I drove an hour and a half specifically to try Pho Wheels after seeing it featured on the Peeks 100 YouTube channel. Based on the review, photos, and restaurant advertising, I expected a premium bowl of pho that would justify both the drive and the price.
Instead, I left feeling like I had been robbed of $30 and three hours of my time.
I ordered the Supreme Pho, which includes eye round steak, brisket, meatballs, shank, tendon, and oxtail. I've eaten pho all over the DMV region, and this was easily one of the most disappointing bowls I've had--regardless of price. The fact that it ended up costing nearly $30 made it even worse.
The nickel-and-diming started almost immediately. Want noodles? Another $0.50. Want chili oil? Another $2. Want additional vegetables? That's another upcharge as well.
The problem is that what Pho Wheels considers "extra vegetables" would basically bring the bowl up to the normal amount of vegetables and accompaniments that most pho restaurants already give you with your order. The standard portion here was extremely skimpy. At this price point, customers shouldn't have to keep paying additional charges just to turn the bowl into what would be considered a normal serving of pho elsewhere.
For nearly $30, I shouldn't feel like I'm ordering pho à la carte.
The portion of meat was plentiful, but that unfortunately didn't mean it was good. I found myself pulling huge hunks of fat out of my bowl. This wasn't tendon--it appeared to be large pieces of untrimmed fat from the oxtail. The actual oxtail itself was also nowhere near as large or impressive as the pieces shown in the restaurant's promotional pictures.
Then there's the advertised Dino Beef Rib. Their website showed it as "out of stock," so I asked about it when I arrived. I was told that the Dino Rib was actually just a promotion and that they no longer offer it.
Yet the restaurant was still displaying signage advertising it.
If you no longer sell something, take down the advertising. Showing customers pictures of an impressive Dino Rib, listing it online as though it's simply temporarily unavailable, and then telling them in person that you don't actually offer it anymore feels misleading.
The restaurant was basically empty when I arrived aside from one other couple. The employees themselves were friendly, but the operation seemed disorganized. They were initially about to give me my pho without any of the protein I ordered. Thankfully, another employee stopped and double-checked the order, realized the meat was missing, and even commented about how confusing the order was.
But the biggest problem--and ultimately the reason I wouldn't return--was the broth.
Great pho lives or dies by its broth. It should be rich, aromatic, savory, and deeply beefy. This tasted like none of those things.
The broth was watery, bland, underseasoned, and almost completely lacking in depth. It tasted like it was missing salt and the rich beef-fat flavor that gives a good pho broth its body and character. The meat itself wasn't particularly flavorful either.
Once I added the $2 chili oil, the spice from the chili oil became basically the only thing I could taste.
I'm not exaggerating when I say I've had better pho from grocery stores--the refrigerated or packaged bowls where you literally add water and microwave them. That's a pretty brutal comparison for a restaurant charging close to $30 for a bowl.
And that's what makes the price here so difficult to justify when you compare Pho Wheels with other restaurants in the DMV.
Phoxotic in DC serves a bowl with Dino rib, brisket, and shank for around $25. They make their noodles in-house, give you a generous amount of vegetables and accompaniments, and their broth is packed with flavor. You're actually getting a premium product--and there isn't an upcharge every time you want something that normally comes with pho.
Pho 88 in Beltsville doesn't have the Dino rib, but I've had flavorful, satisfying bowls there for around $16. You get the noodles, vegetables, accompaniments, and flavor you expect without being nickel-and-dimed for everything.
Neither restaurant makes you feel like you have to keep paying extra just to complete your bowl.
That's why spending nearly $30 at Pho Wheels felt like robbery. I paid significantly more than I do at other pho restaurants and somehow received less where it actually mattered: flavor, quality, accompaniments, and overall value.
A giant bowl doesn't automatically make something premium. If you're going to charge premium prices for pho, then the broth needs to be exceptional, the meat should be properly prepared and trimmed, the vegetables shouldn't require another upcharge just to get a normal portion, and what customers receive should reasonably resemble what's being advertised.
After driving 1.5 hours each way, I ended up with a massive bowl of watery broth, bland meat, noodles, and chunks of fat that I didn't even want to finish. read more