Phở Vi Hoa - Los Altos, California

Wook Chung

Pho Vi Hoa (PVH) has been around for a while. When I was at Stanford, it served as a comfort food for students when you were done with your midterms or a weekend outing. It was cheap but also filled with warmth. It was affordable but didn't feel like a compromise. I've been coming to PVH from 2005.

20 years later, I think the owners have moved onto their next generation. The location is the same. But the food certainly isn't. The soup isn't as with weight it carried. The meat doesn't seem less but also just too dry. Smaller portions. Higher price commensurate to inflation I guess.

No longer is PVH the premiere noodle house in Palo Alto and the food has degraded in quality. Now don't get me wrong, they're still good. But just that the original soul definitely isn't there. If it was exceptional, now they're just good.

Seeing students fill their bellies in a group at PVH still gives me smiles and memories. Just wishing that it was as dense as mine.

Kat

This is our go-to Pho spot in all of Mountain View/Palo Alto/Los Altos. We think it’s the most authentic and tastes just like what my husband’s Vietnamese mother makes at home. Broth is light yet flavorful. Portions are generous. The side of toppings is appreciated! Service is very no fuss and quick.

Yuna Jeong

my favorite restaurant 💜 the pho is so yummy and the atmosphere is so comforting and mellow. had pho for the first time here like 8 years ago. its the best

S R

This is the second worst pho restaurant in Bay Area (the worst is Pho Ha Noi) by far among over 15+ Vietnamese pho restaurants I've been to in the Bay Area. Last week we ordered pho on Uber Eats for delivery. After an hour and half no food ever arrived from only 5 miles away in the mid of afternoon, literally the slowest hour and not with heavy traffic yet. I called, and the server told me that it's not her problem why the food didn't arrive. She refused to cancel the order or refund.

Today, we tried them again in person. The server was worse than fast food restaurant workers in term of attitude and service. When I asked about different cuts of beef among their pho selections, she rudely told me to just tell her an item number unpleasantly, worse than how a robot would've performed.. She then walked away but stared at us unpleasantly, brought the dish but never came to check with us. After we finished our food and waited for 5 minutes, no server came to give us our bill. I walked up to the register for paying, but the staff were talking with each other and didn't care for another 5 minutes till the server came by to charge my card. The touchscreen didn't work well so my intended customized tip didn't go through but instead I was charged by their automatic tips. The same server didn't want to help and just said she couldn't fix it, until either the manager or owner came by and refunded me the difference between what I intended to pay and the automatic tips they charged me.

The food was overall ok, not spectacular comparing to other pho restaurants throughout Bay Area, though with this kind of service attitude, worse than a robot or having no service at all, they should just make themselves a fast food restaurant instead of charging customers automatic tips.

Sze Wee Tan

This is one of my favourite pho restaurant in Palo Alto area. Good quality beef and stock.

Tony Fu

If you are craving for a quick hot bowl of Pho and you are in the area, this is a pretty solid option.

I ordered a small combo pho, and a fried egg roll. I was going have one of their classic Vietnamese dessert drinks but they no longer serve them. Instead, they have the boba drinks which I didn’t feel like having at the time.

Both items came quickly, and both are exactly how you’d expected, the quality is pretty consistent.

I walked from the Residence Inn next door, and I was able to get back to my room within half an hour!

Judy Margaret Chen

Food was very average. I have eaten at many Vietnamese restaurants, and this place didn’t stand out at all. I searched Google Maps for new place to eat, and this place was top rated, but the food was not up to expectations.

We ordered 2 Pho and 1 fresh rolls. One pho bowls is sure on the pricey side, costing $18+, so it made me have high expectations. However, the food coming out was pretty average. Quite small portion for that price and the taste was average.

The restaurant was bug, but their seatings were cramped. When I came to the table they pointed, a party of 10 were sitting in the next one.

It’s totally fine, but the problem was I could only pull the seat halfway because it already bumped into the one behind. The other customer was a guy and he was not slim. He didn’t mean to take all the place, but it went a little more than half. I had to squeeze in the seat, but whenever I sit up straight, my head would bump into the guy behind. Both of us were uncomfortable.

Shruti Rao

A nice place serving some good pho. We got the beef pho, vegetarian fresh spring roll, vegetarian rice plate and rice with shrimp on the side. We also got Vietnamese coffee. The food was good, but a little sweet. I would definitely recommend you go here at least once! The beef pho was very authentic and the fresh spring rolls were super!