First off, I cannot believe how many times we've eaten here and not reviewed........ This is our absolute favorite Pho in the state! I could eat here everyday and might even consider quitting my job so I can apply, lol. The bowl of noodles has everything you want, meat, veggies, carbs, drowning in a broth that is so rich and flavorful. Plus, the side of basil, sliced jalapeños, and mound of bean sprouts gives you that fresh crisp needed to complement this amazing dish. It's not uncommon to hear the distant sound of coughing around the restaurant as customers send the broth down the wrong tube from slurping this deliciousness down with the quickness!! Lastly, the service is always great and the staff is super attentive. The ambiance is fine, but the booths are a little tired and could use some updating. read more

Pho Lena East - Panang Curry - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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Pho Lena is my favorite pho place in town. Let me start off with the atmosphere. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised to hear worship music playing while we sat ourselves down. We had the nicest waitress ever, I can't remember her name, but she was blonde and was so sweet and charming! My go to for appetizers is the pot stickers. They are so delicious and crispy, the sauce that comes with it is to die for! I got the large bowl of Beef Brisket Pho it was delicious and so filling. Prices are really good too. This is our weekly spot. 10/10. read more

Pho Lena East - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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This restaurant is located in the strip mall off Boniface. They have multiple locations in Anchorage. This is my first visit to this location. They advertise Lao and Thai food. I ordered the Tom Yum Shrimp Soup which came with a cup of white rice. The broth was tasty with the normal flavors that I like. The vegetables were green onion, white onion, and mushrooms. No other greens that I could detect. Their were six cooked shrimp in the broth. The vegetables and shrimp were cooked well and tasty. The rice I added to the broth was well cooked and not mushy. The serving and flavor was adequate. The size would be good for a lunch serving and the check said small. So they must have two sizes, but not a dinner. It costs $13.95 with a $4.00 up charge for the shrimp. I added a can of Diet Coke $2.00 and the server brought a large glass of water. It was early on Friday (4:30?) with one other e"diner eating. I did see several take out orders being picked up during my visit. Plenty of parking and appears to be a family place. They have a party room in back that I didn't observe except for the sign. The server was friendly and polite. She was the only one working the dining room from taking orders, serving the tables, taking phone orders, handling the takeout orders and running the checkout. She performed all of those tasks admirable and efficiently although orders and customers were few. I made an error that I won't do again. I had reviewed their menu on Yelp before going in and I saw no mention of alcoholic drinks. When I opened their site to checkin and read the menu. Yelp asked me if they served alcoholic beverages? Not having seen them on the menu I checked NO before going in. As soon as I entered I saw large bottles of wine and cooler with beer and single wine servings. I took and posted pictures of both. Please forgive me for the error. Live and learn even at 75! I couldn't find a way to correct the mistake. I rated the restaurant only at a 4 primarily on the lack of vegetables in the broth. Also I asked for hot and spicy but it was served mild. I added a teaspoon of chili sauce which improved it greatly for my taste. I do this only after I have tasted the broth several times and the vegetables so I can detect the full flavor before turning it fiery. I have to admit their may have been a communication problem because I didn't look at the menu in house as I had reviewed it on YELP. I knew what I wanted and ordered it. So maybe if I looked at the in house menu I would have known their was two sizes and maybe a heat table. They have a 10% military discount and accept credit cards. I would recommend this restaurant as I hate to judge any place by one dish or one visit unless they are truly outstanding or so bad I would never return. I will go back with someone else to try other dishes and gather their thoughts also. Today has been a terrible day for me and several things went wrong. I missed a Dr. appointment, coming out of the restaurant I found my keys laying by the front car fender, driving off I realized I left the front passenger window wide open when I locked it to eat lunch, the Glenn Hwy was backed up and access closed at Boniface, I had to take Debarr with all the rush hour detoured cars, it took two and half hours from Boniface to Eagle River. I didn't realize it was Friday the 13th until I got home and checked. I am usually not a superstitious person but this is just half the problems today. This was the only good thing that happened. read more

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Calling for takeout is easy and fast. Fresh ingredients. I gotta say though. The pho Lena Spenard location kicks ass. This place pales by comparison. It's good. Need pho. Takeout. Get it. Not 5 stars. Go to the Spenard location for the best. read more

The service is excellent and the food delicious, for a quick lunch spot it's super convenient and an excellent choice. Highly recommend!

Had lunch here yesterday! Syri was great! Fast friendly service. I had the red chicken curry, so yummy! read more

Pho Lena East - a plate of food with rice, soup, and crackers - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

The interesting thing about this place is the food is delicious but the service is horrible. Makes it hard to come back but the folks in the kitchen knows what's up. Takes FOREVER to get even a drink ordered or a takeout box when you're ready to go. I don't mind waiting for the food to be cooked fresh, actually prefer it. But it's be nice if the person working the floor knew something about customer service. Bad thing is if I find a spot that had good food and service this place will be in the rear view mirror. Get your service game together, Pho Lena East, if you have any chance of making it. Seriously. read more

Pho Lena East - a view of a diner's counter - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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amazing food taste great you can tell its fresh! as an asian away from home this helps ease my homesickness read more

Pho Lena East - Green curry - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

My son and I ate here after his basketball game, the service was great, the food was awesome and we left stuffed! The pho hit the spot on the first major snow storm. I debated ordering the panaag curry but was happy with my food. He ordered the rare beef pho and I ordered the Garlic Chicken with sticky rice. Soo good, we hope to come back again!! read more

Food was pretty good. Service was pretty terrible.. will definitely be back. I hope I'm able to change it to 5 stars next time. Slow service. Wrong order. Awkward server Changed it to 1 Star this time around. Ordered food for delivery. My wife got the seafood pho and got the calamari and imitation crab replaced with shrimp.. all the shrimp was raw. We had to cook it ourselves. Pretty disappointing. read more

Pho Lena East - Raw shrimp - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

I spent 20 minutes trying to get anyone to answer the phone, this has been a problem before. Today was the usual song and dance, but I happened to be in the right part of town, so I decided to stop in, expecting to see hordes of people but no- It is dead, absolutely not a single customer, no bags on the delivery/ to go area and a girl on her phone, who only looked up when someone else got her attention. Only after paying $40 for pad Thai, a medium pho and some egg rolls was I told it would be 30+ minutes to get my food. If it wasn't for the fact that i already paid, I'd have walked out, but here I sit waiting in silence while the staff checks TikTok. The food used to be worth the spotty service, but enough is enough. I'll be taking my money elsewhere from here on, which sucks because this place was good for a long time. read more

We always get our food for pick up, because we all love their food! Pad woon sen is a favorite of ours along with pumpkin curry.

Delicious and fast. Careful adding spice because I thought I could handle spice, ordered the 3rd level spice for pad Thai, and learned very quickly that I in fact cannot handle spice. But the food is delicious and I love the Thai tea! read more

I went for dine in and ordered a pork bun to go. When I got home I looked at the bun and it had mold on it. I called to let them know, and they asked me how I knew it was moldy? read more

Pho Lena East - Moldy pork bun - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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Anchorage recently tightened COVID restrictions. Restaurants cannot serve dine-in, and staff must be masked. I picked up a phone order today. The lone employee I saw, a middle aged woman in seemingly good health, was not masked. She said she cannot wear a mask because they make her sick. That she has a health issue, and masks trap disease and make her sick. Really. She said that. Despite the law requiring masks. Additionally, I saw a woman eating a meal at a booth. Really. Despite the law against dine-in service. This restaurant obviously considers health protocols a joke. I will never return. read more

We understand everything was expensive now ! but ghee!! paying Phoo for $16.95 is way expensive !! I ordered seafood combo with meat dang theres only 2 pcs of shirmp, 1 meatball cut in half and 3 small pcs of beef that very chewy .. Pho Lena should stay the amount and taste of the food if they re planning to have more restaurant in town because for a long time customer I know and i can tell the difference ..!!!! Their branch at Boniface has a different taste of food compare the one at Spenard .. Beef Padthai is very sweet and no flavor at all !!!! Theres no way I will order food from them ever again because even the Staff that taking orders they don't know what their doing ... read more

My family and I still enjoy dining here. Their curries are very tasty and full of veggies and protein. I like their fresh rolls and regular soups like Tom yum or the pumpkin soup. We got two of the Vietnamese buns but were unimpressed. There was hardly any filling! It was mostly dough. For $5 you'd think there would be more substance. read more

Pho Lena East - Dry and disappointing. - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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My favorite pho place to go! The broth isn't bland and I'm always full when I leave. I always order the spring rolls and the rare steak & beef ball pho. The chili oil is spicy too just the way I like it. Not many pho places in Anchorage is spicy like this place. read more

Came here for lunch with a regular. We were the first ones in here after they had been open for 30 minutes. Not too friendly with the service. I ordered the sesame chicken lunch special, it is the same at their other locations. My moms food came out cold, and she asked for chicken but got beef. They took it back and cooked her a chicken stir fry. The inside wasn't as nice as the other locations and they have better service. read more

A family favorite! Even our pickiest eater loved every dish the grown ups ordered--no small feat. We love the calamari appetizer--big enough for a meal, as well as the variety of noodle dishes. The service was helpful and speedy both. read more

My first poor experience with Pho Lena, a place I usually enjoy. First of all, I ordered for pick up; when I got there, no one was at the register. We waited a loooong time, and finally one of the kitchen workers went to get someone to help us. More waiting. Then ANOTHER guy from the kitchen came out and went to get the cashier. More waiting. Finally the original guy came out again, tried to use the register. Epic fail. Finally the cashier came out, in no particular hurry, with no apologies, and rang me up. I got back to work only to realize that the noodles were undercooked. Awesome. Chewy noodles, three shrimp and a soda for $18. What a world we live in. read more

And ... we're back! Wife decided she missed it to much, decided to give it another try. And they've been great. When we ask for no meat for her dishes, she's now asked "would you like mixed Vegetables with that? Or just what comes normally with the meal?" And there has been no mistakes. Food is great. I always enjoy the kick, and I'm so happy that I don't have to drive across town anymore. read more

I ordered for delivery through grub hub. The food was decent but they don't include any sauces like other places I've had delivered. They also only gave me 2 jalapeño slices which was a little disappointing, but I just added a bunch of sriracha that I had at home. I tried calling to see if I could order and pay for a drink over the phone and have them put it with my order, they didn't answer the first 3 calls. Finally answered the 4th time but they couldn't understand what I was asking so I just took a loss on it. Though it wasn't terrible, I have had better pho and better service from other pho restaurants in anchorage read more

I hope this COVID related! I have been getting takeout here for 10 years (office lunch on JBER). Over the last year the food quality, quantity and order correctness has really gone down. I am loyal so I kept giving them a chance to improve. Their amazing PHO broth is now....uhmmm lackluster. Their Garlic Chicken lunch special has been prepared a different way with different ingredients the last 3 times we ordered. The portions have been getting kind of weak also. Pho Lena, let me know when your back with the goods and we will come back! read more

Not sure why this place has low reviews. This is literally my go to place for Thai/Vietnamese. They have tons of options. They are generally super quick and the taste is absolutely amazing. Restaurant is a little dull and outdated which would normally hinder my review.... but it's just that good that I don't even pay attention anymore. Great food, great food and decent price :) read more

Always good food. A handful of vegan/vegetarian options that taste wonderful keep us coming back. I always get the vegetarian curry with tofu, and it's always amazing! read more

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Called at open, no one answered. I'm a regular at the spenard location which is closed for lunch sundays and really wanted my fix, so called a few times and no answer. When I drove by the sign was on so I popped in and let them know I had been calling and the girl at the front said "yeah I'm late" and laughed about it. I put my order in, ran some errands and came back to up my food. The whole process had already taken an hour by this point so I started eating it in my car which is a good thing because it was incorrect. When I went in to point this out, the girl said "what you ordered isn't a thing we do so I ordered this instead". There was no conversation had about this substitution at time of order and what they were giving me was so radically different from what I ordered that they had to put in a completely different order so an even longer wait time after that. The best part? Still was not correct. But ate it anyway. Service issues aside the food quality was abysmal. Thin watery and bland. Portion size smaller than spenard location despite being same price. I would usually expect there to be some consistency between restaurants with same name but that is not the case here. 0 stars. read more

Great place..Lao own which I love as being Lao myself. Only Pho place out of the (4) Pho places I ate for lunch that has 2 sizes a large bowl and a regular and the only one that gives military discount. Went back because it was close for dinner and got some stuff for my flight the next morning like sweet bun, desserts and a sandwich. Was struggling between the larp and lad nah, but went with the beef larp with tripe. Very good, lao level spicy. I live spicy and this place delivers but if you don't they do a weaker version for you. Highly recommend this place. read more

Pho Lena East - Finally a place that serve a large bowl of pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Easy online ordering and pickup. Great menu variety for delicious food, including a tasty Bahn Mi sandwich. This location is very convenient for work and for I will definitely order again. read more

This place always cures my hangovers! My usual order consists of papaya salad and a big hearty bowl of kaopiek! Their broth is pretty good. Not overly seasoned like all the other places in town. The noodles aren't the greatest though. They're a bit chewy, but still pretty good. Remember to ask them for a side of fried garlic for your broth! They can make your kaopiek with stewing chicken or chicken breasts! Food does take a little bit to come out, but worth the wait. Service is always great and the staff is friendly. read more

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3.5/5 rating. The Pho broth was a tad salty but tasty! I ordered the combination pho which had thin and cube cuts of beef, meatball, shrimp, squid, and tripe. I like the new location it is brighter and cleaner. However, the service could have been better. Waitress did not greet us, did not ask if we wanted anything to drink other than water, or if we needed anything else after serving our meal - they were not busy at all! Their food is step above other Pho places in Anchorage and improving their customer service could really win loyal customers. Overall, I recommend this place for their excellent food not service. read more

Pho Lena East - Combination pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

My aunt and I ordered from this location since it was located next to the bingo hall. Chicken satay was good, and I really liked the peanut sauce. My aunt ordered pad se ew, which also had really good flavor. However, she ordered a two star spiciness level and it was too spicy for her (it seemed more like a four star). I'd come back to try more if I lived in Anchorage. The lady we ordered from was super nice, too. read more

Save yourself the disappoint in order accuracy, taste, and portion sizing and just drive to the other side of town to pho Lena spenard. Not even sure if the two restaurants are affiliated or not since the east side staff were unaware of the flooding in Laos and the disaster relief fundraising the company is currently collecting. read more

I absolutely love the Pad Thai and spring rolls from here! They are usually very nice every time I come in and their service is quick as well. I've tried many other Thai restaurants in Anchorage and this is by far my favorite one! read more

Ate here for lunch and tried their panang curry lever 3 of spice. It had a pleasant spice and delicious flavor. The portion was very generous but not much meat was added. I would definitely visit again and try their other menu items. read more

Absolutely love this place. Yellow curry is one of my favorite foods. And this place is my favorite place to get it. The consistency of the flavor is on point every time we go. And I just recently tried their chicken fried rice OMG! It's different then most places and I freaking love it! read more

Pho Lena East - Chicken fried rice - Vietnamese Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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I have given this location many chances over the years and the quality is terrible every time. It is not anywhere as good as the spenard location. Tonight was missing a item I was charged for (togo), the soup was cold when I got home. Ingredients were not in the dish as described. I would have preferred to be told they were out of ingredients and I would have chose something else. It's too bad because the options for pho on the east side are very limited. They are cutting too many corners and the quality is severely suffering and showing. read more

I've been here several times and I really wanted to give it 5 stars, as I believe this might be the best place to get Thai in anchorage (My Thai on 4th possibly being the spot to beat). I live nearby and go here at least once a week. I have had all the curries, with the green probably being my favorite. The red is right there, though. The Pad Thai is stellar. I have also tried a couple of soups, like with the lunch special, which I highly recommend. The food is usually amazing. But sometimes it's just really good. So there's some inconsistency there. It usually involves the temperature of the food. Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it is not. So I drop half a star for that. My biggest concern is when I saw someone bring small dog in the kitchen / serving area. Not cool. I couldn't tell if it was an employee or a family member or friend or what, but nobody stopped it. I hope to not see that again. If I hadn't been here several times already and loved the food I would have taken more off the rating for that... Other than the dog sighting, service has never been an issue. read more

chicken wings. most of wing meat torn off "drummie" piece so very little meat. 3 wings, very little flavor. sweet chili sauce watered down. 3 of these for $8. fresh rolls. no cilantro or basil. small piece of shrimp stretched along dry flavorless piece of chicken, noodles, lettuce, cucumber so no shrimp flavor. really no flavor at all. blah. pho. not much meat. not enough garnish. 12+ ounces of broth leaked into grocery bag it was in. $3.50 extra for 1 piece of dry oxtail. broth overly salty. do not recommend read more

Wow. I'd never had Lao cuisine before, but if what I had at Pho Lena was representative of what the culture has to offer, I am very thoroughly impressed and am looking forward to my next Lao dish! As for Pho Lena itself, the restaurant is very small, with only a few tables available. The ambiance feels simple and nice; it feels comfortable and seems to be a good place just to relax and have a casual environment with some friends. Service was very friendly, and helpful, but also a bit on the slow side. Overall, though, it was good service. Their menu is quite expansive, and encompasses selections from Lao, Vietnamese, and Thai cuisines! It's difficult to know just where to start! I figured that since "Pho" was in the restaurant's name, it would be safest for me to order off of the "pho" section of their menu. So, I flipped to the "Pho & Other Soups" heading. All the way at the bottom, I found a dish that wasn't pho, but really intrigued me. It was called the Lao Mee Kah Ti, and was made from rice noodles lying in a bath of coconut curry. Pork and peanuts were mixed into the dish. Everything about the dish was just perfection. The curry was exceptional, and had a good spicy flavor that I really loved! The pork was flavorful and tender, and peanuts added a nice crunchiness to the dish. Definitely way better than any Vietnamese pho I've ever had (and I've had a pretty extensive sampling of Vietnamese phos from many different restaurants). It's always fun to make these new discoveries. I'd never had Lao food my entire life, and now I'm wondering where it's been all this time! The Lao Mee Kah Ti (Curry Noodle) dish was exceptional, and I'll be dreaming of it for days to come! read more