Pho Tran

Went to phở tran with a friend for the first time. I think phở here in the u district is so cheap cause there’s just a lot of competition going on! I had a vegan phở which was okay. It’s not bad for its super low price. But it’s nothing high quality. The broth is not too salty, and the noodles aren’t overcooked so I can’t really complain. They also offer free cream puffs as dessert. So if you’re running low on cash and happen to be starving, phở tran may be a good choice for you.

Cheap phở on a cold Seattle night. I ordered the chicken phở and it was pretty good, but for about a dollar more I could have gotten a bit more food by ordering a larger size. There wasn’t really service except for them giving us the food, but the only thing we might have needed was more water.

I appreciate that they have punch cards because I’m a big believer in being rewarded for eating out ;) Other than that, this is a pretty average phở place. The broth can be quite bland sometimes. The service is not consistent — sometimes very unfriendly, sometimes difficult to communicate. This place is a lot less crowded than the other nearby phở restaurants, guaranteed, so if you don’t want to be squished or feel rushed and want some phở or banh mi (though not very filling) for cheap, this place will give you just that. It’s satisfying enough but not to die for.

Making it a mission to try all the small eats around U-​district. Phở sounded perfect on a rainy Seattle day. Came here for the first time and ordered their Phở soup with beef brisket and tendon, Large! The bowl was definitely large, came to the conclusion that large is definitely not for me since I could not finish half of the noodles. The noodle it self was cooked well. The meat in the phở was overcooked and the tendon was undercooked? The tendon was chewy, not the kind that would melt in your mouth. The phở soup was not the tastiest of the ones I have had. It was a little too sweet for my taste. The service here is pretty quick, although the manager/​owner was kind of rude and rushy when taking our orders and processing our checks.

This is by far one of the best Phở spots I’ve been too. The phở exceeded my expectations. It tasted like homemade Phở that my mom would make. This place is not greedy with their meat distribution. They give tons of meat in your phở.

I have been going here for over 4 years and this is some of my favorite phở. Beats out tamarind tree for sure. The broth is some of the best and it is always consistent. Owners are super nice and always welcoming. For the price, it is the best phở in the university district.

Phở was very below average. Broth had no flavor and the meat was cooked so inconsistently! My fiancé’s meat was still completely bloody, while my meat was perfectly cooked, a little pink. We asked why his was so much rarer than mine and the waiter said that was the «style» of meat we ordered. Yet we ordered the same exact meal…
Customer service here is non-​existent, which is really why this place gets 1 star. We weren’t greeted upon walking in and when we seated ourselves, no one came to ask us what we’d like to drink or take our orders. We finally ordered from the cashier who was taking to go orders, after about 10 minutes of sitting at our table. About 5 minutes later, the waiter finally brought us water. Food arrived and I asked for a fork (yes, I know I need to learn how to use chopsticks but that’s beside the point) and instead of bringing me one, he points to another little side table. I walk over and there’s a container with 1 fork and a teaspoon? The soup spoons had dried food on the handles still. The waiter never checked back up on us after bringing our food. Will not be back.

Phở Tran… Tran Tran tran.
Not much to say about Phở Tran. Vietnamese friends have told me that they think Phở Tran is the best Phở on the ave, but there is definitely open debate.
My own non-​Vietnamese tongue tells me that most of the Phở places on the ave are pretty similar… but! You be the judge :)
Happy eating my friends.

The owner of this place pays her staff (mainly consisting of UW students 8 $ an hour and TAKES ALL THE TIP).
Severs here are being treated a labor mules and do not get ANY portion of the tip you think is going to them.
I urge you to not support ill business practices and take your money elsewhere.
Eating here should hurt your continence, and your stomach too because they cut corners and also add too much MSG.

I ate here like three years ago, and ever since, a nagging part of my conscience had been telling me that I was too hard on this place with the rating. I recently returned to see how this restaurant on the Ave had changed. Unfortunately, my opinion of it is basically the same. Just go somewhere else nearby to get your phở.
The service is still really fast, meaning your order can arrive in five minutes or sooner. Portions are still especially generous if you order an extra large bowl, and prices are low enough that you can expect to be well fed without spending more than ten dollars.
I just don’t like how they were so stingy with the garnishes, and something didn’t look right with how brown those bean sprouts were. They looked like they had been sitting out for a while. The entire bowl’s content of noodles was a single, unbroken clump. It might as well have been a soft, white hockey puck. They probably just dropped it as a solid mass into the broth like that and expected it to break apart on its own; that just goes to show you how much care they put into making each bowl.

This place had larger portions than the other places I have gone to on the Ave. Also the no MSG is a big plus. Staff is very friendly and prices are the same as the other places on the Ave.

I’ve found this to be one of my more favorite places to go for phở on the ave. They have quick service, are always consistent with the quality of their phở, have fresh rolls (and not all phở places on the ave do!), and also give you free cream puffs :) All in all, they pretty much have it all. Oh, and bonus points: it’s close to campus!

Cleaner than many of the other phở shops on the Ave. Good phở. Generally very fast service. I can usually be in and out within 15 – 20 minutes.

Not the worst, but still below average. This place is not the cleanest, but at least it is really cheap and you get the most bang for your buck. 2.5÷5

First time Ive ever eaten Phở, so I have nothing to compare this place to.
BUT for what it was, it was cheap decent food, a nice little place, and the service was fast.

Possibly the worst Phở restaurant on the AVE. I came here, nobody greeted me, so I sat myself down at a table. Then I noticed there was another table waiting patiently to be served. I waited about 8 minutes and the guy finally came to me. BUT he came to me first instead of the other table that was there before me
Then I had to wait another 10 min for my bowl of Phở and it wasn’t that good
Plus, I found a shellfish in my Phở, if I was allergic to shellfish, this would have been a no no!
I do not recommend this place at all!

The adventure of trying all the phở places on the ave continues. Our next stop was Phở Tran. With the taste and service of Phở Than Brothers and Than Vi in our memories, we decided to see what Phở Tran had to offer.
They actually had a lot to offer. I was skeptical about Phở Tran because of all the people saying, «Phở Than Brothers is the best!» or «Than Vi has the best phở on the ave!» I always passed by Phở Tran, but I never felt compelled to enter. However, I was wrong to have just passed this place by.
Upon entering you can see that Phở Tran is a lot more spacious and a lot more clean than the two other phở places I mentioned. One of the great things is that it doesn’t have that strong odor of phở that sticks onto people’s clothing.
I like how there is plenty of space between tables so you feel a sense of privacy and how it is very clean compared to Phở Than Brothers. We were seated immediately (the place wasn’t very busy in the first place and there was a lot of space).
The menus are underneath the glass on the table so all you have to do is look down at the table to find out what you want to order. Phở Tran is cheaper than Than Vi so that was quite pleasing to see. The sizes are regular, large and extra large. The regular is about $ 5.55 while the large comes in at about $ 6.25 or so.
My boyfriend and I ordered number 18 because we always seek the phở that has pretty much everything in it. Our food came very quickly and we were able to dig in without waiting at all. The sizes are very good for the price. I was at first a little skeptical since I couldn’t see the noodles like most other phở places, but there ended up being plenty of noodles under the broth.
Speaking of the broth, it was wonderful. There is no MSG which makes it so much better. Although the broth wasn’t as flavor packed as other places I’ve tried, it definitely has a subtle, light flavor that is actually quite pleasant. It doesn’t overpower the meat or the noodles, the flavor is there to accompany it. The noodles were well cooked, and there was a decent amount of meat and meatballs. The tendon pieces are huge! I’ve never seen such big pieces of tendon in my phở before.
They have siracha and hoisen sauce here, but the other two sauces that are present at Than Vi are not on the table. If you want these sauces, you’ll have to go to the front where they have about 2 – 4 bottles of them along with the side trays. The place uses the typical plastic chopsticks and spoons so make sure to wipe them down with the napkins before use.
The meat for some reason wasn’t as «meaty» as I think other meats are. But, I still believe it tasted lovely with the rest of the phở. The meatballs were perfection though. Not too hard, and not too soft.
Like Phở Than Brothers, Phở Tran gives the complimentary cream puff as a dessert. These cream puffs were soggy on the bottom, but they weren’t horrific or anything. I still ate them since they were given and they still had a nice smooth cream inside. You can pay at the front whenever you’re ready and they don’t rush you or anything. They do keep an eye out on you if you need any water, but other than that, they pretty much leave you alone to do your own thing.
So far, this is my boyfriend and I’s favorite phở place on the ave. Than Vi comes close though for their super kind and friendly service. Than Vi is just a bit more cramped in my opinion.
The phở adventures do continue though as we travel along the ave!

The phở broth is bland and the noodles are overcooked and the reason they can afford to implement a punch card incentive is because the tips you give go to the owners and not the waiters.
I can’t support a restaurant where they take the money meant for the waitresses that do the labor to serve customers.
On top of that the phở is blah and the cream puffs are horrible. Go to phở Ty Ty instead.

I had a Sunday late night craving for Phở and thankfully stumbled upon this place while driving down The Ave. I’m pretty picky with my Phở and this place gets two thumbs up! The broth was flavorful and not over the top salty. The packaging to-​go was great too, generous amounts of sprouts, mint, limes & Jalapanos and you get a cream puff as well. I will definitely go back to this place, the to-​go was quick but even the ambiance inside was nice, not super hot and stuffy like some Phở joints can get.

This restaurant is pretty clean and neat inside compared with most of the Phở restaurants I have been to, but for some reason it does not have much business at all compared to the Phở Than Bros. right next door. The prices seem about the same with each other, but I can see that Phở Than was just packed with people while this place was mostly empty.
The food was pretty was pretty good and filling with what we ordered. My gf had a regular phở and I had ordered my usual grilled pork over rice. It was tasty with the extra sauce you pour on top of the pork and with a nice fresh side salad even. The meal also includes a free cream puff for each entrée you order!
I have to say that I did like coming here maybe because it wasn’t busy and crowded, but also that it was a good place for a quick and cheap lunch.