Let's say you live in West LA and want really good Pho. You don't mind driving at all to get it. What is the closest best pho (and PLEASE not the best that's closest)?

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
1

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas.

2

I’m in Koreatown and have a similar conundrum; I’m surrounded by shit pho. When I really want it, I suck it up and drive down to Westminster and/or Garden Grove, and my two places are Pho 45 and Pho 79.

If that level of pho is available closer, then I’m all ears. Depending on where on the Westside you are, your commute to Little Saigon could be shorter than mine!

2 Likes
3

Obscure rec: chicken pho @ Feu Studio City. I have mixed feelings about their beef pho.

1 Like
4

Hi @CiaoBob,

Beef Pho or Chicken Pho?

1 Like
5

Either ok

6

Hi @CiaoBob,

For Chicken Pho, HP Pho Ga Bac Ninh, SGV. It was our favorite of all the Chicken Pho places that we went to. Pics and address here:

Enjoy!

7

best is still equivocal, so i will define it as being in a location that is home to a critical mass of vietnamese, which to me is a reasonable expectation for asian ethnic cuisine.

for you, the closest might be near chinatown, using the rationale that much of chinatown has been taken over by vietnamese businesses. but since there’s a significant enclave of vietnamese in the SGV (mainly chinese-vietnamese) i personally have had little incentive to explore those places so for suggestions, i got nuthin’. otherwise, for the best, probably in OC.

8

Viet Noodle Bar

9

Dear god. No.

10

Probably not the answer you want, but… Phorage?

(It’s not the pho we want, but the pho we deserve…)

1 Like
11

For Chinatown Pho… I’ve always been fond of Pho Hoa on Spring. Though I admit it may be partly due to the peptobismol color scheme and the kitchen run exclusively by old men.

12

Thanks @Chowseeker1999
Been there on your say-so before and it is really great.
Was hoping to try something new to me.

1 Like
13

I think Phorage is probably a bit better than Viet Noodle but both are decidedly the “best that’s close” rather than the “closest best.”

1 Like
14

… which is why I prefaced the response with " Probably not the answer you want".

2 Likes
15

Though I am fond of the sardine banh mi at viet noodle

1 Like
16

Hi @CiaoBob,

Nice! Glad you liked HP Pho Ga. :slight_smile: For something new, perhaps a bang-bang at:

Pho Quang Trung (also in the Chicken Pho post I linked). It was a very good bowl of Chicken Pho, with the bonus of Chicken Offal (free) if you want (Chicken Gizzard, Heart, etc.).

And then nearby, you can get a bowl of the amazing Beef Noodle Soup (Bun Bo Hue) at Ngu Binh (which IMHO is so much better than regular Beef Pho). :wink: Just a thought.

3 Likes
17

(deleted)

Argh, never mind. Misunderstood the question.

18

That is a great plan!!!

Vietnamese has so many great noodle soups! Bun Bo Hue at Ngu Binh is IMO worth a drive.

I feel like Beef Pho is very hard to get it right and is dependent on many factors (who made the broth? is it ready at the exact time you order?). There has been times when I have Beef Pho and it is the best thing in the world but then I come next week and it’s bland.

Bun Bo Hue, Hu Tieu, and Bun Rieu all deserve just as much attention as Pho. The more I learn about Vietnamese cuisine and Vietnamese people, I find that beef pho for a lot of Vietnamese folks is not their favorite noodle soup.

3 Likes
19

Pho for Vietnamese people is breakfast.

2 Likes
20

you might want to consider pho hue oi in redondo beach - same family as the one that runs hue oi in OC. though you want to order the bun bo hue instead since hue is a city in central vietnam (and the family is from hue) and bun bo hue is a central vietnamese specialty.

eater posted an article about the place last month.

1 Like