Pho Tam

It pains me to have to rate them so low, as their food was lovely and so was one of the ladies, she was very sweet!
So came here based on the awesome reviews. Initially was going to have phở but when I saw hu tieu on the menu I must have it! Speaking of the menu — that thing had tonnes of pages. So much to offer and all Vietnamese, I was so very keen to come back and try them all. They had things like steam boat, bun rieu, diy lettuce wrap with vermicelli squares, BBH, all the stuff I’m familiar with and love.
So we came in, greeted by lovely staff who handed us menus immediately. We looked through the menu, we changed our minds as to what to eat, eventually we stuck to something we were going to eat. Then 10 minutes passed. We watched as a man, a woman, and another couple come in, get seated, then get their orders taken. I was staring and waving my hand at them all the while, did indeed exchange eye contact to the man at the register, but nothing happened. The staff disappeared out back kitchen for ages. By this time, we were hangry. Finally, what seemed like yonks later, the man acknowledged us again, but then got a lady to come over to take our order. Now she was as lovely as can be. So I warmed up a little. My fellow Unilocaler Leisha got the combo vermicelli salad and asked for no chilli in the accompanying dressing. The lady quickly said yep. Leisha didn’t seem convinced she listened. I said give them a chance! Spoiler alert — her dressing had chilli lol. The nice lady blamed it on the poor trainee lady. No idea who was at fault and don’t really need to hear that!
I ordered a dry vegetable hu tieu and an avacado shake. We also got 8x fried spring rolls. I/​we was excited. Then another 15 – 20 mins went past? All the diners who came in after us were already chowing into their food and we weren’t. Hangry x5 ensued. Eventually they came and my god, the portions are HUGE. Seriously H U G E. It was incredible, kudos to you if you actually finished it! So huge that it made no sense huge. My hu tieu was wtf huge. The broth I expected to be served in a smaller bowl, but this thing was like 2 separate dishes! And it was $ 11 so it’s a bargain for the quantity! The vermicelli salad was packed to the brim, never seen anything like it! Anyway, we got those before we got our spring roll entrée. Forgivable I guess? They forgot about my avacado shake though, the nice lady blamed the trainee girl for the chill dressing mix up, and then for the missed avacado, and then blamed her again to another couple for giving them the wrong order…
Anyway, low score because of all the finger pointing and the absurd length of time waiting and forgetting the shake. And I don’t think I’m judging them harshly as I know what to expect from restaurants out in the scray. A real shame as their food was delicious. I will reluctantly come back… Reluctantly.

I’m going to keep this short & sweet — I dined with fellow Unilocaler Amita — check her review out for the detail!
Vermicelli combo was so so delish
Service was just so so
Actually, so so is a little too nice (friendly, but slow)
It made the 3 stars for the chicken, spring rolls, pork & prawn sugar cane that came with the vermicelli, the size of the dish, and that I didn’t order a drink so didn’t have to wait as long!
Fun Fact — free wifi & magazines make for an entertaining visit on your own, and the chopsticks are plastic which is a nice change for cheap Asian these days!

Step aside Richmond and make way for the phở of Foostcray! The entire area is practically dedicated to the stuff.
After spending a bunch of time in North and South Vietnam, this place certainly knows how to make phở. It’s delicious, and for only $ 10 I may never have to head over to Victoria Street again. Perfect broth, and an abundance of fresh meat and herbs sourced locally from around the Footscray area. The rest of their menu is appealing too.
It’s neat and tidy inside, and the service is incredibly friendly.
So ‘Phở’get phở in Richmond and get your butts down to Footscray ASAP!
Tip: You can order your phở to go, and they’ll pack the broth and meat separately from the noodles and obviously throw in a huge bunch of mint, chilli, lemon and bean shoots.

Best Phở in town. Go there now!

The friendly service and delicious stock make this one of Melbourne’s top Phở houses.
Phở is one of those ‘Melbourne’ things, sometimes difficult to find in other capital cities, and often when it is found it is disappointingly average– not so at Phở Tam in Footscray. When our friends came to visit from the states we wanted to show off one of our best, we were not disappointed (and neither were they).
Greeted with a smile (often rare in Phở circles) and seated in a not-​too-​cramped table (also rare in Phở circles) we were offered a small, medium or extra-​large bowl. I’m glad I picked the XL, I finished every last drop of the delicious broth.
Our friends from the States proclaimed that it was the best Phở they had ever tasted.

So this place looks a bit newer than your average phở house, but the style is still quintessentially «Vietnamese soup house». There are no airs and graces, just good old fashioned phở.
On arrival, an extremely welcoming lady seated the 5 of us at a spacious table, delivered our tea flasks and menus and then gave us the right amount of time to order. I asked her if she had different sizes, so she went out the back, and produced a medium and a super large, indicating that the super-​large was probably the go for me. It was.
When it came out, the smell of the 5 spice and star anise was like inhaling heaven! And at the first mouth full, I decided this was the best phở I had ever had. The meat was tender, the noodle quality was excellent and silky and the stock… that sock. OMG.
It didn’t need to get better, but it did when I reached over for the oil-​soaked chilli flakes in the jar. I don’t know what was in it, but it was sublime in my phở.
My three colour drink was lovely — lighter than what I’m used to — with more young coconut than coconut milk, but it was a refreshing change. At the end of our meal, I asked how we could pay, and she offered for us to pay separately or together.
Overall, the best phở place I’ve been to (and we have it at least 3 – 5 times a month at different places) with the friendliest service!