Phi thuong, bat phú. Close translation: Nothing ventured, nothing gained. ~Vietnamese Proverb Pho Long Thinh is a solid little family-owned pho place located in a dilapidated late 60s strip mall on Saratoga Ave. near Westgate Mall. It's not much to look at from the outside...and let's face it, it's not much to look at from the inside either...think mirrors on the walls and fake plastic flowers hanging from the ceiling. It's a little dark and dreary, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? My friend Tori P. and I cruised in for lunch and we both ordered the #40 Shredded Pork with Eggroll Bún but the guy waiting on us convinced us that that particular item was a little 'adventurous' with the gelatinous pork skin still attached. Big props to that guy for letting us know. I like adventurous, buy wobbly, jiggly pork skin does NOT sound appetizing! We ended up going for the safer #42 with grilled pork instead. The food arrived fast and was very fresh. The bún was perfectly cooked; rice vermicelli noodles, julienned cucumbers, shredded carrots, cilantro, crunchy fried eggrolls, crispy grilled pork and chopped peanuts served with nuoc cham sauce. Everything was delicious, but the sauce needed a bit more acid to it, it just seemed to be missing something. At $7.10 this was a very inexpensive lunch! I'll definitely be back to try out their pho and Vietnamese coffee. Luckily my friend lives close! Pho sure! read more

When my friends and I are at a loss for what to eat for dinner, we always get pho. and we always order it from here (which means we order food from here all the time). it's fantastic and it's cheap and it totally hits the spot. the small bowls of pho are filling and delicious. the service is quick, and when you get take-out, they definitely don't skimp on anything. (side note: pet peeve of mine--when you order take out from a restaurant and they give you less than what you would have gotten if you ate in. ) i've taken off one star only because it's not one of those places i would actually want to eat at. while i do appreciate the hole-in-the wall restaurants, something about pho long does not entice me to actually want to eat there. all in all, a terrific place to get yummy pho. read more

Great pho spot that hits the spot. This place deserves a higher rating - it easily beats out some of the other places in the area.

I came in here on a rainy saturday, while my bf was ordering bbq next door. the place was packed with soup eaters. I know soup was probably the best bet, and the steaming noodles did look appetizing, but I figured soup to-go was too much of a risk. I'm kind of a crazy driver. I wavered over the rice and vermicelli bowls -I was close to getting the Korean bbq beef- before finally deciding on fried rice with steak cubes and a fried egg. Now, when you think fried rice, you think rice cooked with soy sauce and little pieces of meat and veggies, right? this was a page out of random san jose fusion 101. The rice was exactly like the mexican rice I used to eat in high school. yes, they fried regular rice with a giant amount of oil and some tomato sauce. was there anything else in the rice? no, but there were some cute julienned pickled carrots and daikon sitting on top, as a garnish. the steak cubes were just that, large pieces of meat, with no seasoning at all. they also threw in a piece of tomato and one of lettuce, on top of the fried egg. Weird, but still, i ate it all. I also got a taro iced bubble tea. The ice was so finely ground, it felt like i was eating ice cream. the pearls were frozen as well. It was a different kind of texture than I am used to, but I liked it. I also got a bbq chicken banh mi sandwich for later. it was tasty, the chicken tasted charred grilled and delicious, even if there wasn't tons of meat. The other fillings were typical banh mi: cilantro, carrots, cucumber. I appreciated that there were no white onions or jalapeno in there. The only jarring aspect was that they threw on a dash of american-style bbq sauce- not on the meat, on the bread. strange. I wonder if their korean bbq is made with bulgogi sauce, or if they pulled their american topping out for that one too? The prices on the wall and in their to-go menu are incorrect, the correct prices are on the plastic menus. They wont tell you that, you have to figure it out on your own. Still, the food is inexpensive. The iced blended pearl tea is now $3, the rice dish was $7.35, the banh mi was $2.35. read more

We used to like this shop, and came here every so often. Until one day, the shrimp in the spring rolls were stinks. We noticed the potion of noodle got smaller, it didn't bother us until the stinky shrimp. Never went back there. There are better pho's. read more

At their prices it's hard to beat. The hot sweet broth quickly cooks the raw pieces of steak I place in my bowl after it gets served to me. Fair quantity of meat and at $7.90 for their small bowl(which is quite large) is hard to beat. read more

Used to be my favorite pho spot. What wasn't to love? Close to my house and clean! Now? Not so much. The prices have gone up. When I'm hungover I usually order the kids mean with a couple spring rolls. (So I can have a little bit of everything, of course!) Recently they changed their bowls, feels like everything is way smaller than before.. lameskiesssssssssss. Still good pho, don't get me wrong. Service has been going downhill for a bit. When I'm dying of thirst and I need a refill... well obviously I should have rationed my water like any other person eating in the Sahara desert. Eating with boy: He orders a large bowl of pho, I order kids meal. The server straight up LOOKS me in the eye while I'm nodding that the kids meal is mine (a 5 foot asian girl) and puts it in front of boy (a 6 foot tall man).. then hands me the large bowl of pho. HRM. I guess it could have been a mistake.. maybe. But when I took a bite of my spring roll, FOUND A HAIR.. I have no idea if I'm cursed with tainted unhygienic food or whats up but UGHHH. I didn't say anything because we were almost done with the spring rolls already and didn't want to make a huge fuss. Traumatized by some hairy rolls. :[ read more

This is the usual place my friends go to on Sunday mornings for some hot pho. I've been coming here a long time but always forget to Yelp about it. Luckily my friend Eddie is well known here so we get impeccable service from the staff. They know his order and bring us out a huge jug of water. We've come here without our friends and still get great service. They also have a TV on the wall playing local sports or some other show on. I usually order the chicken and rice plate and my husband orders the hot and spicy noodle soup. Food is pretty good here and one of the more clean pho restaurants in San Jose. They also have the Three Bean drink that my husband has to have every time we come here. A good place to stop with friends and recover from a hangover or just hang out like we do. It's hard to miss but in the same shopping center as Las Palmas Mexican Market. read more

I had been sick this entire week and was craving a yummy bowl of pho. The bowl of pho did not hit the spot as I hoped it would. I was a bit disappointed by the blandness of broth. It did not taste as pure and flavorful as Pho Y. They were cheap with the veggies as well. Nonetheless, way closer than Pho Y and this might be the only place around here that doesn't use MSG. read more

I could have sworn I already reviewed this place, weird. Ok so here it goes. There is a serious lack of pho places in this neighborhood so these guys get 2 stars just for being here. They are located in a strip of strip malls on Saratoga, 1 strip down from Amato's (pass the sushi one). The service is getting better. They finally have an English speaker answering the phone when I call in my order so I usually end up with what I ordered. Their Pho is pretty decent and the price is right for the neighborhood. When it rains outside all I want is hot noodle soup. read more

DISCLAIMER: I LOVE Vietnamese restaurants, don't get me wrong. Someday I'll find some hilarious Chinese restaurant Engrish name I can poke fun of. But why is it that some of these Pho restaurants have the most fun of names when pronounced incorrectly or the way they are spelt, specifically bordering on Naughty By Nature? They surely make for great yelptertainment! For example just recently from surfing the yelp directories, I found a really Phun sounding pho place called Pho Bang: http://www.yelp.com/biz/_qXkf-BCvhdcQiQRjiGkJA?hrid=rB_hrndPybfEpK04NJmAow So during a short break today, I searched for "Pho" in "San Jose, CA". And guess what, there's TONS of em :-) Pho Long Thinh.... I guess that's where you go after Pho Bang to get "Phlossed" or if you had some Long Thinh first and if you didn't feel satisfied, you need a Big Pho Dong to fill you up. http://www.yelp.com/biz/5I60MrqrzwA9I4JiqK4rOA?hrid=TsPkfAIpA2GiHp6b-1z5dQ coz sometimes, size and thickness/girth does matter. After all Samantha from Sex in the City can attest because of her ex James. Still got those naughty hats on? Oh my there's a little more entertainment from the following excerpts of other people's yelp reviews: "Hole in the wall pace specializing in 'pearl smoothies'" (from Long Thinh?) "decent and cheap. great for a hangover." (but of course, it's Thinh! And Long....) read more

After reading all the great reviews, hubby and I were disappointed. We both ordered a large seafood pho - but with different kind of noodles. Pros: Our waitress was friendly and efficient. The broth was good - clear and no fatty residue. The yellow noodles were crunchy. Cons: The clear noodles were a bit mushy. The seafood bits were minuscule and not plentiful - a few shrimp, one or two pieces of squid and four fish balls. The basil and mint sprigs were brownish, not very fresh. Expected better for an $11.00 serving - don't think we will return. read more

This place is a little scary on the outside, but you'll find that food is pretty good. It's one of the only places in the Campbell area for Pho, unless you want to drive to San Jose or Santa Clara. Here's what's good about Pho Long Thinh: - I'm not a big fan of Pho, but my husband is. He likes the broth they use here better than most places in the area (mainly Pho Thanh Long Restaurant). He claims it doesn't taste like canned beef stock. - Their spring rolls taste fresh and the shrimp they use are a decent size. - I always get the Vermicelli, which is pretty good. The pork they use is tender and doesn't taste funky (which I sometimes I find at other Pho places). However, personally I like the Vermicelli better at Pho Thanh Long Restaurant. - You get a decent size portion and the food is cheap - Family owned business. We usually come here once every month or every other month. The same people always serve us. - Large TV for entertainment (when you don't feel like talking to your friends or family) read more

I ordered the grilled pork, egg roll and shrimp with vermicelli noodle #42 for lunch. Not enough fish sauce, the egg rolls tasted sour ( it's going bad) and no flavor to the meat. I ordered 2 of #31 - the rice is too little, the pork meat is not what is on the menu. Probably used low quality meat. Don't think their customer focus is toward is Asian customers. read more

This place was well on its way to a 4-star rating until I found a hair and two tiny insects in my pho. Normally, I'm the adventurous type and I like trying new things. Beacuse of this, I wasn't a bit scared by the strip-mall placement of this pho house and sauntered in, feeling to be an "old-hand" and finding good Vietnamese food in strange places. The spring rolls were good with good peanut dipping sauce, and the bun had some truly great shrimp in it. My steak and meatball pho was good, even if the steak was a bit chewy and the broth not as flavorful as I've had before. But I was enjoying myself, eating all the meat and then finishing off the noodles in my bowl when I discovered what turned out to be two tiny bugs in my soup. And when I say tiny, I mean really tiny, like the size of a fruit fly. Needless to say, I didn't feel it necessary to complete my broth and noodles. read more

This is our favourite "go-to" whenever we want pho. The flavour is usually pretty good, the service is fast and friendly and the atmosphere is nice and clean. Definitely a strong recommendation for quick pho. read more

Long overdue review, my "go-to" Pho restaurant in the south Bay Area. Always consistently delicious bowls, great broth, amazing meat flavor w/ the perfect amount of sweet (NOT overly salty, and "out of the can" sweet pho broth tasting). Noodles are cooked well too, nice and bouncy/chewy without clumping up and being too starchy and hard to eat. Reasonably priced menu and drinks. Always great service! Never been disappointed. Family owned iirc, super hard working. Will continue to visit for years to come :) Keep it up! -Ken (theonlineguy) T. read more

Flavor: B Service: B Portion: A Prices: A+ Additional Notations: They could give you more meat - there were only three large slices of beef. The waitress with the short bob could smile a bit and not make me feel super awkward about my terrible Vietnamese. The main reason I come here is because it's the only place within miles where I can get real, slow-dripped, Vietnamese iced coffee; or even pho for that matter. When I am in the area and I've got a hankerin' for Vietnamese food, this is the spot. Oh yeah, it's dirt cheap. read more

My girlfriend and I refuse to return to Pho Hoa after they messed up her "no veggies" order multiple times. This place has only goofed when the older woman takes our order. She forgot my salty plum soda, and then gave me salty lemon soda or something w/ a lemon in it. Anyway, we finally got our orders right. Anyone else though is fabulous and I LOVE PHO! read more

It's used to be real good when it first open. Now the broth kinda bland read more

Pho Long Thinh - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

Me and my girlfriend recently just moved into the neighborhood. Me being Vietnamese, I had to give it a shot since I was going to seeing a whole lot of the restaurant. I now frequent the store about 2 to 4 times a week. I've yet to see it super duper packed like some of the other pho places on East Side San Jose, but it has never ever been empty where we were the only customers. The service is pretty good. We were always almost immediately seated as soon as we got to the door. The guy (looks to be in his 20's, kinda tall) is pretty nice and knowledgeable about the menu. When it came to Pho, it usually came out fairly quickly (we barely have time to finish wiping the chopsticks and spoons). It's not the BEST pho out there, but for the price you pay... it's pretty decent. Portions are average, the taste is average, the prices are pretty good. I am a fan of their rice plates. When I want a change (usually for dinner) I'll get the steak (I think it's the steak, I'll have to go check and revise this.), egg, and rice plate. One negative: The avocado shakes just aren't that good... They lacked flavor, had too much ice, and wasn't blended all that well. That's my favorite beverage too.. Such a bummer. I'd give them 5 stars if they got that part right. Girlfriend says, "Neither are the lemon soda drinks." Overall it's pretty good. I'm here often for lunch with a bowl of pho and some tea. =] Hope this helps some of you yelpers. read more

Cheap pho. Who wouldn't want it? My boyfriend and I stopped in here to get some lunch. It was busy, but not overcrowded. I think a lot of the people that were in there were regulars. My boyfriend had the beef pho and I had the chicken. I thought it was ok, but not spectacular. The chicken was a mix of white and dark meat, and I prefer the light meat, which is healthier. The service though, was really great, and the place reminds me of pho restaurants in the city. It's very homey. And best of all, it was so cheap. One small pho, one large pho and a soda all for $13. You really cannot beat that. I would definitely stop in when I'm in the area and try out one of their vermicelli dishes. read more

Super Americanized. So thirsty afterwards. No taste in the pho broth. Very disappointed. read more

I have been a fan of this place since about two years ago. It has been very well from the food to service until yesterday. FIrst of all, this waiter guy was keep throwing stuff on the table. Instead of carefully putting the menu on the table, he flew the menu and walked away fast as if he was very busy. There were only 3-4 other tables with customers. I had no idea why he had to give me the menu that way. He did that again when he brought the check. I don't expect much from a Vietnamese restaurant, but it is very rude to throw papers on the table. Here is bigger problem than the attitude of the waiter. I didn't see any new face at this place, but the taste and the portion of beef noodle soup has gone BAD BAD BAD! Soup tasted like some kind of chemical added to it. As some other review mentioned, it just tasted BAD! Also, the rice noodle was too hard as if they are not fully cooked or something. I am assuming that they are maybe using cheap ingredience to make the soup and use cheapest noodle to keep their price low, but I rather pay them more and keep it as it was before. How can they change their food completely BAD so quickly? Oh well, I won't be back for a long time unless I have no choice cause I am in the area. read more

Hole in the wall Vietnamese pho place specializing in 'pearl smoothies' and all kinds of Vietnamese beverages. Their pho (soup noodles), bun,('dry' vermecelli) and rice plates are also not bad. Good flavors and reasonable portions. Egg rolls are wrapped with Chinese wrappers so not distinctively Vietnamese -- not very exciting egg rolls, but the 'bun' is great on hot summer days. read more

Fantastic service, great stock and the Basil and sprouts are exceptionally fresh. Has chili oil right on the table along with expected hot sauce and everything else you need. Real winner in my book! read more

Not wanting to drive far for pho, stopped off here on a craving. I should have driven further. It's not bad, but it's not good either. I have definitely had better but there really isn't any other pho place nearby. The broth is actually really tasty but the noodles and meat are more like child portions. The meatballs were ok, a little chewier than I like but still tasty. The spring rolls were ok, also a little skimpy but they were cheap so I was ok with it. Main theme of this place, OK. It's all ok and if you are ok with ok, then ok, go ahead and go. read more

This restaurant is okay and is what you think of a typical Vietnamese restaurant. I had the large bowl of Pho and it was nothing special or out of the ordinary. The broth could have been better and it wasn't as good compared to the other places that I've been to. I was also quite thirsty afterwards which may not be the case for everyone but I thought I should bring that to attention. On a later visit I did try the Com Ga (Grilled Chicken) rice plate. So far I prefer their rice plates over their noodle soups. The rice plate was nothing too impressive either but it was satisfying enough for me. I was hoping the grilled meat would have more flavor but seeing how the rest of the meal was not bad, it's a moot point. As far as service is concerned here, it's exactly what you expect at a typical Vietnamese restaurant. The only interactions involve ordering food and receiving food, with the exception of paying the bill. For water refills or anything else I found it hard to get someone's attention which is too bad. If you really need your Pho fix then this spot is okay, otherwise I would recommend passing on it. Do note that the prices here are very reasonable for the portion of the food which is a saving grace when service and food are taken into consideration. read more

I've been coming here recently to get my pho fix. I usually get a thai ice tea, some spring rolls, and a large #16 w/ extra meat balls. (What! I'm fatty I know =( ) All delicious! Don't let the outside intimated you. The decor is nothing fancy but it's well kept and clean. Much better than other pho places I've seen. And for a Vietnamese place. Man, the service here is gold! read more

I use to come here a lot because it's super close to my parent's church. Whenever my dad needed a break from the church office, he'd call up the fam & we'd go out for a quick lunch at long thinh. It's opened and run by a family & their quality of pho is pretty good. Service is quick, meat portions are average, and broth is tasty. It looks like a whole in the wall...it pretty much is. They have a wide variety & prices are reasonable. 3 Stars because this place is pretty good, but i've def had better pho. There is a new "fad" of pho places that are opening up which provide a super clean & nice atmosphere while offering an awesome bowl of pho...& I have pretty much switched over to those places. My go-to pho place is Pho Wagon now (it's clean, yummy & convinient)...if you're in the milpitas area, pho kim long is the place to be at for seriously LEGIT pho. It's just a bit of a drive for me...so i get it rarely. :P read more

Basically a better place to eat pho than phohoa on deanza. This is a family owned restaurant and the food is more authentic. It is also cheaper than other pho restaurants. Small bowl - 5.05$! A better pho place in Cupertino! read more

We were hungry, and we wanted some pho. I ordered a meatball + steak pho, and it was....normal. Nothing amazing, but I'm not complaining either. I don't know what more to say! read more

((UPDATE 12/27)) They will remember you if you come in often, or if you used to as is the case for me after leaving for university in 2011. In a sense, you come to be friends with them. The portions are enormous for the price - LeQuy might make a better broth, but 1) that's only in my opinion and my mother disagrees and 2) LeQuy's bowls run a full dollar or two more and you get what might be significantly less meat and noodles. That's worth considering and consequently leads me to change my review from 3 stars to 4 stars. Pho Long Thinh hangs in there largely by value. Keep supporting family business... eat Pho Long Thinh, eat LeQuy - do whatever, just keep eating on the watch of these fine folks. ((UPDATE 8/13)) in the past year the prices of everything have gone up slightly. The large bowls are not 6.75 instead of 6.05, and the small bowls are 5.75 instead of 5.05. It isn't a big difference by any means, but it's worth considering that the difference in cost between here and a higher quality pho joint is now smaller, creating more of a case for visiting LeQuy instead, for the extra dollar or two. OLD REVIEW: No, it's not the best pho you'll ever have. But it's light, cheap, quick, filling and tasty. The soup is simple, so with some Hoison sauce and some Sriracchia sauce you're strapped. The service isn't anything special, I've been here a TON of times and the people are never particularly friendly, but they do their job and have never been unpleasant so I don't really care. I normally order a large #1 for about 6 bucks, my girlfriend ordering the small #1 for about 5. Usually we also get their mango snow bubble. If you're in the mood for a smoothie-like beverage with pearls and don't mind shelling out the extra 3 dollars, go for it, though I advise you don't get too adventurous as the other flavors we've tried have been less impressive. I keep coming back because 2 people can eat reasonably for under 12 dollars, it tastes pretty good, it's filling, it's close by, and they bring the food out fast. I've been to better pho restaurants, but it's a little annoying to have to wait 15-20 minutes for something that should require little preparation... Pho Long Thinh is an 8 minute drive, a 12 dollar date, a 2-minute wait time and a 1-minute get out time. They are crowded from time to time during the lunch hour, but usually I can leave my house, get there, sit down, order, eat, pay, and get back home in about 45 minutes on a normal day. Can't beat that when you have a pho craving. read more

Im not even sure if the pricing here should be considered reasonable bc this is literally the most affordable pho spot in san jose. One thing, though, is that the steak and brisket is a lil dry. The soup is basic but i mean the pricing here is too good. read more

My daughter and I stopped to pick up dinner tonight. When we got home I began to get our food in bowls to serve. First I put some noodles in a bowl, then I added the meat and veggies. When I poured the broth in I noticed something odd in the bowl. A FREAKING COCKROACH! Thankfully no one ate anything. I took it back and got a refund. So nasty that they didn't even seem to care. They were still serving people cockroach infested food. DO NOT EAT HERE!!!! I'll be calling the Health department tomorrow. read more

Ok this place is the bomb. I've been here 20+ times. It's great food that's cheap. You can get a soup for under 6$ and a sandwich for like 5$. Pretty good spring rolls too. Family owned place. Packed at noon so I usually try to go at 2 PM or later. They have a fish tank and a TV too. I like visuals with my PHO don't be a hater. They do have beer but usually it's so early in the day you know.... And RedBull and the Condensed Milk Coffee. The one negative is they don't take American Express. You can pay 1$+ and get the large soup that fills you up. 2$ more and you get 2x the noodles you would get with a large you'll definitely be in food coma aka pho happy heaven. I was introduced to this place by a friend and have since introduced a few other friends. Would recommend A++++ Update: The sandwiches are only $2.54 but you better have cash cause if not it's a 65c fee to use a credit card. (-1 star!) read more

The pho isn't that bad here and the price is pretty cheap. The service on the other hand is sucks. They wont come to you unless you call them over. But i guess its like that with all vietnamese restaurants. Its a decent place if you want to get some cheap and decent pho. read more

I come here pretty often, as I live right down the street. This place is very reasonable and the food is incredible! The people here are always so friendly and welcoming. If you want good vietnamese food and you're in a rush, come here. When i order togo, they work fast and efficiently and get my orders done in no time. I am always happy to return to this local business and it is definitely my go to for a cheap and delicious hot meal. read more

Pho Long Thinh - #34 To-go - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California

This is our go to pho spot. Owners are super friendly and the food is extremely tasty! This is the pho restaurant I recommend to everybody.

Their banh mi bread is one of my favorites in the Bay - always a balanced blend of a firm shell and soft interior. I recall liking their #26 pork banh mi, but today's wasn't as flavorful as I remember. Not bad, but they've done better. Service is always prompt and pleasant. Just noticed they have my fav soup, bun bo kho, will definitely be back to try that. read more

Pho Long Thinh - Vietnamese Near Me - San Jose, California