Pho Tau Bay

We wanted to eat the Korean BBQ next door, but the place was way too loud and there was a looong line, so we decided to come here and try it out. First impression was not the best. We sat down and within three minutes the waiter came to our table. That may be a long time to order for some people but we were new and just started looking at the menu. We said we needed more time, and he started walking up and down the aisle like he was on a tight schedule or something. Our soup came really fast though and steaming hot. The soup was good, but I feel the need to point out that there was way too much msg in there. I was so thirsty! About halfway through the meal, I noticed that there was like hair or something in my bowl. I looked closer and found a bunch of stains or something. At that point, I kinda lost my appetite. Anyone please tell me that’s just the soup! Most likely not coming back. I’m sorry I’m rating it a 2, as many people are rating it like a 5 or 4 star, it just wasn’t the best experience for us…

We wanted to try the Korean BBQ place next door, but the wait line was too long, so we decided to give this place a try. Normally, I would give a one star rating for messing up an order, but the quick service and the taste of the food win me over. I like my seafood soup fresh and hot, and I can tell if the shrimp is fresh right from the first bite, and this one did not disappoint. But still, can’t rate them a five just because my daughter was looking forward to having an ox tail soup but settled on a seafood soup.

The service is fast and it didn’t take that long for the food to come out. I ordered a number 1 large and the portion was decent for the price I paid. The broth was really hot, which I like because some places serves their customers phở that is lukewarm. Overall, this is an affordable, fast and easy place to eat at.

******************** 1531 ***********************
Open to midnight, good Bun Bo Hue because they give you a lot of fresh herbs, especially the shredded banana blossom which not many places does that.
Generous portion, cheap eat, but CASH ONLY.

Always go here for late night phở. Work across the street. Phở picks me up. Lol my comfort food. Always get 1a special combination oxtail.

I love this place! The food is good and the portions are generous. I usually order the #1 and it’s plenty even when I’m starving! They are fast and I can go there even when I’m short on time. The location is convenient too. Everyone I’ve brought there loves it and I’m looking forward to going back. They only take cash, so go to the ATM first cuz it’s worth the trouble. They have an ATM in the restaurant even if you forget. Try it!

The best bun both que (spicy Vietnamese beef noodle soup)! Way better than BBH, Bun Bo Que An Nam. Try it out. I like mine with Ox tail. It is delicious. You won’t get diarrhea or stomach aches like at Bun Bo Que An Nam or get some bland no taste broth like some other restaurants that brag that they have good bun bo que. I get so disappointed at other restaurants. I have found my place. Phở and other dishes are still way better than other places. It is next to Gen. I usually write bad reviews but this place deserves for me to write something good about. I am picky with my food. BTW the broth is better during lunch time. Dinner time is not as good. If you are trying it for the first time, go during lunch time. Take my word. It’s a great alternative to phở.

I’ve been going her since I was a kid, and I still find myself coming back. I like their broth and noodles. I often switch between their house special noodles or their beef noodles as you can never go wrong with beef. Service is decent but service at an Asian restaurant doesn’t make quality. Overall, good restaurant with good food, I’ll still be coming back.

I went here last night. I like the portion of the phở’s meet and the broth was nice and hot. Price was average. Meat tasted pretty good and also they only charge $ 3 for bunch of shrimp on the side. The only thing that was annoying was that it’s cash only. Employee here are mostly older people and kinda sluggish. It didn’t bother me because it was the end of the day and they were just super tired. I will try here again in future!

Edit: Before you read, please understand Im not trying to accuse anyone of anything. Instead, I was just trying to locate a lost item at the last place seen and not only did she not help, she basically told me to scram. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ Never again.
Phở Tau Bay looks like your average Vietnamese phở restaurant. You have some basic tables and chairs, and is as clean as can be. Service as of Sunday was pretty average and I’ve got nothing to complain about.
A little background, I dropped by Phở Tau Bay between finishing my Bambu and waiting for Gen. Yes, my group can eat. Somewhere during the night, my wallet (was kept by the group) somehow went missing. Someone found it & never returned it. I called Phở Tau Bay just to check on Monday morning (because by the time we had realized it was gone, it was pretty late). This person picked up the phone and basically snapped at me because I was trying to confirm if it’s the same Phở Tau Bay next to Gen. She screamed at me over the phone multiple times saying «GEN? GEN? GEN? WHAT? YEAH. NEXT TO GEN. KOREAN BARBEQUE MEAT. «So… I figured maybe we’re dealing with a bad line & a language barrier. I now ask in Vietnamese, still nicely. She legitimately yelled at me in Vietnamese. No language barrier, I heard her clearly, I’m sure she heard me clearly, and she just hates me. She didn’t even bother looking or asking. «No. No wallet. Never was one here» … No one in my life has ever scolded me the way this woman did and I honestly have no idea what I’ve ever done wrong towards her to ever have to be treated this way. I really was just asking nicely because I’m worried about my wallet full of personal information with no cash that’s not been returned and instead I was snapped at.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ never again.

I’m Vietnamese and I personally think this spot is the pound for pound best phở joint in San Jose. Why? Cause they’re open late. Their portions are big. Their broth isn’t the best but it’s very decent. Don’t feel like phở, their other stuff is good too. Their fried tofu is legit! They serve the best assortment of vegetables that go with your phở. They surely don’t skimp out on it like other places. Even their tap water is decent. It’s little things that matter and this place has it.
I just order a bbh Togo and I’m looking at the size of this thing. It’s like they have no regard for human life! My largest bowl won’t even fit this giant Togo portion. fat boy problems man! :(

Our favorite Phở restaurant. Huge servings, great broth, choice of noodles including glass noodles. We always order an extra fatty brisket plate with our Phở. The Chinese Donut is also fresh and taste sooo good with the Phở. Lots of fresh veggies served with the phở also.

This place is meh for me, however this is my boyfriend’s favorite phở spot and he can’t seem to get enough of their oxtail phở (he orders it EVERY time).
I’ve tried a few of their items:
:Phở Tai (³⁄₅) — Nothing special, just your typical bowl of phở. Sometimes the noodles can be inconsistent and come out a little soggier than preferred. The meat portions are fair and the soup comes out piping hot. I will commend them for not using any or very little MSG. I never leave here feeling like a camel and wanting to chug a gallon of water.
:Chicken Porridge (⁴⁄₅) — Very good! The chicken is very tender comes on a separate plate so it doesn’t become over-​cooked. The porridge itself is very good – full of flavor, but not too salty.
:Fried Spring Rolls (³⁄₅) — Nothing memorable, just your standard Vietnamese eggroll.
:Oxtail Phở (⁴⁄₅) — I never order it myself, but I always steal some from my bf and it’s pretty good. They are generous with the oxtail and it’s cooked to perfection. I can definitely see why he loves it so much, however I would never order it because they give you so much that I’d never be able to finish it; taking home leftover phở is just a no.
I also wish they did more than just noodle soups. They have very little options when it comes to rice plates (2 options) or vermicelli.

Food is good just like the other phở tau bays it’s a bit pricey but broth is super good, fast & friendly service!

We always eat here before, today we ordered 2 chicken noodle, found a dirty napkin in the bottle of our noodle bowl, so disgusting, can not coming here anymore. Dirty ! Dirty !! Dirty!!!

No one was in the front to seat us.
So we seated ourselves and then they didn’t notice that we were sitting so we had to wave them over. The older gentleman who came to take our order seemed like he was in a bad mood and it was reflecting on his service.
The phở was alright but I think that’s because I picked the beef balls one. Not all that. I’m telling you right now. I like the briskets better usually but I thought I’d try something different. Totally regretted it.
Now this place is cash only but they don’t say that anywhere in the front! Luckily my friend had been here before and warned us before going to this place but they should have a sign in the front not all the way back at the register. Just a suggestion.
Will I be back? Probably not.

Not a fan of the Bun Bo Hue here. The entire dish tasted kind of bland. I found myself having to add the hoisin and sriracha sauce constantly just to get some flavor.
The others in my party ordered phở, and I believe they said it was average. Don’t get the rice plate (chicken was kind of dry). Stick with the phở!
The waiter that served us was slightly annoying me with his tendency to order us to move things on the table around for his convenience. I get that some things might be in the waiter’s way when trying to place a bowl down, but there are better ways to go about it than just pointing and making a noise… either be proactive about it and move it yourself, or kindly ask us to do so.

With phở Saigon being my favorite phở place ever, it’s already a given that this review is going to be a little biased. However, I really didn’t find anything special about this phở spot. Granted I only tried one thing (chicken phở), but it just didn’t seem like a place I’d want to go back to. The broth seemed watered down and not as flavorful as I’d like. I loved the chicken however, and the egg rolls that I ordered were so delicious but I couldn’t finish because they were so huge! Lol, so that’s a plus.
You can never really expect good customer service from phở places so I never come in expecting something crazy but the old man who was working seemed so rude and mad at the world. It’s really not that hard to smile at someone or even check on us or ask us if we need anything!
Food was meh and service was awful. Two stars for those bomb egg rolls.

Decided to stop by this place for the first time to try it out over bun bo hue an nam.
BUN BO HUE– The bowl is HUGE!!! One size only apparently. The broth was DELICIOUS. The plate of add ons was not scant at all. It had all the necessities in it in order to create the most perfect spicy beef stew. I was definitely impressed. This place made me staaaank like bun bo hue after so you KNOW it gotta be good.
I docked off one star just because I asked for a straw for my water right when we sat down, but the waiter didn’t even bother to tell us he silently slipped the straws on the table that neither me or my friend noticed until halfway through eating our soups! (We were about to ask for it again because maybe he forgot, no big deal, but actually it was just there on the corner of our table out of sight out of mind!)

I cannot get over the fact that our impatient and angry waiter had the most intense RBF I have ever seen. Anyways, the food was decent despite the crappy service. But the menu makes no sense. My mom and I wanted to order the #1 combination bowl of phở, but this only comes in a large. Then theres #1a which has ox tail. Then there’s #2 which is basically #1 without tendon and only comes in a medium size. Maybe it’s just me, but most other phở places are not THIS confusing.
At any rate, the phở was very filling with lots of meat and noodles. Contrary to my impressions of the service here, I would come here again to fulfill my phở craving. My cousin had also ordered a coconut dessert, but our angry waiter could not understand what she wanted and brought her the wrong thing. She said it was still tasty but nevertheless it was wrong.
Something about bad service rubs me the wrong way, so I tend to ignore it when I’m with family members who have more tolerance than I do. Borderline two stars, but seriously the portions are huge and beef broth is actually pretty good. That in itself deserves an extra star.

My family loves this place. The broth is delicious and well balance compare to many other places. I personally like the oxtail noodles with extra fillet on the side.
There is not really anything bad in the restaurant except for the parking during lunch time.

My boy is originally from San Jose, and knows all the good spots. He brought us here and I loved it! So much meat and not small pieces like the restaurants back in Hawaii. I couldn’t finish my bowl it was so huge! Came back again to try another dish of theres.

Went here earlier, and they sat us down pretty quickly. Waited for the employee to give us menus, then I saw other people coming in and getting menus before us, so I was about to ask for some but he eventually gave it to us.
I ordered a phở dac biet and my friend got the phở ga.
The phở came out pretty fast despite it being relatively late at night (10:30ish) and wasn’t hot but hotter than lukewarm. if that makes sense. I wasn’t super hungry and neither was my friend but we both finished it. The bowl looked huge but it wasn’t super filling but it’s definitely enough (medium size).
The beef phở (phở bo) was flavorful but the meat we more soft than tender. Soup was pretty good, but needed seasoning. My friend’s chicken phở (phở ga tuoi) tasted pretty bland and needed lots of seasoning and sauce.
Customer service was. like a typical Vietnamese phở restaurant, nothing too spectacular. Would possibly give 3.5 stars.

This chain is located in a plaza that has plenty of parking! My friends and I got seated pretty quickly and it’s pretty spacious and clean.
I would order the #1 and super satisfied… If anything I was definitely super full and still had some leftover food. This location is a pretty good place to go if you have a large party.
–1 star because I don’t know if it was just that day being ridiculously hot or not, but I was heating up so bad in there that it made it a little bit unbearable to eat comfortably :(

A solid place for phở and bun bo hue. I usually get the phở tai sach or bun bo hue. Probably one of the best place that serves bbh. Their broth is so flavorful and they give you a lot of meat, cha, pork blood and tendon! Love love love! Service is usually quick and efficient. Only con is that it is cash only like most phở places, but they have an ATM machine inside for convenience but beware that they charge you $ 1.99 to take money out.

I stopped in for lunch again today, made the magic triangle, Costco, Phở Tau Bay and Ranch 99!
I changed to a four star rating for the consistency of their Phở. I still think the broth is the absolute best. The noodles are consistent every single time. Never too soft and never too firm. I still like getting cabbage in addition to the bean sprouts, jalapeño and onions.

I like this place because it’s close to home and next to a Bambu. Right after eating phở, I can just hop on over there for some dessert.
The people that work here seem like they hate their customers and usually rush orders. Other than that, the phở tastes really good to me. I love how they already have fish sauce on the table. I like my food salty and spicy! I usually get a #11– steak, well done flank, and tripe. They don’t skimp out on meat, which is a good thing. I also enjoy the extra green onions/​regular onions they include.
Oh MSG, you’re a wonderful thing.

Solid and consistent place for phở. I’m being phở-​real!
Since I moved to San Jose, this has been my go-​to phở shop, mainly because it’s the closest to my house.
The phở here is pretty good. They give a lot of meat and noodles which is a huge plus. I enjoy the broth more so than other places because there’s actually flavor in it!
I, however, prefer another dish and normally get the Bun Bo Hue. For those who don’t know, this is a traditional spicy beef noodle soup dish. What I really like about this place is that they give everything I enjoy, such as, cha (Vietnamese pork roll), beef and pork blood (don’t worry it’s not as bad as it sounds). On top of that, this place makes some decently spicy broth! I’ve had many experiences where the broth is way too bland and I find myself pouring tons of chili and Sriracha. Here, I find myself starting to sweat.
Service is alright here. I don’t expect too much honestly, just quick service which they do provide as well.
⁴⁄₅
Notes: This place is cash only!
— They play a lot of sports games here

After a long day at work in Sunnyvale, I picked a friend who lives in San Jose for dinner. It was a bit nippy, so we decided to get some soup. When driving around this area, I stumbled upon this place and got excited for the phở that was advertised.
When you enter, you have to be on your toes. The server ran from the back, and signaled us to come towards her as we were opening the door. That was a little too aggressive but at the moment it was alright. The restaurant was big. Lots of table top seating for families and other customers. What was kind of a turn off was as we sat down, she said, «do you know what you want to order?» Ummm. NO! I haven”t had the chance to see the menu yet, let alone take off my coat. That was definitely a turn off.
For dinner, I got the number 5, the Tai Gau for $ 8.25. This was the beef phở noodles with with rare slices of steak and fat brisket. I kid you not, 5 minutes after we ordered, the food came! I was shocked and pleasantly surprised at first that soon came to an end. The noodles was nice and the broth was flavorful, however, the rare steak and brisket tasted like it was sitting out all day, or even longer. Not good at all! The rare steak was mushy and a complete turnoff. I like the marbleized texture of the brisket, however, it also tasted like it sat out for a while before serving it.
I’m all about second chances so this will not stop me from visiting again. I’m not from San Jose however if I’m in the area, I wouldn’t be opposed to giving them another shot. This experience was just OK. Come check them out and see if you opinion is much different that mine. I would love to hear some feedback!