Pho Saigon 8

This restaurant has closed.

Phở is average and the portions are smaller than usual. They have you usual Thai dishes, but nothing to brag home about. Still looking for the Phở joint I can call home in Northern VA.

This place is really growing on me. I’ve eaten in and taken out. The take out is really fast. Bubble drinks and frozen smoothie bubble drinks are good. I like the mango. Strange multi-​colored bubbles but almost always soft and chewy (only once have I gotten bad bubbles and everyone’s entitled to a bad day). Tried the Phở once. All in all it was good but rather bland. Recent reviews make me hope they’ve adjusted. Staff is friendly.

I am so glad I don’t have to travel all the way to Lee Hwy or Fairfax for some decent phở cuz I found it here. Now, I had been drinking quite a bit before coming here so I will have to come back sober. But I enjoyed the tofu not fried spring rolls, as well as the $ 7.95 phở. Flavorful, hot broth filled with rice noodles and slices of beef and tendons accompanied with lime, bean sprouts, and basil leaves. But where were the coriander leaves? The phở was plentiful in that I was able to split it with one of my friends. Although they had the hoisin and sriachi sauces, I would have liked fish sauce too (will ask next time). Fortunately since we arrived next to closing time, nobody else was there but us so our orders were taken quickly and food brought out in like manner. The food server was friendly and efficient. I will definitely come back for more food, and to definitely try the bubble teas.

I happened to be walking by and saw «Lunch Special: Lemongrass chicken with spring roll and salad over jasmine rice with our fresh iced tea $ 7.95.» Decided to give it a try and was very pleased. I would like to go back there for the phở sometime.
The lunch portion was plentiful (I even took a bit home for later) and the staff was great and service was quick. Great lunch spot.

PHO SHO!
This is one of my favorite places for Vietnamese food in NoVA. What the restaurant lacks in ambiance it more than makes up for with its consistent, delicious, and lively food. I mostly do carryout or delivery — they do tack on a delivery charge — but, it should be said that they put quite a bit of care in packing your order so that it arrives looking as appetizing as it would if you were dining in.

The good:
1) the broth is dark, flavorful, not too msg-​filled and beefy. I could have just had the broth and been perfectly happy. Just for the broth itself, I give it high marks.
2) Meat is very good quality: it actually tastes of beef — not overcooked at all and dried out.
3) Clean space — it’s a pretty attractive restaurant. Not the typical institutional, cafeteria feel that most phở restaurants seem to have.
4) Good bubble drinks: I got the mocha with bubbles. The bubbles were soft and perfectly chewy.
5) The goi cuon (summer rolls) are very fresh — the wrapping is fantastically soft and the filling is not skimpy.
The bad:
1) I ordered a large bowl because I was really, really hungry. I got a large bowl alright. The BOWL was large. The contents, not so much. The bowl was ²⁄₃ full — not enough noodles (it was obviously portioned for a «regular» bowl), and really, they could have filled it up with broth. I wish I’d had my camera with me — it was pretty ludicrous.
2) Noodles were claggy and obviously premeasured. It lay in a large clump at the bottom that took a bit of work and stirring to finally separate.
3) Not enough herbs! I had a really sad looking stem of basil that had 5 large leaves. I had to ask for extra.
4) What? No fish sauce on the table? WRONG. SO WRONG.
In short: I’d recommend this restaurant because the phở is really quite delicious. But just order a regular sized bowl and save yourself a buck or so.

I have gone here several times and continue to be impressed. The only reason I think more people don’t know about this place is because of it’s location/​neighborhood.
The food has always tasted fresh and great. The phở has never, ever let me down, unlike many other places in the area (cough*Minh’s*cough).
Best of all, its cheap. You can get out of here for about ten bucks a person.

I Always go to this Place… Great Place for Phở and Boba.
For those west coasters out here that are looking for a place to get some Boba Go here they will hook you up.
Waiters are a bit iffy at sometimes… Be sure they UNDERSTAND YOUR ORDER before they leave. It isn’t impolite to ask them to read your order back to you. Trust me management here wants you happy. I know first hand that i felt like the waiter didn’t understand my order and than my feelings becomes reality but management will fix the problem you just have to wait longer for food.
OVERALL food is Great!
Restaurant is Clean — and Asian themed. Flowing water for luck and prosperity. Gold leafed items. Nice place to eat. Ohh for Paige seriously bring your mp3 player b/​c 80s ROCK!

Old Faithful for we who live near Da Glebes. Good value for food and bubble tea to top it off.
Minuses:
Terrible music selection (once it sounded like covers of 80s music made by a kid on an electric piano). And ‘the waterfall’ is really a questionable investment in décor, but what does that matter when take-​out is reliably ready in 15 minutes flat?
Btw extra care is taken when they pack orders to go. For instance, the broth containers are tied inside fitted baggies and Styrofoam is used for anything else, unlike paper bags that can become soggy in transit.

Mmmm. Vietnamese food. Hole in the wall place, even better.
Now what really caught my attention here, tho, not far from home (and closer to me than Rockville or Annandale), was not so much their menu (and their food is really good!!), but the posters they had for Boba. Curious, and knowing how difficult it is to get those bubbles cooked just right, I decided to give their milk tea a try. Whoa — SCORE! Just blocks from home, I found perfectly-​cooked bubble tea. I am so coming back here when it gets warmer for more bubbles!

Phở Saigon 8 has a very Vietnamese-​restaurant-​in-​Vietnam-​feel to it, complete with the waterfall-​effect decorations only Vietnamese people seem to love — except it’s a lot bigger. Dropped in for lunch one day, and noticed an extensive specials menu on the board with lots of fish listed (tempting, but we were there for phở). The place was freezing inside, and unfortunately, the soup was also lukewarm (probably as a result). We had to keep our coats on to stay warm.
The broth was light and homemade tasting, but not as aromatic with the many herbs and spices that phở typically has. It didn’t seem like it had MSG in it (nor did it have the MSG-​induced coma caused by some versions of phở). I don’t think I’ll be going back unless it’s to try the non-​phở specials sometime.

I actually really like this place, but as usual the really good hole in wall restaurants are far from my house. The service is excelent and soup is very rich and well prepared.
The parking can be a pain at this location, but if you can get in there definitely one to try.

The restaurant is huge inside and was not very busy, but they deliver so maybe their business is mostly delivery. The phở was plentiful, flavorful, well prepared, and has a nice broth. The waitress was very friendly with a nice smile.
The bubble tea was delicious and the balls were multi-​colored.
There is a 10 dollar min for credit card purchases.

My favorite delivery place. They are super prompt, always accurate, and the food is great. Can’t complain!

This is my favorite Phở place in the Alexandria/​Arlington area. We started coming here right around the time it opened (²⁄₂₀₀₇) and we continue to come at least twice a month. It seems to be improving every time we come.
We love, of course, The Phở. The broth is just right. It isn’t too salty. The beef is good, and she gives generous portions.
Our other favorite is the papaya salad with jerky beef. It is excellent, fresh, and light.
The smoothies are great — Mango is my ultimate favorite but the Avacado is excellent too.
I have had other things on the menu other than the Phở and everything is good.
I have never had an issue with the tapioca pearls in any of the coffee drinks or smoothies. They were always very soft and ripe.
If you can’t find a parking space in front, try in back. It shares the rear parking lot with My Organic Market and has a rear entrance.
I love it here.

I think this is a fairly new restaurant on Mt. Vernon St (next to the Wing Zone).
Food is not up to par here :
1) grilled sliced pork vermicelli ($ 8.95) — pork was good, but the vermicelli was hot (they usually are served cold)
2) phở with everything ($ 6.95 extra large) — beef was good, but the broth is too light
3) milk tea w/​pearl ($ 3.15 + $ 0.50 for pearls) — milk tea was good … but the pearls were still raw and hard… can’t even chew them…
It’s a pretty big restaurant once you get inside. It wasn’t very busy, service was okay.
I prefer to go down the street to Phở King: