Pho Viet

The phở here is amazing! they do it right and spice it right. If you want it crazy spicy, they got you covered. If you want less intense, they got you covered. For $ 12, you can’t beat a bowl of phở from this place. The spring rolls are also yummy.

Everything here is super tasty. Lemongrass chicken keeps my friend coming back. I’m a phở addict, and their broth is super flavorful, which keeps me happy.
Like any small business run by the owners, you must know when to visit in order to get the best food and service. Love this place!

I’m a huge fan of phở and of pho75 in Arlington. This place has for the same price as pho75, larger bowls and slightly more authentic broth. Plus a wide selection of apps and non phở main dishes. Quality of which rivals Eden center. It gets crowded sometime and definitely no frills dining. Takes credit card which pushed it to 5 stars. Great bang for ur buck.
I see a lot of folks eating the vegetarian phở which I’ve never had but seems popular.

Hands down the best phở I’ve ever had. Get the spicy lemongrass phở and the egg rolls. Amazing.

After trying Phở 14 further south in Columbia Heights, I had been wanting to travel to the northern end of the neighborhood to try the other well-​known option, Phở Viet. We arrived around 8:30 on a Friday and were met with a full patio and a packed house inside. We were directed to the only open spot indoors, sharing a table (with a seat between us) with another party.
One of the servers brought over water, and a different server eventually took our order. The theme of the night service-​wise was waiting. Waiting for water, waiting to give our orders, waiting for water refills, and waiting for our check. I don’t blame them at all though because they seemed pretty slammed. No one ever checked on us but that’s rather common in my experience when getting phở.
I do commend the server for asking if we wanted our spicy lemongrass phở «half spice» or «full spice». I chose half and I can 100% say I would have been dying if I went full spice. My boyfriend went full spice and he was having quite the difficult time finishing his phở. The half spice had a nice kick without being overwhelming. No jalapeños were necessary as I often add to my phở! The portion size was huge and included an equal balance of chicken and noodles. I love it when we walk out of dinner with our bellies full of good food and our wallets still full as this meal was $ 20+change.
The jury is still out on which phở in Columbia Heights I prefer because the spicy lemongrass broth is so different from regular phở broth, like at Phở 14. That just means I have an excuse to return and try the regular broth, although I’m going to have a real hard time passing up the deliciousness that was the spicy lemongrass!

Omg!!! The broth is so tasty! Awesome Phở!
Appetizers not pictured: shrimp egg roll and Tempura you have to get both! They are so tasty!

I was really looking forward to eating at this restaurant. We decided to eat outside because it was a beautiful day and the tables available for our party of 4 were in direct sunlight, the tables are reflective so they were blinding us. We tried moving one of the umbrellas and the guy at the register said that we couldn’t move it and proceeded to move the four of us to one small 2-​person table.
Then another group of people came and sat at the tables we had just been made to vacate. One of the men stood up and moved the umbrella so that it would block the sunlight (just like we had tried to do). The man working the resister proceeded to come out and say «you guys just don’t learn, do you?» When we told him that we didn’t move the umbrella, the gentleman sitting at the table did, the man running the resister didn’t say a word to them. And he didn’t even apologize to us for how he treated paying customers.
Needless to say, all we did was pay for our drinks, cancelled our orders, and left. We did not deserve to be treated as we were and then have customers right next to us treated with respect. I was excited to eat there but no matter how good the food seems to be, I will not eat at a place that doesn’t respect all of its clientele.

This place is so good.
I highly recommend getting the lemongrass chili Phở. Medium spice is probably your best bet.
Keep in mind that you will usually have to wait if it’s cold outside since their inside space is pretty small.

As a Vietnamese Californian native, I always like to try our Viet spots when I travel. I heard that this place is better than most. I ordered both the regular phở and the spicy lemongrass phở. Both were okay tasting. The phở was bland so the lemongrass gave it some flavor. If you never make it to California for bomb ass flavorful phở then I suppose this spot will do. The people were really nice and the place was a cute hole in the wall. Meh!

This is a food poison story.
I’ve always thought that since I left China and came to the US, I said goodbye to food poisoning. But I was wrong. Here’s what happened:
I went to this place last Thursday evening in a group of 4.
The best part of the night is that it only took us an hour before we see our food.
The beef I got was raw, and the soup was lukewarm that by the time I finish eating, the beef was still raw/​red… The food was mediocre btw.
After 10 hours, I woke up with a sore throat and a shit load of delicious YELLOW mucous. Then I had diarrhea, and after another day I started to feel sick and weak. Then I lost my appetite and couldn’t eat, and in the meantime I had to spit out my mucous and drink water every 5 minutes… Then I had a fever and laid in bed for the weekend and missed seeing the cherry blossom!!!
However, I’m the luckiest among my group.
All the other 3 had diarrhea and throw up everything in their bodies and lost shit loads of weight, plus having fever and sore throat.
Then we realized there’s some connection among us that we all got sick at around the same time with similar symptoms cuz we all ate at phở Viet!
Please, make America great again!

Sadly, when you run a restaurant, no matter how many wonderful meals you may have served in the past, it only takes one bad case of food poisoning to soil your reputation forever.
Phở Viet has been my go-​to phở spot in DC for about three years now. But one horrible case of food poisoning means I will not be going back.
My wife and two friends and I all shared a meal here, and all four of us were ghastly sick within a few days. Two of us had beef phở, one had chicken phở, and one had a non-​soup dish. All of us got sick.
Maybe it’s possible the source of our food poisoning was elsewhere (though that’s hard to imagine given that this was the one meal all four of us have ever shared after which all four of us became simultaneously ill), or even just a momentary lapse of judgment on the part of someone working the restaurant that night, but the pain that followed is not something I wish on anyone — not even a snooty hipster browsing Unilocal

Based on service only. Food is great.
Owner made me buy a soda because my soup was $ 9.85 and there’s a $ 10 minimum for credit cards. Really?!? 15¢
So I bought a can soda for $ 1.25
Unacceptable when I go in regularly to purchase multiple soups to go for my family

This is where I go for phở. Quality food and decent price. You can’t go wrong with the lemon grass phở.

I just sat and all ready it’s a not so good experience. I will never come here again as I had to share my table with a group of jerks and the owner treated me like a 2^nd class citizen. They aren’t the only Phở restaurant in D.C. just in that particular neighborhood. The food was so, so. On to the next one.

Picked up my niece from school for a girls get away weekend in NYC and we were starving so we decided to have some phở (quick and easy) before we head out. This was my first time in DC and I wanted to try a phở place. (I try phở in every state I visit).
The waitress weren’t very friendly and as I looked around I wasn’t sure we made the right choice in choosing this place. Small but cute place I must say though.
We ordered some fried egg rolls, fresh spring rolls, two bowls of phở and my sister ordered a rice and pork chop plate in which she was disappointed with. The meat was fatty!
The broth to the phở was ok. Nothing special. I wished I had more time in DC so I can try other places but that will have to wait.

I really like Phở Viet. Everything about this restaurant screams «neighborhood/​community space» to me. Everyone who was dining there seemed to know exactly what to get. And while the staff and owner (?) weren’t chatty kind of friendly, it’s obvious that they know who the regulars are enjoy their presence.
I love sitting at the bar in the front. I can eat by myself and chat with my neighbors if they’re friendly, or just enjoy some comforting brothy noodles with a book or a friend. I can’t say how the service is at the tables, since I’ve managed to never sit at a table here, but the service at the bar was extremely prompt.
The phở is so satisfying! I order the classic beef phở with steak and tendons, which is always my favorite type of phở. The broth is flavorful, and hot enough to cook the rare steak. (Those who regularly read my reviews should know that soup temperature is a big deal to me. It’s probably because I eat a lot of soup and not because I’m weirdly obsessed with the perfect soup tempreture – I swear.)
Phở Viet is delightful and a gem in Columbia Heights. The service is fast. People aren’t chatty, but nice enough, and the food is solid. I would definitely recommend it.

AH-​MAY-​ZING!!! First Phở I’ve ever had, but I can’t imagine it gets any better than this. Seriously. My friend was bragging about this place, so I was already expecting tasty mouth fireworks. Phở Viet certainly delivered the tastiness!
Had the spicy lemongrass meats phở — SPICY! So damn tasty — a good sweaty, runny nose, kind’uv spicy awesomness. I could’ve only eaten half of it and been full, but I HAD to — WANTED TO — eat all of it. So great. The Thai iced tea was delicious as well.
I’ve told countless people about this place and have insisted they go and eat there. I cannot wait to get back over there and get some more NOMNOMNOM!

This phở was definitely on the far low end of the spectrum in terms of flavor in the broth. The quality of the soup was not satisfying. However, it also is perhaps $ 2 cheaper than competitors. In other cities that have more vietnamese restaurants, such as Seattle, this quality soup would go for less than $ 4. In D.C., it runs over $ 8.
In addition to the soup not being tremendously flavorful, we were turned off by the red lipstick stain on our glass.
I would not go back here. It was not good by any stretch of the imagination, but it was cheap. Will pay the $ 2 more for that deep, flavorful beef broth.

This is my favorite phở place in DC, though I may be partial to it just because it’s the closest to my apartment. The broth is very «clean» tasting, which I prefer. The meat is a good flavor, though I tend to always want more meat. The coffee with evaporated milk and the avocado smoothie are on par with other places where I’ve had them, and they are a perfect treat to go with the phở.
If you’re into banh mi, I would definitely try the combo with sweet potato fries. The «fries» are large chunks of sweet potato (similar to the size you would get with a tempura dish) and fried to perfection. It’s actually one of my favorite things on the menu. The banh mi is great also, with lots of flavor and a good amount of meat.

Food: 3.5 stars
Service: 1 stars
[I deleted my original draft of this post. It was a personal vow of mine to not review any establishment based purely on emotions at the time being. Now that I’ve had time to re-​assess the situation, I can compose this post with a clear and open mind.]
Prior to my latest visit to Phở Viet, I only had GREAT things to say about the restaurant. The lemongrass phở is unique and delicious — no other phở shops in the area could compare. It was a place I would take my outtatowners to try, and would highly recommend to anyone and everyone. It was considered a treat every time I drove 45+ minutes away to enjoy this delicious bowl of noodle soup.
However, I would admit, my sentiments toward Phở Viet has completely and utterly changed. It seemed, as of late, that because their business is doing quite well, the owners have began neglecting their customers. There is absolutely no system or priority for incoming patrons. While waiting, you can see finished customers waiting for their check and sitting idling after finishing their meal. When finally seated, if you don’t know what you’re having immediately, you can safely assume that the server will finally take your order 20 minutes later. And bringing water to the table another few minutes after.
Particularly, the instance for this review, a boy (owner’s son/​nephew probably), no older than 16 years old, was serving the dining area. My first encounter with him since dining at this shop many times prior. No smile. No hello. No welcome. Not even a thank you. Everything was muttered under his breath. His face was either a frown or a blank stare. He looked like he hated his life working there. The kid took our order with not much more to say than an «Okay. Okay. Okay.» Would it kill you to say, «Thank you»???
The wait time for the meal to come out was another story in itself. We watched as other tables who sat down after us receive their food first. 15 minutes pass. Another 15 minutes. Finally they brought out the three bowls of phở. Mine came out nearly dry, the broth not even enough to cover/​cook the raw beef on top, and half the noodles exposed. I asked the kid if I could have some more broth. He stared at me blankly and finally said, «Okay.» At this point, this boy was on my sh*tlist. Seriously, wtf. He goes off and does other things while I sit there waiting for the broth. I decide to bring my bowl up to the counter for service from the owner. The kid runs up and intercepts me, and says «It’s coming.» I said, «Are you going to bring it to me? Because I’ve been waiting forever to eat my soup. It’s cold now.» All the kid could muster up was, «It’s coming.»
I sat back down and waited for whoever to bring out extra broth for my, now cold, noodle soup. Our neighbors, who sat down after us, received their meals and had already finished eating. SMDH.
I finally get to eating. The lemongrass phở broth itself was familiarly delicious, tasty and belly-​warming. The portion size of meat, however, was measly and disappointing. I guess you can’t win them all.
We finish our meal and immediately ask for the check to free up space for incoming diners. Again, the lack of response from the kid was the cherry topper to our experience at Phở Viet. He handed bills to other tables who asked for their check after we finished, while our group sat and watched. He blatantly ignored our request. We were able to flag down a person from the kitchen for our bill, quickly paid, and left the shop with a quickness.
Bottom line: Customer service is everything. No matter how amazing or delicious the food is, no matter how one-​of-​a-​kind your restaurant is, but if you are waited on by a server/​owner who was downright rude, you can damn well count on me to never coming back again. Unforgivable. I’m sorry.