Pho Bar and Grill

Not the best. I’ve eaten a lot of authentic Phở and this was so-​so. Service was iffy too. I say go elsewhere if you are craving Phở, this place won’t satisfy.

Looking to save myself a trip to Arlington, where I usually satisfy that craving for delicious phở, I tried take-​out from this H St establishment.
I was unimpressed with the steak phở, the meat was very salty and a measly portion at that. The noodles were far too many for the broth and toppings given. Another pet peeve: the onions weren’t thinly sliced, which means crunching in and resulting onion breath.
The beef broth was a ⁶⁄₁₀.
Three stars over two for tasty garden rolls and having a delivery option.

When we dined in, the service was so great. They were prompt, they checked in on us, and the food was great. It’s not the most expansive phở menu, but the broth is good and that’s what matters.
Plus, they deliver! On a cold day, what’s better than phở at your door? Not much.

Veggie phở is good, but at $ 9.95 it could use more tofu. I’ve been to other phở places with bigger portions for less money.
Avoid the bubble thai iced tea! — the tapioca balls were not chewy and didn’t taste good. What a waste of money.

Phở was pretty good, but service was subpar. Forgot our original order completely, then took 10 minutes after we ordered an additional tea. It WAS the same day of the H Street Festival, but C’Mon Man.
Also, make sure to take advantage of the 20% discount for DC residents with the right zip code. Makes it worthwhile.
Note: I was between giving them 2 or 3 stars, went with two based on the music selection that was blaring (e.g. Lady GaGa, Christina Aguilera, etc.).

When this restaurant first opened, their Vegetarian Bahn Mi sandwiches were so delicious. The ingredients were lovely and fresh, the tofu was just right and the spices were amazing. My husband (who is not vegetarian) even ate the sandwiches. I loved going to the restaurant for the sandwich or for Vegetarian Phở. However, I was very dissatisfied with my last two visits. The bread for the sandwich was stale, the tofu was burnt crispy and the vermicelli noodles were not cooked. I called the restaurant because I could not believe the horrible taste.
I cannot recommend this restaurant for the food at all now.
–Unhappy customer

Meh! Large portions but pricey as far as phở goes. The food was only mediocre… Sadly, this may be as good as it gets in DC…
It was also really bizarre because we came on a Sunday night and it sounded like there was a party upstairs at the bar! Possibly a karaōke night? Loud music, people coming and going, people talking, people singing…

I’m sick of hearing this place isn’t as good as Phở 14 or Phở 78 or some other numerically named Phở place. It might not be, but if you don’t want to venture to some strip mall in Gaithersburg, it’s a fine option. My foodie elitist friends promise me the phở is «so much better» in Arl. This is after ordering takeout. #duh phở is as fragile as the bean sprouts/​cilantro themselves; it’s best to eat in. So I admit there might be «better phở of diminishing perceptibility» but not as conveniently located.
Check the hours I always go the wrong day (day they’re closed) and the veggie phở is no bueno. The «asian» style chicken wings, bueno. Spring rolls, a solid B/​B-​. Phở A-​.
As an insider scoop the waitress there told me the owner used to live in SE Asia, makes the broth himself with spices we don’t have words for, with bones and all, and doesn’t tell anyone the recipe. So that report matches well enough to the flavor.

You’re going to want the pork vermicelli with egg rolls. Heck, I want it again just writing this review. I like this place. Not because they’re doing anything gourmet or innovative. But it’s relatively quick, relatively cheap, and it’s nice and sort of pleasantly quiet. I prefer to eat upstairs because it has a bit more of a restaurant feel. Downstairs feels a bit like a waiting room.
Two things that might throw you off that I’ve just come to love and accept: the décor is pretty washed out and the place has no theme or ambiance to speak of. And, well, the food runner has never once (I’ve been here 5 or 6 times) brought me the meal I ordered. Meh, it’s always good and I don’t like to complain too much at a place I eat at a few times a month. But just be forewarned — especially if you have allergies or strong menu preferences. All in all, you’ll enjoy what they serve you — whatever that may be. And the happy hour booze prices will help you forget what it was you wanted anyway.
Yummy factor is high and the friendly service makes this exactly the kind of place you want to retreat to after work for a big bowl of something comforting.

This was my first phở experience and after I was done, I swore it would be my last. The broth was flavorless, the chicken was tough and I left fully convinced that all of the pha-​natics on Unilocal were riding the same delusion-​filled bandwagon. Fortunately, my friends convinced me to give phở another shot. So after MUCH protesting, I finally caved and went to Phở 75 and Phở Sate in Falls Church and now you can count me amongst the many phở-​natics! What I had at Phở Bar and Grill didnt come CLOSE to what I had at those other places. Not at all. Don’t waste your time.

I really like their Phở. I always get vegetarian but my friends have gotten the beef. really big portion. The summer rolls are great (ask for the peanut sauce on side — heard they make it on site — very tasty). I’ve had one of their noodle dishes and it wa also good. Reasonable price. Pretty good drinks at bar. Good service.

My wife and I went there on a whim right after Christmas (We were aiming for Toki Underground, but the wait there is always 2 hours long). We were pleasantly surprised by Phở Bar & Grill. The food was amazing (especially the broth of the phở– WOW!). The drinks were good. The only complaint we had was that the upstairs is a little too dark, but besides this we highly recommend this place!

You’re in the city, so don’t expect to pay $ 5 for a bowl of phở. If that’s your preference, go to VA or MD. The phở here is pretty good. I’ve had pho95, pho75, and this is perfectly passable and yummy enough to satisfy a phở craving. I come here regularly for my phở-​fix.
I’ve never had any issues with service, but then I’ve never been there during busy times.

Phở is my preferred prescription for common ailments like the flu, tonsillitis, and head colds. Just put a bunch of sriracha in it, and I swear it helps clear things up, and is comforting and filling. So when my man had a nasty head cold, I told him Phở was the answer. Unfortunately, the Phở Bar & Grill was decidedly *not* the answer.
We said we were dining in, so we were directed upstairs, where the only place to sit was at the bar. That would have been fine if we had received the attention of the totally-​not-​busy bartender. But we waited, and got no attention until we asked for menus. And then we waited. And waited for her to take our order. About 20 minutes later we finally got water. There were maybe two other people at the bar. When our appetizer came, we had to ask for utensils. When our phở came, we had to ask for spoons. And then we had to explain that we needed the spoons for the phở, not regular metal spoons. We also had to ask for the sriracha. And then we had to explain to her what the sriracha was. The food was okay. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great.
The hostess was pretty bad, though. When we asked for napkins, the bartender had to ask the hostess, who offered us tiny bar napkins. I asked for whatever napkins I would get if I were sitting at a regular table… ya know, full-​sized napkins. She was visibly frustrated by my request and told me that eating at the bar was «different!» I’m not sure why they think people eating at the bar wouldn’t want regular napkins when they order food. Later on, we saw her elbow her way past a customer coming up the stairs.
My man looked at me and said, «Never again.» We won’t be coming back. We’d rather drive crosstown to Phở 14, instead.

Was on vacation in DC in September and was looking for a place to get late night food after drinking in the Georgetown area. Toki Underground had a 2 hour wait, so we decided to give this place a try. Mind you, it’s after midnight and there’s more wait staff then there are customers.
Huge mistake! I’ve had plenty of Phở from the Bay Area and Los Angeles, so It doesn’t necessarily need to be great, but humor me with something close. After making our order for phở and a vermicelli bowl, we were told 20 minutes later they ran out of Phở. Really? IF you guys had run out, maybe you should of told us after we placed our order… On top of that, our waitress told us they’ve been out of Phở since the afternoon, even though a person was eating a bowl when we sat down.
So here’s the short version of what happened next:
Me: «What’s in the combo bun mi? Beef and pork?
Waitress: Yah combo is a sandwich…»
What kind of answer is that? I just ordered it, so we could get on and outta here.
All this time, the vermicelli should have already come out. Took 40 minutes and some our pleading with two pseudo managers to come out to see what was going on. Finally got our food, which was cold and had a hair in it. That was the last straw. Finally spoke to the 3^rd person who said they were a manager and after some back and forth, got our meal comped.
Horrible food, poorly trained staff, and even worse management.
Negative 4 stars if I could give it.

There isn’t a lot of food on H street. Sure there are a lot of restaurants, but the good ones are always packed with long waits and the rest are kind of ho hum. That’s how we ended up at Phở Bar and Grill, we were looking for something low key on a Wednesday night as we were walking down H street.
The food itself was ok. The broth had a much different taste than traditional broths do, definitely more vegetable based, and with a darker color. The noodles were a bit less cooked, and they clumped together in a big mess. There were more onions than normal. They also allowed you to put vegetables in your phở for a small surcharge. Overall it was nice tasting, if not authentic tasting. It was just really pricey for a bowl of phở. In other parts of town you can get better for much cheaper, but on H street there just isn’t any competition.
If I’m in the neighborhood and I want this kind of food then I wouldn’t go without, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone either.

It sounds like people are getting wildly different service on different nights, because I go to Phở Bar and Grill on Tuesdays and everything has been impeccable.
When I was here this week, it only took four minutes from the time I sat down and ordered till the time a piping hot bowl of eye round phở was placed in front of me. The servers are were polite and didn’t come by too often, and my water glass was always full. The manager even remembered me from my one previous visit.
I particularly like the broth here, more flavorful than the other phở place on NW H Street. The only thing keeping this place from five stars is that the noodles can be a little softer than I like, and the eye round is cut a little thick.
BONUS: Their vegetarian phở is vegan and the broth is made fresh daily.

This is a relatively new phở and banh mi shop across from the Atlas… and it’s open late! Pay at the register, then take it to go or eat in (it’s got a comfortable, laid back atmosphere — a departure from the usual stark phở shop, and maybe a plus of it being a bit Americanized). Apparently, they’ve also just gotten their liquor license and they have a bar area upstairs.
I haven’t had the phở here yet, but I snagged a banh mi sandwich a few nights ago, and it was… pretty good! Frankly, I’m stoked to have a late night food option on H other Danny’s Carryout, so having it actually be pretty good is just icing on the no-​bulletproof-​glass cake. The bread was fresh, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, and the meat and veggies were satisfying too. The mayo or something was a little off, which made the sammie overall taste less authentic than those I’ve had the Eden Center, but I am pleased to say that I will never return to Danny’s Carryout again! My husband, for the times when he has to use the bathroom after me, would probably give this place 5 stars just for that.

I love this place and they seem to have worked out the kinks that earlier reviews noted. Service was very good, although it seemed to be run by one guy. The other two were constantly chatting on the phone and standing outside.
This visit I started with the Garden Rolls. Steamed shrimp, pork and vermicelli noodles wrapped in rice paper, served cold with peanut sauce. Super good and felt semi-​healthy.
Next was the Phở Shredded Chicken, which was very good. A huge steaming vat of wonderfully flavored broth with a nice portion of shredded chicken and all the accoutrements. Added some chilis, plum sauce & Sriracha and I was good to go! It was so large, I almost didn’t finish it. Well worth $ 9.95
The server was very friendly and attentive. The owner even stopped by my table to chat. Overall a very nice experience.
So glad to have this new addition in the neighborhood!

Why god? Why?
Bland. Mushy. (see pic)
This place needs a bit more time to work the kinks out.