Pho Jula

Best Thai in Anchorage. If you want it spicy and authentic, this is the place for you. Best staff around!

Whoever just answered the phone and was super rude and hung up on me. Don’t advertise delivery if you don’t actually have it. Also reserve your bitterness for other areas of your life.

Based on the reviews of my Unilocal friends, my extended family and I were so looking forward to dining at this restaurant, back in early October. We dined on a weeknight. The appetizer of Thai Chicken Wings was very good, and we discussed how it would be nice enough for a meal, but the price-​point is too high to make it into meal-​sized portions. The restaurant’s shine was tarnished the night we visited. We love nicely prepared duck; however, this evening, the duck was a complete «miss.» Two of us chose the roast duck entrée. It appeared pleasing on the plate. But, the duck fat of both dishes was very rancid. The rancidity permeated the meat, so there was no salvaging this dish. It was so bad that one relative was so off-​put by the strong rancidity that they completely lost their appetite for the rest of the evening. Nothing could salvage their taste buds or stomach! I selected the Sweet and Sour Chicken. It was good, but not raving-​good.
We quietly informed the waitress of the duck’s rancidity. We were given excuses that a new marinade/​marinating process was used on our ducks, and the flavor may be different because of the «new approach.» No, sorry, that wasn’t it. It was spoiled duck. We were quietly told that the duck was received just that day from their wholesaler. That may be, but the duck still was rancid. We truly hope that the Chef and staff tried the good pieces of duck that were turned-​away, because they were completely untouched by us. To the restaurant’s credit, the duck prices were removed from our tab and we were asked if any dish could be accepted as a replacement. One of us took another order of Sweet and Sour Chicken — but the other just sipped hot tea; which, by the way was one tea-​bag in a pot for three. Whaat?
The restaurant staff were nice and did what they could to try to help us recover our dining experience that evening. It’s a shame that our experience was so bad that it clouded the rest of our evening. Back at home, a glass of single-​malt scotch, served neat, helped our moods.

I always thought phonatik was the pinnacle of phở excellence in Anchorage. I’ve come to the conclusion that Phở Jula is the new king! I also love the variety on the menu, I could eat here every day!

I never made it past the phone call, $ 30 minimum and cash only… Yikes

I had their $ 9.95 garlic chicken lunch special and it was very good! They have a beautiful plate/​bowl/​tray that it is served in. Comes with soup, salad, a spring roll, rice and an entre. The portion might be small if you are expecting a huge plate, but I found it Juuuust Rriight! Especially for the value. Their serivice has been wonderful for my 3 visits so far, the food definitely has a personal flair. Familiar well made food with the chef’s twists! Sooooo good! The garlic chicken was grilled just the way I like it and i loved the sweet salad dressing. I emptied the entire plate and was very satisfied! Will be going back.

Phở Jula has a nice interior in a medium nice strip mall. Luncheon special is large and served all at once (rather than serving the soup and fresh spring rolls ahead of the main meal. It comes with an American style salad.
Pluses: nice marble style tables, kept clean. Clean bathroom. Open Sundays.
Small minuses: brown rice not available, napkin is less than half the size of a normal napkin. Thai ice tea is a bit thin, but is also less expensive than the average Thai ice tea in town.

I really wanted to like this place since its so close to home and the customer service was awesome! But the food isn’t great. We ordered a few dishes to share and there wasn’t one single dish I would think about eating again. Sorry!

Their food has been very consistent for me and my wife. The family that runs this joint are very sweet and welcoming. You have got to try their multiple types of curries, these curries vary in look spiciness, flavor and ingredients. I love the varied heat that each one has to offer. The egg dressing salad sauce is a simple dipping sauce, and yet it works well with a simple tossed vegie salad. I don’t eat many salads, but this is an exception. The combination meats and seafood soup is so wonderful during cold winter months. It is only 3 – 7 minute drive from the airport, so it’s a wonderful spot to go to.

The yellow chicken curry and massaman curry is the best in town and their lunch specials are awesome.

I went here with my boyfriend and my parents for the first time in awhile. It used to be my favorite place to eat in town. Their lunch special is awesome! I always get yellow curry which comes with a salad, soup, rice, main entrée, and spring rolls. So good! Sadly I went on a Saturday which didn’t have a lunch special. I have to say the yellow curry wasn’t nearly as good as I remembered it, but as far as curry goes in anchorage it is still the best I have had.
Looking forward to coming back. But like I said… The lunch special is where it’s at!

My girlfriend and I decided we wanted to try Thai food from some place neither she nor I had eaten before. We settled on Phở Jula, mostly because of the location. We figured we didn’t like the looks of it, there’s lots of other restaurants in the same plaza we could fall back on. Turned out to be a good choice. It’s nicely decorated, but not fussy. Service was a teensy bit slow, but given there was only one server, who was doing some of the food prep herself, she handled the volume of customers pretty well. She wasn’t super attentive, but we got what we wanted when we needed it.
Our food was good. We decided as an app we would share one of the salad entrees. The name escapes me, but it was tasty and fresh. It included lettuce, cold cellophane noodles, marinated chicken, basil, tomatoes and cucumber. It was good, but not as plentiful or as tasty as a similar dish I get at Ray’s in Spenard. It also wasn’t very spicy (as advertised.)
Our only complaint about Phở Jula is with regard to menu descriptions, which are not entirely accurate. My dining companion ordered a delicious spicy soup with a vegetables and a choice of tofu, chicken, pork etc… She chose chicken, but when it arrived it had chicken AND tofu, and a bunch of vegetables that weren’t listed in the description. If you don’t like and aren’t expecting tofu or carrots or bok choi, it can be frustrating to have to sift them out of your meal. She didn’t really mind, but her complaint was noted. Similarly, I ordered the Spicy Ground Chicken, which was neither spicy nor ground. I told them I didn’t want my food super spicy, but I certainly didn’t say hold the spice. Hmph. And the chicken was shredded, not ground. It also was served with an egg over easy atop of it, which was entirely unexpected. Delicious, but really, that should have been mentioned on the menu.
All in all the food was excellent and the tab was exactly what you would expect for Anchorage. I would just caution diners not to take the menu to literally. The menu only represents the spirit of the dish, rather than it’s actual contents. If you have food allergies, you might want to avoid a restaurant that doesn’t pay strict attention to recipe content. Great food though– recommend you try it if you haven’t.

Came in on a Friday night for a later dinner and we were the only ones eating in, but quite a few others came in for take-​out. The atmosphere was comfortable and clean feeling. The overall price of our meals were reasonable as well.
I ordered the Massaman Curry with chicken and it was spot on! The potatoes were tender, chicken was cooked perfectly, and overall, the curry was extremely flavorful. I have nothing to complain about other than I didn’t get enough rice to finish the curry haha.
My boyfriend ordered the Lard-​Nar with beef, it wasn’t too shabby, but could have used a little more flavor. We ended up adding red chili paste/​oil that was sitting on the table, be aware that stuff is spicy and a little bit goes a long way!

The interior is clean and the service was great. We came in for a bowl of phở but saw other customers with the lunch special in a bento style plates. The bento plates looked appetizing and priced at about $ 10. We decided to order two combination phở. They brought us the usual garnish plates for the phở and was a bit puzzled with lettuce which I have never seen in other phở places in the area. The broth was ok but I think it needed more salt to bring out the flavors of the stock. The immitation crabmeat was also out of place. With saracha and hoisin sauce the meal was good. Lettuce was the only thing that we did not touch. Custmer service was friendly so I would return to phở jula to try the bento lunch special.

Best lunch deal in all of Anchorage. (if you know if a better one, please let me know!)
I went here for a bowl of Phở. A hot soup seemed excellent on an extra crispy fall day in Alaska.
Then I saw the lunch specials on the menu. There were about 8 main items to chose from, they came with numerous sides, and were all priced at just under ten bucks. I changed my mind.
For Alaska, less than ten bucks for a substantial lunch is a deal. I mean, this is a state where «five dollah foot longs» simply DO NOT exist.
I went with the green curry. It also came with: soup, salad, spring rolls, rice. All in a nice, big, bento-​style dish.
I know what you’re thinking, you got the green curry? At a place with «Phở» in the name? Are you crazy?
Maybe a little, but what I’m about to say seems even more crazy: it was BY FAR the best green curry I’ve had in Alaska! Very flavorful and actually SPICY (my experience in the 49^th state so far has been that while people up here can handle the cold, they are whiny little babies when it comes to handling the HEAT). Additionally, the waitress brought me out some hand-​cupped chilies so I could spice it up even more (which I did).
Great service, tasty food, generous portions, all for just under $ 10.
You really can’t go wrong with this place.

Decided to try their phở to go and it was horrible. Easily the worst I have had in Anchorage. It was so bland, it tasted like water. Trying to add anything just made it taste like spicy water. Inedible, had to throw it out. Even my kiddos wouldn’t eat it. Other dish, a chicken dish, was also bland. We weren’t super impressed on our other visit, likely won’t be back as the atmosphere at the restaurant is cold and sterile and the to go orders aren’t predictable. Certainly would have sent it back and not have paid for this had I been in house. Now I have to find something else for dinner…

I had the Phở Combo. Very flavorful broth and a lot of protein: surimi, shrimp squid, sliced meatballs, tripe and brisket. Delish! My only criticism was the amount of noodles. I ate what I thought was a normal serving for one, took another half cup noodles and the remaining broth home with me, and their still looked to be about 2 cups of noodles left. This is common problem in all phở restaurant, so I still give them 5 stars.
Service was also fast…

Stopped in here last night after my husband told me he’d been with a friend for lunch a few weeks back.
Best fresh rolls ever with MINT AND CILANTRO. Yum! Love that their sauce was spicy too.
Ordered Sidewalk Noodles and even though we wanted everything spicy, these were bland and needed way more of everything (basil, cilantro, and lime), but they were better than most noodle dishes elsewhere. Next time I will have to try the Spicy Basil Noodles on their Vegie menu.
Also ordered Spicy Basil Chicken, which was spicy and yummy. The salt was a nice break from the sweeter Thai dishes I usually order.
Panang curry was spicy and really good. Ordered green curry to go with the rest of the take home leftovers we haven’t tried it yet.
Thai coffees were good.
Love that they have condiments on the table and that they automatically give you both chopsticks and a fork and spoon wrapped in a napkin.
I have to say that we ordered spicy but we must have a higher tolerance because I’m looking at the other reviews and I feel like my food should have been WAY hotter but it was pleasantly spiced so that at least it didn’t overpower the flavor. Either that or they read the reviews too and toned it down even though we asked for spicy.
Wish they had brown rice on the menu. I will have to ask next time. A dessert would have finished the meal perfectly. I didn’t remember seeing any desserts on the menu and didn’t ask for the menu back to check, although there was a card on the table about some weird blended green tea thing that looked like a shake. Not sure, didn’t ask. Ice cream should be a staple at all AK restaurants, just sayin’!
Interior design needs some work but they have done well with what they were given adding their own bit of décor. I always hate sports on the TV in restaurants like these, especially one with only about 9 tables, but at least it wasn’t loud.
Update: trying the green curry leftovers now and they chicken is dyed a weird artificial green color. What the what…?

In looking for something to bring back to the hotel, I came across this place. Two solid reviews and its close so I’m sold.
I will agree with Becca, the food is spicy. I like spice and ordered medium and its hot, burning lips hot. However, this is just a lesson learned for next time.
I ordered a green chicken curry and a papaya salad. The salad was pretty standard, nothing terrible and nothing outstanding.
The Green Curry is awesome. There is easily enough for two and it has great flavor.
The staff, which I think were brother and sister were very polite and attentive. I thought prices were very reasonable and I’ll easily go back next time I am in Anchorage.

I really wanted Italian on this particular Monday night… and when I pulled into Villa Nova’s parking lot, it was closed! Not to fear, I decided to try a small Thai & Vietnamese restaurant called Phở Jullia. From the ugly strip mall façade, it doesn’t look like much. (But seriously, most all Anchorage restaurants have this curse.) Anyway, inside it was very clean, the furniture looked newish, and the service was very attentive.
Their fresh rolls aren’t the best in town (Siam on Spenard’s is still the best), but their curry and pad thai is pretty good. They didn’t ask me how spicy I wanted, and it came out pretty spicy. Not as spicy as the Thai-​scale I mention in Bangkok Café’s review, but pretty friggin spicy for not asking me. So my suggestion is: tell them if you have a delicate stomach and need it mild. Otherwise, the prices are very good and the portions are sizeable. They cared about the presentation of our food and arranged some fresh leaves in the shape of a flower on my curry :)