Pho Viet

The Tai Phở was delicious. If you like homemade phở, this would probably be the spot. A hole in the wall type restaurant. I also had the summer rolls with yummy peanut sauce. It took a little while for my order to come but the lady waiting the tables was fast and kind. 4 stars because of limited parking. There’s parking behind the building, but easy to drive past but difficult to enter with oncoming traffic. It’s a small restaurant where families of 4+ so it could get a little cramped. It was still comfortable, in my opinion.

This place is actually one of the better broths in aiea. Don’t listen to dumb people giving reviews like Jan romnick. For real, minus a star cuz you gotta park in the back of the store? Gtf outta here with that bs. you expect a store front like that to have front row parking? Dumbass. And btw, the «green» meat you’re referring to must be some kind of marbling or «oil» substance cuz I’ve seen it a quite a few places. Nothing bad about it. Cold tendons, ok, you have a valid complaint.
Anyways, I like this place and would eat here more if I didn’t move to ewa.

Junk! I went here this Monday and I ordered combination and spring roll and some extra stuff, so it cost $ 23 something. I used my card for the payment. And today I checked my transaction and she charged me $ 43.90! So I went back to ask why she charged me $ 43.90 and I showed to her my mobile transaction! And she just said it’s only $ 20! Wtf even it’s only $ 20 I work hard to make money …

I walked in and expected a friendly greeting, but received little to nothing. So if nice customer service is important to you, this place may not meet your standards. I asked if they had a phở with meatballs, tendon, and tripe, and the lady went to the back to give my order, not even waiting for me or asking me what size I wanted. On the upside, the service was extremely fast. Within 5 minutes of playing my order, I was out the door. I wasn’t quite pleased with how she didn’t seem to get that I wanted a quarter back in change, since my total came out to be $ 9.95, and I gave her $ 10.20. She just gave my coins back and treated me as though I had bad hearing or wasn’t good at math. Again, very displeased with the customer service I received today. They could have beefed up the meat portions (haha) but they gave a lot of basil and bean sprouts and noodles, which was a plus. The taste hit the spot, but it wasn’t too impressive, just average. All this, and the décor of the restaurant, makes me feel like this place deserves 2 ½ — 3 stars. Could be better in many aspects, but not absolutely shitty lol

Feels like a real ghetto hole in the wall. Agreeing with previous reviews before me I had to park behind the restaurant in the plaza there… so that costed a star.
Another star gone due to the run down atmosphere. Much of the seats and chairs looked old. card board holding up a table to stay leveled really Jimmy rigged radio.
Finally, another star for the green meat and frozen tendons. I ordered the #12 combination bowl and extra tendons. At first, the soup tasted delicious, I mean no doubt it was probably the highlight of the visit. The tendons on the other hand were not just raw, but it was still cold from being in their freezer/​fridge. I honestly felt so skeptical about that… then coming across the cooked brisket. it had a greenish metallic hue that reflected light. um. I’m no cooking expert but doesn’t that mean it’s old? I was so nervous. but my dumb butt still gave it a bite and shrugged, «here’s nothing!» … the beef ended up tasting like. goat meat. I am still nervous that I ate the bowl still. I probably shouldn’t have… but I figured «drown it with hot sauce and lime! Killlll ittt!» So hopefully my family doesn’t get sick tomorrow. If we do. we know why.
TL;DR
Green Meat.

The phở here is pretty good, it’s close to where I’m located so I choose to come here more than usual, the only problem I see with the place is parking is a bit difficult, and usually there is only 1 server/​worker so if you get here and there are already a few people here getting service or your food will be a bit longer then you want. Plus the place is really small, will only fit about 30 people MAX.
But all in all food is good in my opinion.

One of the go to places for me when I feel like eating phở. It’s not expensive like other phở places they are quick and there’s always seats. The only thing is that the parking is a little junk during the day but if you go at night there’s usually parking. The food portion is a good. I always get a medium size phở and it’s enough for me but I would get the large if I’m really hungry.

The lady who works there is so sweet, love the food, my phở’s was ready in 10 minutes tops!

Soooo this is going to be my new phở stop from now on!
Why the four stars, then? Well, the location kind of sucks, to be honest. Aiea Shopping ‘Plaza’ is a nightmare for parking and quite ghetto for my tastes (yes, i live aiea– which is exactly why i can say that it’s ghetto!!).
The restaurant is fun size and a little run down. At phở viet, the two women there were friendly and they are not stingy at ALL on the fresh ingredients. The spring rolls are pretty good, too! Freshly made to a crispy perfection!
I ordered the phở tai to go. The soup was good… for take-​out, I would have liked the noodles to be more al dente and the soup to be made with less salt but it was still flavorful and had the classic taste of phở that you’d expect and enjoy. They gave me tons of thai basil and hot peppers– just enough lime/​lemon and the meat was sliced to perfection.
Try it! Just keep in mind, it is by no means fancy. Not a first-​date kind of place. I went there out of desperation– I was sick and phở for me is a cure-​all… I tell you what, I was sick yesterday and today I am 85% better! Thanks to Phở Viet and their fresh phở tai!

TL;DR: Good portion, fair price, not much parking or seats, and taste great for Phở in hawaii.
–Parking for this place is not the best, but there is plenty in the plaza behind the restaurant.
–The restaurant is small, seats about 30 people.
–Staff is very kind and quick to serve you.
–Broth for Phở is amazing along with the portion of rice noodle and meat.
–Summer rolls with their delicious peanut sauce is always a good choice.
I usually go here for my Phở fix.

Didn’t enjoy this at all. Two stars simply because the staff was nice. There was a thick layer of oil/​grease on top of my phở. Everything we were served was covered in it. The bowl, the utensils… just everything. After my first bite it felt like I had put a whole tube of lip gloss on my mouth. I tried to take a few more bites but just had to stop eating. I ended up being sick the rest of the night.

This place has super good phở but I gave 2 stars because this is the worst service I have ever experienced. We walked in and sat down and waiting for 5 minutes we finally got a menu so that we could look at what we wanted to order. We were ready real quick to order but they just kept passing our table. It took them 10 minutes for them to get our order and we stood up from the table about to walk out and the guy comes and ask are you ready to order. They weren’t even busy it seemed as if they were just lazy. Our food took a little while to come out but when we finally got it we were happy. It was super good. But I would never come here again after haven’t being treated nice. The food may be good but there’s always better places. They need to work on there attitude and service to there customers. Worst experience ever and I’m never going back.

Large portions for good prices. Food was just right. Taste was almost authentic as I recall.

Very friendly service and phở is better than most places. Their phở is good on hot or cold days

Parking is a mess, Phở is marginally ok. There are much better places (clean) to get a phở fix nearby.

Phở is okay. They don’t give tendon like other places. Annoyed that the guy who came in 5 minutes after I did got his food before me. The lady doesn’t pay attention to you so if you don’t say anything, it’s like you’re not there. I like that the spring roll take out gives you more sauce than other places. I did see that they offer bubble drinks but the flavors arent on the menu. The only pictures of flavors they have that I saw were honeydew, lychee, milk tea and I think that’s it. so I asked her if they had coffee flavor. she says yes, so I tell her I want the coffee flavor instead. I wait a minute, then she tells me it’s ready. never heard any blending. I go to pick it up from the counter & ask if it’s a bubble drink & she says «no bubbles today!» well, then I guess no tip today! sorry!

Are you a phonatic? Do you live in Salt Lake, Aiea or Pearl City area? Do you feel disappointed that some of the best Phở restaurants are located in town? If you’ve answered yes to one or more of the following questions then you should give this place a try.
The Phở — Very Good
It’s all about the broth to me. My favorite kind of broth is the northern type which is clean and clear. This place serves just that type. The reason I like clean and clear Is because I always put in a bunch of shiracha, hoisin, and garlic oil anyway so the southern style of adding extra seasoning gives it a weird flavor for me. My only gripe about this place is the bean sprouts are a hit or miss on freshness (browning). We also get the spring rolls and they’re crispy and filling. It’s served with the standard lettuce, rice noodle and sauce.
The Service — Good
We ate at a really slow time and were the only customers so everything went well, plus my son spilled his water and they came over quickly and cleaned it up for us so we could continue eating.
Parking — They have a lot below and its a very steep narrow driveway located to the left that takes you there.
Price is standard among most phở restaurants.

Stop here after going to the post office. It is never full. The broth there is good, but can be a little sweeter than other phở places on island. This place loads their phở up with meat though. So much tripe! The more tripe, the more I’m happy.
Also, they have boba tea, bubble tea, pearl tea!

The sign on the window said «Best Soup in town». I was interested, no doubt. Seriously? Really? That’s a strong statement to have, knowing that a few other Phở restaurants seem to say the same thing. I have been here once before — before Unilocal had taken over me. I liked Phở and it loved me back. Love for food is great and I did like Vietnamese. I had been here a year ago, completely oblivious that I was in fact in Aiea. Weird how that goes. With a more keen sense of Unilocal,I wanted to try this place again and see if it was indeed da best as they say.
Phở Viet Vietnamese restaurant is located in Aiea, pretty much across the street from the Aiea Shopping Center. It’s part of the Aiea Town Square complex that is home to an eclectic array of shops and restaurants that’s surely to tantalize and excite your senses and taste buds. Whatever your thrills, this place is the place to be, Phở Viet included. This review is very late, as I have been here late May 2013, which was the last time I’ve eaten here. Prior to that experience was sometime in early last year. It’s been too long to remember a specific date, but it was last year. Parking here is a bitch & is tight as it is, so you may just need to come early and find parking before the mass of humanity comes through. If you are like me, Da Bus route #54 strolls through here very half hour, stopping by the Aiea Shopping Center. Just need to walk across the street and you’re there!
The restaurant is your typical small & plain type of Vietnamese restaurant, you would find readily available in downtown Honolulu — or anywhere on Oahu really. I do like simple. As long as the food is good and the service expected is impeccable, I will return for more and more. What I remember from my most recent experience was that I came here for an early dinner. The place was not really particularly busy, but had its share of customers already chowing down bowl after bowl of Phở. I already knew what I wanted, so I just needed to make sure this place had it too. I shouldn’t assume, but its always good to check! For the most part, Phở Viet is clean and organized. The service was expected and friendly. I really liked that aspect of Vietnamese restaurants, where they tend to be quiet when they approach you and quietly whisk away to place the order.
I got my usual combination Phở with side order of summer rolls with shrimp. This usually fills me up plenty, so it helps. What is interesting about this place is that they have «large» and «extra large» bowls of Phở. Normally, its medium and large at most places. In a couple of places I have been, an X-​large bowl option, but never large and XL. Strange. The process took about 10 minutes from start to finish, having the summer rolls come out about 5 minutes later and the Phở 5 minutes after that. The broth was dark brown, which probably was a good sign, as with Dark Chocolate being healthy for you — you figure darker color Phở is richer with flavor. Not so much the case in this context! The broth was good, but not great. Certainly not to the testament of that sign hanging on that window. But of course, it was good and delicious. Just not mind blowing. The search continues.
Service was good and fast. Probably took me at most 45 minutes from stepping in and stepping out. Phở Viet takes plastic, which is always a plus in my book. I always say that if you are buying something, might as well get (airline) points for it by charging your purchase. Thank you Phở Viet for a lovely dining experience. While it wasn’t the best in town, it was certainly the top 15 I have tried on Oahu. Yep. Top 15. That’s gold already!
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B

The sign reads outside the restaurant «The best soup in town». I partially agree with that statement, as the soup is good but not the best. In actuality, this restaurant is very similar to Phở Five-​O. The portions are huge, good value for your money, the broth is a heavy beefy flavor. The spices are a little more pronounced, with some cinnamon.
However, like Phở Five-​O, too much MSG is used, the soup relies on the heavy beefy flavor, and the veggies were a little wilted.