Pho & Spice

The place is easy to find, and it looks pretty decent from the outside. When you enter, you will find that the inside is so spacious that can accommodate over 60 people. The waiters there are welcome and they will walk to you when you go there. The food is tasty and of large portion. As a girl who can eat a lot, I cannot really finish it and finally pack half of the whole to go. Recommended.

Worst food I’ve had in New Haven. Service was terrible and slow, we were ignored at the table on a very non-​busy night, I finally had to ask to just leave a pitcher of water.
The pad see ew was terrible, and tasted off and rotten.
Gf had the phở soup, also terrible, she stated worst she’s ever had.
Asked for some basil or sprouts for the phở, waiter came with one basil leaf and 4 sprouts on a paper plate.
I usually don’t write bad reviews, but this was seriously terrible. Do not go.

Me and some of my friends just tried this place few days ago. We ordered phở Dac Biet, country pad thai and tom yum fried rice and everything delicious. We will definitely be back!

Delicious new phở place in New Haven! It’s a bit of a walk from campus proper, but definitely worth it. For around $ 10, you can get a heaping bowl of phở. I opted for a very classic, no frills bowl with beef and it was soooo good. I really appreciated that the meat was so thinly sliced-​it allowed a lot more flavor to get in.
My only complaint is that service was definitely slow. You really have to wave the waiters down and they take forever to sort out your check. To be fair though, perhaps some of these kinks will be ironed out as the restaurant gains some experience.
The space is beautiful and huge! Definitely lots of room for groups.

Where do I begin… This place has the best PHO in Connecticut. Yeah! I said it… Better than Mecha (I LOVE MECHA) better than the «mom and pop» shops in Bridgeport… THE BEST! and the prices are GREAT!
Dinner for 2 with apps, and desserts…$ 48! At Mecha that would have been about $ 65-​$ 80… Different broths to choose from, different sizes… The facility is LARGE ! Spacious!!! JUST VISIT you wont be upset!

Phở? In New Haven? Really?
On the recommendation of some friends who went here for lunch earlier in the week, I stopped in on a Sunday afternoon for some lunch. The place was fairly empty, which allowed for a relaxing meal in what can only be described as a pretty space.
I decided a large phở dac biet (flank, rare steak, tripe, tendon) would be the best choice for my first meal here, and when they say «large,» boy do they mean large. It was a gigantic bowl, and while there was more tendon/​tripe and less flank/​steak, the broth was decent and there is enough hot oil and sriracha to make anyone happy. They were pretty accommodating with my cilantro aversion, and while they were a bit absent when I needed things, it wasn’t too big a deal because I wasn’t in a rush.
One of the key things about this place is that they deliver, so I will have to see if they’ll deliver lunch to my work at some point. Otherwise, a fairly good place in New Haven (not that there’s much else to choose from) when you need a phở fix.

If you want GREAT Phở, go down the block a bit further, hop on the Metro-​North and meet me in New York.
If you want over-​priced, decent Phở then go right in to Phở&Spice.
I’ve been a couple times and had the Phở (dac biet, and the seafood), the Rangoon, the pork Bun, the bubble tea, and the specialty coffee. In all cases the portions were generous but under-​seasoned, and I always ended up adding more condiments than I’d like to get the proper flavor balance. And given the quality (even with the quantity) prices seem exorbitant, $ 6 for tea? Really? All-​in-​all, I’d describe the food as «good enough» but nothing to write home about. Given New Haven’s lack of Phở I guess this is technically the best in town… But that’s really not saying much!
I’ll likely only ever go back if I get out-​voted in a group decision.

Probably the only phở place in New Haven. I’m a fan! I’ve tried chicken and beef phở soup noodles and both were good! It’s spacious, so even when crowded, it can seat everyone. Great place!

I wish I could give no stars. As I cut my throat seriously choking on a largebone that was in the chicken noodle soup.
We politely asked for the bill and said we were leaving and could they strike the soup from the bill.
They took my soup (which I didn’t want them to do) as they said they wanted to give me a new one to take away.
When my friend paid they then told me I could get a new soup but not take it off the premises. It was so rude and so upsetting. No apology. The owner laughed at us as they obviously lied. We will never go there Again. Ever. (My throw is killing me)

The look alone is enough to bring me back, with its high ceilings, special lighting welcoming vibe and asthetic. The food transported me to somewhere in Thailand!
Everything we tasted was absolutely delicious, the staff was really cheery and helpful, they were lovely! I cant wait to go back! Special thanks for chef Sumon!
I highly suggest trying this wonderful restaurant.

Few things to warn about:
1. The Curries do not come with rice. They will charge extra, which is messed up.
2. The kitchen staffs do not consider the eating experience. Meaning if one person in your party orders phở, he is going to receive it 10 – 15 minutes before other people.
3. Some of the staff are not fluent in English so make sure to go over what you ordered.
Besides this, the food is great and came in big portions. 2 stars.
Second Chance:
I ordered the Tamarind Duck for dinner and my companions ordered a phở and the drunken noodle. This time around the foods came with better timing. Like always the food was delicious and came in big portions. I added back a star.

Pretty good show in the old Bentara space. I love the fact that when you order Phở here, the bean sprouts, thai basil and other additions are brought to the table separately from your soup.
A lot of places in this area like to just dump them in the soup, and it pretty much ruins the subtlety of those ingredients.
$ 30 w/​tax & tip out the door for 2 for lunch, prices are decent, food was good all around, including apps & the duck entrée I had.

I came here 2 times. «Phở & Spice» is the best Phở in New Haven downtown (that’s why I give 4 stars), but NOT the best in Connecticut.
I ordered: Phở Dac Biet, Phở Ga, Banh Mi and Bun (vermicelli noodles). The Phở & Bun noodles were mushy (probably overcooked).
Pros:
— Generous portion
— Fresh meats
— Place
Cons
— Slow service

Came back to check out their lunch menu and YAS their lunch specials will make all y’all who don’t like phở rejoice (idk why you wouldn’t like phở though, shame on you)
I had the Tamarind Duck lunch combo special ($ 9.95), which I’d definitely recommend! It came with a seaweed soup, Vietnamese crispy spring roll, and 1 Thai dumpling (fried). My dish also came with a serving of rice (although you can also get a vegetarian fried rice). The crispy roasted duck was boneless and thus only encourages my laziness (YAY). The main thing holding this dish back was the fact that the vegetables tasted like they were frozen at some point… hmmph.
Takeaway: come for the phở if you’re craving that, but don’t be afraid to try other items off their very extensive menu!

Really terrible and slow service, but decent food.
Naturally was very excited to try phở that wasn’t from a food cart in New Haven. We were greeted really sullenly by the lady owner/​manager, who could not even manage a hello. It took her about 10 minutes to walk over and take our order, despite us waving someone down for about 5 minutes.
We got phở and spring rolls, which seemed like a classic combination of Vietnamese dishes. The spring rolls were really mediocre, so I would suggest saving your $ 5.95.
The phở was decently priced ($ 9.95 for a medium bowl) and really chock full of noodle. I would have preferred more meat and less noodle, but I guess can’t complain. It was a LOT of food. The broth was a little sweet for my liking, also.
This is an average Southeast Asian restaurant by any standards, just like the rest in New Haven.

This place is kind of confusing. I’m always a little suspicious of phở joints that try to incorporate modern décor. Phở is suppose to be rustic and unpretentious – it should be served in a hole-​in-​the-​wall setting where a bunch of cigarette-​smoking ruffians are guffawing loudly or something.
At least the phở here isn’t bad. I’ve definitely had better, but I’ve definitely had way worse (looking at you, Phở Ethan in Wallingford). The broth is flavorful but could use a touch more salt; the typical phở table accoutrements came in handy. The portions are fairly generous, and the meats were fresh and tender. The food is probably this place’s strength.
What was absolutely abysmal was the service. I’m not even comparing this place to an actual restaurant for service critique. This place is bad even when compared to other phở places. No napkins were given to us by our server with our utensils. No napkins even after a request. Had to go on a napkin quest! Food was also slow to come out.
Whatever, though. At the end of the day this place still gets 4 stars because New Haven’s phở game is too weak.

O glorious phở, o glorious authentic phở, I give thanks that thou hath reappeared in New Haven at long last.
When I heard that this place had just opened, I immediately made it a mission to come and try it for myself. As soon as I walked through the front door and smelled the familiar aroma of genuine, slow-​simmered phở broth, I knew it was promising. Then I saw the words «đc bit» on the menu and almost cried in happiness.
The phở did not disappoint — the broth was hot and fragrant, and the ingredients and garnishes were fresh and plentiful. Not the best I’ve ever had, but better than I expected for sure. Prices are slightly higher than I would pay back home in L.A., but that’s to be expected. In any case, the large bowl at $ 11 was probably the most enormous bowl of phở I’ve ever eaten. There was definitely a good liter of broth in the large bowl.
There were definitely a few problems with the service — half my table was served water and the waitress forgot about the other half for about 10 minutes, and the phở took about 15 – 20 minutes to serve, which isn’t egregious but definitely longer than you would expect for phở. They also ran out of bean sprouts, which is my favorite of the garnishes, but I see them in other Unilocalers’ photos so I’m going to chalk these problems up to kinks being worked out, as they’re only two weeks into opening. I’m absolutely going to be making many return trips here, so if the service gets better, I’m anticipating bumping them up to 5 stars.
Thank you for opening, Phở and Spice. Henceforth, I shall fear no hangover in the city of New Haven.

Went here for lunch the other day. It was fairly quiet — the restaurant is big, almost too large for the lunchtime crowd. Nonetheless we were seated quickly and handed a pretty massive menu. I’m not as big on phở so I ordered a lunchtime curry special. It came with a seaweed soup (pretty good), a dumpling, a spring roll type thing, and the chicken curry itself. All very good! It was either $ 9 or $ 10 which I thought was pretty reasonable. I was definitely full afterward. My boyfriend had phở and it was definitely super spicy, the way he prefers it! Every table had sriracha and fish sauce at your disposal.
Service was prompt. Only downside is there was a gas leak down the street that afternoon and they had to close the restaurant around 1 pm, not letting in additional customers. Was just one of those awkward like «Should we still be in this restaurant? Am I going to die before I finish my lunch?» As the story ends, I survived and I Unilocaled.
I’d likely go back here — it’d be great to serve groups. They have plenty of big tables and it’s the only local Phở in town!

Since moving here several months ago, I’ve been talking about how I wished there was a Vietnamese restaurant. The cart by the med school is good in a pinch, but I have been wanting to sit down and enjoy a giant bowl of phở for a long time. You can imagine my excitement when I found out that Phở & Spice was opening in New Haven — finally, the restaurant gods had granted me my wish.
I’m always skeptical about restaurants that feature more than one type of Asian cuisine (ex: Chinese restaurants that serve sushi, or sushi bars that serve Korean). My general opinion is that these types of establishments are really good at one of the many cuisines they feature — or, more sadly, a mediocre showing across the board. Phở & Spice serves both Vietnamese and Thai food. I was initially wary, but hopeful that the Vietnamese side of the menu would be satisfactory. As far as Thai goes, there are a handful of other options in the area anyway.
The other day I decided to get a medium phở (the «tai» version) to go. When I got there, it took 15 minutes before someone would take my order. I noticed several people waiting on line ahead of me who had already placed their orders and appeared to have been waiting a long time. Others seated at tables in the restaurants were also waiting for food (I overheard a group commenting that the wait time was ridiculous and that they had ordered 30 minutes prior but still sat at the table empty handed). After I placed my order, I waited roughly 45 minutes. I was tempted to just leave towards the end, but I had already paid. I had been waiting for months for a Vietnamese place to come to New Haven, so I was not going to give up on my phở that easily!
When I got back to my office I could not wait to dig in. Everything was packaged up very well: the boiling hot broth was in one container, with noodles, beef, onions, scallions, cilantro in another. A third container held hot sauce, beansprouts, and a big bunch of fresh basil. I love that they kept everything separate so that the meat didn’t overcook in the broth during travel, and that I could decide how much of all the condiments/​etc to put in.
The phở was definitely tasty. I’ve noticed other people comment on the Vietnamese cart by the med school having broth that was a little too sweet to be authentic — well, I felt a little similar about Phở & Spice’s broth. To be clear, it is definitely more authentic and tastier than what is offered at the cart, but it still needs a little work. The cilantro, onion, basil, sprouts, etc were incredibly fresh, and the meat was yummy and of good quality.
I’d like to give this place more stars, because I think the food is about a 4 out of 5. However, the service was painfully slow — especially for a dish like phở! I’m going to give it a few weeks and come back and try again. Hopefully they’ll have all of the kinks worked out since it’s a new place and I assume they are still trying to sort through some things. Either way, happy to have an actual Vietnamese restaurant around!

I was a bit disappointed to find out that Bentara was closing but excited to learn that a Vietnamese/​Thai restaurant with a promising menu was taking its place. Being from Hawai’i, a melting pot of Asian cultures, I was quite well versed in Asian cuisine. Seeing dac biet and banh mi on the menu meant signs of promise!
A few of my friends and I decided on trying this place on a windy Saturday afternoon. They immediately sat us and were quick to fill our waters. We ordered a bunch of appetizers (golden bag and summer rolls) and when I proceeded with ordering the large phở, I was informed that the bowl was HUGE, so I went for the medium. My friends ordered the avocado dancing curry and drunken noodles.
Our orders came out within ten minutes. The appetizers arrived with them piping hot. The crab rangoons were golden brown and generously filled with crab and cream cheese goodness. The summer rolls were nice and fresh with crisp vegetables, shrimp, and pork. Our waitress then brought out the entrees, and she was right in that the phở was large even though mine was only a medium. The sign of great phở is in the broth. A taste of the clear, flavorful broth convinced me that this was made by a cook who knew what he/​she was doing. My bowl was also filled with generous amounts of noodles and enough tendon, tripe, and steak for each spoonful. I also had a taste of my friends’ dishes and they were very good.
This place has promise send definitely represents Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. I will definitely be back soon.