The best sushi I've ever had! The green dragon roll with chili sauce was incredible. After walking around for an hour, I tried this restaurant. I'm definitely coming back! read more

Pho Happiness - Green Dragon roll with chili sauce. - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

PHO IS SOOOOO FLAVORFUL! Oh my goodness, i love this place. I'd eat here everyday if I could afford it

So pho is one of my favorite foods so I ordered the Pho Saigon and Special Combination Pho for myself and a matcha bubble tea with boba. The matcha boba tea is easily and far and away the saddest, most miserable chalky excuse for bubble tea that ever did exist. It was undrinkable, and I am not a fussy eater. I asked for both pho dishes to be made spicy, but neither were and I got 3 sriracha packets (the size of a ketchup packet) to split between two bowls of pho. I declined hoisin sauce in my notes, so you think they could have given me enough sriracha to make my soup spicy! I was really disappointed. They also include barely any bean sprouts, cilantro instead of the thai basil and one single browning basil leaf and a small lime wedge. Yeah, I'll never be back. The pho place in Chapel Hill in I think the Timberline plaza off MLK Queen of Pho I think, and all the Durham and Morrisville pho places I've been to have all had solid food and LARGER portion sizes. Plus they have solid bubble tea too. 5 stars for the staff who were very nice and answered my dietary questions when I called. Their pho is soy-free like most are in case you care. read more

This is my new favorite Pho place! Its soooo yummy! They have the best friendly attentive servers and the service is so quick A++. I love the murals in there read more

2 of failed 3 attempts (randomly closed) to eat here within the past year might've been a sign not to try the Pho. That was not your traditional Pho. The broth tasted like instant Pho noodles. Rather than putting the beansprout on the side, it came a least mixed into the noodles. The amount of noodles given was also disappointing. For the price point of $15-20, I expected better quality. Wow -- that was a sad experience. I'm sure the other times on the menu taste good but don't call this place "Pho" Happiness if your Pho is not up to par. It's like false advertising. The two stars are for the generous portion of tendon. read more

Located along the main strip of bars & restaurants to choose from. One of the few Asian dining you can find. Full of college students. Getting pho here, you don't get your normal side plate of bean sprouts & basil. The service was ok, food was good read more

Nice, homey establishment with great Vietnamese food! I ordered the Vietnamese noodle salad with beef, and it arrived with a good portion of meat, noodles, and veggies! The noodle salad was light and refreshing, and the sauce that it comes with is so tasty. Nothing too much to complain about. Would definitely come back again for another meal! read more

Pho Happiness - Vietnam salad Noodles bowl with beef - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

This is the worst Bahn Mi I've ever had. I can't believe they even let this out the door. There was almost nothing but a baguette. There was a sliver of meat, a tiny bit of veggies here and there, that's about it. I added some soy sauce to make it not be dry and flavorless entirely, and also moved over some of the onions from the Pho I'd ordered. But overall it was just a terrible sandwich. The Pho was okay, though I ordered it without tofu and got tofu anyway. The potstickers were good. I can't believe I paid about $35 for such a lousy meal. I will never eat at this place again. read more

My friends and I went to pho happiness during peak hours on a Friday night. Expectedly, the wait time was long- we waited more than 30 minutes for our food. The ambiance was chill, definitely on the quieter side. The pho itself wasn't bad, I quite liked my house pho. If you're craving pho, this is a good place to go to satisfy your cravings- especially if you live in Chapel Hill/Carrboro. However, they seem a bit short staffed at the moment. read more

Pho Happiness - House Pho Beef Tripe Pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Quick and attentive service! The pho I got had a flavorful broth and tender meats. Everything came out very quickly too, perfect for a quick bite! read more

Pho Happiness - Special Combo Pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Excellent Pho and excellent service! We took a large group for our kids' birthday dinner because they love it so much. As always, they memorized the whole table's order and everything came out perfect! I've only had the Pho there but can't wait to go back to try the sushi rolls and Bahn Mi. read more

Came in late, which is our fault. Ordered the pho and a banh mi. The pork belly banh mi bread was amazing, however the pork belly looked like it was cut with a laser- in that the portion was 3 razor thin slices atop the sandwich with some pickled vegetables. Not worth. Pho tasted heavily diluted - as in maybe they didn't have enough broth for a portion so they dumped water to get some volume out for the remaining customers. Additionally, the water must have been from the tap as the metallic taste persisted through the pho flavor. read more

Love this place, go here all the time. The service is quick and food is amazing (especially the house pho!)

We ordered delivery, and I'm confused that people are saying this is good pho. My husband and I both have COVID and I genuinely couldn't tell if I just couldn't taste anything or if the pho was genuinely flavorless, but my husband confirmed all the food had zero flavor. He ordered the wing combo that was supposed to come with fries, and there were no fries. Overall not impressed. I'd maybe try them again and order something different but I'm not in a big hurry to order again... read more

Pho Happiness - Chicken Pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Not bad, not great. Pho Happiness is just one of two pho restaurants in Chapel Hill that I'm aware of, the slightly older (by a couple of years) and more popular Queen of Pho being the other: https://www.yelp.com/biz/queen-of-pho-chapel-hill. Whereas Queen of Pho is located on the far north end of Chapel Hill, just off I-40 exit 266, Pho Happiness is located in the heart of Chapel Hill on West Franklin Street. Pho Happiness opened in 2019 (February 2019, I believe). It replaced the previous restaurant in this space, Guru India Restaurant: https://www.yelp.com/biz/guru-india-restaurant-chapel-hill-2. In September 2019, Chapel Hill Magazine wrote a nice article on Pho Happiness' founder Andy Hoang: https://chapelhillmagazine.com/andy-hoangs-pho-happiness-is-a-realization-of-a-lifelong-dream/. I think Pho Happiness is under new ownership since Andy. When my wife and I visited recently, our server James identified himself as the new owner. He confirmed with me he took over the business in March 2021. Andy is Vietnamese. James is Chinese. James told us his wife is Vietnamese and, IIRC, she hooked him up with Pho Happiness (or something like that). James was nice and hardworking. Curious to me was a picture of an old Asian man on the wall in the back of the restaurant, right up against the ceiling. I asked James if he knew who the guy was and he didn't know. He said the picture was placed there by the previous owner, presumably Andy. The restaurant was mostly empty during our Thursday night dinner visit starting around 7:45pm. Aside from us, there was one other couple that dined in. There were also a couple online takeout orders. I counted six (!) tablets hooked up at the counter, presumably for various food delivery services and online ordering platforms. It wasn't the first time I've seen a busy setup like that. The counter was surrounded by plexiglass due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I got the feeling that in just three short years, this restaurant has seen better days. The dining room and bar had signs of wear and "neglect." It just hadn't really been cleaned and tended to like a good dining room should. I hate to use the word "dirty," but it didn't feel completely clean. But hey, sometimes that's fine. It can add character to a place and maybe be overlooked when the food is great. Sadly, that wasn't the case here. Our booth was awkward and uncomfortable. It gave me lower back pain that lasted into the weekend. We ordered a Vietnamese Sandwich (Banh Mi) ($7) and two bowls of Special Combo Pho ($12.50 per bowl). When ordering banh mi at Pho Happiness, you choose from six types of protein: grilled pork, grilled chicken, grilled beef, tofu, BBQ pork, and pork belly. I was leaning towards BBQ pork, but I asked James what he liked and recommended and he said pork belly, so we went with pork belly. All Pho Happiness banh mi sandwiches are served on a toasted baguette with mayonnaise, cucumber, onion, "carrot pickles" (pickled carrots), jalapeno, and cilantro. The banh mi didn't look that good nor did it taste that good. I can't recommend it. The ingredient proportions were off. There were too many pickled carrots and the carrots were too wet, making the sandwich dripping wet and soggy in parts. Also, the quality of the pork belly wasn't good. I won't say it was flat-out bad because it was edible, but I didn't enjoy eating it. Unfortunate. The pho fared much better. We liked the pho, though honestly, I'm not sure I liked it enough to come back. Maybe. Pho Happiness' Special Combo Pho comes with thin sliced steak, brisket, flank, and meatballs. All of the restaurant's pho includes beansprouts, onion, and green onion and a side dish with fresh basil, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime. No culantro (sawtooth coriander), which is always a sign to me of a less "authentic" pho restaurant. Understandable, given the primary customer demographic here. All of the pho ingredients, from the noodles and meats to the fresh veggie sides, were fine. Nothing remarkable, but the bowls certainly weren't bad either. Simply put, these bowls of pho sufficiently scratched the itch. The broth was OK. Table condiments included the usual hoisin and Sriracha sauces, salt and pepper, and roasted red chili oil (which I'm always a fan of). Some of these were a must. During our visit, Pho Happiness had 10 kinds of pho on the menu. They also had three kinds of ramen ($13.50 each) - I have to admit I'm skeptical about those - Vietnamese vermicelli bowls, rice plates, and pan-fried noodles (about $12-15 each), and wings (about $9-10 per order). Service was good. Parking in the immediate vicinity, whether street or parking lot, costs money at certain times. We parked around the corner on North Graham Street for free because it was after hours. At the time of writing this review, street parking rates are enforced Monday-Saturday, 8am-6pm. Otherwise, it's free. If you have to pay, use the ParkMobile app. It makes things easier. read more

See all

Ordered beef banh mi but not sure why it had a very fishy taste. Also ordered summer rolls, and these (thankfully) did not have the same fishy taste as the beef banh mi. Hopefully this was just a fluke of the day, but will certainly order something different if I return in the future. Prices were fair. Order was ready quickly. Staff were friendly. read more

Pho Happiness - Banh mi, beef Summer Roll, shrimp - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The food was okay, but one of the employees was acting very strange around me. Didn't appreciate the odd behavior.

This is a cute little restaurant on Franklin Street. The service is fast and the waiter and waitress are very nice. Everyone in our party ordered ramen and we customized our own. I liked the ramen broth. It wasn't too salty. The prices are reasonable too. We didn't have reservations but we're seated quickly. On a side note, my cousin is breastfeeding and asked for ice and they gave her an entire one gallon ziplock bag. When we were in NYC, the waitstaff gave her 5 ice cubes. I would definitely come back here when I am in Chapel Hill again. read more

I want to preface this by saying that I never have been so upset at a restaurant. My wife and I have worked in the service industry and know how much guests can blow things out of proportion. We also know the dread of busy nights. Tonight was not one of those situations. We got sat down around 6:15 and promptly put in our order with Waitress 1. Over the next half hour, the restaurant filled up (Note that maybe 10 parties, around 30-40 guests). About 45 minutes in, Waitress 2 comes to our table and apologizes for the delay. She says it's a busy night and from my seat, I can see a lot of to go orders even though the seated has not moved (no one new was sat for about hour after everyone sat down). Like I said, I understand a busy time and get why. This is not the reason for my 1 star! 45 minute wait is long, but not something I can't understand or can't sympathize with. At this time (about 1 hr), Waitress 2 apologizes again and tells us that somehow our order wasn't sent to the kitchen. We also found out it was wrong. Not a problem still as she offers discount 20-30%, and says she'll put our order in front. She also says she'll give us another order of egg rolls that we haven't yet received. We wait another 30 minutes while I see the other clients sit down with us finally get their food and all after she told us she would put ours up front (we didn't ask her but she told us she would since it was their fault). Finally about an hour and half of total waiting with no food, my wife and mother in law decided to leave. I stayed behind and asked for it to go and a time estimate. They said sorry, we'll get started on it right away (hadn't started yet but can see the kitchen has prepared everyone's food and to go orders). I had to wait another 15-20 minutes for the food to be given to me after I voiced my displeasure. At the same time, they were telling other waiting to go guests that it would take 10 more minutes though I saw two ladies waiting for at least a half hour after ordering online. I understand busy times and I understand the stress, but it is unreasonable to have multiple people lie to your face and say that food is coming and being prepared. I would honestly give a 0 if I could. Please look at my history of check in and reviews. I eat at many places all the time and rarely (maybe once or twice before) have given a 1 star and actually wanted to give 0. My suggestion would be to stay away if you don't want to be lied to directly and wait 2 hours just to have food prepared. I have also attached a photo of the eggrolls that qere given to us that were not even fried correctly. read more

Pho Happiness - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Found this place on a cold day and a hot bowl of pho hit the spot. It was big and full of meat and service was really fast I also like they had a vegetarian option pho too for my bf which he really enjoyed read more

Girls just wanna have pho! Stumbled upon this fantastic gem, the most delicious grilled pork banh mi I ever had, the bread was deliciously soft in the middle and a crispy crunch on the outside mixed with all the wonderful flavors. The crab rangoons came out hot and piping were perfectly fried with crispy ends! Excellent customer service. Thank you! read more

See all

Absolutely out of this world! Bold flavors, reasonable pricing and food? Special Pho was amazing. Meats fresh, broth flavorful and thank you for not using standard black containers and actually bundling a bowl! Summer rolls with grilled pork was to die for as well. Highly recommending Pho Happiness. True happiness :-) read more

Pho Happiness - Premium Pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

See all

This is a decent little place to try if you're in the area. We enjoyed our dinner of pho and noodles, but it didn't blow us away. We might return if were were ever craving a noodle or ramen bowl, but it's not absolutely delicious. The restaurant was not very busy even though we went on a Saturday. The service was good enough and as could be expected. read more

Delicious everything & beyond bursting flavors! Excellent customer service while sitting in restaurant.

Decent spot to grab some Vietnamese pho. The taste isn't as authentic as u would like it to be. It's in a college town so it doesn't have to be as great. I liked the owner and how hard everyone worked and was prompt when I needed their attention. They serve sake, beers and I think soju also. Normally you don't get that at a Vietnamese restaurant. read more

It's been so long since we have been to Pho Happiness! Delicious!! Did the owners change? In the past it was good, but not enough for us to make it part of our "regular" circuit. But tonight the House Pho was delicious, broth was fragrant and spot on. The summer rolls were made fresh (the pork was delish)! The Lychee Boba also yummy. Service was so GREAT, kind, super fast!! We think the place rivals Pho Oxtail in Raleigh, so happy to have found Happiness again and just around the corner in Chapel Hill. Highly recommend, especially if you haven't tried in a while!! read more

Waiter was really nice but the food is just ok. I'd drive to Cary or Raleigh for better Pho.

Short answer is this place is 100% worth it, and they do a great job of keeping a good experience even through COVID precautions. I was a little hesitant to buy takeout noodle soup, but eventually ordered an bowl of the Pho Saigon, and House Pho. They prepared it quickly, and after only about 10 minutes, my order was ready. For each order of noodle soup, they provide two containers: one with the broth, and the other with the toppings. Each bowl came with raw steak that cooked once the broth was added. Therefore, I highly advise you prepare it ASAP, as the steak may not cook to your desired doneness. Me, I enjoy rareness, and so the bowl was a treat! The broth was very rich, and the portions were satisfying. They give you everything you need to prepare and eat, and overall, I'm very happy with that meal. I have yet to try their other menu items, but their signature pho certainly impresses. I recommend everyone to give this place a try, and support small business! read more

Pho Happiness - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Update: Pork belly banh mi from here has now become one of my fav things to get on Franklin street. Second chance is definitely a thing.

Great pho. Best broth in the Triad. Fresh spring rolls and peanut sauce are excellent also. We will be back.

One of the worst pho I've had in a while. Inside is sleepy and not particularly clean, which I tend to ignore if the food is good, but meh. Hard pass. read more

Nice PHO soup, good service, traditional south Asian restaurant. Recommend it. Will come back

We had the spring rolls as an appetizer. I had the curry chicken pho which was delicious. My son has the miso ramen which he enjoyed and continues to ask to go back. Great service and we were able to eat outside since inside seating is closed. read more

Pho Happiness - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

I ate here with three friends over the weekend. Two of us ordered pho, one had pad Thai, and one had a rice dish. This is a pretty casual place. It wasn't very full but the folks who were there appeared to be primarily undergrad students. I was pretty unimpressed with the drink selection. I will say that the pho was hot and came out pretty quickly. I had the bowl of happiness, to be specific. I also felt the waitress could have performed better. Someone at our table asked for a fried egg on the side and she seemed confused and he had to explain what he was asking for. Other than that she was nice. Someone else came around to make sure we were well set on water. I would probably not eat here again but I wouldn't have others shy away from it. It's just not somewhere you go if you're looking for ambiance and great food/drinks. It's more mediocre. read more

Consistently delicious, authentic Vietnamese food with a few fusion items. Friendly staff and casual atmosphere. Great pho and bun options.

Came here for dinner on a Friday - they were quite packed but food came out decently quick. Ambiance- very casual. I think they have tried to make it more trendy with a bar at the front (which is where we sat) but were playing this live safari on their big screen TV. It was all very odd. They do have cocktails- I just got a glass of wine. Minimal liquor selection. Food - larger menu than lime and basil. I tried the banh mi which was fantastic as well as the curry pho. Overall everything was delicious. Appreciate the more extensive menu but still like the pho better at lime and basil. Cost- reasonable priced for the ambiance and flavor. Service - very friendly. Overall will be back to try other things off menu. Excellent comfort food for a cold day. read more

Pho Happiness - Banh mi - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

See all

This place is my go to place for pho. Their pho has decent broth. The service is pretty good! They recently raised their price but still not too bad. They have all the complimentary sauces for you to choose from. The drawback is when you sit outside there's lots of flies frying. It wouldn't be a problem if you are sitting inside. Overall a good place to go if you are looking for something filling and cheaper. read more

Pho Happiness - Pho Saigon - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

When I heard that Franklin Street was finally getting another Vietnamese-style restaurant, I was extremely excited. After spending a majority of my life living in Chapel Hill, Lime & Basil was getting kind of repetitive... When I walked inside, I noticed that the decor in the restaurant that was previously owned by the Indian restaurant had not changed, however, it fit the overall environment of Pho Happiness. The restaurant was still extremely spacious with a mild moodiness with the lighting. The service was average, it might have been because when I went, it had just opened up for a couple of weeks, but the waiters/waitresses were not as attentive as I would have liked and there were a lot of lulls where no one came by to ask or inquire about anything. The food itself was very satisfying. For an average of $10 depending on what type of Pho option you eventually decide, you get a considerable amount of broth, meats, and noodles. The bowl itself doesn't look that big when you get it, but looks can be deceiving. Overall, it was a good experience and I'm glad that there's now another popular Vietnamese restaurant on Franklin Street! read more

Pho Happiness - Pho Saigon and Pho Hanoi - Vietnamese Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Yeah. I've tried it two weeks ago, the soup is awesome!!! Plus, the beef is very tender, and I highly recommend a combo with two kinds of meat, particularly for meat lover!! read more

My sister and I ate lunch here one Saturday. It was crowded but we didn't have to wait for a table. I had the veggie pho and my sister had the steak pho. Both were really good, but the veggie had such a richer taste. We also ordered the spring rolls, which not only pretty but also delicious. I can't wait to bring my pho loving daughter here to eat! read more

See all