Pho Zen

Phoned in an order and was told that it would be 10 to 15 minutes. I called from the car so I walked in and waited. First the cook didn’t show up and there were people waiting for their food in the restaurant. I asked to pay but was told my food was not done yet. It was a total of 32 minutes from time on the pay receipt to when I received the order.
I asked 3 times is it correct and everything in the tightly wrapped to go. I asked for the owner and was told they were not in. Well I ordered rice plate with pork and I received a chicken thigh. I ordered the Vietnamese spring rolls and after 1 bite I sat it to the side. I think the shrimp was left at room temperature because it was giving off an ammonia smell. I don’t think that I’ll be coming back. I prefer anyplace in Bellaire to thus or Vietnamese poblano place in spring branch

I work close by here and so this was always my go-​to place to order from when I don’t bring lunch (which is very regularly). The noodle soups are decent for this area but I did order beef phở togo one time and got chicken phở when I open it! They egg rolls have changed since I first had them and I preferred the ones back then. The spring rolls are ok but too pricey for the size. I typically order a rice vermicelli with grilled pork or shrimps since I think they taste the best out of everything. 2^nd would be the rice with grilled stuff.
The reason I gave them 3 stars besides messing up on my order, is the fact that, one time I went over to order just a side of their fish sauce. I even said I will pay for it and don’t mind how much the charge, the waiter ran in back and after they «discuss» a bit, he said he can’t sell it for bc ita reserved for orders. Uhhhmm… it’s a restaurant! Make more. Geez, after being a good customer to them since last year, I have been on strike the past few months and refused to buy anything from there. (But that’s just me, try it out for yourself) :)

Friendly staff with great food at a reasonable price. This place is my go to for all this Vietnamese cuisine.

I love their spring rolls and egg rolls are very good! I can’t wait to try Vermicelli and phở. Very good service. This place is going to be one of my favorite Phở place.

Got the spring rolls and my companion said the shrimp tasted funny. He should have stopped, but a few hours later was not feeling well at all. Took me a while to talk him into getting Phở from another place. My Phở was just OK. I know he wanted to like it, it is convenient to work.

New favorite phở place! Very clean, reasonable prices, the small bowl is enough to fill even my boyfriend (who can eat a lot) up, and the customer service is super fast and friendly!

Love the service and Bah Mi Sandwiches here. The pork sandwich & phở here is so tasty.
I am a fan of this place I eat here a least twice a week not kidding.

I’ve been here twice before and liked the food then, but this time just made me not want to go back.
For starters, I checked out the menu from a picture posted on Unilocal a couple months ago, just to be sure of the prices, and sure enough, that menu was no longer in existence. Granted, the menu was nicer than the last, with bright colors and bold font, but the prices increased –_​– I was really craving a Thai Tea, but to go from $ 1.50 to $ 3.50 a glass?! I don’t think so.
I went ahead and ordered a children’s chicken phở, and when they brought it, it was filled with purple onions and cilantro, which I absolutely hate. The last two times I ate here, those were not in the soup. Instead of asking for another one, I just picked everything out, but there was still some cilantro floating around.
Lastly, the chicken was so over cooked and dry. Not enjoyable at all, and this experience is just not worth coming back when there are so many other phở places around this area that charge less.

After a long day at work I decided that it was time for some Phở. weather was perfect for this tasty dish along with some Jasmine tea. I’ve seen this little spot but never stopped by until today.
I wouldn’t say that this is the best place for Phở because we have some competition out there but it is fairly descent. It doesn’t have that restaurant feel to it, more like a mini lunch place. The staff was friendly and attentive.
I have no major complaints but it wouldn’t be one of my favorite spots. Aside from that it’s located at a convenient location and if your trying to avoid traffic then it wouldn’t hurt to try it out for yourself.

First time here and never coming here again my friend and I were around the area so decided to make a stop here and try their phở, although the customer service here was great I have to admit that their phở was less than average. The broth was watered down and they don’t serve as much meat as other places. I ordered steak and the meat was chewy with 0 flavor. I probably had 5 small pieces of steak which is not acceptable. And after getting hit on by an old rich scumbag I just wanted to run out of there!

I’ve been here three times now and only because it’s basically 1 minute from the house. Each time I went the flavor has gotten more and more bland. My last and probably final visit the broth was really bland and the nam (beef flank or belly) was really chewy and cut pretty thick compared to previous visits. I also got the beef tendon which was also very chewy. I did eat all the tai (rare beef) which was maybe 4 – 5 thin slices. They also don’t give you any ngo gai which is another herb that you add along with basil to your phở. You usually will only get it at more authentic places.
I hate to waste food but I only ate maybe a quarter of my phở. I will now have to stop being lazy and drive a little further to get better and more authentic phở unless things change in the near future.

Very nice people but I was highly disappointed that their vegetable/​tofu phở does not offer vegetable broth, only chicken broth
That completely takes away the vegan/​vegetarian customers that want to try this place
I really hope they change this

First time here. I pass it up everyday on my way home, but due to the fact that most phở places around here have disappointed me I pass it up without a thought. It was raining today & I had a craving & tried this place out and to my (very pleasant) surprise it was soooo good!
Customer service was attentive & friendly. The phở was delicious! (Not to mention, a regular size bowl is only 6.99). The broth has an amazing flavor I really couldn’t get enough of. Very delicious. The restroom could use a little more attention.
Definitely coming back.

All the reviews must have been written by friends of the owner or something cause I don’t know how it can have 4 stars. And to confirm the notion that this place is not good, I’ve been there twice. The first time I went I had chicken phở which is pretty hard to get wrong, but it just didn’t taste GOOD. If you ask my husband, he’ll say my food standards are pretty low, so me saying it doesn’t taste good really means it tasted pretty bad.
Anyhow I went back today and ordered a Chicken Vermicelli to go…
TASTE: very bland, chicken (thighs, not breast) lacked flavor, cook forgot cilantro, had to ask for basil, vermicelli was cooked well, carrots don’t belong here, fish sauce dipping cause was not seasoned properly.
PRICE: pics of the menu on Unilocal are not current. For example the Chicken Vermicelli shows $ 7.25 but it’s $ 7.99. And I ordered to go so they charge you $ 0.50 for to go. This price is more than $ 1 higher than other Viet restaurants… and when you order from other places (such as Le Viet) it comes with a soup and an eggroll (which this place does not).
PACKAGING: when you order to go (and they charge you for that) they put the sauces in the same container with the food which takes up ¼ of the to go container. So they charge your more to get less. And they don’t give you chopsticks. Eating vermicelli with a fork is actually very hard to do.
This place sucks.

Not a bad place for phở. I ordered their large bowl and it was a lot bigger than what I’m accustomed to. The phở had a good broth and was a little skimpy on the meats, but it was still good. The only problem I had was my table had no spoons and they didn’t give me a lot of vegetables to garnish my soup.

Decent phở place for the Westchase area. Parking might be an issue since it’s in a small shopping strip with other retailers, but if you go after 1:30 it shouldn’t be a big issue. Lots of single patrons like me who dine by themselves, so that’s cool! Prices are ok. $ 5.99 for a small, $ 6.99 for a regular, and I think $ 7.99 for a large bowl. I ordered a regular. At first I thought they were a little skimpy on the beef, but most of it was sunk in the bottom. Large cuts of meat. Wouldn’t say it’s the best phở I’ve had, but I honestly didn’t want to tackle Bellaire and having to wait for a table or risk them running out of phở at Phở Binh when I went last week! Everyone wants phở when it’s rainy and cold! Service was slow. Clean little place though. I would keep it as an option to eat at, but not my first option.

I work down the street so I am strickly a lunch eater there. I really like the PHO, that is all I have gotten. Service can be a little slow… but again… it is the lunch hour, that is the reason I did not give it 5 stars. Keep it PHO king real!

Nice little mom and pop joint, well lit, clean tables, they do need to run a clean mop over the floor, quick service and pleasant staff. Now make your phở better than average and I’ll eat here a lot as you are closer than my fav phở evah — Phở One.
Prices were more than reasonable and I liked that they offered 3 sizes of bowls of phở. I got the small bowl for around $ 6 and it was plenty. Think Goldilocks when you order: Baby sized. hungry mama sized and big Daddy sized.
I got the shrimp phở as was recommended by the waiter. I got about 6 nice sized real shrimp! Cooked nicely with tails on. The broth lacked much flavor. And the shrimp added nothing to it as it sat in the broth. Sad face.
The wife got the rare beef and meat balls. I don’t know what kind of protein they use to make those meatballs but they were so unappetizing she pulled them out and sat them aside. I don’t know if the meat was even real. The rare beef was good though. I wouldn’t recommend the meatballs. The broth didn’t lack the flavor mine did. However, the meat never added to the broth flavor.
Thai tea — tasty and cheap at $ 1.50
Deep fried spring rolls — serving of 4 served nice and hot and not greasy
Vietnamese spring rolls — wife got 2 pork and they had a surprising charcoal flavor
None of the apps were extra special but serviceable and not over priced.
Don’t think that all phở is created equal. If the broth is not right or the protein you choose is off putting, it’s just not gonna cut it. So while this phở was tasty it is not the best phở I have found in this area.
And what is it with the early closing time? Who closes a restaurant in Houston at 8pm? Half the people in the city are still sitting in traffic at 6 and don’t make it to the restaurant until 8. Especially on a weekend.

So I visited again a 2^nd time finally on another weeknight and had a pleasant experience. The waitstaff was very attentive and friendly. My correct drink and food order came out in no time and even the owner came by my table to ask how everything was going. A much different experience from my first visit and I’m glad I gave them another chance.
It appears they have hired a few new wait staff as well, so business must be doing well. If one of their only negatives is that they close early… that isn’t really all that bad for a new business.

I was very excited to have another phở option in the area. I stopped in at 7:50pm on a Tuesday and noticed that they close at 8. I asked if they could accommodate a to-​go order and they were super nice about it and even thanked me for being considerate of them. I glanced over the menu and went with my standard test-​a-​new-​phở-​place order: phở tai and com thit nuong. Altogether I waited around 10 minutes. In that time, at least 2 other people came in for to-​go orders and one couple for dine-​in, all of which were taken care of. Only one couple was turned away when they showed up right at 8pm and were told that the kitchen was closed. I got my food and went home to check the goods.
Phở tai w/​rare beef and meatballs: the broth was very aromatic but lacked beefiness. Noodles and rare beef were fine, meatballs were a little tough. They either forgot (I hope) or just don’t give out the bag of veggies/​accoutrements that come with. I don’t need the veg, but I do need the lime/​sriacha/​hoisin. What’s worse is that I somehow had run out of sriacha at home and only had a lemon :(So it ended up being lemon/​chili paste/​hoisin instead.
Com thit nuong cha gio (grilled pork rice plate w/​eggroll): I’m glad this came with the eggroll so I could try it without getting a whole order. Better still because the eggroll was just so-​so. The pork was done well and they use the regular (not crushed) rice. The nuoc mam is a bit sweeter and less spicy than other versions I’ve had.
I’ll let this place get it’s bearings for a bit and try again. So far, it’s ok for a quick fix but I’ll still have to go a bit farther to get better phở.