Pho 79 & Crawfish

My friend and I got there around noon and the place was dead quiet for a Sunday, only 2 tables were occupied and now I know why. We ordered Chicken Phở and Eye Round & Meatball Phở. The broth was weak, oily and way too much black pepper. Our waitress was not very energetic. We won’t be going back.

Finally got to try this phở place. :) I like the beef broth here at Phở 79 compared to Phở Far East. The broth is closed to phở in California, while Phở FE has a lot of pepper and seasoning that I’m not use to. But that is about it… While the broth is the main ingredient of the dish, there is more variety of drinks and better spring rolls at Far East.
Overall service is good at Phở 79 and the restaurant is very clean. Good experience and portions for meats & noodles.

I don’t think most of the staff understands English. I ordered off of the vegetarian menu, which had 3 items listed, a spring roll, a fresh roll and a tofu bowl. Both times they brought me items with pork in them. I gave up and gave the items away. The phở is not that flavorful as I’ve had phở in many other restaurants and this one did not have enough lemon grass and other seasonings to give the broth flavor.
They never came back to refill my water. And, I had to get up and go get a to-​go box for the rest of the tofu dish I had after I asked for one. I asked for a to go container and the lady nodded yes, but she never came back. If you do opt to still go, point to the specific dishes that you want or be prepared to possibly not get what you asked for. I won’t be going back.

I honestly think they have the best bun bo hue in town. I’ve also try bun neiu and phở tai, they do an excellent job with soup stock. Tasted like hours of actual work, not the combination of msg and sugar. Service has always been nice, keeps us coming back weekly for the past couple of months. Must try!

The phở here is my favorite in the Raleigh area. The broth is clean, not too greasy, and provides that satisfactory taste, especially for a hangover. The crawfish is just as flavorful, but can be a messy eat. Haven’t explored other menu options too much, but their egg rolls are okay. Overall, I think this place has the best phở in town.

We were seated promptly and ordered shortly after. I had the crawfish and hubby had the phở special. We also had the bun or something like that. It was a roll with pork and egg inside. It was an appetizer. It was so delicious. Back to the pound of crawfish. So good. So messy. The sauce was incredible. After I finished the fish I spilled all the sauce on my bowl of rice and ate every morsel. Delicious meal, great service. I felt like we were welcomed into this restaurant like we were family. It was a nice feeling.

Food real good, service abysmal. The place was nearly empty at 8 on a Wednesday so I get seated right away and place my order. Food comes out quick. The spring rolls are fantastic. Super fresh loaded with pork, shrimp and all the right veggies with a peanut dipping sauce so good you’d bathe in it. The Phở comes next which has an excellent flavor loaded with the various meats, tripe and chewy cartilage plus meatballs and plenty of the customary basil leaves, limes, bean sprouts and sliced chili’s. Even tried the little bahn mi sandwich on crispy French bread with pork, cucumbers, cilantro etc. All was great. All the while a Vietnamese language soap opera plays loudly on the large dining room TV with a lot of moody, glaring Asian people yelling and punching each other with the women all crying hysterically. Entertaining I guess although I had no idea what was happening. But after getting the food, the apparent mother and daughter wait staff team disappear behind the cash register bar and fiddle with their smart phones. Had to get up and go disturb them to ask for things myself including another order of spring rolls. Had to even get up to go pay as the check would not arrive at the table. But food was good and might try this place again sometime.

My friends and I decided to venture out and try a new vietnamese place outside of our regular rotation. So we came here! The location is in a seedy strip mall on capital. not very attractive. Upon walking in, there are old vietnamese men just hanging out talking, eating. So you know this place isn’t americanized. It caters to the vietnamese crowd. I got the bun bo hue, which is a spicy beef noodle soup. Really yummy. Boyfriend got the phở, which he also said was pretty authentic.
I can’t help but take stars off for the experience though. The servers and cooks in the back kept leering at us as we ate, since they knew we were vietnamese I suppose so they kept just staring. It was uncomfortable. Also, as I mentioned earlier, this is the type of place where friends and family of the workers and owners come by and just hang out and talk loudly and laugh. It definitely isn’t professional. and takes away from the intimacy of your meal.
Good food, but the people of phở 79 need to keep the socializing out of sight of the dining area.

Friendly staff. AMAZING Bun Rieu and Bun Bo Hue. Huge portions and very authentic flavors!
I travel all the time for work trying different viet restaurants and this one is definitely up there.
The 1 star taken away was for the Frozen Mango slushy with boba. the boba was rock hard. i ended up just drinking the slushy.

One of my favorites when it comes to vietnamese food. Staff is friendly, menu selections are varied with all the «regular» items you’d find at a typical vietnamese restaurant PLUS so much more. Flavors are excellent and food quality is great.
Friendly staff and cozy atmosphere. I came alone with work to do so I popped open the laptop and ordered one appetizer or entrée at a time until I was completely stuffed with some of the best foods & flavors ever. This time I tried the Fried Crispy Bun appetizer which is a small bun filled with some ground pork & other deliciousness. Also had the vietnamese fresh spring rolls… always great. Had the vietnamese sub sandwich — pork on pork and it was awesome. If you don’t have «The Look» you’re going to want to make sure they make it spicy otherwise you will end up with a great sandwich without the mouth burning… I guess some «folk» like that sort of thing.
So I ended my meal with a vietnamese iced coffee they call «Café — Su — Dat» which I surely misspelled.
Come to this place, close your eyes and point to two or three options on the menu and act like you know what you’re doing. You won’t regret it! I’d love to hear how it went :)

Crawfish TO-​GO!
I said medium spicy and my face about burnt off!!!
The sauce the crawfish came with was delicious but I could not dip them in it. Please understand that I like spicy, for sure, but this was nuclear. I’m seriously asking for no spicy next time. Of what I could taste it was sweet and spicy, I could see chunks of garlic too.
The crawfish were pretty big, but kind of dry. There were about 10 in the carry out container for around $ 11.
I definitely want to go back to try the crawfish again, get some yummy Thai Ice Tea with the Bubbles, and try their Phở!
Happy eating!

The WORST food I have ever eaten. The phở broth was so bland we had to add so much hoisin to flavor it. The durian shake didn’t even have durian in it. Ordered a pound of their crawfish and it was ok. The prices definitely did not reflect the quality of the food. Never coming back here again. We have to go somewhere else to eat after this bland meal.

Last week I was in the mood for Phở. My eating companion and I were all set to go to the new Phở spot on Glenwood South, but it wasn’t quite yet open.
Enter Phở 79 and Crawfish.
The phở was gigantic, flavorful, and satisfying. I also took home a Bahn Mi sandwich for my lunch the next day. But the Bacon on my sandwich was a little fatty and tough (and that’s saying a LOT, because I love fatty). Vegetables were good– I love the cilantro. They packaged them separately so my sandwich didn’t get soggy. Next time I would probably opt for a different flavor though. Like… some other kind of pork…
Simple atmosphere. Nothing special. I’v heard they redecorated. The strip mall in which it is located leaves a lot to be desired.
Didn’t try the crawfish. Maybe next time.
The Phở really is good here though. Go try it!

The North Raleigh Vietnamese eatery battle continues on and this place can certainly compete with the others. Unlike Phở Far East or Super Phở, Phở 79 offers its crawfish angle. Combine that with the fact this it also offers Vietnamese sandwiches (Phở Far East does not while Super Phở does), this place has a leg up for sure.
The ambiance was nice inside and the food was quite good as well. We went with the standard Phở Ga, fried tofu and the sandwiches. All of them were great.
The only issue for me was the fact that it’s located in such a shady strip mall. I know that Capital is riddled with terrible looking strips like this one and perhaps between this and the excellent Korean seafood market a couple doors down, something could change, but I really dislike the whole area’s vibe.
Worth the visit, though.

We been regulars at Phở Cali, but since they shut down, we decided to give phở 79 a try. i must say, we’ll be going back.
some of the reviews addressed the slow service and no music. well, both were pretty good when we were there. We went on sunday around 3pm, it wasnt a packed house, but there were quite a few people in there. the our water cup stayed empty for some time, but not too long.
we started off with the vegetarian spring rolls. they have tofu, which was pretty good. and the peanut sauce was great!
we also got the veggie option for the phở. We just asked for vegetables in it since the menu didnt have an option for that. so there were onions, broccoli, peppers, green onion and carrots. there were a lot of noodles in the bowls. and the broth was very tasty.
you dont get your side plate of greens and jalepenos and lime, but its ok.
its defiantly on our list to keep going back.

I was surprised at the quality of food based on the location in a random strip mall — it was so fresh and the noooooodles… i mean the noodles were the right consistency and texture for both the fresh rolls and the bun that I got. I bit into my fresh rolls that had both pork and shrimp inside (seems like most places make you choose one or the other) and i could tell they had just rolled them (i asked them to leave out the cilantro) so the outer layer was still moist and soft, not hardened like some pre-​wrapped rolls can get. The peanut sauce was of course delicious. I tried to save one to bring home but couldn’t after an intense work out. I was starving. Then came the bun with bbq pork and the smell is what caught my attention first! I can’t really put into words why it was any different than other bun dishes at other resaurants but it was a distinct aroma that really just tickled my fancy in the best way possible. :) and then I took my first bite and yet again was surprised that they cooked the noodles JUST RIGHT. Not too hard, not too soft… just right. They had just the right proportions of noodles to sliced cucumber, lettuce and beansprouts in the dish… this is key, sometimes too much of anything is… just too much, ya know? Of course, the fish sauce came on the side. The bbq pork was good, with some crispy side pieces (my fave) mixed with the more meaty and tender pieces.
All in all, the food was much better than I expected. High five to that. The reason for 3 stars is because the service, well, just lacked in all aspects. I was the ONLY person there and when I walked in, nobody looked up nor paid attention until I walked to the back and asked if they were still open. I had to ask for utinsels and napkins and never got a water refill. I had to interrupt my waiter who was sitting and chilling with others yet again for a to-​go box and it just didn’t make me feel like my 18% tip was well earned. Too bad.

We ordered take-​out from Phở 79 & Crawfish today, 1÷7÷15.
We ordered:
P9 — Phở Tai and A3 — Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls
VB5 — Pork and Egg Roll Vermicelli
Tofu Lemongrass Vermicelli and A3 — Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls.
Everything we ordered was extremely delicious and very, very fresh. The seasonings used in the Phở and Vermicelli were much better than many other Phở places we have tried. Phở Cali (which used to be where Phở 79 & Crawfish is now) was good but this place definitely trumps it.
We didn’t see Tofu Lemongrass Vermicelli on the menu but they definitely have it, for those of you looking for a vegetarian option. They will make any entrée vegetarian but they will not add tofu if it is not already an option for that item.
**My coworker picked up our meal. He forgot to pick up the soup that went with my Phở dish. I called the restaurant and they immediately knew why I was calling. Since we are not close by, the gentleman I spoke with suggested we meet halfway, which we did. That was outstanding customer service right there.
Menu Photos:

So… every now and then I have to be the bearer of bad news and it looks like Phở 79 might be one of those unfortunate situations. Great reviews online, I had a chance to check em out since your CM was in the mood for Vietnamese eats!
Located in the old Phở Cali space in an dusty strip mall, Phở 79 has been spiffed up inside. Waiters in black vests and aprons roam the space and it’s pretty empty for a Friday afternoon. The menu is small, a lot smaller than Phở Far East across the street. We order up some summer rolls, I do a bun with grilled pork and then some crawfish in spicy Cajun sauce. We all gotta die some day so I figure I might as well die happy with butter stuffed in my arteries!
The summer rolls are decent, nicely sized with good peanut sauce but my bun is disappointing. Marinated pork but it did not have that carmelized outside. The noodles were a bit dried out and the spring rolls in it, bland. Oh well, what can you do? This place is new, right? We then get our crawfish complete with bibs and it was a total mess but spicy and delicious! Nearly worth the mess, eh?
But overall given the slow service and slightly higher prices I gotta give Phở 79 and Crawfish 3.5 stars. And for right now I’m dropping them to 3 until I can get back for another visit. When you’ve got a restaurant in a shabby location like this, you really need to nail down the details of food and service and they missed in my opinion. So until I see ya next time, Phở 79!

I had quite a feast at Phở 79 on my first visit. Tucked away in a run down shopping center off of Capital blvd. you’ll find this little Vietnamese hideaway.
As a big fan of Vietnamese food I couldn’t wait to check this place out after reading the stellar reviews, and I was not disappointed.
The menu is full of traditional Vietnamese dishes plus some added additions like the Louisiana crawfish. Can you really pass up crawfish when it’s part of the name of the restaurant?
We started the meal off with an ordered of spring rolls which were fresh and delicious, plus a round of Vietnamese coffees. This place really seemed authentic after talking a bit to the staff and checking out the menu. I’m pretty sure our waiter thought we were nuts for ordering so much food but hey it was the 1^st visit so you got to check it all out.
I couldn’t pass up the Phở and I’m glad I didn’t I tried the beef and meatball Phở. All the spicy condiments were on the table and the obvious bean sprouts, jalapenos, etc. of the side. The broth was really tasty and quite addictive I had a hard time not eating every last bite but still needed to save room for those crawfish.
The crawfish came out steaming hot in a large metal tin drowning in a spicy red sauce. Bibs were provided, and yes they were needed these were some messy little suckers. I like crawfish but I don’t have much practice in eating them. These were some big crawfish too! The sauce that the crawfish were swimming in were so good I just wish I had some bread to soak it all up. I highly recommend ordering them up for the table and trying these out you won’t be disappointed.
Overall a great experience at this new Vietnamese joint, a welcome addition to our growing ethnic restaurant scene.

I just returned from San Francisco, birthplace of Unilocal and home to many of the best restaurants in the world. When I’m in SF, I always get my fill of ramen, phở, and all kinds of foods I can get my hands on. When my boyfriend asked me what I was craving today for lunch, I still couldn’t get my mind off of delicious noodle dishes, so I went Unilocal’ing for phở.
Phở Far East is usually my go to, but I saw this place was newly opened and of course wanted to check it out. Taking the place of Phở Cali, Phở 79 sits in a strip mall off of Capital Blvd. I never checked out Phở Cali, so I can’t compare, but I will say I was thoroughly impressed with the phở here!
My significant other had the spicy beef stew which is only featured on the weekends. It was delicious, and the waiters kept asking him if it was too spicy — but I think it was right on! I like my soups spicy, though. :)
I had phở with beef flank and brisket. The broth was the best I’ve had in a long time. Maybe, just maybe, the best I’ve had in the triangle. Being that I’m freshly comparing this phở experience to the last few I had in San Francisco (unbeatable), the fact that Phở 79 stands up to these experiences is impressive.
The spring rolls were also delicious. I enjoyed their peanut sauce. The menu was extensive, and I’ll definitely be back to explore. I’m excited to try their Banh Mi here as well! In the meantime, 5 stars for the phở, and I’ll be back to review more soon.
P. S. In terms of service speed, they must be improving since previous reviewers said they were rather slow. During my visit, the service was quick and fantastic!

We use to go here when it was Phở Cali. We were told of the change and decided to check it out. Wow have they cleaned up the place very nice, new tables, chairs, floors, bathroom fixtures, everything. Very nice. The menu is still great and has more options. The phở has the not oily broth which I love. The spring rolls are fresh and actually have shrimp/​meat in it unlike some that are just all veggie. Our friend got an omelet and said it was very good. The staff was great. Great vietnamese coffee as well. Crawfish next time!

5 Unilocal stars for the Phở ! Delicious Phở !
Other Food (so far) gets less stars
Service was Excellant! Orders were repeated by Server and came out 100% and Fast! we were there for the Sunday Church Crowd! They did a GREAT Job! Servers were Hustling! Completely Male Staff when we went!
Just 2 Doors down from Café Trang and 1 door down from the Vietnamese Market in a Vietnamese Shopping Center (Starmount) and in the spot that used to be home to Phở Cali we have a NEW «Phở & Crawfish 79», as we entered we were greeted by two Calamondin Trees and shortly after a Friendly Young Man seated us!
The Sweet smell of Boiling Bones: :
Phở had a VERY FINE Flavor! Mmmmmm! Perfektly Oily and Ohhhh OOOOoooo ! ! !
Pork was Very Fatty and did not have a good flavor
3 stras of LESS! Probably less… not counting some of the Mint and Sprouts could have been discarded before serving
Lemongrass Beef
3 Unilocal stars or close to 3
I know I’m taking a chance and if I had never experienced a 6 star version of this dish (in another city) I would not be taking that chance here! It was similar to what almost everyone does and I have heard it is hard to do this one with the perfektion the Chef who does it so well told me!
They Gave my eBay Bride Chopsticks and did not ask if she wanted a fork! They gave me a Fork and did not ask if I wanted Chopsticks! She is part Vietnamese so I guess that makes sense, wait a minute, I was the ONLY non-​Asian eating there at the time and most everyone was using Forks! So I do not take it as an insult.
They fixed up the Interior! Looks Nice!
I would come back for the Phở and I would like to get a Sandwich and maybe check out the Beignets

Service is s l o w…
I am so used to walking into an Asian establishment throwing up the number of fingers in my party and being immediately seated. Upon sauntering through the entrance I didn’t see a single employee. I proceeded to use the restroom and re-​emerged, still ungreeted. I ended up standing at the register and asked someone who came from the kitchen for a table.
The phở was OK. Serving was smallish as compared to the standard size used by every other noodle shop I’ve been to. Bowls are wider and more shallow. Broth was on the greasy side and bit too garlicky for my palate; paired with the seafood I ordered, it almost tasted Italian as linguini alle vongole. The shrimp were big and fresh, the squid was WAY over cooked to almost a sticky consistency. Noodles were over as well. Lots of leafy green stuff to toss into the warm broth with basil conspicuously absent? On the table there was Sriracha and Hoisin sauce — that’s it. I requested some chili sauce with seeds and the waitress brought out a teaspoon of red chili in oil.
It seems these folks did a «soft open» to get things going. I plan to pop in again around Christmas to check out their craw bugs.
Whilst there, I happened to spy some staff from Phở Far East on a reconnaissance mission. Reading their body language, they were obviously discussing the food — they’ve got nothin’ to worry about.