Pho Bac

Delicious phở and very flavorful broth. You get just the right amount of meat and noodle. Décor: blah. Place can use a bit of clean up. Then again I’m usually in and out less than 30 minutes; so I try not to look around too much.

If I could give no or negative stars that would be
my rating. I used to come here with my family to eat phở, and it was not bad. But came here recently with my boyfriend. We both ordered a small bowl of phở and side of egg rolls… BOTH were horrible. Just looking at the broth of the phở looked bland. Tasting it was worse. Tasted like plain water with noodles and meat. Their presentation as well was not so great. Their workers are also clumsy and spilled stuff while cleaning up tables, which made it really noisy. All in all, the worst phở experience I’ve had yet.

Excellent Phở, every time. We usually get take out, but when we dine in the service is always fast and friendly.

Pretty much everything is 8.95. Phở is wonderful with a good portion of meat. The lo-​mein is really just ramen with veggies and meat, but it’s more veg+meat than noodles. This place is just a cash only type, hold in the wall (but with a lot of space), but its really good. Def the type of place you could go in sweats and they close around 9:30pm.

It looks sketchy on the outside, but it has the best phở in Seattle. The chicken phở is really good too as they use chicken thighs instead of over cooked breast like every other place.

Don’t let the exterior scare you. Inside you will find the collection of multi-​hued humanity that makes Rainier Ave S great, assembled in humble deference to the simple goodness of the last $ 7 indoor meal left in Seattle. I posted pics of the menu but in truth I’ve never read it. «1 small chicken, 2 small beef and tendon to go», pay your cash and head home to the warm cozy comfort of the best phở I know. Or eat there in the company of families or construction workers, watching Wheel of Fortune or the evening news on the large screen TV. There’s no way to go wrong.

This place used to be my favorite phở restaurant. The broth is full of flavor and the noodles are slightly over-​cooked/​less chewy. However, as we are driving away, (one may argue that this review was written hastily in anger), I cannot wait another moment to warn visitors that this place served me a small bowl of phở tai with a piece of METAL pierced through my flank round steak piece. I discovered this sharp piece of metal not with my eyes, but with the act of mastication. In case you could not guess, it was a painful bite. The extent of their apology was a verbal statement and a refund of just my soup but not my two egg rolls. Remorseful, indeed.
(See pictures posted on 09/​17/​2015)

so gooood, especially after a night out!

simple and good. its in a sketch area, but you will have to get over that.
there isn’t a lot of variety and everything is rounded up to the nearest dollar when you pay. don’t expect 5 star hotel service or a nice interior, because it’s not here. it’s all about the broth here, which isn’t any of that weak sauce action.
cash only.

Phở Bac is still the best in Seattle. Their broth is so authentic and really good.
Noodle is not too mushy. The meat is really fresh.
Service is very good but parking can be an issue also they only accept cash.

The best «Phở in Seattle!» Rated by this Vietnamese Unilocal Elite.
Read below for How to eat Phở like a Vietnamese!
However, they failed the Vietnamese Coffee test. This broth is legendary and hey even have the red bean sauce from back home, which 99% of restaurants don’t have it, and the bootlegged Korean who imitate phở – Phở Tai, won’t know what is in the sauce. It’s a treat, and my secret place that I will share with you. All of my Facebook’s friends have been begging for my recommendation. I’ve been holding this one out, but two years later it’s time to share. I’ve been eating here for 23 years.
How to eat Phở like a Vietnamese?
If you want to know what Phở tastes like for a Vietnamese in Viet Nam (this is the correct way to write it. Put a space between the words.) try this phở.
Ask for steam bean sprout, clean your utensil with lime juice, add all the herbs, add a little of the red and black bean sauce, asked for extra fat with green onion (Nuoc Beo, Hanh La). Pour the extra fat over. Have a little broth in your spoon, add noodle, meat, bs, herb, blow

Favorite Phở place. We get the donut thing to dip in the phở. Service is good, but not sure about cleanliness of facilities.

This is the best of the Phở Bacs in my opinion. The phở is on par with Phở Bac throughout the city. For this type of no frills phở I believe this to be the best in Seattle.
The main attraction however is the Spicy Chicken Chow Mein, with a side of spring rolls. These dishes combine for a delectable any time treat, and a necessity if you’re hungover. I will come here again and again for this fantastic combination.
Service is as you would expect from a hole in the wall type place. Interior is nothing to write home about but seems pretty clean, and the open kitchen allows you a peek into their kitchen cleanliness as well. Cash only, but there is an ATM and it is just around the block from a Wells Fargo.
Just try it. You’ll like it.

Another one of the favorite phở spots. Equally as good as all the other locations in Seattle, this one stands out because it serves other dishes besides phở. Very authentic, cheap with excellent quality.
PROS:
Service: Looking for a quick meal? Yup, this is the place. My phở always comes out within 5 minutes after ordering. They are very friendly and quick.
Food: I usually order their phở, egg rolls and iced coffee. Their menu features other items such as rice dishes, vermicelli bowls and appetizers. I usually order the small well done brisket and meatball phở. Everything about the phở is perfect. The broth (which is the most important) is always on point. The broth is creamy, rich, beefy, tangy, delicious and always comes out hot. One sip and I’m in PHO heaven. The noodles are plentiful and cooked to perfection. Not too chewy or soft. The brisket has always been very tender. The meatballs taste homemade, very soft, flavorful and doesn’t have too much of the tendon consistency that some meatballs do. They do not skimp out on the portion size, there is always more meat than I can eat (very good thing).
The egg rolls are always fresh, deeply fried. The filling is solid with the perfect blend of pork and veggies.
The coffee is also on point as well. Never overly strong, with a good amount of condense milk. Very creamy and rich.
CONS:
Older décor. Cash only!

Always searching for new found phở places. It’s quite the trekking ordeal to find us a damn good bowl of phở. Some are waaaaay too salty, or cloudy, or bla. You never know what you are gonna get. But the second I sipped on that spoon of lovey, yes lovey, broth, I was hooked. So lovey I wanted to cuddle with it in a soft blanket of coziness. Even tho a broth pillow would be messy and hot, I could sip to my hearts desire as often as I like.
Now I was in a Bun Bo Xao mood, and bigdaddy was of course getting the phở. But I was reaching over often during dinner to dip into his bowl for some if his tasty broth. ;) But my god the minute I tasted my Bun I was in a double sided heaven of vermicelli noodles!!! The Bun was incredible and I loved how the lemongrass beef topping it was crispy, not fatty or chewy. Just seriously awesome fresh and just yes, awesome.
As for the place itself… well…lets just say I wanted to dash to the door as fast as i could without being included in a drive by. Lol, not a big deal really I don’t want to sound judgy as everyone there was cool and friendly and such, but I’m just saying it literally felt like you were in a outside clay tiled, live plants covering the walls along with matte murals, open aired but indoors Vietnam street eatery serving to die for food. Hence why one star off… which is tough to do because I did feel comfortable here. The looks of the place is what makes the place, the ambiance is what makes it what it is. Fabulous. Just fabulous. It’s sounds contradictory. But you get it.
It was busy as all get out and we got in there 30 mins before they closed. But the steady stream of people, a lot getting to-​go as well, said they probably weren’t going to close on time. They are doing something right, a lot of things actually, we will be back. Lovely lovey broth indeed.

Holy cow! This was amazing. I had the rare beef and tendon. The broth was excellent. The employees gave me so many jalapeños to put into the broth. It had some fatty flavor to it, and it was delicious. They did a great job with the cilantro and the evenness of all the other flavors.
I will go back, remember it’s cash only! Pretty old school, but totally worth it.

Best Phở in Seattle! Hands down. The broth here is gold. Menu is simple (pick your size, and choices of meat) and food comes lightning fast. Always amazing! Ask for the «fatty oil» to dress the phở with!

In high school in the 90’s, my friends and I would go here EVERY day for lunch for phở.
But to me the real star of the show is under the Specialty items on the menu. Bun Bo Xao — lemongrass beef vermicelli bowl. Places that actually would serve this dish are usually pretty bland to me as they would use generic iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, sprouts, and just plain beef with portions that barely fill me up. This place takes it up a notch with their sautéed beef and onions, shallots, peanuts (I always ask for extra), bean sprouts, basil, and green leaf lettuce with a side of their fish sauce to pour on top. So amazingly delicious. Just look at the picture! Sometimes I would order two bowls just for me!
The place may be a whole in the wall kinda establishment, but I find its places like these where you find some amazing dishes that doesn’t seem dumbed down for American tastebuds. And yes, they don’t take cards but there is an ATM there.

Came here on a rainy Friday night when I was super sick, hoping the phở would be the cure. It’s a walk-​in and seat your self kind of business so don’t get mad when a waiter doesn’t greet you immediately. I ordered the large special phở and it came out in less than 5 minutes! The phở was so steaming hot and good. They gave a plentiful, fresh amount of basil and bean sprouts. Definitely would come here again to satisfy my phở cravings
PS. Even if you can’t finish the large size phở, still order it cause it’s only $ 1 more than the small and they give you sooooo much

So many five star ratings. Even though I like this place and plan on returning as often as the mood strikes, I have pretty high standards. Phở is no huge culinary feat. I don’t hand out 4 and 5 star ratings for street food or cultural staples alone. That being said, the Phở Bac locations do Phở extremely well
Décor is NOTHING to write about. Blech. I’ve seen better in abandoned mess halls in the middle of nowhere. But who gives a rip because the phở broth is BOMB.
The prices seem to increase steadily, but so do their clientele. Day-​workers, high school students, and other broke ass folks opt for here rather than the nearby taco trucks or teriyaki joints. Cash only.
Unlike the Phở Bac down the way on Boren/​Jackson, this location serves more than Phở, you know, stir fry, noodles dishes, etc. The service is quick, brusque but friendly, and accomodating. Yes, cash only.
I know what to expect when coming here and it completely meets my expectation, every time. Perfect for staving off that cold or clearing up that congestion!