Pho 53

CLOSED as of 10÷16÷13. It’s going to be a Mexican place now.

This place is nasty! I wish I could give it a negative star. There was 2 cockroaches floating in my soup. The owner came over and asked what was wrong when I screamed. I told her that there were bugs in my soup and she said «let me get you another bowl without bugs.» I thought I was going to be sick since I had ate some of it. I left without paying and called the health department.

The real deal! I know good Vietnamese food, and this place is authentic and better yet like a home cooked meal. Phở is certainly great here, but there are awesome viet specialty dishes that are hard if not impossible to find in Denver. A perfect example is Bun Bo Hue. Many places around town just spice up their Phở broth, but at Phở 53 Bun Bo Hue is made authentically from scratch as a weekly special. Another example of what makes this place special is Bun Cha. This famous Hanoian pork dish is charcoaled to perfection and served authentically with noodles and fresh veggies. So glad to find this place. Ca Cho Tho, Banh Canh Cua, lots more to explore…
Super friendly family run place too.

This place has the best broth around! My friend and I ate here last night for dinner and ordered the seafood soup, which was amazing. Very flavorful and filling. The owners are friendly and treat you like family. Lovely!

Some of the best phở around. Better than the one right down the street. Very friendly people. Great spring rolls, rice noodle bowls. One of the few Vietnamese restaurants that still have mint available.

I’m new to CO coming from TX. I started eating phở a couple of months ago & IM ADDICTED! When i tried phở 53 we were the only ones in the place and the phở was delicious as always. The portions were great. HOWEVER there were many flies buzzing around us. and the boba tasted more like a slushie instead of the creamy texture i expect it to be. The waiter was nice, but could of been more attentive, we mainly had to get his attention ourselves. Oh and the prices werent bad either. SO. OK service, BAD boba, GOOD PHO! BUT IVE HAD BETTER :) I will continue trying other Phở locations.

Best Phở in Denver hands down! We’ve been here a handful of times over the past year and find it superior to Phở 79 which is a few doors down. To this day I’m still trying to figure out why they’re more busy as the food is much more authentic at Phở 53. People must be equating a higher number to better food :) During our last visit I had the Phở with steak and my wife had the vermicelli noodle dish, both were excellent and we left very full. This is a family owned and run business and the owner is great as she welcomes every customer and is very friendly.

The lowdown: I live right behind Phở 53. I have eaten here once in the month I have lived in my apartment, and I would dine here weekly if I weren’t going through a rather unfortunate poor spell.
I will tell you this: living behind the place tortures me with the completely delicious smell. If I’m up at 4 in the morning, I smell them boiling the broth. They do it fresh every day. Now, Phở 79 is on the corner, and I can tell the difference in smell. I’m not sure how best to describe this… when 53 is making broth, it has a full-​bodied, aromatic smell, and the smell coming from 79 is not bad, but not even comparable, sorta more flat-​smelling. So when I moved here, I knew that, just based on smell and cooking method alone, 53 would be my favorite.
True to the smell, the broth at 53 is wonderful. I’ve only had better a couple of times in my 12 years of eating phở almost weekly. The atmosphere is a little strange, as this restaurant appears to still have the 1980’s Sizzler décor that no subsequent owner (and there have been many, I’m sure) has ever changed. Part of my criteria for whether or not I should keep eating at a phở place actually hinges on this; if the place looks too much like it was designed to appeal to Americans, I don’t go there. Similarly, I’m looking for authentic Phở music, or weird television buzzing away in some corner.
Phở 53 delivers. It’s weird in that way that only an authentic phở eatery can be.
While there, I had occasion to try the Cambodian Seafood soup. What a treat! Because I have a kid who also loves phở, I got to try the meatball phở too. That broth is even tastier than it smells. Also, phở doesn’t keep very well overnight, if you get it takeout. This meatball phở that we took home kept incredibly well, and was even better on *the third day* than on the first.
This place is great. I highly recommend it, and here’s a little insight from their back-​door neighbor: There is just one family struggling to keep this place alive in a faltering economy, where even phở officionados like myself can afford to eat out only once in a while. So if you will, keep that in mind if you notice that the service is slow or whatever, like some other reviews report. God love ‘em, they’re trying, and if for nothing else, go here because they need more people to realize that this is a world-​class bowl of phở.

I have eaten here two or three times and the phở does not fail me. I have not looked into any other dishes but the phở is good and from what I am told does not contain MSG. The same cannot be said for the other phở restaurants in Aurora. The best thing is that I can finish the phở broth to the last drop and then I do not feel wierd as if I have consumed a bunch of salt or MSG.
The service is friendly although she can get a little distracted and does not always understand English. Still, though, I like the smile and good attitude!

I learnt a lesson here from the mango bubble tea. Don’t take too long to drink it because the balls became HARD. I was wondering why some of my balls were so hard and dry after about 40min and turns out I took too long to drink it so the coldness of the drink causes some of the balls to become hard!
Other than that, everything else was great. I had the Goi Coun (seafood and rice noodles wrapped in thin rice paper) for my appetizer. It was soft (not hard!) and delicious. For my main course I had phở. There were so many options to choose from– diff types of cow parts like the flank, and whatever, or chicken or seafood. I didn’t want to try to sort out the diff beef cuts so I went for the chicken. It doesn’t matter which part of the chicken I get as long as its not the intestines, organ, butt, feet or head. The phở was good– broth was amazing, noodles were great and we had lots of vegetables to put in our noodles.

I thought this place was pretty amazing! I got a medium number one which had all the different types of meat in it. I never leave leftovers, but they put sooo much of everything in there it was impossible for me to eat all of it! It was flavorful and delicious! a must for anyone in the area. I have to go across the street and try phở 79 so i can determine which one is best, but so far i love this place!
***updates***
A year later, and with a better refined palate for phở, I now know that my above review was mainly because I found Phở that was better than that of the ones in FOCO. Still good place, but definitely not the best. If you had to choose, go down the street to 79.

My husband and I tried this place earlier this year because it looked empty and we were curious. We really had no expectation for the food but wanted to eat quickly. I have to say that now it is our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in town. They have a house special (coconut noodle with seafood in spicy soup), and it is amazing. I’ve never had it anywhere else. Their egg noodles are also amazing — the broth is really good, especially on a cold day or when you feel sick. The lady is very friendly and cute, and guys that work there are also really nice. We highly recommend this place, especially for the two dishes I mentioned.

I drive down Havana quite a bit and have been wanting to try the various Phở restaurants. I started with this one. I took my toddler for lunch. For him I ordered what was described in English as «chicken noodle soup.» I ordered the House Specialty — sorry, I didn’t get the Vietnamese names. His soup had a very flavorful broth, nice pieces of chicken breast, lots of noodles and fresh herbs. He loved the noodles, so that was a hit.
Mine had fish balls and thick translucent noodles. I was warned that what I ordered would be spicy and I was looking forward to it. It wasn’t. I kept adding spoonfuls of the red chili paste which helped but I was looking for a deeper spicy. Our garnish didn’t include hot peppers, either. My dish had a nice flavor but I’d probably try something different next time.
The woman running the place was very friendly. A pleasant lunch overall.
My only real complaint was the lack of cleanliness. It seems to need a thorough scrub down. The fish tank was dingy. The glass doors covered in fingerprints. The chill paste dish had a hair looping in the grease lid. Obviously it didn’t stop me from eating there but I wouldn’t want to try the bathroom.

Never had Phở before and always wanted to so I stopped by here yesterday because a friend recommended it. Doesn’t look like much from the outside but both the service and food were excellent. Don’t remember what it was called but I had the seafood phở with shrimp and crab and I really enjoyed it. I got the medium bowl which I thought was huge so I probably should have gotten a small. Had a mango drink with the beads at the bottom which tasted awesome. The waiter was friendly and we talked about the Saints for a few minutes. Really enjoyed it and the prices were great.

First visit, friendly staff and good take out. Second visit I had a longer wait .got to look around. dirty curtains and silk flower arrangements, high chairs are filthy and the lighting is dirty with 50% of the bulbs and or covers missing. Got the food home. two full combo meals with meat that was literally burnt to charcoal. no wonder he had hurriedly taken my money and told me not to worry about the 27C Nasty and disappointing.
Won’t go back there. Phở 79 is wonderful…

I’ve been here 4 times now, and I think this is my favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the Denver area. I love the atmosphere — comfortable booths, and it’s never crowded. They are always friendly and glad you came. The sound system plays great authentic Vietnamese «fado.»
And the food is my idea of perfect. Generous portions, they never skimp on the ingredients. Tonight I ordered the Mi Nam Vang phở. mmm. savory broth, chunks of fish ball, pork, chicken, and four huge shrimps.
We also had the Bo Nuong Cuon Spring Rolls with grilled beef — the best spring rolls I’ve ever had anywhere. I like these better than the shrimp ones now!
The experience has always been the same when I have come in, whether for lunch or for Dinner, whether alone or with my Vietnamese BF. He agrees that it is one of his favorite Vietnamese restaurants in the area. We can’t figure out why Phở 79 down the street is always packed with cars, when Phở 53 isn’t. We felt Phở 53 is more authentic in their food preparation and flavors, and more generous with their ingredients. And we much prefer the quieter, nicer atmosphere.
We will be back regularly. This is a family owned and run business that is a real treasure.

In my phở sampling adventures, I had to make a point to stop here since I drive by it pretty often. I walked in around 6 last night. The place was empty and a man was vacuuming. I asked him if they were even open and he very enthusiastically said YES!
I sat down at a table and looked over the menu. Two orders of «Tai» (steak phở) and an order of egg rolls. A woman came out and brought me a glass of water. I thanked her and she said «Why you come here?!» in a somewhat demanding and derogatory fashion. She kind of caught me off guard and I asked her to repeat herself. This time with more emphasis in what she said, «WHY YOU COME HERE?!» Then I caught on and asked her if she meant how I found out about her establishment and she said «YES!» I told her I’ve driven by and saw their sign and that I love phở. She smiled and walked away. Odd… to say the least.
A few minutes went by and I stood up (after sitting all day, it was necessary). The man who was vacuuming when I walked in started to talk to me about how great their phở is and that they are the best as his gums were bleeding over his teeth (I am NOT kidding, it was hard to look him in the face and carry on a conversation). He was very nice and very proud of his restaurant, but over eager to please.
The same woman came back out with my to-​go order and half of an egg roll wrapped up in a napkin. She said «Here! You eat!» It was tasty, a little chewy, but I kind of like that.
After finally getting home and re-​heating my broth (phở broth just doesn’t stay hot enough during a 10 minute car ride home in the snow) my boyfriend and I dug into our meals. As another reviewer put it, it’s pretty standard phở. It wasn’t the best, nor the worst I’ve ever had. It was just simply average and about what you could expect. The egg rolls were the same as what I had sampled in the restaurant, only there were some pickled veggies, noodles and nuac cham sauce with them that made them oh so delicious!
In the future, I don’t think I’ll come out of my way to come here. But it’s not a bad option if you’re on this side of town. It’s definitely A-​OK.

Phở 53 was formerly a Korean-​American diner called Grace’s Home Cooking and if you go there now, you will at first wonder what has changed. Much of the décor is exactly the same as it ever was (to shamelessly borrow from David Byrne).
But this will become clear when you actually sit down and order. Start with the rice-​paper roll called Nem Nuong (which takes the traditional soft Goi Cuon, and elevates it with sour pork sausage and a crispy eggroll wrapper right inside!) or perhaps Tau Hu Ky (shrimp paste enveloped in a bean-​curd skin and then fried). Exquisite!
Then move on to the main course. Sure, they have Phở with all of those odds ‘n’ ends you like so much. But maybe Hu Tieu Nam Vang will grab you? Based on a Cambodian noodle soup with Chinese influences, this dish combines a subtle broth with pork, seafood and rice noodles (or if you prefer, egg noodles, in which case you’re in fact ordering Mi Nam Vang).
Quench your thirst with a sweet creamy Soda Sua Hot Ga (club soda with condensed milk and an egg yolk) or even a tart Soda Chanh Muoi (club soda with preserved lime and lots of sugar at the bottom).
The lady who runs Phở 53 is always pleased to see new faces, and you can be sure of a good meal too.

Well. that was pretty good standard phở. I could think of a few places with more flavorful broth that Phở 53 though. The biggest downside of this restaurants are surprisingly the seats. It’s not like they were uncomfortable or anything… they were just so low. It felt very awkward to eat when the table goes halfway to your chest. Yeah… it was very uncomfortable.
With Phở 53, I can now proudly boast the fact that I’ve been to every Phở restaurant on Havana Blvd!!! Nice.

To quote American Idol’s Randy Jackson, «It was ‘aight. Kinda pitchy…»
Okay, okay — no pitch problems with the phở… but it was only aight. Good broth, noodles were undercooked and some of the cuts of meat were a little too chewy for me. I was also grossed out by the jar of jalapenos being stuck to the table. The atmosphere was kind of fun — in one of those old-​school chain restaurant diners. Nice change of pace from the usual strip mall standards of Aurora.