’re not used to people who will sit there and peruse the menu.
The waitress that accommodated us was very efficient and of course it helps to speak Vietnamese as well. Phở broth was clearer than what I’m used to and although it was good, I had a feeling it was made with a ton of MSG since my little cousins kept reaching for their glasses of water. So salty. Wasn’t the worst phở place I’ve eaten at but I can think of better.

My favorite no-​nonsense Phở restaurant in the Bay Area. I have never had a bad experience here, the staff are friendly enough, the place is clean, but most important of all the broth is great.
The portion sizes (noodles/​meat) are great and really consistent. Phở places are pretty homogeneous, standard tables, standard sauces, same type of atmosphere, however to me Phở 54 stands because of the food. I know Unilocalers like to consider the atmosphere, service, among other factors, but in my opinion for restaurants like these you need to take them completely based on their food.
The broth (the most important part) has only been surpassed by the homemade Phở that my friend’s parents make. The vermicelli comes out at the right consistency and you can ask for the Tái cooked/​uncooked depending on how you like it.
Great place, a little out of the way for me, but it is always worth the drive.

This Vietnamese Phở restaurant is very popular in San Jose. A friend introduced me to Phở 54 and I must say that I was not impressed with the service. But I noticed that no one cared about the service. Sound strange for a restaurant? Well, maybe so, but they were there for the delicious phở. Phở is the Vietnamese name for noodle soup. I ordered a small bowl of beef noodle soup. Small? Perhaps you’ve had this experience when it comes to portion size. You don’t always know what you’ll get. Good news in this case is that the small size is actually very large.
My friend, who had experience here suggested to have me to request a lot of «rau,» herbs like basil and other greens. The aroma of the soup is amazing. I was really satisfied with the phở.
While eating, i noticed a large crowd outside waiting to be seated. This place seems to be crowded throughout the day. I would recommend this place because of the food. Even if the service is less than perfect and the décor is hardly elegant. You will eat well!

The phở broth is decent and the ingredients are fresh. The portions are larger than most other phở restaurants in the area. The restaurant is not too small but can get busy and crowded during lunch time. One thing to keep in mind is they do not accept credit cards so be prepared to pay for your meal with cash.

Our family’s favorite place for Phở, and we have been coming here for years (since the days my kids went to high school nearby).
Phở 54 has always been able to keep up the quality, and the Phở here tastes perry authentic. Their regular sized bowl is quite big, and is usually quite filling unless you are super hungry. I always get Phở No.1, and my wife sometimes get the rice plates.
We particularly like their Vietnamese drip coffee, which is smooth and strong~
Nice neighbor restaurant with nice food and service!

So, you know when you’ve walked into a really good place is when they’re crowded and not too fancy — it just screams «old school».
Actually, they only get 4-​stars from me cuz they’re literally the only phở place I’ve been to in which you can’t customize your bowl.
I tried to order tripe, tendon, and fatty brisket only, and it wasn’t do-​able! …LOL. So, after the waitress tried to suggest several of the menu options to me (but to no avail), I revolted and went with the Grilled Pork Rice Place.
Actually, it was good! The grilled pork wasn’t dry, and was tender and moist; it came with a spicy soup/​broth (which I really liked), salad, and a mountain of rice.
Service is standard for a phở place — quick and dirty with not much communication. I’d come here again.

You know when you walk in here you’re going to get good phở. There is no fancy renovations or hipster servers, just grungy diner chairs and tables with old school Vietnamese music playing in the background.
The phở is really flavorful (I’m sure they use MSG) and loaded with meat (#1 has flanks, tendon, tripe, etc. no meatballs – I personally do not like the commercially made beef meatballs anyways, so I like that their combo don’t have it). For $ 0.60 more you can upgrade to a large, which is big enough for you to place your face into the bowl to drink the soup!
The toppings they give you on the side is also loaded. I hate it when I go to other phở places and they give you only two pieces of basil and no lime. This place will give you basil, jalapeño, bean sprouts, lime, and some other veggie.\
Highly recommend this place if you’re in the area.

I expected this place to have the same chicken consistency as other phở places but instead the chicken was undercooked and had these yellow and black pieces attached to it. The broth also tasted like it had some sort of chicken bouillon powder in it (i saw red flakes), instead of just letting the natural flavors consume it.
Worst.Place.Ever.

My boyfriend and I were craving for phở and decided to try this place out! He made such a good choice of coming here! The hosts were very friendly and were accommodating to our needs. They took our order and our food came out fairly quickly. The bowls were huge. My boyfriend got a large and I got a regular; we both got the number five! The regular looked like the large bowls in other places and the large was huge! The food was very satisfying.
I would’ve given this place five stars, but I felt like it wasn’t as sanitary. I saw workers trying to swat flies… It wasn’t very appealing when you’re eating. I also saw a guy who kept picking on his face while cleaning/​arranging the utensils.

The place isn’t much to look at, nothing looks new or remodeled in the last 10 years but I came here since my vietnamese teeth hygienist recommended it.
The phở and clear noodle soup was tasty with plenty of side veggies, egg rolls were bigger than the usual phở places, and we also had the coffee with condensed milk. Friendly service as well. However when I went to pay for our table, the prices on the receipt were different than the menu. It was $ 3 each for coffee instead of $ 2.10, and about $ 1 more per menu item, so noodles were about $ 8.75 instead of $ 7.75, and same for egg rolls. $ 5.20 instead of $ 4.20
It bothered me somewhat because if they didn’t want to get new menu’s, they can at least put up a sign pasted in front of the menu and say something to the effect of «every item is $ 1 more for increased cost of living»
Then I wouldn’t mind since I know up front. I don’t like feeling ripped off. So I just gave them less tip than I normally would since I paid $ 5 more than what the menu said. Food is good and I might be back if I’m in the area

What happened to this place? Not sure if they changed owners or cooks or something but it’s not the same as it used to be… For shame!
Still cash only.

My quest to find the perfect bowl of phở continues! I stopped by this place for dinner with my boyfriend and was quite impressed with the quality of food here. Don’t be fooled by the outside because they put up a mean bowl of phở, and this is coming from someone who hits up any restaurant that has anything that loosely resembles phở.
The service is meh but it’s no biggie because that’s not what people come here for. They get your food on the table in a timely manner and that’s what matters. The prices are pretty damn impressive, especially given the sizes of the bowls. No complaints there. My boyfriend got a large and it looked like a small bucket so…
I opted for phở with rare steak and fatty brisket and it was delicious. The broth was clear and not oily, always a sign of quality soup. The meat was decent quality and the noodles tasted fresh. They also offer ngo cai! Everything was pretty much perfect, except I prefer limes to lemons (they used lemons), but that’s a small gripe.
If you’re into phở, you definitely have to hit this place up! Prices are good and the phở is more than great.