Pho in Tacoma? When you have that crazy craving for a bowl and you're in a new city, you whip out your yelp app and scout out where to go eat. Enter Pho King here in Tacoma. exit hunger pains. :)
I arrived here in Tacoma after a morning of crazy cardio in Renton @ LA Fitness. It was only a 30 minute drive down the I-405 and subsequently the I-5; and I was starving. I had found a free gravel makeshift parking lot directly across the street from Pho King and I was ecstatic to find free parking for once, especially since Seattle loves to nickel and dime you. Parking on the street can be a crapshoot. It was about 12:00pm when I strolled into this joint on a lovely Monday morning. The traffic wasn't bad at all. The restaurant itself was buzzing with activity when I came and that's a good sign. The restaurant itself was clean and organized, stereotypically of what you would find anywhere else Vietnamese fare. The restaurant itself isn't large. I'd say it was a medium sized restaurant with approximately 10-12 tables for patrons who love Vietnamese cuisine. My time here was about 45 minutes to an hour and it was a good one. The overall experience was pleasant, positive, and quite nice. The service here was good, simple, and nice. Wouldn't have it any other way.
Pho King is located at 1020 Martin Luther King Jr Way in the heart of Tacoma, WA. It's in a nice neighborhood that can be easily accessible to the I-5 and the I-705. They accept major credit cards, so that's always a good thing. The prices here we're very reasonable, especially with the large bowl of Pho only peaking out at $7.25. In Honolulu, you can expect to get one on average of $9 a bowl. So yes, it was cheap, so I asked for an extra side of noodles and the obligatory summer rolls to round out the meal. The wait wasn't long, at most 10 minutes, so I got to people watch while playing with my iPhone. There was a few hot spots of activity going on in the restaurant. The summer rolls were a pleasant surprise, dipped in the peanut sauce that was just so elegant it had to be good. Of course, a squirt of shiracha and I was good to go. The pho itself was decidedly good, but not grand. It was typical goodness that pho provides and it was good for lunch.
I can't say that this place provided the best Pho, but it was decent and quite delicious. The service was good and fast. This was the perfect place to have lunch in before setting out to sightsee in Tacoma. If you love pho and have that daily craving that I do, please feel free to drive down here and have a lot of fun with pho. While this isn't the only joint that serves pho in Tacoma, it's one of the best here and the food and service is indicative of that. I would recommend Pho King for its simplicity and humble. This place makes me smile. I'm willing to bet it'll do the same for you.
Support local!
4 stars, solid.
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