I have been looking for some delicious Pho in the greater Seattle area and I am so glad that I was able to find Miss Pho which definitely fit the bill. We went on a Saturday around 7PM and had a brief 5 minute wait before we were able to get seated at the bar.
Miss Pho is located in the shopping plaza with a QFC nearby, so there should be ample parking in the area. The restaurant did seem very busy when we went, as there was a constant stream of people coming in and out of the restaurant - there like 3 parties of people ahead of us. Seating as other reviewers have mentioned is limited, I would estimate about 20-25 at most can be seated at a time. Luckily for us, we moved faster in the wait list the parties were 3-4 people we were able to get bar seating with 2. The ambiance of the restaurant is nice! There are decorations that are Vietnamese inspired and I am a fan of the open kitchen, there is a nice liveliness seeing bowls of pho being transported and the big stockpot brewing the aromatic broth! Service is good, we ordered and were able to get our food about 10-15 minutes after ordering.
We got a couple of items, which I'll review down below:
Miss Pho Special ($26): This is a novel bowl of pho! A large beef rib with decent amount of meat on the bone. The meat was tender and there was a good amount of onion to diversify the texture in the bowl. You can taste some of the aromatics such as cinnamon in the broth, which is pleasing. As nice of a bowl of pho as this was, I think I also do agree with some of the other reviewers mentioning that it does feel a bit more style over substance - like the egg yolk was nice, but this was the first time seeing (at least for me) presented in a bowl of pho. Price-wise, $26 for a bowl of pho does lean expensive for sure - I think I wanted to try it out to gauge the flavor, but I don't think I will order it again next time.
Fresh Vermicelli Bowl with Pork ($18): The pork had a delicious smokey barbecue with a pleasant lemongrass flavor, and the pork was sliced in a way that allowed for maximum barbecue flavor. The herbs were refreshing and I am a big fan of the basil and mint, as it gave the bowl a pop of aromatic flavor between the flavorful pork.
Miss Mango Coco ($8): Wanted to try out the Miss Mango Coco as it is a seasonal item. It is a big heaping drink as you can see in the photo! It is nice and refreshing as you basically have a mango slushie ice tower with a cool coconut mixture at the bottom.
Crispy Taro Rolls ($8): The crispy taro rolls were decent - they were fried well and the filling was definitely packed with taro. I do think that the rolls on their own don't have a lot of flavor, as they are mostly taro packed, but taste better with the dipping sauce options that it comes with. I think as good as this appetizer was, I might go with a different option in the future.
The food served at Miss Pho was scrumptious and is a very solid place if you are looking to get your Vietnamese food fill. Though it does lean pricier in terms of price per bowl of pho that I have personally experienced ($19 - $26 seems to be average in greater Seattle), I do think you get a higher quality in comparison to comparable Vietnamese restaurants with the quality of the broth, meat, service, etc. One thing that I wished that Miss Pho offered was additional option to customize the pho, like the best Pho restaurants that I have been to have had all the combinations of meat possible listed in the menu (Like if I wanted just rare steak and tendon, and brisket, and I could get just that). The preset bowls are nice and all, but the extra customization would make this place better in my opinion. Other than that and the price, I would say that this visit to Miss Pho was very solid (4.5 stars) read more