Delicious food, Quick Service and reasonable ambience. We loved the Pho ga and the lemongrass chicken. The dumplings were nice but pretty generic. The Vietnamese crepe was huge and lots of fun. Love the generous helping of the herbs and sprouts given along with the yummy delicious dip with carrot shreds in it. Overall had a wonderful experience. Portion sizes were great. We had leftovers for our next day meal as well. Overall great experience. read more

See all

Authentic my ass. Water cinnamon ass pho. Spring roll is decent but the sauce is trash.

This place is amazing. It's very hard to find Pho in Iowa. Beef and Meatball pho was phenomenal and needed no extra sauce as the broth was very tasty! 100% recommend! read more

Pho Mai Restaurant - Beef and meatball Pho (hold cilantro) - Vietnamese Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The service and food were amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere. I would highly recommend this authentic restaurant!

Food and Service were outstanding and couldn't have been better. Had the (vegan) Pho and it was out of this world. Don't order the large or you will take home leftovers. Also recommend the Spring Rolls ---Incredible! The service staff kept an eye on us and made sure that we had what we needed and that we liked the Pho which we loved. Don't miss Pho Mai read more

Tucked away in a strip mall. Excellent selection of pho - the broth was delicious. It was well-seasoned and loaded with rice noodles and our selection of sliced brisket and eye of round. The pho is served with the traditional "garden plate" of fresh ingredients including crisp bean sprouts, Thai basal, cilantro, jalapeño, and a lime wedge. Available on the table was soy, sriracha, and hoisin. A "large" bowl was plenty! But they do offer an "extra large". We also enjoy an order is spring rolls that were fresh and delicious. The service was excellent! Our waiter was very pleasant, friendly, and extremely courteous despite having a very busy dining room. We will definitely go back! read more

See all

I love going to this place with my friends. The pho is yummy and the service is always great! The shrimp dumplings and spring rolls are wonderful appetizers. The seats aren't the most comfortable, but the food makes up for it! They also have good boba. I always know I will enjoy my meal here. read more

First time here, ordered a large shrimp pho. It's yummy. It's not even 12 noon yet, but the place is packed already. The staff is very kind and helpful. Will definitely be back to try other dishes. read more

Pho Mai Restaurant - First time here, ordered large shrimp pho. It's yummy. Staff is very kind and helpful. Will definitely be back to try other dishes. - Vietnamese Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

I used to come here A LOT in college. White breast chicken pho was our favorite! It comes with all the greens on the side, lime, jalapeño, and sauce! Delicious and it's what I always crave now when I'm sick! They serve really good tea and crab rations as well. Only thing I think they could work on was cleaning !! The tables and floors were always sticky and dirty. The booths and chairs needed some wiping down and deep cleaning. Other than that we enjoyed this restaurant very much! read more

I went to visit Pho Mai Restaurant and was delighted when I walked in. There was wonderful calming music playing with a waterfall trickling down in the corner, which made the whole ambiance of the restaurant very serene. I also was greeted by very nice and friendly staff, and seated right away. Their wall decor and cute seating options were also all very neat. I ordered their Shrimp Spring Rolls and they were Delicious! I also ordered their dumpling soup which was also very tasty. I additionally liked that they had an amazing selection of Bubble Teas and I plan to try one the next time I visit. Overall, excellent experience!! I can't wait to return!! read more

Pho Mai Restaurant - Shrimp Spring Rolls - Vietnamese Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

See all

This is one of my parents' favorite places, and whenever I'm in town I'm usually sent out to pick up some pho and other items from here. The food here is consistently good and the portions are quite substantial. There is barely any difference in price between the regular and large pho, and a single large pho can easily feed two people with moderate appetites, or can be saved for lunch the next day (pro tip: fish out the noodles before refrigerating otherwise they start to lose structure by the next day). There are a handful of dishes that we get regularly. All are good, with just a couple caveats: Phở Đặc Biệt - round steak, brisket, beef tendon, and meatball - if you don't like the chewiness of the tendon, you'll want to skip this. Phở Tái Nạm - round steak and brisket. Much more accessible if you're not into eating the less common parts of meat. Phở Đồ Biển - mixed seafood soup. This is my dad's favorite, and it is quite good but sometimes the shrimp is a little overcooked, probably from sitting in very hot broth for a long time. Phở Sách Tái Bò Viên - tripe and round steak. Personally I can't get used to the texture of tripe but according to those who have more exotic tastes, this is done well. Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng - grilled pork chop on rice. A very familiar dish, hard to screw up. Fresh greens in this dish help offset the starch and the protein. Bún Thịt Heo Nướng - grilled pork, similar in many ways to the preceding menu item, but on rice vermicelli. One of my favorites. Bún Thịt Heo Nướng & Chả Giò - grilled pork and pork eggrolls on vermicelli. The size of the eggrolls is surprisingly large. Filling is good, the wrapper is sometimes a little oily, but this combination is really delicious. Bún Tôm Thịt Nướng - grilled pork and shrimp on vermicelli. Also very good, shrimp is prepared better than in the phở. Bún Chả Giò Chay - vegetarian eggrolls on vegetables, no rice or vermicelli. Probably the one really disappointing thing that I've gotten. The predominant texture of the filling is some kind of taro or other starchy root, which isn't pleasing to me. I think this would be improved if it primary crispy vegetables inside, and perhaps served with tofu over vermicelli so there's an adequate source of protein and an alternate form of carbohydrate. Service is quick and friendly; when I sit at a table waiting for our order they often offer me some water. Prices are really quite good for the portion sizes (particularly if you pay the extra $1for large phở. read more

I often travel for work and always looking for authentic Asian food from all around. While working in Cedar Rapids I found and became a repeat visitor of Pho Mai. Authentic Vietnamese food served hot and fresh. First visit I had Combo pho, spring rolls, and egg rolls - all very delicious. My second visit I tried the wonton soup with a mix of rice and egg noodles-- was not disappointed one bit. The staff were all also very friendly and attentive. Highly recommend the place. read more

Pho Mai Restaurant - Wonton soup with egg noodles - Vietnamese Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Seriously legit Pho! lived In Seattle for many years thought that was the best Pho in the US. This place is as good. Friendly staff and fast. Recommend it! read more

Literally the best pho restaurant I have had the pleasure of dining. Most definitely recommend!!!! read more

Pho Mai Restaurant - Pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

See all

Very nice place. Clean, attentive staff. Great food. Definitely worth coming down to if you have a chance. I had the pho with white noodles and chicken my first visit. The second was lemongrass chicken with onions and jalapeños that came out sizzling on a skillet. High recommendation read more

DONT EAT THE SHRIMP. Got the #11 and #1 and when eating the #11's shrimp I saw some black stuff sticking out of the shrimp so in my investigation I saw that this shrimp was not deveined at all. I went to check the #1 spring rolls and cut open one of them to see the shrimp also not deveined. The service was very chaotic with had 3 servers all at once, not getting water until 5 minuets after seating, and receiving my food with no silverware or dish-ware. The pho was really good though and the lemongrass chicken. read more

The food was very good , service great and they have a nice atmosphere. I would recommend this place .

I wish there was 3.5 stars, because 3 stars is too low, but it's not quite 4 stars either. I ordered pho, and it was good, but nothing I would rave about. There was not anything memorable about the flavor balance, the portions, or the noodle texture. Overall, I love pho, and it's a normal bowl of pho. I'm not mad about it, and I would go again only if I am in the area already and really want pho. read more

Pho Mai Restaurant - #13 Combination Noodle Soup - Vietnamese Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

While in Iowa City I jumped on yelp to find a place to eat. Vietnamese won the mood award. We ordered appetizers and confused the kind server. There were three different menus and we didnt have the special behind the scenes menu. It was available upon request. We felt like locals when we were presented with the full menu of options. The spring rolls are a must order. Just. I have had spring rolls everywhere. These are better. They have basil and mint and cilantro and flavor and shrimp and pork. Just yes. Get them. The streamed dumplings were as expected. I typically order pho. I ordered the lemongrass beef vermicelli bowl and groaned in happiness. And...I have left overs for lunch tomorrow. Oh. My. Delicious. I hope you try out this hidden gem. Oh the atmosphere? Quiet, casual and normal. I want them to open a branch in my community. Every time I get a cold I must have pho. This is the pho I want. read more

See all

This is the 2nd time we placed an online order and have to wait at least 20 mins extra from our scheduled time! This is unacceptable, especially the order was placed 3 hours before the pick up time! I let it go the first time since the restaurant was busy, but if I placed an order at a specific time, I expected no more than 10 mins wait from that time! Service is good! Food is fine. But timing is also really important. read more

I don't usually eat Pho but went here with my son who really enjoys this place. I had tried it once when they first opened and chose something rather adventurous for a first Pho meal. This time I ordered off his recommendation and was very pleased. He had one of the chicken stock based bowls and I went with a beef broth base. Both were delicious. The place isn't too big and got very busy after we arrived on a workday lunch break. Don't expect to be in and out quickly. He tells me an hour is to be expected. I went with the large bowl but I think the small would've been fine. I'll definitely be going back. read more

See all

When we entered there were only two clean tables. Out of all the tables about 11 tables have not been cleared. We assumed the waiter was busy, however there were only two tables occupied at the time. The waiter was nice, but it looked like he just didn't want to clean the tables because during our stay he just stood around. The food: Banh xeo - the flavor was good but the consistency was off. I'm used to crispy and crunchy banh xeo. Theirs was soggy. Bun bo hue - the best I've had outside of my parents cooking! The flavor was on point. Although, I wish they added pork hock. Pho - the broth was good and savory. Overall, I would recommend this place. The food was pretty authentic. I hope they can figure out the cleanliness issues though. read more

Best Pho I ever had. Good balance of meat, noodles, vegetables and overall seasoning. I wasn't left feeling super thirsty. Yet the broth was robust with flavor. read more

The food is delicious but the wait is REALLY long. We ordered 3 dishes at 11am right when it open and it took 40 minutes even though they initially said 15-20 minutes. So just be prepared. read more

This was a surprisingly wonderful meal! All the starters we had were perfect; spring rolls, shrimp dumplings and pork dumplings. The #47 Bun with chicken was done with what I'm guessing was a curry dry rub then grilled. The #48 Bun with pork was essentially a lean grilled pork chop. Our picky kids ate dumplings (!) and the fresh made chicken nuggets with tempura batter. We had this as carry out and everything was ready when promised, well packed and with everything we needed. So tasty and fresh!!! read more

Honestly some really really great pho in cedar rapids. Try #13 pho with #9 crab rangoons and #10 pork and shrimp dumplings. The staff are always so nice and service is fast. Hate to say I was not expecting the best asian food in cedar rapids, but this place proved me wrong, definitely authentic and delicious. I'm not viet but I'm asian so truuust me. So good!! read more

I louvve this place. Love their chicken pho, tofu pho. Their regular size portion is also super generous, I get it to-go'd all the time. Their bubble tea is also good, but i have had better before. What I like about this place is a huge selection for vegan & vegetarian people. They have a separate menu. My wife is a vegan loves their selection. Great flavor, great presentation of their food, all the time. During lunch hour this place is super busy. Do watch for a huge wait. Dinners are good and easily accessible. The server is always happy to see you. He welcomes & treats you well. read more

See all

The food at Pho is always delicious. My personal favorite meal here is the actual pho. This time we got a couple apps also - crab rangoons and pork egg rolls. The egg rolls were fine but nothing to rave about. Crab rangoons were good. The only issue was that the appetizers took forever and we didn't get them until 5-10 min after we got our meal. Had we known that beforehand, we likely wouldn't have ordered appetizers. Other than that, the food is good, especially on a cold December day. read more

Pho Mai Restaurant - #14 without meat - Vietnamese Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Tasted great! Would recommend 100%, and will be returning. Has a great verity of options to choose from on their menu. Very fast service as-well! read more

Best lemongrass chicken in town!!! Has a lot of lemongrass taste, spicy, and chicken is very moist.

Direct quote from management - "we don't care!" When I called them to let them know they (again) made a mistake in my order. Numerous times we try to give this place a chance. We order the same order on a weekly basis and when they've made a mistake ( like making only 1 order - when I've ordered multiple pho) or not cook my meat ( as requested since I have toddlers) - we go back because we want to give small businesses the business. But the icing was today when the again made a mistake ( putting meat in the soup) & telling me it's my fault because it's complain too much - their reasoning for their mistake is they have too many different cooks and so it's not their fault, and I can drive back 35 minutes to get my refund. But otherwise it's my fault for letting them know they're making mistakes. This will be the last time we go - it's not worth the business if you don't value your customers. It's a horrible way to run business. read more

Horrible team managemen. No one can ever communicate properly. They take over 30 mins for one dish with no heads up. No sense in calling in or ordering online either cause they will still give you the wrong food and make you wait longer than expected. They asked for the food back once I got home as if there isn't a pandemi. Just careless. YOURE BETTER OFF GOING TO PHONG LAN ON 8th street downtown. Much better ma & pa shop. quicker and greater service read more

TLDR : solid pho at a reasonable price. There was a time when there was no pho in iowa city. Many years ago the land was afflicted with his famine. In those times, there was an oasis in the desert, this place, pho mai. I have fond memories of making the drive out here from Iowa City to get my fix for pho. Since then numerous joints have cropped up in iowa city. Eating here today it's still pretty darn good. The meat is incredibly tender and the portions more than appropriate. Service can be slow if busy but definitely passable. They have beer and bubble tea and various other dishes I have not tried yet as I always go for the pho. A solid place and my usual spot if I go to the airport. read more

This is our favorite pho place in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area we have tried. I highly recommend!!! read more

See all

Have been meaning to make a visit to Pho and tonight was the night. It's the first time that I've dined at a restaurant with Vietnamese cuisine, so I'm not very familiar with the dishes or the pronunciations. (lol) There were quite a few dishes that looked appetizing, and the pictures of the assorted Bubble Teas was very cool. I chose the Pho Tai, a traditional soup with rice noodles in beef broth with seasonings, served with bean sprouts, lime, and two slices of some type of pepper. My partner ordered Bon Ton Thit Nuong, shrimp and pork with vermicelli noodles. We also had two pork egg rolls as appetizers, which were served piping hot. The small order of pho that I had was certainly enough for one person for less than $9.00. The larger size was just $1.00 more. It was served hot and I couldn't decide if I should use the spoon, fork, or chop sticks. So I used all three!! The meal my wife had looked very good, the pork really looked wonderful, and she was pleased with her choice. The bubble tea looked and tasted great, and we shared it as a dessert. We decided to get a to-go order to bring home as we finished our meal, and it came out very quickly. It is not a fancy place by any means, but there were a number of other patrons who appeared to be from southeast Asia, and they seemed to be regulars enjoying their favorite dishes. I will definitely return to try some of the other dishes, or may even return on one of those cold Iowa winter nights for another hot bowl of pho. read more

Went back again recently on our way from dropping a friend off at the airport. I unfortunately have to change my rating of this strictly for the pho. Not sure if the chef changed or what changed but the broth here is NOT what it used to be. I ordered the pho tai; generous portion of meat and vegetables but I had a hard time finishing it because of the broth. I wrote in my last review that the broth here is a little sweeter than what I usually like, but this time it was like ordering unsweetened tea and being served sweet tea instead. The broth also tasted more watery than what I remember. No deep flavors, no spice, no beefyness. There might have been a vague taste of cloves and cinnamon but honestly anything else that was there was masked by the sweetness. However, the bun bo Hue here is still the best one I've had in the area (and if I was craving it, worth driving from Iowa City), but I'll be getting my pho fix somewhere else from now on. read more

Food was so amazing. I had to force myself to stop eating or I would have needed a wheelchair escort home.

This is now my favorite Vietnamese spot! Spring roll was delicious; loved the crispy roll & peanut sauce. The Pho was good. The shrimp & pork wontons were delicious. -1 Star because I wish the broth had more flavor. Additionally, I didn't like how they packaged my pho to go. 2 little containers is not enough. The rice noodles & wontons were stuck together & the wontons ripped apart. A bigger container will solve that issue vs cramming everything into 1. Update: tried the egg roll noodle bowl. It was okay. The egg rolls only had pork & carrots in them, so it didn't have much flavor. I would recommend getting another meat option. read more

See all

Best bubble tea in Iowa. I lived in Hawaii and had bubble tea all the time. This is the only place I've found that makes their own tapioca bubbles and a good blended consistency. read more

Pho Mai Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Vegetarian pho was so good. I was very impressed with the portion size, and glad I only got a regular because it was more than I could eat. The in shop ordering is different than what I've experienced in the past and one of the workers did come to help me place my order. It took about fifteen minutes to get my food and it was PIPING hot. I will absolutely go again when I'm back here read more