Had lunch here today, since I haven't ate here in almost a year and was reminded how terrible the service is here. I will say the positive first. They have good pho, the chicken wings are good also, and several other items are descent. Don't get their hot and sour soup. I think they have a blind dog making that soup because it tastes like poo. Now for the service. They never refill your water nor care to come to your table to check up on you. This is always true. This last time they gave us an appetizer of chicken wings with no plates. They didn't care to help us when they looked at us eating off of napkins. My water was never refilled. They brought out my hot and sour soup at same time as my pho. So I wished I never ordered it because I wanted that first while I waited for my food. They never acknowledge any of their shitty service as shitty service. The place also looks dirty as always. Anyways, if you enjoy being treated like garbage, I suggest you come here. Otherwise there are plenty of other places that serve great pho and care about their customers. read more

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Doesn't look like much. A hole in the wall, but the food was great! I had the pho and one of the sandwiches.

Pho craze continues. They have good pho here, nice broth and veggies are fresh. Really good egg rolls, have Chinese of Vietnamese style. Bubble tea was delicious and lemon/lime ade was nice and sweet. Good place overall, good service, good selection, and quality food. Good job Pho triple ocho. read more

Lots of tricked out Japanese cars in the lot so I knew I picked a good place. +1 for waiter speaking *good* English. +2 for awesome pho and +1 for super tender meatballs. But -1 for tripe being in the soup when not mentioned on the menu. Cafeteria style with screaming kids,but people dont go to pho restaurants for the atmosphere. Overall very good and would definitely come back! read more

Pho 888 - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Some of the best pho and Bahn-mi I've ever had. Went with the special combo for each. Service was quick. read more

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The pho here is amazing!! So full of flavor. So are the spring rolls!!! The bubble tea was good. Not the best in town but rely good. Cleaning could be better. The chopsticks at the table and the sauce holder was sticky. This is not in a great area. The parking is a bit scary. There was a homeless panhandler coming to each table asking for money. It took forever for service and to get our bill. The waitress was friendly when we did get to see her. Overall good food but not the best atmosphere and area of town. read more

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BEST PHO IN THE WHOLE CITY. The chicken or seafood Pho is so warming to the soul, flavorful broth and quiet ambiance makes this place a nice place to eat. It is on east 14th and kind in a not so hot location but the Pho makes up for it. I recommend not getting the large bowl because you won't be able to eat it all - even if your a big guy! I've also had the spring rolls which come with a tasty peanut sauce... Mmm so good! The crab Rangoon are very good also. I had the chicken pad Thai last time I was there, and was some of the best pad Thai I've ever had. Love it an love this place. Thank you to my gorgeous fiance for introducing me to this place! read more

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Besides pizza and Chinese food, pho is great for take out. So when I woke up to rain, clouds, cold temps and a slight hang over, the prescription for all of the above is pho. Growing up, pho was our weekly Sunday family breakfast, lunch and dinner. My mom would have a hot tub size pot on the stove, simmering beef bones that were labeled as dog bones (don't worry, they're not real dog bones) from the meat department at HyVee. She would then invite all the extended family members over, and we would eat pho all day long, watching football or Thai soap operas with subtitles. Pho 888 is my favorite place for take out pho. The portion is enough for at least two different meals. Today, my styrofoam box was bursting with fresh basil, limes, bean sprouts, scallions, shrimp, calamari, fish meat balls and the fake crab meat. I judge a pho restaurant by the bean sprouts; if they're brown, instead of bright white, I won't go back. Shame on you pho restaurants that think you can get away with serving brown bean sprouts. The broth is aromatic and full of flavor, the steam giving me a facial and clearing out my pores. The spring rolls are made to order with mint, shrimp, BBQ pork, vermicelli noodles lettuce, served with a generous portion of the peanut sauce. When ordering take out pho, don't forget to ask for the sate sauce, a roasted chili/garlic oil that will take your pho to the next heat level. Pho 888 is one of the very few places makes it in house. For less than $12 for both my seafood pho and spring rolls plus the generous portion, I already have another meal or snack ready when I wake up from afternoon nap. read more

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Despite my previous review I still frequent pho 888, I just make sure to avoid anything I'm allergic to. The waitresses there have remembered me enough by now that when I order something they ask me if I want the shrimp on the side. The food is so good we always come back. The 26, vermicelli salad is by far my favorite. The pho is excellent and you always have to start off with the spring rolls. The service can be very basic, so it's best not to expect the world of them, they are getting better though! read more

the best pho and the staff is always friendly... not very fast but definitely worth the wait!

Pretty good place for some pho. Service was fast. The spring rolls might have been the best I've ever had! Pho was good overall. The broth wasn't the best, and it wasn't the greatest pho I've ever had but still pretty awesome. I liked the vibe here. Good place. read more

I absolutely love the pho and bubble tea here. Most all their food items are delicious. I have also had their sticky rice, wings and spring rolls. I would have given them 5 stars but they really need to work on their customer service. There has been multiple times where I got rudely stared down a few times before anyone helped me. Also when we would drop by to get something quick to go they always seemed to have an attitude. They definitely need to work on how to treat people. read more

We stopped in on a Sunday afternoon for some Pho. The place wasn't packed as usual. I tried my wife's seafood wonton noodle soup. Oh man. I wasn't impressed. It was salty. The seafood wasn't fresh at all. The squid was chewy and rubbery. My mother in law found a toothpick in her beansprout. Yes. You read it right. A toothpick. How did a toothpick end up with the veggies? (beansprout and basil come with all the Pho soup). I've been asking myself that question. The bathroom was dirty. It looked more like a custodian's closet than a bathroom. I've been to Pho 888 before and it's never been this bad. I will not come back to this place. read more

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Pho is a staple here, with great hot plate options. Huge menu with a variety of Viet, Thai, Laos and Chinese foods. The food looks and tastes fresh every time. The location is kind of sketchy with parking and the like, but they're moving soon. The decor is traditional Chinese and the dining room is large and open. Staff is fast and will explain any menu item to you, even pronunciations. The Vermicelli salads are all worth a taste and the pho is wonderful. The spring rolls are so fresh, I've never had herbs as fresh as 888 does. The food is beautiful is presentation, not oily or greasy and both smells and tastes fresh. Definitely try Pho 888 for all of your Asian food cravings, they've really got something for everyone to love. read more

Pho 888 - Combination Pho. - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

The food is very good. If your not Asian expect a extra hour of wait time. I know it takes time to make food and people order different thing that take different time to make. I have never got my food before at least to Asian groups that come in and even order after me. I almost always get a basic soup. The fastest I've ever got it was 25 minutes and I had to ask where my food was. Just poor customer service. read more

We eat at a lot of pho places and for this being in ankeny I give it 4! We live in Ames and there is no good pho here so it's worth the drive to ankeny.. not the best dumplings or spring rolls but good enough to eat lol serving sizes are huge! read more

Pho 888 - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Still after many many many years, this is still the go to place for Pho in Des Monies as long as you don't mind the lack of decor, the dirty atmosphere, lack of customer service, and smelly tap water. We always bring colleagues from China here. It's funny seeing their reactions. Usually when we walk in, they have that look of "Are you sure this place has good food?" After they get a taste of that Pho broth, they'd be like "Oh Dang!! That's legit!!" Other notes: the angry catfish is not bad either. Banh Mi (grilled pork) is good. Bubble tea is hit and miss depending on who made it. Spring Rolls are good when it's made fresh; sometimes you can tell when it's not fresh if the wrapper is chewy. read more

This is the best pho in Des Moines. The broth is rich and textured and oh, so delicious. They get serious bonus points for putting serious chili oil on each table. You can tell they are serious because of the restaurant layout, bright lighting, and laminated menus. You can tell a pho place is going to suck if they try to put in dim lighting and pretend that they aren't a pho place. Pho 888 has bright lighting, laminated menus, and a very open table arrangement that just screams, "serious pho restaurant!" read more

Great food and great bubble tea! However, the bubbles are the only significant thing that I think should be improved upon. I think the last two times I've been there, the tapioca bubbles have been frozen in my drink! Other than that, everything was great! read more

Have to seriously update my review of this place. I wanted to give Pho 888 the benefit of the doubt the first time with their almost shotty service, but it's past the point of no return. I really, really dislike the service here. Yes, it's authentic and family-owned, but it's not friendly, it's not fast, and it's not thoughtful service. It's barely even service. Also, don't even try to get any Thai dishes here. Absolutely awful. Stick with Vietnamese dishes if you insist on going. read more

I have seen this place change from a smaller pho restaurant to a more well established Vietnamese restaurant in the past couple of years. Their food is great here and never had any issues with my visits here. They make their bubble tea here very well. Staff is friendly and are on top of their game. Decor is a bit bland, they just threw a bunch of Asian artwork and items around, but I come here to eat, not enjoy the ambiance. I will come back here when i am in town and close by craving some pho. read more

My boyfriend and I always have an itch for Pho whenever we leave the Iowa City area since it's so difficult to find. This weekend we were heading to DM and instantly bee-lined towards Pho 888 since our friends have been raving about this place. One important thing to mention was the service: it was AWFUL. Once we walked through the door, it took a little while to be greeted despite how empty it was. However once we were approached by a server, it seemed we were a burden and she was not friendly or hospitable at all. Not to mention we felt rushed as soon as we took a seat. Anyways, the Pho was great but I didn't think it was anything worth the buzz everyone has been talking about in comparison to other restaurants I've been to. However the Mister absolutely loved it. Overall, the service is definitely not worth going back to regardless of how good the food was. A-Dong may not have that great of Pho, but at least I feel welcome there. read more

This is one of those places that you walk into and it transfers you into a different world. When you walk in, you hear everyone talking and very few speaking English. The decor throws you off by putting out a strange vibe. Then you sit down and something magical happens. Food--after you order it of course--comes to you and takes you on one amazing adventure. Once that first bite hits your tongue...who cares what the place looks like because the food is really good. I have tried many things on the menu that I can't pronounce so I won't every try to mention it. All of them keep me coming back for more. I haven't been disappointed yet and if you're adventurous you won't be either. read more

There is a lot of talk about pho in Des Moines these days. I was checking out reviews and then heard from a friend about "Triple 8" being the best. If you like pho you will not be disappointee. The broth was amazing and the flavor was spot on. We also tried the fresh spring roll which was great as well. If you like PHO --- Go Here! read more

888 is a post-church staple for me and my family. We're here ~2 times a month to get our pho fix on. I typically go with a small chicken pho with crispy pork (Ba chi) and it's quite tasty. My wife always gets the grilled pork bahn mi sandwich which is bang bang full of flavor. This is the only place I can get my kids to eat spicy foods. Being pure haoles, my kids do me proud when they order and doctor up their pho like pros. Good food here. The bubble teas are really good too, especially the honeydew. read more

Pho 888 - Chicke & meatballs, no noodles. FUHNOMENAL. - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Great pho! But there probably is no bad pho. In all the different Vietnamese restaurants I have been, its all pretty much the same. Ditto for the fresh spring rolls. The outside of this place is s bit scary. The inside is old but its fine. Service was good at 3pm. read more

I went there during lunch time and it was packed. There were tables that were not cleaned off. I believe it was because it was so busy. I ordered the combo ladna and it was good! A big lunch portion. I had to take half of it home due to the potion and timing. The service was okay not the quickest. read more

Pho 888 - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Visiting my wife's family, i had to get my Pho fix. So I checked this place out because of the reviews. I ordered my usual Pho & Ice Coffee. The Pho hit the spot and the Ice Coffee was more sweet then CRACK HEAD STRONG!! Anyways I can say we got our monies worth, BUT......the service could've been better. -PhoenixAZ- read more

Pho was very good.All the help seemed super nice and friendly. I had the large combo bowl, don't remember the name or what number on the menu. Place could use a good cleaning and there was live bugs crawling near wall. I won't let it bother me as I was in town nearby for business and needed a pho fix. Next trip I will find a new place. read more

Pho 888 - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

The food was very good, the price was right but don't expect a fine dinning environment. I would visit this establishment again. read more

My husband and I come here quite often and always enjoy the food. We've never been disappointed. The building itself (inside and out) isn't impressive, but the food is always good and their prices are super reasonable. Low Key. Simple. Delicious. Fast. read more

Pho 888 - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

We were visiting from Colorado and my brother took us here with the whole family. I ordered chicken pho with fried pork belly and it was quite good. My niece's strawberry boba shake was the bomb. And my husband, who decided to order Thai even though there was a specific Yelp review warning against it, ordered the pad see ew, Thai hot. THE PAD SEE EW WAS AWESOME. Except for, not hot at all. My husband is one of those crazy people who want to see how many taste buds he can burn off so he eats ghost peppers, etc., and can tolerate a lot of heat. He was disappointed in that, but loved his meal, as we all did, since we all tried it. Great place, all in. Do try. read more

Pho is decent but not near 515 or All Seasons ....kind of a dirty place...DO NOT drink the tap water !! It tastes like they took a bucket down to the river and brought it back to serve ! read more

The service is OK. The girl who made bubble tea is not very nice. The bubble tea is good though. Even all their bubble tea has to be made with ice smooth. Noodles really depend on what you have. Believe yourself instead of the waitress. Most of them are Vietnamese food, and some Thai. read more

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Food is ok. The reception could be rude for some reasons. Tried three times. Two times had bad experience. Service ruined my mood. Decide not to patronize any more. read more

Delish! Ordered the chicken pho. Very fresh and tasty. Love that there is spice at the table for you to add at your own liking. Friendly service. Food was great. Lots of private parking available. read more

Pho 888 - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

If you like glitz and glamour then this place is not for you. But, if all you care about is the food--then you MUST try this place. I just moved to the Des Moines area and have been looking for a good pho joint that will hold me over until I can get my mother's delicious pho. I've had several other dishes here and they all check out. But, pho is the best dish here. Give the bubble tea a try as well! :) read more

Great Pho and Laab. My favorite Laos / Vietnamese place to eat in Des Moines. Yummy food !

I eaten here so many times I couldn't even count. I've tried everything on the menu. Never had a bad meal. I've even gotten to know the owners and they've suggested things not on the menu that have turned out to be some of my favorites. I've tried Phó every where in town and this still is my favorite. The broth is made with love and you can taste it in every luxurious slurp you take. Their Bun Mi are a perfect balance of spicy and meaty and inexpensive. read more

Pho 888 - Buddha - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

First time trying this place & I was very pleased. Service is okay here but the food was delish. I got the #26 vermicelli & spring rolls. Along with the Vietnamese coffee. Def will come back here again. read more

Pho 888 - Spring rolls & #26 - Vietnamese Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa