Thai Bao Vietnamese Restaurant

Great Phở & Bun (Rice Noodle Bowl). It is a bit of a hidden Gem. One of the only surviving businesses in an otherwise failing and vacant strip mall off Federal Blvd. The fresh quality food keeps me coming back for more and apparently others because these guys stay busy. The inside décor is not much to tout about, but it is clean & I’m all about the food.

As far as phở goes, I’m new to the mania. My manfriend is obsessed so over the last few months I’ve tried phở place after phở place, and even some home made phở. I really liked this place. My number 1 in NW Denver (3^rd overall). We ordered our phở to go, waited about 10 minutes, enjoyed watching the ridiculously happy fish in the fishtank, and hit the road. Not much to say as far as décor, but I don’t think it’s a scummy place as many of these reviews have insinuated. The guy working was nice, and placed our orders quickly, Vietnamese rolls, a #8, and a #5.
At home we poured it all out in some big mixing bowls (I always forget how big of a bowl you need), added the sauces they included, some mix-​ins, and got to town. The flavors are really good, but definitely need the sauces. I got a steak combo; my favorite was simply the regular rare steak, and I’ll probably stick with that when I return. I thought the portions were really good. I will admit I found myself stealing a few noodles from my friend when I’d finished, but I can really put down a lot of noodles. As we continue on our quest for The Best Phở in Colorado, I will definitely keep this in mind if I don’t want to venture far from home.

This is a great place for food, but the location is not the best. We eat there at least once a week and love it. The owners are a lot of fun!

Great phở! Got it really fast with all the expected accoutrements. I went for the large, but even for a 215 pound guy this was a bit much.

Must have been an off night… A really off night.
Date of Visit: 1÷18÷15
On my never-​ending search for the best Thai in Denver, I gave Thai Boa a shot per it’s 4-​star rating. We ordered some Phở and Pad Thai, which I admittedly try just about everywhere and consider a decent barometer of the food as a whole. While the Phở was average, the Pad Thai was well below it. Not only were the noodles much flatter and wider than any PT I have had before, they were all stuck together, and the sauce was just plain bad. It tasted like something that had been sitting out for a while, yet I was there to pickup the order as soon as it came out of the kitchen. Add to that, if I had walked into the place to dine-​in I would have quickly left, as it was one of the more rundown restaurants I have seen. Dirty carpet, dingy atmosphere, etc.
I’m not sure if it was just a (really) bad night for the kitchen or what, but after the food and seeing the condition of the restaurant, I wouldn’t take my chances there again.

I love this place — great prices, Phở broth is excellent, plenty of meat and noodles. Pair with the spring rolls (three for $ 3.95) and that’s a big meal for $ 11 – 12! Plus the owner has a rad Bruce Lee haircut! This is my go to near the Highlands. Excellent food and great value for the money.

I got a tofu noodle bowl, and it was delicious! I’m actually craving it right now. Thankfully this place is blocks away from our house.

The phở is great here and the people are very nice. The other food is ok but not anything great.

Went in for dinner during the week with my Dad… both of us being Phở novices. The owner recommended us us these pork lettuce wraps that were outstanding. He always proceeded to show us how to correctely eat phở the real Vietnamese way. Outstanding food and service

BEST SPRING ROLLS IN DENVER. Moved from CA and have been missing the real deal then boom, discovered this place. SO pleased with the food and price and the gal who helped me when i picked up my food was super friendly.

Unilocal helped me find this spot, so thank you Unilocal!Being a foodie you would think I would have tried Phở before. But no!
I told my waiter this was my first time trying and Phở and asked his recommendation, he suggested #2. When he brought me my bowl he told me to first try the broth, then add some siracha and then the H — - sauce (I can’t remember what the sauce was called), this made a delicious difference. Then he told me the sides were bean sprouts, jalapenos and basil. I added in all three.
My lunch was super delicious, filling and affordable. I will go here again when in the Denver area.

Don’t even try delivery… I tried one last time since I was closer… 1.9 miles and still wouldn’t deliver and they were rude on the phone and hung up on me… last time I try to do business with this restaurant…

We visited the restaurant on a Monday night about 6:00 p.m. and were the only ones there for most of the meal. An older couple came in as we were getting our food and they sounded as if they were regulars. They told the waiter they’d heard a rumor they were moving and to please let them know if that were true as they’d follow them wherever they went.
We had the Vietnamese egg rolls and the phở. No complaints with the egg rolls; full of flavor and served with lots of fresh vegetables. I thought the phở broth was a little lacking in depth of flavor but was otherwise very good. Certainly not a flashy or fancy joint but good food with good service at good prices.

By far the best phở option for this part of town.
Easily the best café sua da I’ve had since I was in Hanoi.
It’s a family run business and everyone is incredibly warm and friendly.
Well worth a visit if you’re in this part of town.

This place never fails to make me feel better! Strip mall Vietnamese food is always the best. Was going to get delivery, but wanted some of the coffee, so I dragged myself out and I’m glad I did. Fresh hot coffee and fresh hot phở always makes me feel better.

I forgot to take a picture of the main dish, it’s kind of a proof their food is sooo delicious! We were so interested in eating! We ordered Spring Roll (3 rolls cut in half) and Deep fried roll (3 rolls cut in half) as appetizer. Which were served with plenty of vegetables and tasted really good! We haven’t seen such substantial rolls in Colorado. The nuoc man sauce and peanuts sauce were also nice. We forgot the main dish name (No.59) that was stir fried chicken, several kinds of vegetable, and flat rice noodle. We shared every dish because portion is quite sufficient. Furthermore, the Vietnamese Coffee taste really suited us. The combination of strong coffee taste and sweet condensed milk is probably traditional Vietnamese way. Considering the portion size and quality, fare is very acceptable! The service was friendly and pretty decent. The décor is not charming, however it reminds me when I visited Vietnam quite a lot on business trips. This restaurant might not be refined nor elegant though I would tell if they would exist in Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnamese people would really love it.

The places in strip malls always seem to be the best. This place is no exception. It smelled wonderful entering. The host (the owner’s daughter) was very charming and engaging. She had a few recommendations. The salad rolls with pork were fantastic. Served with a peanut sauce that was wonderful. Then onto the main courses which were just fantastic. Real food by people from the place the food is from equals a delicious dining experience. I will be back again and again.

I couldn’t really focus on the food, because I was too distracted by how filthy the dining room was. I used to come to this location back in college, close to 20 years (and probably multiple owners and restaurant names) ago, and my recent visit felt like nothing had changed — and not in a good way.
The food-​stained tablecloths looked like they haven’t been washed in years. The hideous green 70s carpet was wrought with crumbs from who knows when. Peeling wallpaper, rotting booths… the place made my skin crawl. As soon as I sat down and looked around, I immediately wanted to leave. Darn you, awkward diner etiquette can’t-just-walk-back-out guilt thing.
I couldn’t agree more with a fellow Unilocaler below who also can’t comprehend how the reviews are so good here. Even if they served the best Vietnamese food in Denver, I wouldn’t come back.
Adventurous diner beware – ugh, Thai Bao’s not worth the risk.

Man… I don’t know how to go about rating this place. I have been here twice now, and I have some pros and cons:
Pros: I had the combo noodle bowl today and while Phở 95 still holds the record for «Holy Crap That’s a Mega Ton of Perfectly Flavored Meats», this place really only ranks second based on size. The meat was really tender and deliciously seasoned.
Dude, the owner has the best Bruce Lee haircut you’ve ever seen. And, I mean that out of full respect and zero jest.
The service is always good and friendly and responsive. Sometimes, they have amazingly interesting TV going on.
CONS: Holy crap… it took a long time to get food. The first time we were there it was… say, 40% at its fullest while we were there. I swear we waited 25 minutes for phở. My lunch mate and I make a habit of trying out lots of phở-​holes-​in-​the-​wall to find the gems. Phở is quick to be served. Even when I’m not over the moon with the flavor, it’s quick. Like clockwork. And, this phở isn’t good enough to excuse that wait.
The first time I visited, I had brisket, like I do everywhere. There’s supposed to be some fat, but if it’s cooked well, you can’t even tell the difference between the meat and trimmings. When I had brisket here, I made a pile of «just fat» or «not even enough meat to bother» slices. In actuality, I wound up with very little actual meat at all
I will go back, most likely, since it is extremely close to where I work. I’ll try the brisket again, and report back.

I don’t find myself in this particular part of town all that often. I had just finished up at Regis University main campus, and was looking to grab lunch. The handy-​dandy Unilocal app showed this place close by. It had good reviews from people I knew. So, a short while later I found myself pulling into the Latino dominated strip mall. It was after the lunch rush on a cold and snowy day, and the place was not at all busy.
I ordered my standard small Phở with rare steak (PHO TAI Rare sliced beef). It was definitely solid. Good broth, nice veggies, tasty meat. It was a decent portion size for the low price. The veggies that came with it were fairly fresh. If I had one complaint about it, it would be that the sliced onions had a metallic tang. Most people wouldn’t have noticed, but I am guessing they had been sitting in a metal bowl/​tray for a while. This was a small issue, and I just ate around them.
After reading the positive appetizer reviews, I knew I had to make a choice. I opted for the «Vietnamese pancake», This crispy pancake/​omelet-​like dish came out piping hot. It had a little shrimp, a bit of ham, some onion, and a fair amount of beansprouts fried within it. It was greasy, and messy, and tasty, and wonderful. If you think lettuce wraps are hard to eat, this takes it to the next level of difficulty. You cut off hot pieces of fried goodness and stuff them into huge lettuce leaves, along with cilantro and basil. You then dip it in the very tangy nuoc mam. With any luck, you can then bring this up to your mouth without leaving a sticky and greasy trail across your shirt and chin. I was (mostly) successful in this endeavor. If I am in the area again, I will definitely drop by to try out other items on the menu.