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Food was good. The portion was large and very filling. The ingredients all were fresh. The staff were friendly and eager to help. The restaurant was casual. We stopped by for lunch and it was a pleasant experience.
Delicious food for a good price! The environment is cozy and food was super fast. We were in and out in 30-45 min even on a busy night.
Great pho! Flavor 10/10 portions plentiful! Casual quick service, didn't need to wait too long. There's parking in the back and in the front of the building.
Something about those imperial rolls are just simply amazing! The price doesn't yield that many full rolls. It's very scrumptious nonetheless. Service is great there is one gentlemen inside that wish me a great day every time I am there. The first time you are like damn wasn't expecting that thank you .. the second time was like he is intentionally choosing to say this sentence to everyone he serves. That's difference level of appreciation. Every time I am in San Mateo I will choose your restaurant. The service is even better. Definitely a family restaurant. Vibes are chill.
My bf and I always visit Pho Element when we pass by San Mateo! The food has been consistently delicious and we always order the same couple of items in rotation. We particularly love their HaiNan Chicken Rice, Pho Ga, butter tofu, and omg their GINGER SCALLION SAUCE!!! Service is always quick and all the workers are so attentive. Parking is quit difficult tho... like REALLY difficult unless you get lucky. Don't let that steer you away from this place though because I promise it is worth it!
Pho Element in San Mateo is a solid go-to if you're craving Vietnamese food. The vibe is casual and relaxed -- nothing fancy, just a comfortable spot to sit down and enjoy a good meal. I ordered the BBQ pork with imperial roll and vermicelli noodles, along with the bone-in chicken curry. Both dishes were around $25 each, which felt pretty reasonable for the portion sizes. The vermicelli bowl was packed -- the BBQ pork was flavorful and well-seasoned, and the imperial roll added that perfect crispy contrast. Everything tasted fresh and well-balanced. It also comes with nice dipping sauce which I added to the bowl. The bone-in chicken curry was another standout. The chicken was tender, the broth was rich and comforting, and it paired really well with rice. Definitely one of those dishes that hits the spot. Portions are generous -- I had plenty of leftovers, which is always a plus. Service was super fast and efficient, making it an easy choice for a quick lunch or dinner. If you go around 1pm or so you can beat the lunch rush but there are lots of seating options (no outdoor). Parking is a bit tough since it's just off of el Camino but there is some parking in the back. Or limited on the street. Overall, a great casual spot with solid portions and speedy service. I'd definitely come back.
We arrived soon after lunch time would have been over. We were seated immediately. Our order was taken quickly and the food came quickly. The food was delicious and plentiful. We will be visiting again.
Visited during the weekend lunch rush and this place was packed! Luckily, they have a few reserved parking spots in the back for customers. As a first-timer, I was pleasantly surprised. The appetizers had generous portion, particularly the chicken papaya salad. It was definitely shareable. The shrimp spring roll rice paper was a bit too chewy for my liking; will probably skip this next time. Both the chicken and beef pho were solid. It's hard to find a truly good chicken pho in the Bay Area, but the clear, flavorful broth here was delicious and didn't taste too salty or with msg. My only complaint was that a server was shouting names for tables so loudly that I actually got accidentally spat on from across the room. It was a bit gross and definitely affected my experience a bit, despite the food being good.
The highlight of my meal was the butter tofu, the outside was crispy but the inside was so soft and melted in your mouth. Never had anything like this before and would come back just for this dish. The Pho on the other hand was ok, I did not like the wide noodles in it as in my opinion Pho should have a smaller noodle. The broth was good but was not given any bean sprouts or basil, just limes and jalapeño's. As I was eating my dinner at 8:30 pm which is 30 minutes before close I was told I needed to close my tab. With this request I felt pushed to finish my dinner. The waiter was going around to all the tables to cash out. I might go back, if I do it's for the tofu and not the Pho
I like coming here when I want a cozy bowl of pho. My favorite is #20. A small bowl is $20.75. Feels a little pricey. I've eaten in the restaurant and gotten take-out before and have overall had good experiences with both. Expect a line if you plan to eat in-person. I started calling ahead to make sure they have beef broth because sometimes they run out. I like to drown my pho with sriracha and lime. I do wish their water cups weren't so tiny or they would at least leave me a pitcher of water. I feel like I'm always asking for a water refill.
The portions here are pretty big. I got a small beef pho and I wasn't able to finish. The broth has a light flavor and there's ample amounts of beef. I was a little disappointed by the noodles because they fell apart easily, but they carried the soup flavor well. I really enjoyed the imperial roll, the filling and the crunchy outside go together really well! The shrimp spring roll was good as well too, and I liked that the peanut sauce comes with a spoon so you don't have to dip. The inside has simple dark wood decoration, with some booths and some tables. Service was pretty quick! Parking is hard to find though, I think there may be some limited parking behind the building but otherwise street parking is the way to go
We been coming here for years and their consistency is awesome. Still my go to place for Bun Rieu, pho and many others! Finally tried their Ox tail wine sauce in soup noodles. Wow! I waited so long because I enjoy the other dishes too much! Great service and food! Keep it up PE!
Pho Element is a small Vietnamese restaurant located on El Camino Real in between Downtown San Mateo and the Hillsdale Mall. There's very limited street parking (be prepared to parallel park). The interior seems to be a little worn down, but nothing too bad. To be honest, Pho Element will never be my first choice when craving Vietnamese food. While their broth is tasty, it doesn't really taste like the traditional, authentic pho broth that I'm used to. In addition, they're crazy expensive and have smaller portions. Their "large" beef pho is $20+. Typically when I eat pho, I get full and have leftovers. However at Pho Element, I easily finished the entire large portion. I also took my meal to-go instead of dining-in, and the broth container wasn't fill up the entire way (maybe 3/4th full).
2 years ago
A great spot for a comforting bowl of soup noodles. The soup noodles are served with hand-made-in-house Chinese noodles. They're different from your conventional pho noodles and are on the softer side. The beef slices are also very tender. Chicken broth is flavourful. The spring rolls listed on the menu are actually fresh rolls. Nothing super special about them but the peanut sauce complimented the shrimp rolls well. Portions are very big. A small bowl can feed two people. Bonus points for the charismatic manager who looked after us during our meal! read more
So delicious! Hits the spot especially on a rainy day. Tons of choices for everyone - rice plates, noodle soups (beef, veggie, chicken). Street parking only, located on a relatively busy intersection. The service was great, our party ordered 3 things to share and without even asking they gave us a couple bowls. Flavor of both broths were amazing; honestly would just depend which you're craving. Chicken rice plate was also good. If I'm in the area, I know Pho Element wouldn't disappoint read more
1 year ago
1 year ago
Came here for the chicken pho, very flavorful. Service was ok but they gave me dirty sauce plates. Ordered Vietnamese coffee but they didn't give us a spoon to stir it. Overall it was ok, I would prefer getting takeout because I don't think their dishes are clean enough. read more
3 years ago
Chicken Noodle Soup -- warm, delicious, with thin slices of chicken and noodles. This soup was so simple yet so light and delicious. The broth had the right amount of salt and flavor from the chicken. Saigon Butter Tofu -- hot, buttery tofu with a buttery flavor. It was very fresh, and hotter than the soup. The skin is so crispy. Very quick service with warm delicious food. The waiter gave us recommendations and they were good! read more
4 years ago
This is my fourth time having Pho Element and I feel a little different than the previous times. I am not particularly sure what changed but the food was not as delicious as before. I got #29 as usual and my partner ordered the Chicken Soup with Giblets. The chicken soup with giblets is a pass from us as it contained small morsels of liver and gizzards. I am a big fan of eating gizzards however the amount they gave was very small so it was mostly noodles. read more
7 months ago
1 year ago
2 years ago
Always a solid meal coming to Pho Element. They do serve Northern Vietnamese style pho so the noodles will not be the same as the vermicelli noodles you'd get at other restaurants. But, that doesn't take away from the quality! Definitely check this place out! read more
7 months ago
1 year ago
4 years ago
Giving this 4 stars because I wouldn't say this is a traditional pho spot. I got the pho with rare beef and asked for pickled onions on the side, but they didn't have any or seemed to know what it was. They also didn't serve bean sprouts or Thai basil. They use thicker pho noodles. Not my favorite, but works if your looking for something hearty. My partner ordered the oxtail beef soup. It was like a beef stew with pho noodles. The oxtail was tender and it had carrots. Overall, there was nothing amazing about the meal, but the ambiance and service was nice. read more
Hmmm I think I want to try it again for another review. I ordered the chicken pho with giblets, bf ordered short rib plate and we had a side of garlic clams. Garlic clams is NOT worth $24... it was good but not that good. The chicken pho lacked a bit of flavor but I still ate it all cause I was hungry. I loved the noodles they used, it's my favorite. I tried my friends pho dac biet and that lacked flavor as well. Short ribs were good and they give you a good amount. Service was good, servers a bit rushy but he was friendly. Ambiance is nice, big space. read more
Came here for dinner on a Saturday evening with our friends after a car meet nearby. They were pretty busy but was able to sit 11 of us. Since our party was pretty big I thought they'd sit us at one of the big round tables + a small one nearby but they decided to squish us at the big round table, which wasn't the most comfortable but it was do-able and they were busy. Parking is non existent, there's a lot in the back but you'll most likely need to park on the street off el Camino which can be challenging, esp with big parties with multiple cars. Their service is pretty quick & the workers try their best. My bf and I ordered the 23 brisket/beef ball pho and the 1 imperial rolls. Both are so good. Their pho comes with the fresh rice noodles, not like your usual thin pho noodles. Broth is super good and you can season to your liking with their sauces set on the table. They have fish sauce too. Their imperial rolls is a must get. Super crispy and fresh ingredients. Definitely a good spot to come to if you want a warm/homey noodle soup meal. read more
rlly good chicken pho and service was amazing and accommodating! we called ahead to ask if dogs were allowed and they arranged us to be in a table where our dog could be safe and wouldn't disrupt the flow of the restaurant chicken in the pho was tender, soup had good flavor, and this store has wide rice noodles which were a little soft but fine for me in the end read more
2 years ago
2nd time here with my Husband. We just had another great meal at Pho Element. The Vietnamese and Chinese food was super tasty -everything was packed with flavor. The service was really friendly too. The staff made us feel right at home and got our food out fast, which is always a win. The vibe of the place was cozy but spacious and laid-back, perfect for a chill dinner. I'll definitely be back to try more dishes. If you're in the mood for some delicious Asian food, this spot is worth checking out! read more
4 years ago
Not sure what all the hype is about but I was very disappointed. The place was busy but we didn't have to wait and you could tell people get seated quickly, the downside, they just want to turn over customers and get you out the door. If I wasn't scarfing my food down, I felt like the workers were just glaring at me for not eating my food in 5 minutes. The server had the absolute worst attitude. You couldn't even hear what she was saying because she was so over it and wouldn't even make eye contact. She just kept saying, "what else?" "ok what else?". When they brought out the soup, it was not even hot...it didn't bother me at first but when I realized my raw slices of meat were NOT cooking in the broth (yes that's how luke warm it was), I was over it. I let my meat sit in and ate the noodles, when I got to the last bite of noodles...the meat was still raw. What a complete disaster! I didn't even want to say anything to the server with that type of attitude she had. For a $16+ small bowl of pho...it should be better than that. C'mon. read more
1 year ago
The restaurant is called "Pho Element" but they let us know they didn't focus on that after we asked if they had beansprouts, lime, basil and all that goes along with pho! They didn't. Also they used a different kind of rice noodle for their "pho" Update: I now know this is northern style pho. Would be nice if their staff knew to tell customers dining in. Our server provided no explanation. read more
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Pho E.
Thank you for your review. We serve Northern Style Pho which is…
2 years ago
I read a whole bunch of reviews, and landed on one that mentioned Northern pho vs Southern pho. After doing some quick Googling, my research (lol) showed that the pho we're used to with the bean sprouts, thin vermicelli noodles, rich broth, and variety of meats is Southern. People were saying that this location is Chinese pho, but more accurately, it's Northern pho. Knowing this changed my expectations for this restaurant, and the entire experience with all my food was wonderful! Parking: back alley (you can enter through the back door) or on the street Menu: not your traditional (southern) pho. I love the beef carpaccio, and they had that as a menu item! They also have pho with wine broths and chicken broths. Food Beef Carpaccio: usually, it's super thinly sliced and you hardly feel like you're getting good meat. The cuts are slightly thicker, and it was a decent amount of meat! Fried rice: I loved this fried rice, but then I realized I loved it because it was so salty. Regardless, flavor is there, and I took some home, reheated it the next day for lunch, and it was just as good! Chicken pho (no meat, just broth and noodles): broth is so light, doesn't feel super oily, and the wide noodles weren't chewy, but it wasn't stuck together or over cooked. Happy with this especially because it came meatless. I tend not to eat the pho meat, so this is a wonderful alternative where I get the full flavor of chicken without having to eat the chicken. Wine sauce ox tail noodle soup: so special! Never heard of this before, and we ordered the last bowl before they sold out. Really unique, rich flavor. Almost like a really hearty veggie soup in my opinion. Ox tail wasn't over cooked, their meat portion was decent. Worth a try! Tofu app: tofu is so crispy on the outside, really hot and silken soft on the inside! Definitely a must. This pho tasted so clean, and even though I was super full after, I didn't feel nasty and heavy the way I usually do. -- Services: I don't usually comment on service, but this Pho Element's service is noteworthy! we came in and the owner/manager came up to us, asking if it was our first time here. We said it was, and he asked if we wanted a breakdown of the menu, what was popular, and what they specialize in. Insightful, but not pushy. Really knowledgeable and friendly. I really appreciate the time he took to explain the menu--it seems like he knows his customers might get confused that their pho is different than the "traditional" kind you'd see anywhere else. Love this place, a bit far, but yearning to go back :) read more
My wife and I love coming here. Phó Element is the only place I have found that has an awesome "OX TAIL" Phó. Yes, that's right ... OX TAIL! If you love ox tail then you definitely need to come here to have it. My wife always gets the crab Phó and she loves it. It has good flavor and she like the thinner noodles that it comes with. The Saigon Butter Tofu is EXCELLENT! This dish is best when eaten at the restaurant. We have had it to take home but it looses its crisp when ordered to go. read more
2 years ago
7 months ago
10 months ago
Don't let the store front fool you... this place is great! It definitely has a unique menu to offer and I will be back to try the rest of the dishes. Since it's been raining, you know you crave pho, but when I got there...mannn. Their unique dishes were too good to pass up. We tried Satay Beef Noodle Soup and pork/crab meatball with vermicelli. Can't forget the Spring Rolls! The portions are big, brought half of it home! The crab flavor in the soup was spot on...if you love crab, give this soup a try. There were about two waitresses that came to take our order and check on us. Timely, non-obnoxious, and really nice! They saw that my bf had dropped his napkin (without us knowing) and gave us a stack. This place is a casual Vietnamese restaurant and I'm coming back! read more
2 years ago
7 months ago
2 years ago
I've been here before but the service has gotten worse. We sat down and we're immediately asked what we wanted to order. We asked for a few minutes and the server was annoyed and came back a minute later. We felt pressured and picked two items quickly. Chicken Noodle Soup - shredded chicken didn't have much flavor but the broth had flavor. It's light and was only lukewarm. Beef Brisket Noodle Soup - beef brisket was decent. The broth was very mild and not as rich as other pho spots. The broth was only lukewarm. read more
1 year ago
1 year ago
Visited here on our way to the Shoreline amphitheater and wanted to try a new pho place which is how we stumbled upon Pho Element. The inside is clean and updated comparing to traditional pho places. We got the chicken pho and the beef pho special (dac biet) and an appetizer: fried egg rolls. First thing that jumped out was how tasty both broths were! The chicken and beef toppings were tender and the egg rolls were crunchy and well flavored (came with 6 pieces). Few things that would make it perfect...Wasn't a fan of the silky flat thin noodles, they did not hold up aka breaks apart and too soft. The egg rolls didn't come with enough lettuce for you to wrap, and there was no basil for your pho (ok, I did read that this is northern style but that's just my preference) overall good experience and glad we tried. Quality: 4/5 stars Service: 5/5 stars Value: 3/5 stars read more
1 year ago
Whenever I have craving for Vietnamese food but don't want to drive all the way to San Jose. This is the place. You can signed up on Yelp waitlist ahead before arriving to save time when it gets busy. But the staff are always so efficient and friendly so no worries! I didn't love the hainese chicken rice (but that's also because I was spoilt to try really great Singaporean/Malaysian style). I do love their spring rolls, rice vermicelli with bbq pork. Their pho is also pretty good. The restaurant is clean and comfortable. read more
More info about Pho Element
2216 S El Camino Real
San Mateo, CA 94403
Directions
(650) 212-1166
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http://www.phoelement.com
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Ask the Community - Pho Element
Do you have any pho (noodle soup) options where there's no meat i.e. vegetarian soup (no shrimp paste, no fish sauce, no meat broth) and no meat added?
Yes, we have #26 vegetarian pho on the menu which you could pick mushroom broth.
For noodle soup delivery ... Do you put the noodle and soup in separate containers?
Hi Timothy, we always put the noodle and soup in separate containers.
Is your Pho Ga gluten free? Does it have any soy sauce in it?
There are no soy sauce in the soup, but the flat noodle which normally come with pho ga had wheat flour in it.... you could substitute vermicelli noodle when you place the order! Thx!
Are there any peanuts/dairy/egg/shellfish used in the chicken noodle soup or pho noodle soups? Asking because of food allergies to the above, thanks!
Hi Clifford, there are only few noodle soups that contain peanuts and shellfish which is satay beef Noolde soup, crabmeat & tomato noodle soup and seafood noodle soup, and also the items on the menu which have a P next to it is contain peanuts...…
When do you expect to be able to reopen for indoor dining?
Indoor dining recently resumed!
How is the social distancing enforcement in the restaurants and on the sidewalk for pickup orders?
The dining room was closed and they have a table to pick up in front. Plenty of room on the sidewalk to socially distance if more than one person is waiting to pick up. Soup packaged separate from noodles and soup was nice and hot even after driving…
Is there any seafood (e.g.: shrimp) in the imperial rolls? I want to order some but am allergic to seafood.
there is no seafood in the imperial rolls! :)
Does this restaurant actually serve trung non(unfertilized eggs) with their pho ga ? I'm looking through the photos and I don't see any.
Nope! Their basic pho ga just comes with just chicken meat(breast+thigh I believe)
When are you guys open again?
We are back already, looking forward to see you, thx!
Do they use msg?
There's nothing wrong with MSG, please stop spreading this fake meme. https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/is-msg-bad-for-your-health/
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