Pho Xe Lua

This place was completely empty when I visited, so I was a little scared since it was only slightly later than regular dinner time. Luckily, there was no need to worry.
I had to get the summer roll. They made them fresh as soon as we ordered. We actually saw them softening the wrapper and wrapping all the ingredients up. They looked good, tasted great, and the dipping sauce was nom.
I’m pretty obsessed with vermicelli with pork and spring roll, and their version is right up there. The pork was marinated really well so it was super flavorful. The spring roll was nice and crisp and the filling was tasty. The noodles were also cooked perfectly. Put all those things together, and I had a really good dinner.
Also, the service was really great. The server guy was very personable and joked around a lot. All in all, yet another good place to stop by when you’re in Eden Center.

I give it 3 stars.
Stopped in for breakfast Phở. Quick service and the small size was perfect. Tasty with a decent broth but not to the point of wow. I’ve had deeper, richer stocks in other places, but still ok. I would give them another ½ star if they still served Tsingtao beer.

I didn’t experience any problems with service, and actually found the folks here to be very friendly. Nor did I see a bunch of old men playing board games, which would have kind’ve been cool. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that while it’s still cash only they do have a number of appetizers available (various types of spring rolls, some salads) in addition to phở. I found the herbs (no sawtooth, just holy basil), jalapenos, and bean sprouts to be fresh, despite another Unilocaling having a different experience. My big gripe is that the broth was underwhelming with little in the way of fragrant star anise or beefy flavor. It certainly wasn’t bad but I fee like I’ve had better phở out there, most notably at Phở 75.

***They have changed owners, this review was for their previous owner***
A conversation between me and The most interesting man in the world (MIM):
Me: You usually don’t meet people in public but when you do, it’s with me.
MIM: I know you usually don’t eat Phở, but when you do, it’s here.
Me: I usually don’t carry cash, but when I do, I have to here.
MIM: C’mon man, I usually don’t hold conversations like this all the time. but when i do… JUST KIDDING!
This is by far, the best bowl of phở in the area. Can we please pronounce phở right people? It’s pronounced FUH, not FOE, not FAH. Say it with me now FUH!
I know i’ll get a lot of back lash and arguments on where the best bowl actually is. I guess it’s personal preference but I’ll let you know it ain’t SATE. There i said it.
Always STEAMING PIPING HOT BROTH. For me that’s a must, but some places miss that mark.
I believe a person eats with the heart as well. And the small mom and pop shop reminds me well… of my grandmom and grandpop phở. She also makes a mean BBH. If you don’t know the acronym. Ask and I might tell you.

This place definitely has a weird vibe from the second that you walk in. It feels like a mix between an illegal poker room and a run down advance payday loan place given that there was an office in the middle of the restaurant. Not to mention the flea market art on every inch of the walls.
But I digress this is not a review on interior decorating, it’s a food review. Unfortunately the food isn’t much better than the décor. The jalapeños where bruised, the limes where dehydrated, and the basil was wilted. Messing up the garnishes is forgivable I suppose but bland broth and mushy noodles aren’t. The broth lacked the anise aroma that makes phở so special. Not everything was bad though; the beef tendons was perfectly cooked and simmered so long that it almost melted in my mouth.
The competition for Vietnamese food is stiff in Seven Corners and there are just better places for phở, plain and simple. Unfortunately I don’t think I will be back anytime soon.

Dated décor and tough beef is only reason for not giving 4 stars. But Broth and Vietnamese coffee from this quaint mom and pop run joint is a winner in my book. The owner was very friendly and took our order and food was brought out zippy quick. Here they serve just phở and drinks so don’t expect anything else. Can’t wait to come back here to get my phở fix soon!

I’ve had good Phở, and I’ve had bad phở. But never from this place.
Back in the late 1990s when I Was living in Northern Virginia and working on some top[-secret projects in the Pentagon, our boss decides one afternoon to take the group out for lunch to celebrate a major milestone we met. He seemed a bit miffed that I invited the secretary who was to put it mildly, ditzy… but anyway…
We arrived at this place a little after they opened, the palce was absolutely empty. Sam ordered for most of us and of course the ditzy secretary (did I mention she was a blonde? lol) sedemed a trifle irked. Well, we were in Vietnamese territory, and when in Rome err, Hanoi, do as the Viets do… and of course, this same girl requested a fork instead of chopsticks. I myself can’t use chopsticks to save my life… but so as not to insult our hosts, I made a decent attempt at it. Didn’t drop anything. :)
I received a bowl close to the size of the Houston Astrodome (this was a small??) of the best beef and noodle soup I’d ever tasted! I ordered the Spring Rolls as w3ell as was in heaven. Their peanut sauce is out of this world!
That was my very first experience with Vietmaese noodle soup. I’d worked for a Chinese/​Vienamese place when I Was in grad school but I don’t rememebr the owner ever offering phở.
I have been earing the stuff ever since. No matter where I go or move to, I immediately check out the Vietnamese scene.
Oh… why did Sam pick Phở Xe Lua? simple. He told us that this place was the most authentic in the area. Reminded him of his days in Vietnam. With an endorsement like that, it’s hard to go wrong.
HIGHLY recommended! you won’t go wrong with Phở Xe Lua!

3.5−4 stars. I’ve been going here since I was a little kid with my mama, and the phở here is just as delicious as I remember it being.
This restaurant offers a simple, no-​frills, fresh, piping bowl of delicious soup and noodles.
The broth is rich and flavorful, however expensive at $ 7.75 for a regular and $ 8.95 for a large bowl.
In addition, although this is a great in-​and-​out mom and pop shop that offers tasty phở, they do not serve appetizers of any sort, just phở and drinks. To sum it all up, expensive, but tasty phở, and I would return just to support the sweet old man that owns the place from time to time when I’m not feeling cheap and can spare a few dollars more ;)
one last tip: dolla dolla bills only y’all!

It’s pretty difficult to get bad phở in the Eden Center. The whole shopping center is Vietnamese, and there are several choices for phở. I chose Phở Xe Lua for my first experience here. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside is clean. It has a very «family run» atmosphere. The elderly guy is still running things, and the bus boy is indifferent. But the service wasn’t bad.
But that’s the part that doesn’t matter. The phở was great! Fresh basil and bean sprouts on the side, lots of noodles (the Large is a huge amount of phở), the meats were tender and the broth complex. Do be sure to bring CASH however, as they do not take credit cards. For the NoVA area, Eden Center is where it’s at for phở, and Xe Lua isn’t a bad choice by any means.

This was my first time to Eden center and we had decided to get phở. The only place that we found on Unilocal that literally had phở in its name was this place, giving us the belief that they specialized in phở. Well perfect for us. We walked all the way around until we got to the area where there is the construction which is where Phở Xe Lua is located. It was interesting because all of the restaurants we walked by were completely packed and had lines out the door, which is reasonable since it was around 12pm. But when we got to Phở Xe Lua I noticed that it was completely empty but hey it’s phở, it comes out fast so you just eat and leave.
We go inside and are greeted by an older Asian man speakign to us in Vietnamese. No idea what he was saying so we just walked to the area he pointed out. Noticing we did not speak Vietnamese he began to speak to us in English when he gave us the menu.
After ordering, we started to clean our utensils. I noticed there was a dead fruit fly on top of the hoisin sauce bottle which I informed the lady of when she brought out the bean sprouts and etc…
She didn’t even skip a beat. It was just a oh no big deal kind of look and she took the bottle away.
Our phở came and I was surprised by how small the portions were. I ordered the phở xe lua dac biet which is the extra large combination bowl. There were 4 chopsticks full of noodles and the rib eye was all fat.
The entire time I was there 3 other tables joined. This place does not get quite as much traffic as the other places. I can’t say this place was terrible, nor can I say it was great, but I did leave there still hungry and with a very dry throat. I doubt I would come back here again for phở, which is the only thing they have on their menu other than drinks, so well I guess I would not come back at all…
All in all I would say this was a 2.5÷3 but I am bringing it down to a 2 for the fruit fly incident.

There are too many good places in the Eden Center and rarely do I venture out to places outside of my common list of restaurants that I frequent. I was quite disappointed with the Phở at Huong Viet and decided to go to a place specializing in Phở in the Eden Center. It was more of a shot in the dark because most of my Unilocal friends have not reviewed this place.
To start things off, let me warn you that the service is atrociously slow and I waited over 10 minutes to place my order. This place is run by one old man with the aid of one busboy who seem to alternate tasks based on whatever needs to get done (one minute the old man cooks and the next he takes the cart and cleans up the tables). Considering his age and his deteriorating physical condition, I don’t have the stomach to knock any stars down for service (in all fairness he is a really nice person). However, I wanted to let you be fully aware of this situation before you decide to eat here.
That being said, this place only sells phở, phở, and only phở (no egg rolls, spring rolls, nothing other than phở). Phở Xe Lua replaces the standard beef stock in most phở broths and instead uses a chicken/​beef broth combo. This combo makes the broth lighter and less flavorful than beef broths. I also felt the broth was on the sweeter side. As for the positives, this place arguably serves the best meat in a phở in the DMV. The beef actually looked like brisket and flank, was very tender, had good texture, and were in plentiful amounts.
While the meat was superb, I place the most emphasis on the Phở broth. So far, nothing in the DMV has been able to compare to the broth that I had in Phở Chi in Gaithersburg. However, the phở here is nothing to scoff at. It is fantastic.

I highly recommend this place and I would give this place at least 4.5.
Personally, I think that phở here is better than phở at Phở sate, Huong viet, and pho75 in Rosslyn.
The place looks dated and empty from outside, so we decided to come here purely based on great Unilocal reviews. (Thank you my wonderful fellow Unilocalers!!!)
Although it looks dusty from the outside (because it look so old), the restaurant is actually CLEAN inside. Even the bathroom is old and falling off slightly, but it is clean!!!
When we arrived, the restaurant was pretty empty, and two old Asian men were playing mahjong in the middle of it. lol. How strange, but also how typical of an Asian restaurant!!!
Bathroom is located all the way in the back, and I could get a glimpse of the kitchen. This is an one man kitchen. An old grandpa was busily walking around and cooking. When I saw this kungfu master looking grandpa, my expectation level got super high.
We ordered two #5 (round eye steak and fatty brisket I think), one large and one small. I thought the broth was really flavorful (says chicken and beef stock), and meat was not dry and delicious. If you like kinda chewy fatty meat, you will love it. One of my favorite phos in the east cost is Pho75 in Philadelphia, and I think Phở Xe Lua is one of the best Phos in DMV area. (Note: I understand that Pho75 is a chain, but the one in Philadelphia is WAY better than any of those in DMV area. Also, Pho75 in Rosslyn had a BUG in my boss’ bowl)
But if you have a big appetite, I would definitely suggest that you get a large size with all the meat. I think that’s what I am going to do next time. I didn’t have lunch and I was really hungry, so a small bowl was a bit small for me. But for less than $ 8, I think the portion is generous and and satisfying.
I love great food, and I loved this place. I am looking forward to coming back here whenever I am in mood for Phở. My other favorite phở spot in DMV area is Phở Chi in Gaithersberg, but their meat is nowhere as tasty… Also, I want this restaurant to do well because the grandpa seemed to absolutely cares about his food. When we told him that his phở was delicious, he seemed so happy and he bowed and said THANK YOU~~~~~~!!! really loud. HAH!
One complaint I have about this place is Service. The server… really didn’t seem to care at all. When we asked for menu, he brought us literally 10 same menu. SAME menu sheets.
At first we thought the menu book was falling apart, but then we realized that it was a very simple menu… and the server just brought the entire stack of menu because he was just that lazy to even care… Wow. That made me really sad, especially after seeing that old grandpa running around in the kitchen. I don’t want his restaurant to fail because his server is bad, but I am sure a lot of good restaurants do get tremendously affected by such factors.
If you don’t care about the dated décor and ok service, then come try phở here. :)

I came here because my boyfriend wanted great phở and, from my research, this place seemed to have the best reviews. The décor and ambience here is similar to other phở restaurants I’ve been in — it’s «homey», and that can be either a good or bad thing depending on what your preferences are.
The «everything» phở (with all the types of meat) runs $ 10 here and the portion is comparable, if not smaller, than other establishments I’ve been to, making it one of the pricier bowls of phở I’ve devoured. While the broth here is delicious and packed with flavor, I wasn’t a fan of the texture of the meat. There were also meatballs in my phở which were not as appetizing as I would have hoped. I found myself wishing for more tripe or flank… or even more noodles.
They also don’t have spring/​summer rolls here (or any type of appetizer), so make sure you come here if you’re looking only for phở.
Given all the other places in Eden Center, I would much rather try something else than come back here in the future.

This is a little hole in the wall phở restaurant in the Eden Center. It’s hard to miss if you are not looking closely. The reason I prefer this phở restaurant to other places is because they do not skimp on the meat, they give you a LOT. And the broth is very flavorful. The décor leaves much to be desired, but that is often the case with phở restaurants…
Oh and the service is actually very friendly!

I tried this joint based on a friend’s recommendation.
Walking in, this place looks more like a public library than a phở joint.
I ordered a custom phở… large with round steak, tripe, and tendon. When it came out, the large looked like a small. Along with that bowl came a small plate with sprouts and basil, and then a smaller dish with jalapenos.
Overall, the phở was decent, but the broth was way too salty. Also, a large was quite pricey at $ 8.95 and then another $ 1 tacked on at the end for whatever reason.
This place only offers phở and some drinks. You won’t get any spring rolls or grilled meats/​bun here.

We went here because of the name. I translated Phở Xe Lua as «Boilermaker Phở» for my boyfriend as we are both graduates of Purdue.
The phở was ok. The menu is simple and doesn’t have as many meat combinations as most others. Certainly, the broth wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. However, the Vietnamese iced coffee was awesome!

Took man friend to Eden Center for the first time this past weekend and he LOVED it! (naturally) We flipped a coin of phở vs. banh mi before our trip out west (Centreville) and Phở Xe Lua won.
You don’t go to Phở Xe Lua for the ambiance but you go for the phở, vietnamese coffee and hospitality (seriously, the back portion of the restaurant you will find the owner’s shrine to himself with his «office desk and computer,» portraits and family pictures, most likely sleeping or playing some game with fellow old men while watching a futbol game).
We both ordered the #16 meat combination special ($ 9.95) phở because why choose one meat when you can have them all? flank/​ribeye, brisket, tendon, tripe, meatballs… came garnished with onions. Man friend and I weren’t into eating raw onions so we just took them off and added basil, lime juice, jalepeno and bean sprouts. I always like to taste the broth first before adding siracha and hoisin and the broth was pretty solid! I use the phở 75 standard and thought the broth at phở xe lua was different in a good way: lighter/​less oily and almost more aromatic (gingery/​nuttier). Noodles were a bit thicker than the norm phở noodles and cooked perfectly where they had a bite to them and didn’t clump up. I like.
They provide complementary tea if you ask YAY! But I was in a vietnamese coffee with condensed coffee mood and was given a ton of stuff! Bigger glass filled condensed milk topped with the coffee strainer, extra ice on the side like way more ice and a thermos of hot water to brew at my leisure. Such a production I had going on and I can throw together a mean viet iced coffee, thanks to phở xe lua!
Overall verdict: Pretty solid in comparison to phở 75 but a bit pricier (almost $ 8 – 10 a bowl at PXL compared to $ 6.95-$ 7.95 at Pho75) and a nice trip out to Eden Center. I’d definitely come back.
Tip: CASH ONLY!

The broth was perfect but I wish the meat was fattier. I could use more tendon too… Overall, it was good.

I’m from the west coast, and I have this thing about trying Phở everywhere I travel. I know it’s weird but it’s kind of like a souvenir and I have to find where the best Phở is served. I came here because it has good reviews, but to my disappointment, the Phở wasn’t that good. The broth lacked flavor and the meat wasn’t exactly the freshest. But it is a mom and pop shop and there’s like real old school Vietnamese people here. I’m sure there’s something better than this phở. Nothing was wrong, just need more flavor… sure it’s authentic because it’s made by Vietnamese people, but it was alright… The old Vietnamese lady was very sweet to my friend and I though. She knew we were from California.

This place failed to give me even an A-​OK vibe.
— Confusing décor. Is it a restaurant, book store or art exhibit?
— Looked like we were the only paying customers at the time.
— Owner (?) walking around with a fly swatter in hand… not exactly appetizing.
— Didn’t get a welcoming vibe from the place or owner.
— Their «You Try It, You’ll Like It Guaranteed» Com Ga Xe Lua dish wasn’t that great.
— Even with an empty restaurant I still had trouble getting a water refill.
— Phở was OK.