Pho 33

I visited my brother for a week and he wanted to get some lunch here during his lunch break. So we came here while they still had the lunch special.
I had the house special, I forget what it’s called, I think it’s called Phở 33? Do I call that the house special. …
Anyway, I had always heard bad things about this place, so I didn’t have much expectations. When we came in, we were seated immediately and got our orders in. Pretty surprising considering it was lunch rush.
We got our food pretty quickly. Probably because they knew they were gonna get a lot of orders they started cooking a lot of Phở. Now, I’m from the 757 in eastern part of Virginia, but I can count with my hands the number of decent phở shops around here. I haven’t been to any phở restaurants in nova until now, but if people here consider this bad, then I wanna know what’s considered good!
I liked this phở better than the phở I get down here. The broth was delicious and it warmed my cold, bitter heart. Not only that, but I have this pet peeve where I get a lot of onions in my phở because when I’m finished with the noodles and meat, there’s only onion left. But this place only gave me a sufficient amount of onions, and that’s a plus for me. LOL
Sorry this is a bad review, but I wanted to write one because I saw a lot of bad reviews, but if you’re a tourist (or maybe someone that hasn’t had phở yet) then I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this place.

I drop in here all the time. The Broth is really good and they have plenty of options for phở. Appetizers were great. I recommend getting the fried dumplings. They were great. The place is very clean and service was great too. I will be back. Make sure you get the coffee. It’s wonderful.

I love Vietnamese food, especially PHO!
I’ve tried Vietnamese food in many places in Virginia, but
this restaurant had the best broth in my opinion.
And they also have many kinds of appetizers that we love!
I regretted that I have not taken picture of them.
Moreover, they make real CHK broth for only the CHK phở!
It was really tasteful.
I wanna try Banhmi sandwiches next time.
I couldn’t try because I was really full.
I strongly recommend this place for dining with families or friends.

Not good… Not good at all!!! Phở was bland, while being sweet and sour at the same time.
I took my niece one day after church and this was her first «Phở» experience. We both hated it. We ate the noodles and meat for the most part, but the broth was very bad.
Go to Caphe Banh Mi if you’re in the Alexandria/​Old Town area. Much smaller establishment but the Phở is OUT OF THIS WORLD AMAZING!

Wanted to like this place so much, but haven’t been back since July. Soup is pretty good, but for months half their menu wasn’t available. They had a slip of paper over the sandwiches stating they would return in the summer, but as of the beginning of July they still weren’t available. The noodle bowls just were no longer available. Maybe they’ve fixed the issue since then, but we just stopped going.

Restaurant vibe: Causal and clean.
Service: Super quick! I don’t think anyone at my tables drinks ever got below half way full our entire meal!
Ordered: Chicken Phở (one of our waiters said it was his favorite phở on the menu). It was tasty and there was A LOT of chicken, bean sprouts, noodles, and broth in the giant bowl. There was no way I could finish everything before I was full.
I have had Vietnamese dishes I enjoyed more than this one, but I did have a nice experience at Phở 33 with my friends.

Interior is super clean and loved the décor. Service was very good too. The vegetable phở was great just wish there was more quantity & variety of vegetables and a little more noodles (it was limited amount of Chinese cabbage, carrots, bamboo shoot, cauliflower). The tofu summer roll is good but could’ve rolled tighter.

I’ve tried phở here with my girlfriend a few weeks ago, and
taste was really good. Something different from other phos.
Especially, PORK BUN! It has a lot of meat in it, compared to price.
It was nice appetizer! And, servers are just like robots! really fast and cooperative!
Of course, I will visit again with my family next time.

Had a very poor experience on my recent visit (12÷09÷15). My order, grilled pork noodle, was served with lots of fat. Very poor quality meat. When complained to chef, I was not even given a option to receive a refund. Actually at first he tried to argue with me that they only use fine cuts of pork when he could visible see that was only fat on my plate (see picture). Later he offered me the choice to make me a new dish. At that point I was done.
Sincerely don’t recommend this restaurant!

Really good natural and fresh ingredients. People who live close enough to walk here are very lucky. Shared the steamed bun appetizer, and fried dumplings. Followed by the papaya salad. Perfect. Also at the table was ordered the grilled chicken with rice. Delicious lemon grass flavor. Lots of fresh cilantro and basil. Worth coming for dinner!

Review is for take-​out — 3.5 stars.
On a particularly cold, blustery day, phở sounded like it would hit the spot. This is right around the corner from my office, so it was an easy decision. Calling in an order for take-​out was very easy. Phở 33’s menu is pretty straightforward and includes the staples like garden/​spring rolls, phở, and banh mi, plus some signature drinks (Thai iced tea, bubble tea smoothies).
For the phở, you have a choice of 3 types of meat. I’m used to just getting a plethora of meats (tripe and tendon included) in my phở so it was nice to have more of a customizable option here. The price is slightly more than phở joints I usually go to, at $ 8.95 per bowl.
Pick-​up was very fast, only took about 10 minutes. I love the to-​go packaging, as the noodles and meats are separated into a plastic disposable bowl. I was expecting to have to drink out of a soup container! You get plenty of side toppings such as jalepeno, lime, bean sprouts, and sriracha/​hoisin sauce. The serving size was perfect, just filling enough for lunch. Broth was very flavorful and not too greasy. Noodles were a little bit over-​cooked and falling apart before I even dug in.
The garden rolls are a great value and taste fresh. Definitely order these for an appetizer!
All in all, if you are craving phở — not a bad place to stop in. They were also very busy for dine-​in around the lunch hour, and they close briefly from 2:30 PM to 5 PM for a break on weekdays.

Decided to give it a try since it was close to work. This is the perfect Phở restaurant. Atmosphere is nice, relatively quiet and simple. The service is amazing, very friendly. The Phở is delicious, I’ve had the brisket, eye of round and well done flank multiple times. I’ve had a consistently excellent experience every time. I’d highly recommend Phở 33 to anyone.

The broth at PHO 33 is the most flavorful broth I’ve tried since eating PHO in the DMV. The eye of round is pretty tender and full of flavor as well. This place does it right. The ambiance is not over powering, its very calming and colorful. The people who work here are always pleasant, with a smile on their face.
Do make sure you shake the siracha or stir the chili paste. I saw them putting more siracha in the bottle as with all of the other condiments. Just stir or shake!

Last week was just damp and rainy. It was perfect weather for a bowl of phở! I work in old town and didn’t want to go too far so one of my colleagues suggested we go here for take out.
It was 2:25pm so they were closing up for lunch but took our order and asked if we needed any water. Very nice and patient people. Customer service was great.
I really like their take out bowls. You don’t need any extra bowls or plates. All taken care of. All I had to do was drop in the toppings and soup. Soup was good… not overly greasy. There isn’t a combination phở but you have a choice of three meats.
Overall a good little phở place if you don’t want to trek out to eden. Love how they decorated the place.

The phở is actually much better than I expected after reading the reviews. I would happily come back for just phở in the future. They could give more bean sprouts though.
The fried spring rolls are weird. I’m not sure re what the wrapper is, but it’s nothing like the standard rice wrapper. It’s kind of chewy and thick. Filling was decent quality though.
Fresh spring rolls (summer rolls and they’re sometimes known) were really small and limp. They should be loaded with fresh, crisp vegetables to give it a nice snap. This had somewhat soggy iceberg, pretty disappointing.
The worst part is the pricing. $ 12 for a bowl of phở is fairly outrageous. I’ve been to a ton of Vietnamese places, and the only places that should be able to get away with those prices are the very fancy Vietnamese restaurants, not just a divey phở place.
Overall good if you are coming just for phở. I will definitely be back, but skip the non-​phở items.

Local phở place I like to go after my long flights back to DC. Staff is nice, never crowded, food comes quick. The fresh spring rolls are decent too. I got the thai iced tea the last time I was there and it was huge! Street parking but I can always find a spot.

The phở is delicious, the service is great, and the restaurant is clean and located in a nice area… its almost too good to be true! Although I enjoy phở, Ive stayed away from phở places after a couple bad experiences in Alexandria. I just so happened to pass by this one on my way to a nail shop and Im so happy I remembered to come back later. It is now my favorite phở restaurant. Ive gotten the Phở 33 special each time with a black milk tea smoothie. They were both great choices. The service is friendly and quick, they have both indoor and outdoor seating and I like the nice tucked away location.
The hours of operation are incorrect on their website and also on Unilocal.Like many asian restaurants, they are closed daily for a few hours after lunch (3 — 5p I think). I recommend an evening or weekend visit when its quiet with lots of street parking.
I hope Unilocal reviews for Phở 33 continue to improve as they certainly deserve much better than a 3 star rating.

Dad and I dropped by for a quick dinner on a quiet week night. We had the vegetable and standard (3 meat) phở — both very good. I was happy they had a vegetarian phở option, and included some better quality veggies like Napa cabbage, bamboo shoots, and cauliflower rather than all filler veggies. Service was attentive and quick, and the restaurant is spacious and nicely decorated.
Food 4, Service 3, Ambiance 4

My first two visits to Phở 33 were a travesty in service. However, at the behest of my friend and coworker, whom I like to call Vietnamese Chris, I decided to keep trying Phở 33. And also I just really love Phở.
The staff at Phở 33 is the same but they’ve really gotten things together and now I do not even go without an empty water glass for more than a second. All along they were learning, like VIKI from iRobot.
Phở still good quality. Love that tripe.

The wife and I had gone to Phở 33 for dinner not long after it first opened. It was a comedy of errors. Since then, I’ve made several visits for lunch and my experiences have been a complete 180 from that initial impression.
On my most recent visit, I arrived a little before 1pm on a Monday afternoon. The dining room was relatively full considering it was likely late in their lunch service. I was seated and brought water immediately. I looked over the menu, noting that prices for phở seemed to have been adjusted lower from what they were from my initial visit. I didn’t need too much time to decide on my lunch and my server was over post haste to take my order (the pick 3 meat phở, $ 8.95). Not more than 5 minutes later, a steamy hot bowl of phở was delivered to my table. The bowl was comparable in size for the price to other phở joints in the local area. The broth has been consistently good each visit (to include the first), nicely seasoned and possessing nice meatiness and phở spice notes, and my latest visit was no exception. There was an ample amount of meat and noodles in my bowl and the quantity and freshness of the Thai basil, sliced jalapeño, mung bean sprouts, and lime add-​ins were strong positives.
Phở 33 has lifted its game immensely and, perhaps, is the best place for lunch place in the Carlyle area of Alexandria. Service, at least for lunch, is fast and efficient. I can’t speak to the other items on its menu, but as far as its phở goes, it gives Caphe Banh Mi (my favorite phở joint) a real run for its money.