Pho 88

I have never written a review like this before, but I had the worst lunch experience ever. I have been dying to go to this restaurant for a while. I frequent Bishop Arts area, and work in the area. I am also in the industry. That being said I expect quality service. This is something I did not get here.
When I first sat down my friend and I were sitting waiting for 20 minutes before anyone asked us for our beverage order. When we ordered our drinks they took 10 minutes. Then we ordered phở. When the food came we had no roll ups or anything. We also never received the plate with the garnishes for phở. Once we asked for these things it took another 10 minutes before we got our spoons. I asked for extra peppers and spices when I first ordered my meal, and about 40 minutes later they arrived at the table.
I told the manager that the service was poor, and she blamed the kitchen. She then went to the back of the kitchen and began yelling at the staff for everyone to hear. Then our server came to bring us our chopsticks, and tried to say they were under staffed and that is why he never brought us anything we needed. Though I understand, there is no reason why the service was so under par.
The food was good, but the lack of service makes me not want to return.

Healthy food in the Bishop Arts neighborhood is limited.
It’s more of a goat cheese tater tot, bbq rich kind of heavy menu. So I tried my luck at Phở 88 to see if it could help matters.
Phở 88’s lack of press made me doubt it’s quality. When I entered the dining room, cute Asian kids scampered around the long dining table where perhaps the owners family hung out and socialized. The feeling was warm if simultaneously vacant.
An order of a vermicelli bowl with chicken and egg rolls revealed a few problems — overcooked meat with little flavor beyond char, and sad tiny unsatisfying egg rolls that were mostly fried crunch with little stuffing.
Prices were a dollar above typical family owned Viet joints, but the only offensive thing going on was a bit of non description.
I wish the food was as vibrant and lively as the adorable family that runs the place.

Service is good and phở is ok. I didn’t know of any other phở place in the bishop arts district so it satisfied me until I got some better phở is me. Price is up there for sure compared to other places but this is bishop arts after all…

New favorite place to grab phở! Everything about this place makes me happy. As soon as I walked in, I was warm fully greeted. The service is genuine and the food is absolutely perfect. Also reasonably priced.

I’ve come here every once and while on my lunch break. Prices are good and staff is really fast. I can come on my breaks and get quick bite. Phở is great and good portions. Very fresh I definitely recommend this place when you need warm bowel of soup on cold day.

Conveniently located near my home it satisfied my craving. I ordered the shrimp spring rolls which were okay. The peanut sauce wasn’t as flavorful as expected and seemed a bit watered down. I also ordered the seafood phở which hardly had any seafood and the Vietnamese beef bahn mi. The sandwich was decent but the description stated it includes cilantro and it didn’t. I ordered to go and maybe it was an off day for the food but needless to say, I am not too eager to eat there again although everything seemed decently priced.

Service was fantastic. The food was good and the restaurant had a nice clean scent. I will be back.

Had the Phở Tai and coconut milk bubble tea — both were delicious. All the fixin’s on the side (basil, bean sprouts, jalapeños, and cilantro) added a fresh touch to an already delicious and fragrant soup. Will definitely be going back to try more! I’ve missed phở since moving here from the west coast. It’s great to have good phở in the OC!

Went here one time while in Bishop Arts a few weeks ago, after the lunch rush had died down. Smelled funny inside. Pretty clearly a family run establishment, because they had difficulty distinguishing the front of house from the back; i.e. grandma came out to eat her lunch at the table next to us, and take a phone call. The décor was confused and didn’t make any sense.
Once the server came (which was ridiculously slow considering we were the only table), I ordered the standard Phở with sliced brisket and beef balls. Tasted like a number of other mass-​produced Phở recipes out of the back of a Sysco truck. Nothing impressive, and the beef balls were a bit tough. I was pretty surprised considering the other great places in Bishop Arts. The 2^nd star is for the surrounding neighborhood, which is awesome, but I won’t be coming back here.

I actually came in here just to use the bathroom. I bought egg rolls and a Thai iced tea both were tasty and a good snack for the price. I would not use the bathroom again.

Average phở, slow service, nice people. We sat outside and there was maybe 3 tables seated inside. Took a while to get everything out. The shrimp summer rolls were ok. It’s hard to mess it up. My phở was average and my dad got the curry chicken phở which was a lot better. What bothered me was that they served us a teapot of green tea with tea bags. Would liked to have seen something more authentic. Only I had asked for tea and when the check came out they charged us for 2 teas at $ 2.50 each. $ 5 for two tea bags is outrageous. Those cost 10 cents when bought in a box. I won’t be returning here.

Had two orders of Phở Ga. Tasted great. Fresh ingredients. Décor could use some work. We’ll be back a lot this Fall and Winter.

Ordered Bun with grilled pork and egg roll to go. Got home and found their idea of grilled pork is Spam. Worst ever. Don’t waste your time and money.

Great food. Friendly staff. Ambiance was lacking, fixtures were more like a cheap diner, Vietnamese waiter couldn’t speak all words correctly, but that added to the cultural experience. We stayed and talked over an hour and waiter kept our water refilled and didn’t mind us staying. A happy experience.

Love this place! I’m here at least once a week! P1 is the very best! Always order it with veggies! Fast service. Friendly staff!

We ordered (for take out) the rice vermicelli with grilled pork and egg roll and the fried rice with chicken.
My husband enjoyed the fried rice with chicken because the chicken was grilled.
The rice vermicelli came with all the fixings and was decent. The fish sauce was good. However, the grilled pork was overcooked, and I could tell the egg roll had been reheated or sitting under a heat lamp.
I tried the small portion of soup that came with my husband’s rice, which was phở broth. For a phở novice, it would do. For me, it was a bit on the oily, salty side.
Overall, it was okay. It wasn’t too bad for a phở place in the OC.

Let me first disclose that I have never had phở before in my life so I have nothing to compare it to. I was going to rate 1 star but the service boosted them up 1 star. Food was lacking to say the least, we ordered the Phở with chicken, Phở with curry chicken and the kids bowl. If my eyes were closed I would not be able to tell the difference between this phở meal vs a .33 cent bag of cooked ramen noodle soup. There was absolutely nothing that separated the two which is a huge let down. We also ordered shrimp spring rolls which were decent compared to other places. Based purely off the Phở, this is a 1 star rating.

This place is VERY not indicative of good Vietnamese cooking. I should know. I’m Vietnamese. While the noodles were adequate and the broth was good… there was NOTHING else to it. All the extras that should have come with the dish were lacking. The waitress actually told me that the Dac Biet (special — with all the fixings) was taken off the menu because the clientele wasn’t into the bits. Seriously? Shameful. I completely agree with some other reviewers that the side plate of veggies was pretty paltry.
The appetizer of Nem nuong cuon (sping rolls with roasted meatballs) was ALL rice noodles. There were basically slices of the meatballs. Most other Viet restaurants at least cut the meatballs in half and start from there. All these folks who give this place 5 stars is doing a disservice to the great Unilocal community.
The prices are absurd for what you get… I was thrilled when a phở place moved into the neighborhood but I’m more than willing to drive to Arlington to get my phở fix. evening if this place is only 5 blocks from my house.

Great food! Very fast service and clean nice place. Only 8.99 Phở with beef broth and filet mignon!
Parking can be hard when the area is busy but they have a large lot directly in front!

Ok, I’m going to hurt the feelings of people who are so happy to have Phở in Oak Cliff… this place was just all kinds of wrong. Not only were they out of essential items, some for their specialty drinks and lime for the Phở? Lime!!! they actually gave my friend lemon… oh wow… this tells me they have zero idea about Phở or what goes in it. the small plate of additions was pathetic…
I ordered a clay pot and it was ok, but all of the curry was just soaked up by the rice, which left the chicken and veggies dry. our appetizer actually came from the Thai place?! Listen, I know they own both places, but they shouldn’t mix the two.
As soon as I walked in and hear Chinese music I knew I was in trouble. I don’t like the décor at all, when we sat in the booth we were far from the table, making you have to lean way over to eat. Then they were out of grapefruit juice for the drink. I ordered a small bowl of Phở broth ($ 2?) just to taste it and was blown away by the oil slick on top followed by the star anise or clove smell. Yes, these are ingredients… but never in my life have I been overwhelmed by the smell of them. They should be in there as a delicate balance of flavors… adding to the aroma, not overwhelming it.
My friends Phở came in a short bowl with clumped noodles… as she broke them up they took over the whole bowl and she was left with NO BROTH! Phở is about the broth… their ratio was off all over the place, from ingredients to flavors.
Finally… I felt completely insulted when she brought me the check with a fortune cookie… really? What bothers me the most is that someone might think this is how it should be… having never been to a real place. This is NOT what it should be like, period.