Than Brothers

Clean little restaurant outside of UW Tacoma. I ordered the #13 Tai Chin Nam Sach with eye-​round steak, brisket, flank and tripe.
I got my bowl quick enough but the soup was not very good, a little on the sweet side. But I figured, every restaurant has an off day. As I continues to eat my food I realized there were only 2 large steak pieces and a broken piece of tripe in my soup and nothing else. $ 8 for just soup and noodles, no thanks. I’ll stick with the usual subway down the street.

I will never go here again. I ordered fresh spring rolls to go. I looked at the menu and they were listed as two for $ 3.95. I ordered one order and he tried to charge me $ 11.95. I pointed at the menu with the price and he told me it was the old menu. I then noticed a large sign advertising the same price and pointed to the sign. He than reduced it to $ 8.95. I questioned him again and he said it was taxes. He finally got the price right. I brought my spring rolls back to work and it was disgusting looking. It was a piece of lettuce rolled up with two pieces of shrimp. It was about a foot long and nothing inside. I order spring rolls often at many places and have never seen them made like this. Wish I could add my disgusting photo to this comment. Don’t go here. You’ll be skammed!

The broth could be better. Not the worst nor the best phở I had. The main reason why they got a 4 star from me is because it was a cold raining day when I went here and it was open. I was originally planning on going to elemental pizza to try them out but they weren’t open around 10:30am. So I went here. && thank god I did. The hot soup really boost my mood and the free cream puffs was something nice. Now the cream puffs are like ²⁄₅ but the fact it was free was nice! I ordered a number 9 in a size small. The portion for a small is wonderful! And cheap. I stayed for about an hour with my friend and my noodles went from hot to warm. Good thing it still can hold it’s heat !!!
Customer service is something they should work on. Not much attention for the customer. I asked for a straw and they told me where it was.
You have to get up on your own to grab a straw from the front… Strange…
Payment was quick so that was a plus.
Coming back here on another cold day !

Very fast. Ok Phở. Friendly. Good soup if you have a cold! I ordered a small and it was plenty.

I came in right after lunch so there weren’t many people, like 3 customers. I sat myself down and waited for a while before someone noticed me and took my order. The older gentlemen working here were very friendly. The lady, not so much. I had the soft tendon and flanks and it was alright. The soup was good but it didn’t leave any «wow» factors but it was cheap, especially for a college student. Going back to the lady working there, i went to pay for my bill and while one of the gentlemen who had helped me was eating, she was busy retouching her makeup, even made eye contact with me and had the man stop eating his food to help me! Come on lady! Let him eat if he’s hungry, your makeup can wait! Urg, that’s annoying. Ok I’m done venting. I hope to have a better experience the next time I come should this lady be there.

Came in here after visiting the glass museum and I honestly didn’t have high hopes for a Phở place in the middle of Tacoma. Boy was I wrong.
When we first walked in, it wasn’t a great first impression. All the tables were occupied by dirty dishes and napkins, but not by people. There were probably only 4 tables occupied by people. Tables were cleared once they asked us if we wanted to take out or order in. All of us ordered the vegetarian phở and it came promptly. As someone who’s eaten non-​veg phở, the bowl of noodles put in front of me was pretty darn good. I slurped up every bit of it. Who would have known, great Phở in Tacoma exists!

The broth is amazing, it is so full of flavor. The portions are generous and service is fast and friendly as it should be. Lots of opinions to try. I love the location downtown right near the glass museum, university of Washington, and so many others. I highly recommend this place.

Love their Phở broth. They are very quick in getting your food after you order. You can be in and out of their in less than a ½ hour. Don’t get their spring rolls, I’ve had better. Will be back to this place for another bowl of Phở!

The phở is good and it’s right in the heart of the UW Tacoma campus. Very convenient parking as well. The menu is small so you can only get phở and spring rolls here. They are not open on Sundays, unlike their other locations.

Great food, and can always get your food quick. One of the better phở places around Tacoma for sure. They do season their soup a little more than others as well, never hand anything bad here. Try to go if in the area. Fairly inexpensive, surprised more people don’t go here, really missing out.

I’m no expert on Phở, but the chicken one I had was delicious. They were out of spring rolls. Would certainly return!

It was soooo cold one day in Tacoma that we bought overpriced Washington State hoodies at the college store just to survive. And right next store, we discovered this awesome Phở place, where we sat in our new hoodies and watched freezing people walk by as we sipped the noodles from our soups and laughed at them. Okay, we weren’t laughing at them, we were too busy sucking down soup and it was really good. Came with all the expected veggie bits, guy who served it seemed nice enough. But as we all know, once you get that HUGE bowl in front of you, the world is forgotten.

Not the greatest but coming into town and seeing that it’s open till 8 which is a rare occurrence here in downtown, it was a pleasant surprise. The prices are low and the portions are definitely large enough to satisfy a hungry stomach. The place is pretty empty, like the rest of the area around dinner time. But if you’re looking for an affordable Asian option for dinner, check it out. The other places that are open walking distance are either sandwich joints or $$$…

The phở is mediocre. The downside: the broth is not consistent — one day it’s decent and the next day it’s bland. The service isn’t good either. The upside: the food is inexpensive and a cream puff comes with the phở order.

What the Phở!
When this place first open it was actually really good.
The broth was flavorful unlike Phở Tai in Federal Way that tastes like dirty sour water. Their broth is somewhat dark in color but sweet and savory. They also gave a good amount of meat and noodles. I got the smallest bowl for $ 5 something and it came with the perfect amount. They also gave the usual veggies on the side and cream puffs.
However, after a couple times coming here. The servers didn’t even give basil and gave very little bean sprouts. Their water tastes so gross too! Their cream puffs are soggy too…
BUT THE LAST TIME I WENT…
my soup looked like it was hot .but when after I tried it, it was warm. My meat wasn’t cooking. I like my meat somewhat pink, but it was like pink because it wouldn’t cook and was chewy because it was raw. My noodles were hard because the soup wasn’t cooking them!
not coming back anymore sorry… unless the boyfriend wants to eat it then i’ll eat it just for him.

It’s ok. But convenient! They’re phở is ok and I had better but would rather eat here than any other place in UW Tacoma because phở is healthier, than, let’s say, the Harmon or Swiss. I am not too much of a fan of their customer service either. It feels like the people working there doesn’t wanna work there. They don’t fill up water or don’t even care to check up on you after you receive your food. I got really thirsty to the point I had to get up on my own and ask for water… Sorry no tip. I just really like the convenient part. Other than that try another phở place around this area more south from the Tacoma campus.

I was very disappointed with this restaurant and will not be going back there again.
I’ve had my fair share of phở at various restaurants, including other Than Brothers locations, and this restaurant was the worst. The broth was bland and lacked flavor. The phở also did not come with very much noodles or meat, even in the large size. I would say the best thing about eating at this place was the free cream puff.

Than Brothers serves the best phở I’ve had, and I’ve eaten a lot of phở in the Seattle area. The broth is flavorful without any added seasoning, the meat is tender, and they give you free cream puffs. The service at this location is fast and friendly. My only wish is that they would expand their menu to include other Vietnamese items, like sandwiches. But that’s not a complaint against the phở, so I can’t dock them for that.
If you’re looking for delicious, fast, cheap phở downtown, look no further.

I’ve eaten at several Than Brothers locations: W. Seattle, Ballard, Capitol Hill, U-​District, and most recently Downtown Tacoma. Every meal ended with a grand finale — debilitating nausea and fatigue.
I was excited to see phở so close to where I work downtown, hoping to spend many future lunchtimes dining within its walls. I set aside my bad experiences with Than Bros in the past and ordered a large #2 to go. The flavor was decent, even though my noodles disintegrated for some odd reason. While typically I have an iron stomach, there’s some secret in this phở that wants me doubling over in pain. I have learned my lesson five times over — from this day forward, I will never consume Than Brothers Phở again in my mortal life.
*Disclaimer –This phở may or may not affect you in such a way. In fact, I pray that it does not. Other phở options that do not cause me pain in Tacoma are: V&V, Phở Bac, Phở King, Vien Dong, Wendy’s (I&II), and Phở Hua
Happy slurping!

This new Than Brothers Phở just opened by University of Washington Tacoma in downtown Tacoma on Pacific Avenue. Pretty incredible.
They have a number of iconic locations around Puget Sound.
Bonus: Free crème puffs.