Pho #1

This is my go-​to Phở place in Sunnyvale when I’m too lazy to head back to my parents place in Vietnamese SJ Central. It’s SUPER CLEAN and the service is consistently good. The menu isn’t huge, but they have the basics.
My BF loves the Phở Dac Biet, which is basically the special. They don’t use MSG, and you can taste the full bodied broth which feels pretty homemade. I love the Bun Bo Hue. The spicy meaty broth is perfect on a rainy day. They are not skimpy with the meat at all and they give you plenty of veggies to add.

I ordered the Grilled Shrimp, It Looked so good I couldn’t wait any longer, Loved it! This restaurant kills the competition, if it had any!

Came for lunch around 12:30pm and it was a quarter full. about 7 tables. Probably won’t last for long but it was kinda nice.
I got the regular sized chicken phở. The portions were on the larger size which was a nice surprise. Food was on par with other phở places in the area. Service was as expected.
If you are into top40 music this place will be your jam. Bieber, Taylor, Selena, Jonas, etc.

First time eating here. Ordered number 51. It’s a rice plate. It was just ok to me. Service is typical for a phở restaurant. Probably wouldn’t come back. Only ate here cause Bön Bön was close even though Unilocal said it was open.

Don’t bother ordering the beef stew soup. It is meant to be served with a combination of flank and tendon but our order was nearly 100% fatty inedible tendon.
Our egg rolls were good and the drinks looked appetizing but we had no appetite to order anything else.
Bottom line: there are better Phở restaurants in the Bay Area than this one. It’s ironic they call themselves «Phở #1»

Tried this place out a week or so ago –
Staff wasn’t particularly attentive, though a large party seemed to have been seated maybe 10 to 20 minutes before we came in.
I thought the Phở was pretty good, the brisket could have been a bit leaner but the broth was good and the amount of meat was fair, overall solid Phở.

Service was really poor — we entered the restaurant and no one sat us for a few minutes. Then multiple other parties were sat and their orders taken. I had to walk up to a waitress who was taking someone else’s order to get someone to take our order.
The phở on the other hand was pretty good — I liked the broth and quality of the rare steak.
We will probably come back and hopefully the service will be improved.

I got the #5 phở — its excellent on a cold day. The portion size in terms of noodles and meats was perfect, and the value was great too ($ 6.95 for a regular and $ 7.95 for a large).
Huge parking lot — it’s in the same plaza as Bön Chon chicken and CVS.

I was pleasantly surprised by the friendly and attentive service. The girls were helpful and efficient, whether it was getting an extra fish sauce, clarifying our orders, or refilling the waters.
The phở was pretty tasty. I got the #1, and the oxtail was meaty and tender worth the rest of the meats plentiful and relatively lean.
The chicken wings were crispy with a slightly sweet marinade. Nothing mind blowing but meets your hankering for wings.
The Vietnamese coffee was strong and nicely sweetened written the condensed milk.
A few others had the vermicelli bowls with the grilled pork which was okay. It had this reddish marinade that made it tasting strongly if fish sauce and sugar. The pork didn’t look like what I saw in the Unilocal photos.
I would return here if I was in the neighborhood looking for a steaming bowl of noodle soup.

I like this phở place. As others have noted, they’re relatively skimpy on the meat, but the bowls are distinctly yet not overwhelmingly spicy, the broth is rich and good, the noodles are tender and not a giant lump as you sometimes get elsewhere, and the menu offers combos like flank and tendon, my favorite, which you can’t get elsewhere without special ordering. They also have unusual offerings like oxtail.

1) Kind of skimpy on the meat in the phở.
2) Went on a cold evening, and the restaurant was cold and very drafty. Do you have a thermostat you can turn up?
3) I understand most phở places aren’t going to provide great service, but it’s off-​putting when the (butchy) server says, «Do you need anything else, so I can bring it all at one time?»
4) Constant loud tech music. Blech.
5) Overall the food was good.

Good food, a bit skimpy on meat so always get extra, still worth every dollar.
Place is neat and clean, quick service.

God, just when you thought a business can’t get any worse, it just did!
Normally, I’m not that big on customer service, especially on Asian restaurants that basically are street vendor– or food truck-​like in the streets of Taiwan, Hong Kong or Vietnam. Basically, I’m there for the food and as long as they don’t piss me off, if the food is good, I’m pretty much customers for life.
Phở 1, recently opened in the El Camino/​Fair Oaks neighorhood, was a delight little phở house tucked in a CVS-​anchored discount stores plaza, very convenient for some of us living/​working around here.
My initial visits were OK, but it has gotten subsequently worse! My very first time were greeted by the owner (who’s very helpful & engaging). From the way I’d dressed, he knew I’m an athletic dude, telling me he can turn to ANY channel in one of their two flat-​screen TV’s. There was another rather slim gal who was courteous, and got the job done. AND THEN, in my last two visits, I’ve noticed this new dude with a crew cut hair style — he was simply one of the rudest servers I’ve ever encounteted in my life.
I had two encounters with him that really left a. bad taste in my mouth!
1. Free WiFi: on my second last visit, I noticed there was a free WiFi sign, I went over to the cashier counter & asked for the password. Instead of just providing it (& let me try for myself), he said, ‘rudely, it’s not working’
2. TV Channels: on Sunday yesterday, I chose to come to Phở #1 so I could watch some NFL games. As with lots of Asian establishments, their employees are not into American sporting activities, I asked the slim gal if she could switch channel so I could watch the Seahawks/​Cowboys game (as the 49ers game already ended), she was clueless which channel, but was at least trying to help. Then, I heard the rude crew-​cut dude said to her, he thought I couldn’t hear him, «we got other customers to serve!» Huh? So, I’m NOT a customer? Your boss had told me in previous visit that feel free to ask for anything you’d like to watch. Furthermore, it was 3pm, there were only 2 – 3 tables, it was nearly half-​empty.
I hate to penalize local small businesses, but if THAT guy is there, I’ll never come back.
It takes me A LOT to be pissed off by bad customer service, with that bad attitude towards its customers, Phở #1 is the #1 Phở house to get me so ticked off!((

I’ve been to phở restaurants from virginia beach to now Sunnyvale. And this place is on par with most of them if not better. I have yet to try some of the other phở places but no crowd on a Sunday night with the games on… Why not.
Quiet atmosphere with very quick service. They did not have a bahn mi on their table menu but it was on their window as a «Vietnamese sandwich». So ordered one of those (pork of course) and some beef phở. Simple and quick. Food came out and it was very hearty after a long day.
Phở broth was flavorful and the noodles and beef were cooked perfectly. The Bahn mi was exactly what I wanted. Toasted bun with a sweet taste of seasoned pork and the wetness of the pickle on that first bite.
I ordered enough for left overs but couldn’t stop eating it all. So good. Will be trying other spots out but this was a first time for phở in Sunnyvale and I was NOT disappointed at all.
Come for the phở stay for the bahn mi…

The phở was solid! I’m still figuring out what my personal taste is in phở. This one was good, but the flavors were a little weak for my preference. However, the meat quality was very good and the food came out quickly. Staff was friendly.
Not sure if I’d go out of my way to come here, but it’s a good option if you are nearby and craving phở!

PHO #1
If you’re looking for Phở in Santa Clara, there aren’t too many options, but drop by for a clean dining experience at Phở #1, although the phở certainly didn’t taste like it’s #1. The soup was a bit too bland. The nem nuong was pretty good, though. Service was friendly and the clean interior and decorations made it a standout from your typical dirty Phở restaurants. A-​OK, but nothing special.

I was rolling to KFC for dinner and it was a Packed House. So I changed my Dinner Plans .
I decided to check my Unilocal Bookmarks and Knock Off Phở #1 off of it .
So I rolled there in my Whip.
Phở #1 is located in a Large Strip Mall .
So there’s Plenty Of Parking .
I parked my Whip and Rolled in.
I was Greeted and Seated at Table #18.
I was presented a Menu .
‘
I perused the Menu and ordered a Ordered a #41 =Grilled Pork and a Eggroll on Vermicelli Noodles, Spring Rolls and a Half Order of Fried Chicken Wings .
Phở #1 has 2 LCD TVs for Entertainment .
Phở #1 has a Lot Of Tables to choose from .
There are 2 Restrooms a Male and a Female one.
My food arrived 15 Minutes Later .
Portion size on my #41 was good sized. Ingredients were Fresh and Packed full of Flavor .
Grilled Pork was Tender .
Spring Rolls were tightly Wrapped and Fried To Perfection. They tasted great.
Fried Chicken Wings were also tasty.
I paid by Discover Card and rolled out.

Good customer service, spacious restaurant, and the phở is tasty.
My first visit: I ordered a regular sized bowl of phở; Phở #5 to be exact. The first thing that I noticed was how large the bowl was, as it covered the majority of my placemat. The broth was very flavorful and not overpowering, and the slices of beef were very tender. I also ordered a side of spring rolls, which came with peanut dipping sauce. I rate these two items ⁵⁄₅.
My second visit: I ordered shrimp and pork over rice, and a strawberry smoothie. The shrimp was properly seasoned, but overall forgettable. The pork… …was weird to say the least. The pork was served in four thin slices that were somewhat large and extremely hard to pick up with chopsticks. Due to the length and thinness of the meat, I was forced to nibble around the edges. Was I supposed to ask for a fork and knife? Should they have brought me a fork and knife? Who knows. Anyway, the strawberry smoothie literally saved the day. I rate the shrimp over rice 3/​5, and the strawberry smoothie ⁵⁄₅.
Even though my second visit went rough, I’ll definitely return to this restaurant, but only for their varieties of phở, rolls, and smoothies.

Came by for dinner the other night and was surprisingly impressed! Located next to Bön Chon chicken, the restaurant was going through a grand opening and the interior was brand new and colorful. The chairs were all plastic though…
Cha Gio were okay. A little too much taro and rather bland.
Bun Bo Hue was slightly spicy but the soup wasn’t super flavorful. The noodles were perfect and the cuts of meat were decent.
Service by the entire staff was excellent. They were very courteous and spoke perfect English.
They also accept credit cards too!
~$ 13 for dinner including tax and tip.

My former business associate and I have been holding ‘What is that Phở’ strategy meetings. The ratings on Unilocal really help in finding new and highly rated places to eat lunch, and Phở #1 did not disappoint!
The restaurant is in the very back of a long shopping center that faces El Camino and Remington. You have to look for the Comics shop at the very north end and if you look to the right you will see Phở #1.
The chairs are bright colors and the layout of the restaurant is inviting when you walk in. As usual we got there early and had our pick of places to sit.
Our initial server was an older lady who appeared to be surprised we knew what we wanted right away.
Out came a plate of complementary chicken wings to our table. After having a horrible experience with Foster Farms I did not partake, but my associate did and liked what he ate.
In spite of the single serve drip coffee maker shown on the menu, it appeared the Café Su Da was a premix as it came out in the glasses right away. I really would prefer to make my own at the table and showing something on the menu that you really do not get is a misrepresentation of what experience the customer expects. So redo the menu’s or state you do not provide this service! One star off for that.
The phở was good and they complied with our request for TWO plates (one each) of bean sprouts, Thai basil, sliced jalapeño peppers and lemon slices.
The place filled up for lunch on a Tuesday.
The soup spoons were porcelain instead of plastic which was nice.
For a new place to go we had a 3.5 star experience.