Pho Capital

Excellent staff, I ordered for take out, but while waiting I was given water, at a seat at a table, the server at the table eating seemed very attentive, quality of food was above average.

This place makes it to a 3-​star rating because the staff is nice, the place has a nice homey atmosphere and it’s close to my house for when I need a phở fix
The phở we ordered was good, but not great. The crispy spring rolls were good, but not great. I like that you can order a «kids phở» in any of the phở combinations.
They have other Vietnamese dishes that I will want to try.

I think the phở with beef broth is very good and the spring rolls are awesome BUT folks, you need to work on a few things… cleanliness for one! A trip to the restroom was a turn-​off and all I needed to want to get out of there; You really need to close and really clean restrooms, floors and even condiment containers. Next, the server brought us our meal and disappeared the rest of the night! Really??? And I don’t know what you’re doing up by the cash register, maybe making drinks, but it sounds like you are starting an air plane sometimes during the evening – need to move that to the back of the kitchen as your customers don’t care to listen to tremendous noise like that. My husband loves your Phở and I think you can really turn things around if you start with my comments. Good luck!

This phở restaurant is in the plaza right by the Chunky-​Cheese (? The children’s pizza and game place) and Trader Joe’s.
It’s phở is delicious and the vegetable fresh. The broth is rich and traditional. Since I always get their rare steak phở so I couldn’t comment on other items on the menu until I try it on my next visit.
The staff is typical Asian restaurant style service; as in they will do their job and serve you quickly and professionally, just not really chatty nor overtly friendly. (I am an Asian immigrant of 14 years, And it’s just how food servers are in Asia. So please don’t expect Apple Bee or Cheesecake Factory style service here).
They are great people with great food.

Phở Capital’s food is quite decent, but I am quite disappointed with the service. After a long 20 minutes, the waiter took our order.
My mom and I took a regular beef phở with spring rolls. Our spring rolls took over a hour which I thought was worth the time. 15 minutes later, our phở came and I liked the softness of the beef, however I was disappointed with the large portion.
The atmosphere was dull with dim lights and lullaby tunes playing in the back.

I do like the phở its one of my favs but I would just take it to go. Both the server and a lady I guess is the owner give horrible service.
Went today for lunch with my sister and it was empty when we walked in (which usually it never has alot of people anyways) we sat down and the lady took our order. We ordered two soups and two spring rolls. She took 15 min just to bring water and our silverware. 10 min later the soup came out. (our springrolls never came) she left our soup and left but she forgot all the herbs and sprouts. I went to look for her but she was in the kitchen I had to call her and I asked her to please bring it to us she has the nerve to ask if I was sure she didnt bring it? Wtf! She didnt ask for refills nothing. We later got our check and she was charging me for the spring rolls as well !
The food is good in my opinion but take it to go because your going to get shitty service !

PLEASE STAY AWAY, THE FOOD AND SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!
I walked in with my 7-​year-​old daughter around 11:30 AM for lunch today and found the place to be deserted. I actually thought they were closed even though the OPEN sign was on. The server (owner?) was in the way back of the room by the counter/​cash register texting away on his cell phone. He looked up once to tell us in an impatient tone that we could find our own seats.
We picked a booth near the door since the large window made place seem brighter. I wanted to walk out as soon as I saw the food on the menu… nothing looked appetizing at all. I tentatively ordered the spring rolls and phở with well done beef brisket; I ordered a child’s phở bowl with beef for my daughter. As the server — the same one who was texting — walked away to put our order in, he continued to walk away and ask over his shoulder if I wanted a large or regular phở. I indicated regular size. After I answered him and turned towards my daughter, I heard him shout to me from the doorway of the kitchen — from all the way in the back —, «Does she want chicken or beef for the child bowl?!» and «onions or no onions?!». I thought it was very unprofessional and rude because he had been very hurried with us when I ordered our food.
I knew I should have walked out when the spring rolls arrived. It was mostly shredded diner-​type lettuce with almost no vermicelli and some shrimp. It was the cheapest looking spring roll I have ever soon. The phở came 5 minutes later — it was the WORSE phở I have ever had in a Vietnamese restaurant ran by Vietnamese people. The noodles stuck together like they had been in the hot water too long and the broth was so bland it was almost TASTELESS. I poured half the bottle of hoisin sauce and sriracha in my phở and it still tasted horrible. The bean sprouts were in very bad condition, they had already started turning grayish brown in the middle. WHY WOULD THIS CRAP BE SERVED TO CUSTOMERS?!
All service stopped after we got our food, we were not checked on, water glasses became empty without being refilled. I will never go back here. I could not leave fast enough!

Denied service to disabled vet with service dog. Never coming back to this place again!

Chill out people!
I’m from Vietnam & know what the authentic Phở is. This place is not that bad. Try Com Tam Suon once and you wil like it. I’ve also tried taro smoothies with boba and have to say that it’s a decent one!

Go some place else if you actually wanna eat. We kept waiting and waiting and waiting and the food took forever and a day to come. And when it finically came, the kitchen guy left it on a table at a distance for the ‘server’ to bring it to our table. However, they server walked back and forth and glanced at the food several times and failed to draw the connection between the food and the waiting customers. I actually got up myself to grab the food bc I was at the brink of starvation. The main dishes came out separately and there was a 10 minute gap between the phở and stew arrival.
Food was mediocre. Broth lacked flavor. I ordered the beef stew and the meat was too chewy and didn’t come with enough soup. The bubble tea had no bubbles. What usually should be a 45 minute meal turned into 1.5 hr meal.
Just safe yourself the trouble and go to another phở place. There’s PLENTY to go around in this area.

Do NOT go here! I eat Vietnamese food at least two or three times a week, and this place is terrible! They messed my order up, brought out the wrong food then made us wait 22 minutes for the next dish which was terrible. Their bubble Tea is a joke, horrible, it’s like a slushy from the 7-​Eleven. The table right next to us got the wrong food as well, they actually messed up both our tables orders, bringing food out no one ordered. The manager was a total incompetent individual. The service was horrible. Then I complained to the manger about all this and she told told me «So what?» This place is a disaster with horrible food, bad service bad food.
DO NOT GO HERE, stay away at all costs, it’s a waste of your money. McDonalds served better food with a smile on their face compared to this disaster of a restaurant.

After a morning filled with running errands, it was almost 1 PM on a Monday afternoon and I was hungry. While stopped at a light, I spied Phở Capital sitting amidst other businesses in a nondescript strip mall off of Little River Turnpike and decided to make my way there for its namesake dish. Frankly, had I checked its Unilocal rating and reviews prior to parking and stepping in the door, I may have kept on driving. However, once there and seated, I was struck by how dead empty it was on a weekday, albeit late, in the lunch hour. There were only two or three other customers in the dining room with me and only one of them appeared to be Vietnamese. Uh oh, not a good sign.
Undeterred, I got a small Phở Capital, its «deluxe» phở with all of the varieties of sliced meat, and an order of goi cuon. I received my summer rolls first. They were comparable in size but the rice paper wrapper was thick, leathery, and stickier than others I’ve had. Internally, they were dry, bland, and colorless (other than the cooked shrimp), seeming only to be filled with iceberg lettuce and maybe vermicelli rice noodles… not leaf lettuce and no mint, cilantro, or carrots. The accompanying peanut sauce offered little relief as it was less peanut-​y and more watery than most others I’ve encountered. Thankfully, my phở was a comparatively better effort. Phở Capital’s small bowl seemed to they eye to be smaller than many of its local competitors. Its stock, though, was meaty and flavorful with the right amount of oiliness for a good mouth feel. It was better than some, but still short of the stock found in better phở joints. However, Phở Capital seemed to go skimpy on its portions of meat with smallish (and in the case of the beef tendon, barely measurable) slices. At least the plate of add-​ins had sufficient amounts of Thai basil, bean sprouts, jalapeño pepper slices and a lime wedge to do the job. Service, a critique item on many of the other Unilocal reviews, was in line with the service received at other phở restaurants… no better, no worse. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the restaurant was largely empty.
Phở Capital wasn’t as bad it may have sounded in my review. The phở did taste pretty good and if you’re in the immediate area and hungry for phở, Phở Capital will scratch that itch. Just skip the goi cuon. That said, there are many other phở places in the local area where you’ll receive better value. 2.5 stars.

Oh.
My.
God.
How can you serve this type of phở? Watery, MSG filled, and meatless phở definitely has failed my expectations. The funny thing is, I used to come a lot before management changed, and the difference? Night and Day.
The servers back then were very polite, and nice. And now the servers, one of them being a woman who constantly talks on the phone on the left far end of the corner table, is rude, and forgets my orders despite me having the simplest order. (Number one large, please.) By the way, we really don’t want to hear your conversations when we’re trying to talk with our friends, and eat in peace and solace.
How do you mess that up? Gives me a seafood phở, and then doesn’t change the charge until it was brought to her attention. I was disgusted. The best phở in the entire NOVA/​DC would be Phở 75, and for those who don’t have a car… Find a friend to car pool with, or take the bus. Its that worth it, despite just as terrible customer service.
Now let me break it down as to why I’ll never come back.
1) My friend used to come here a lot, but used a Groupon. Was refused, and was like, ‘eh I’ll just pay for it.’ She was pissed though. If you’re going to put on your sign accepting Groupon, then change your mind a week later with the same sign there, then you should at least know ahead of time, or change your freaking sign! She was extremely pissed when she realized how terrible and subpar her phở and broth was. Not to mention the male server who was nice, wasn’t even busy, but refilled her water once. To at which point, decided she didn’t want to eat here with her friends anymore, and felt bad for bringing them all the way over here.
2) I still came a lot even with changed management, but the last straw was when I had an argument, because they charged me for an iced coffee. (I don’t even drink coffee, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to pay for their overprice iced coffee with 40% coffee, and 60% ice !) And the manager was rude saying I had bought one, but I pointed out to someone who looked similar to me that had actually bought it, and was sitting down 4 tables away from me.
She looked very apologetic, and mumbled, «I’m sorry.» But come on! That was basically racist, that you insinuated I looked exactly like this one person, and didn’t have the common sense to at least look me in the eye, and apologize like a normal person with etiquette!
3) Why is your phở overpriced? I feel like restaurants should realistically evaluate how their phở tastes, and just taste it themselves, and then ask. «Hmm… Is this worth this xxxx amount of money?»
This restaurant went down hill the moment they changed management, and no longer had the same phở challenge.
I’ve never ever had vile words or spiteful anger for any restaurant before. But with all of my friends being disappointed, and me looking bad for even recommending them. I hope this place shuts down. And soon.

I am a ‘phở-​natic.’ My favorite, Phở Thang Long, is the standard at which I compare all my phở experiences. I went to Phở Capital around 6:00 on a weekday with my partner. There was only one other family in the whole place, which was surprising for a weekday.
My biggest criticism of the phở is that the broth was SUPER watered down, and the there weren’t many pieces of chicken in the phở. Not even close to being a decent phở.
The restaurant also had a strange smell that was a bit off putting, and not all that appetizing. It was a musty odor that was unidentifiable.
Overall, I have had better phở. I will not be choosing place as an option again.

This time, I came on a Saturday night. My family were the only customers there. We originally wanted to go to Blue Ocean for ramen, but it was a 45 minute wait so we walked over to Phở Capital. They no longer offer the Phở challenge, what I feel like they are known for. Phở isn’t something people want later in the night, so I understood that they had less customers.
Even though we were the only customers, it took them a while longer than most phở places to get our stuff out. One member of my family ordered some meat with egg rolls instead of phở and that came out BEFORE the phở. That means that their broth wasn’t cooking the whole time… meaning they have not had any customers recently.
The service was great, but seeing as how we were the only customers, I don’t see how they could have messed that up?
The broth was bland compared to Phở 75 and other places I usually go to. And I definitely taste less MSG in those places. I usually don’t add any sriracha or seafood sauce to my phở if it is flavorful, this time, I did.
My cousin joked around saying that it doesn’t matter if they have business or not, it’s just a mafia front lol
P.S They do take credit cards!

Don’t go! My mom, sister, and I were craving phở while we were out running errands in the area. Our usual go-​to spot is Viet House, but we were REALLY hungry and didn’t think we would survive the 15 minute-​drive there! Well it just so has it that we should have toughed it out, because our meal here was ten times tougher to stomach. Usually when you’re really hungry, anything tastes good, so the fact that I couldn’t eat my meal here is really saying something!
To begin, service is very slow. What was worse is that we were only one out of two tables being waited on. After ordering our appetizers, it took an additional 10 minutes for our waiter to come back and get our entrée orders. The appetizers came out after a total of 15 minutes, and the spring rolls were missing mint. And the peanut sauce that came with them just did not taste right! Our egg rolls were also way too oily. To further our disappointment, when we wanted to place an order for banh xeo (Vietnamese seafood pancake), we were told that was no longer an item being offered. If that’s the case then it should be taken off the menu!
So, my mom and I settled for the vermicelli noodles with grilled pork. Traditionally, this dish is served with peanuts sprinkled on top — not here. The nuoc mam (fish sauce) was also very bland, and the pork was chewy and dry. My sister ordered the phở tai (thinly sliced beef) and said it was fine, but I didn’t have the courage to try it myself.

Wish it was better. I did not go here before they switched owners so I cannot compare how it was before the switch.
Upon entering, I was told not to order the phở anyways… so I ordered the vermicelli noodles with chicken. I wanted eggrolls so I told them to add that to the order and I’ll pay extra. The waiter did not understand, and he did not know Vietnamese either… so I’m not even sure the owner is Vietnamese. Anyhow, the service was really slow… we came at 2pm on a Saturday and there was barely anyone in the restaurant. We waited about 20 minutes before our food came out… and vermicelli noodles with protein is not hard to make.
On a positive note, the place was clean, plenty of seating, vegetables were fresh, and the place had flat screen TVs attuned to what they think people would want to watch at the time (college football was on).
I do not plan to be back though… other phở places to go to — that’s the best thing about NoVA!

I just re-​read through the more recent reviews after our experience tonight and I can see why the service tonight was so less than stellar. Border-​line terrible. So sad to see that this wonderful place has been sold to new owners. I hate when ownership is passed and things start hitting the fan. Boo.
The lady behind the counter is extremely rude and I don’t think we will be patronizing this place ever again. Au revoir, Phở Capital. I will never step foot through your doors again.

for any of the «regulars» it looks like new ownership
or they vamped up (or down) their menu and interior
this is my first visit to this location
sidekick noticed difference in menu and décor
so long as I got my phở fix I’m phở’kin’ set *blushes w/​peace sign*
number 11 (?) with brisket and flank phở me
broth was light and bubblin’ — good sign … MSG present
my bowl had the right balance of noodle and animal
his lemongrass beef with rice (c1) was rockin’!!!
marinade reminded me of bulgogi with tang
next trek I will remember this order
though I tend to order phở if in a menu ‘_​’
currently only cash money is accepted
arrival of food is timely (10 – 15 minutes)
weekend dinner crowd had a healthy mix
of families, solo diners, and duo-​diners

Had a chance to finally visit and try out Phở Capital for a dose of lunchtime Phở Ga.
Ordered the large — and a glass of ice water with lime. Food came out quickly. The aromatics/​veggies were crisp and fresh. Added the Basil, Sprouts, Jalapenos, and Lime and dug in.
Noodles were not clumped, chicken was tender, broth was steaming. Their chicken broth is not as robust and full flavored as some of my fave Phở joints — it’s a lighter approach broth-​wise — not bad, just different. I prefer the more full flavored chicken broths…
Service was excellent. The place has a nice feel to it — tile, fresh paint, etc. I think the space used to be a Popeyes.
$ 15 minimum if paying with a credit card.
I’d come back here to eat again if I was in the neighborhood.