Ohhh man, who doesn't want a big piping hot bowl of pho on a chilly winter day in DC? It was one of the few cold days we've had here recently and pho sounded like the perfect lunch to warm me right up and boy did it ever! I got the beef pho which was a very generous portion for $9. Service was so quick and I couldn't wait to get back to my office to finish the prep! Separate baggie came with your sprouts, jalapeno, and some amazingly fragrant Thai basil! I of course got some of the standard Sriracha and fish sauce to add as well! The pho hit the spot for sure! There were lots of noodles which I enjoy in my pho, made it a very hearty and filling meal. I enjoyed every yummy bite! My coworkers kept coming over to my desk because everyone was smelling its deliciousness! I'm a phan of this phood truck, pho sho! read more

What the Pho? - Truck - Vietnamese Near Me

See all

I hate putting down one stars but this deserves it. I don't mean to be dramatic but they did not cook the shrimp in my spring roll. I bit into it and was disgusted. Raw shrimp just chillin inside. Yep...see the picture, I was in shock. Shooketh as my friends would say. Not to mention the sauce was watery, the rice paper on the roll was hard and the noodles they used weren't even right (very stringy and thin). I'm done with this place. 1 Star...i may or may not get sick from the raw shrimp that I bit a piece of, we'll see. At least they gave me a full refund. Never coming back btw. This post is to warn everyone because whoever is prepping food seems to be careless. read more

What the Pho? - My raw shrimp spring roll....why is it raw? Idk ask them. - Vietnamese Near Me

I feel so unsatisfied after eating from here. I ordered from here cause there's always a decent line at this truck and now I'm wondering if folks in DC just have a less sensitive palate or have gotten used to subpar food. I got the rice bowl and it looked promising. Good meat selection with a decent amount of toppings. How can you go wrong with that? Apparently you can go wrong. I ordered the Bulgogi steak bowl. 1) WAY too much rice, which was also overcooked so it was mushy. The rice took up 80% of the bowl. When I finished my bowl, I still had a solid layer of rice at the bottom. 2) The beef was so dry which leads me to believe it was precooked a good amount of time well before it was served. The beef portion was decent. 3) Barely any vegetables in the dish. I saw very few onions and nothing else. 4) I asked for all the toppings except jalapenos. I barely got any. The dish just felt very empty. The ratios needed to be a lot better and rice bowls need some sort of sauce or juiciness to bring together all the ingredients but I just felt like I was eating two separate ingredients....rice and beef. Save yourself the trouble and go somewhere else for lunch. read more

The shrimp summer rolls at this truck are the biggest scam that I have encountered in the entire DC culinary scene. When you initially bite into one of these rolls, it tastes like you're biting into thick paper. The outside shell is flavorless and has a strange texture. The contents inside, however, may be even worse. It is packed with cheap lettuce, noodles, and shreds of carrot. Examining the actual shrimp itself, it's clear that whoever prepared it actually halved the shrimp width-wise in order to give off the illusion that you're actually getting more shrimp. In reality, there is one whole shrimp per shrimp summer roll. For $4, this is a total scam. The steak bowl was fine, nothing to write home about. It came with some nice sauces. The people working in the truck are pleasant, but that shrimp summer roll left a bad taste in my mouth - literally and figuratively. read more

2.75 stars. Service is all kinds of brisk, my turnaround was just a minute without a line. Skip the summer rolls: the shrimp was fine but the filler ingredients were just okay-- heavier on greens than vermicelli, and very few julienned carrot among the cucumber strands. I was sated by my bulgogi beef banh mi, though the advertised onions and sesame seeds were scarce. The mayo slathered on the bread accelerated its disintegration at the seam. In the world of bread, pillow-soft is still preferable to rock-hard. Although I wish the baguette was crustier, its sizable portion was filling on its own, and it offered a higher ratio of tender, flavorful meat than kimchi slaw. I'll be back to see how their lemongrass pork and chicken bowls compare, and to try their beef or chicken pho when the weather cools down. read more

What the Pho? - Bulgogi beef banh mi; shrimp summer rolls. - Vietnamese Near Me

One of my rare short and sweet reviews! It was rainy and dreary. Foodtruck Fiesta said What the Pho was at West End. An hour later, it said it wasn't, but it was trying to trick me because there they were. I went up to the gentleman at the truck and asked for a beef pho. He wasn't really friendly or talkative but it was the fastest I have ever received pho in my life and he gave it to me with a smile. I poured some Sriracha and hoisin into a little cup and went on my merry way with: - Styrofoam cup full of yummy broth and well-cooked noodles - Little baggie of bean sprouts, 2 jalapeno slices, handful of basil - Chopsticks - A little cup of Sriracha-hoisin that I poured from the bottles at the truck Simple. Delicious. Satisfying. Do it. read more

Was not impressed by their pho here. The broth was way too salty, and there was a very high noodle to beef ratio. I didn't even finish the broth it was so off! Never getting pho here again, especially when there are three other trucks that serve pho. However, their bahn mi redeems them a bit up to three stars. Love me some cilantro, and the bread is pretty good. read more

I stopped by this food truck to get some Bulgogi BanMi sub. The service here is hit or miss - you kinda have to get the person's attention coz he is busy doing many different things at the same time. Food is ready reasonably quickly once you place the order. The sub is a foot long and filling! But there was too much of the mayo sauce than what I would have liked. That ruined the experience a bit. read more

I've gotten the chicken pho a couple times, generally on cold days when I'm really craving it and it's the only pho truck in the area, and I can't convince myself that Korean tacos would be a better use of my time and money. This is some bland as all hell white people pho. Thin strips of unseasoned chicken in a flavorless broth. Luckily they have bottles of sriracha and hoisin sauce at the ready to make it interesting; otherwise it would be like warm cardboard. Two stars for heating me up as needed and being ok after dumping in a ton of sauce. read more

What the Pho? - Chicken pho - Vietnamese Near Me

Oops! Thanks to Geee P., I realized I accidentally rated the wrong pho truck! I've deleted that review and pasted the review for the correct truck here. It's been so long since I had pho from a food truck other than Phonation, I was glad for some variety when What The Pho? showed up at the State Department. I liked the broth - flavorful and filling. Didn't require a ton of sriacha and hoisin to flavor. Honestly...wasn't as impressed with the chicken. Big pieces of white meat, which was nice, but it didn't have a ton of flavor and was a bit dry despite being drenched in broth. The pho was a very large portion - I couldn't finish it. Didn't come with as much basil as I would have liked, unfortunately, and definitely less when compared with the amount given by Phonation. Also tried the shrimp rolls - they were excellent and loved the peanut sauce. Incredibly fresh. read more

Tasty broth but not enough chicken for what they charge... Mostly just broth and noodles. I prefer pho junkies. read more

What the Pho? - Tasty broth but hardly any chicken... I've only had this and pho junkies once, but I'm gonna stick with pho junkies... - Vietnamese Near Me

Ordered the lemongrass chicken banh mi and there was undercooked chicken in my sandwich. Luckily I discovered it before I had eaten much of my sandwich. The chicken that I did unfortunately eat tasted like it had previously been frozen.--I got a refund. read more

What the Pho? - Undercooked chicken on my Bahn Mi. - Vietnamese Near Me

Okay, I don't know if my expectations are just extremely low, or if this food truck has just gotten a bad rep, but I didn't find the food all that bad here. I didn't get the pho BECAUSE of the previous reviews; the descriptions didn't sound too good, and I was really nervous even coming here at all, to tell the truth. However, it was down to spending a little here at WTP, or over 20 bucks at Pepe around the corner - price won out over "good taste", I suppose. Anyway, I got the beef bulgogi banh mi and an order of shrimp summer rolls. I figured that if the food was REALLY bad, I'd stand a better chance of putting up with the sandwich. I was absolutely stunned by the size of the banh mi that I received. I've noticed earlier complaints about the banh mi being "small", but if what I received is considered "small", then I guess that reviewer must have one HEALTHY appetite. This sandwich is almost more than I can handle, and believe me when I say that it's rare for me to leave food on a plate. The bread was really good - just the right amount of tug, but not crusty. And the filling? Wow, this is some good stuff. The bulgogi beef was tender and well marinated, the daikon and vegetables crisp and very, very tart. I was VERY well pleased. This was worth the 9 dollar price, easily. The summer rolls are 4 dollars - it says "two" on the menu, but they're the equivalent of four that I've received elsewhere in restaurants. (Albeit four small ones, but still.) These were "okay", though the cilantro was OVERWHELMING in these - yikes, guys, can you tone that down some? Otherwise, not bad. Other customers were getting the pho with no hesitation. I saw the size of the bowls - yes, it's a bit small for 9 dollars, but it's a FOOD TRUCK, for crying out loud. You are NOT at a gourmet restaurant, people. (sarcasm) Trusting previous Yelpers' reviews of this place? "Yeah, not so much." I will definitely give this truck another whirl when I'm in the mood for Vietnamese, and next time, I'm going to be "brave" and try the pho! Shudder! Shake! Will I get food poisoning, or just a big helping of disappointment? Stay tuned! (/sarcasm) :p read more

Pretty meh, but edible. I got the chicken pho. The broth didn't have much flavor other than salt. As a few other people have mentioned, a lot of noodles but I like noodles so that didn't bother me. What did bother me was that the noodles were stiff and almost like straw. They would break easily with each bite, missing the chewy factor. Chicken was cut in cubes instead of more like pulled chicken which is what I'm used to seeing. There was a bit of a wait at 1pm but probably less than 10 min. Service was friendly. They put the bean sprouts and jalapeños in a bag which worked fine for me. Anyway, didn't seem like they put much effort into the broth which is like 90% of the point of pho. I don't recommend it as pho goes. read more

I had the chicken over the rice platter. The chicken was good but the rice didn't seem fresh as it was hard.

4 stars for the broth, 1 for the amount of meat. I'd normally give this a 3, but the 2-star "meh, I've experienced better" perfectly summarizes it, because I HAVE experienced better pho from another food truck in town. While I don't expect an entire steak in my bowl of pho, I was hoping there would be a better meat-to-noodle ratio. And the noodles are thick, so it seems like there are even more of them. The broth had a good flavor, and I appreciated the big bottles and tiny to-go cups for sriracha and hoisin sauce so that I could spice it up. Overall not bad, but I wouldn't seek it out again, and will stick to one of the other pho food trucks instead from now on. read more

Eh. That's how I feel about What the Pho. I got the chicken pho and it was just okay. I felt like their meat/noodles ratio was very low and the chicken was almost dry (strange as it was in a soup). The broth itself was not too flavorful and I felt a little overly salty. I did appreciate the sirracha and hoison sauce "fill your own" containers. Not fantastic, but edible and good for when the office AC is still on in November. read more

It was a chilly day and I wanted some pho to warm me up. It was a tad busy, but there's not a long wait for your food. I got the lemongrass chicken pho, and the size of the bowl it came in surprised me. I hurried back to my office so I could fully enjoy it. Plenty of noodles & chicken in the broth... for me, it was a perfect balance. The broth had a tad less flavor than what I'm used to, but less salt means healthier experience in my book, so I wasn't too upset. Besides, a few squirts of sriracha made it perfect! Their pho soup is perfect for a chilly day. I will be back. read more

OK, yeah, half the reason I got lunch here was to put the name on my expense report, but this was a damned tasty Banh Mi - I went with the pork tenderloin and jalapeno, and it was HUGE! The shrimp salad rolls were also quite delicious, and everything was up really, really fast - I ordered and got served within a matter of 2-3 minutes. Really, really impressed and pleased - next time I'll have to try their namesake dish! read more

Yeah, not so much. And I am bummed to be saying that because good pho is like a religious experience. And this didn't even meet Sunday school levels. I got the beef pho and friend got the pork bahn mi and we shared. As others have commented, there is virtually no resemblance between this pho and the pho you would get...well, basically anywhere else that serves pho. Very minimal amount of beef, skinny noodles, no sprouts, no jalapeno. Basically, weak beef broth with noodles. Beef noodle soup, if you will. The bahn mi was OK but the pork was kind of dry and the picked veggies were not pickled at all. Just sort of shredded veggies on top of some dry pork. Owner was very friendly but these prices are moderate and for that, don't serve me beef broth and noodles. Or a very dried out piece of pork hiding in shredded veggies. Hate to say this...but, skip it. I probably will in the future too. read more

I got the bulgogi banh mi and veggie rolls. Fantastic - one of the best food truck meals I have had. Sandwich is huge, well worth the money.

Delicious Ban Mi with lemongrass pork. Very generous portions. Would have lunch here again and try the Pho. read more

On a beautiful day in DC, I decided that I had to go out to Farragut to get food truck food. I chose to get the beef bulgogi bowl (with lettuce) at What the Pho. First, from a service perspective, I really appreciated that they offered lettuce instead of rice as a base. Most of the food trucks only serve food on some sort of processed grain, and struggle to accommodate others. This was not a problem here. I ended up having bulgogi and the kimchi. The first few bites I had were amazing. I thought... maybe I'll give a food truck more than 3 stars. Then I started getting some chewier pieces and it went downhill a bit. Overall, I was very satisfied with the amount of meat that I got- it's probably because I got a bowl and not the pho. The price I paid for the amount of food I got seemed fair. I would recommend going here for a lunch. Reasonably priced and reasonably good read more

Well, it does happen that there are some restaurants that Yelpers just can't agree on. And I think What the Pho? might be one of them. I liked the Pho, although I agree it is not as good as most sit-down places. But the broth was flavorful and came with a bag of sprouts, herbs, and a lime to add in. The meat that was included in the soup was good, although I agree that there is not much of it. Still, not too shabby for pho off of a truck and more than enough to fill me up at lunch. The banh mi I tried is what I really did not like and I would suggest avoid it. So I realize that this review, rather than building any sort of consensus, will just add another opinion to the fray. read more

Pros: the broth was excellent, and the herbs were nice. Cons: the noodles were a little too chewy, and the chicken meat was in sort of bland chunks. I don't mind plain white meat in chicken pho if it is shredded, in fact I rather like it, but this came in sort of chewy sheets. But the broth is the most important part of the pho, so I am comfortable giving 3 stars. read more

I had the chicken pho for lunch from this truck and it was terrible. The chicken was effectively deli meat - just squares of thin turkey cut up and dumped into the soup. It was bland and it had no vegetables in it. Water + noodles + deli meat = $9.50. read more

Got the Thai Peanut Chicken bowl with noodles over rice. The whole point in ordering this is the Thai peanut sauce. And when I ask for extra, I should get it. All the other ingredients were just fine. The chicken had a nice marinate and wasn't dry. The peanut sauce was mediocre or I just didnt have enough to get a good taste. The rice vinegar concoction wasn't my liking but I mixed it with the One container of peanut sauce so I could get more than half my bowl wet. I might try them again but will make sure they give me enough peanut sauce. Plus the price was right for truck food. $9.90 read more

The Vermicelli over Salad bowls are amazing. Add all the extras!

I'm Vietnamese and have eaten and cooked Vietnamese food all my life. I had the bulgogi banh mi sandwich. It was very good. It does not taste like a traditional banh mi sandwich but it was very tasty. It was a good fusion btwn Korean and Vietnamese. I would have preferred a more toasted bun, but that was my only criticism. Great flavor. Very nice spiciness. Also fast service. read more

Their Pho is eh, but the quick-turnaround is nice. very skimpy on the meat. I had their sub before but it was too long ago to comment on. I think it was ok. I see some comments where people complained about the service. Honestly, not the friendliest person I've met, but not bad either. He got the job done without being rude or offensive and got me what I asked for quickly. No complaints there. read more

If you like bland "Vietnamese" food, this is the truck for you. The garden rolls are pretty good and they do give you a nice amount of food, but I have had both the pho and the rice bowl - both of which were way on the bland side. read more

I should have read the reviews. Indeed, it was bad. Got the summer rolls, the rice paper was hard and filled with 80% lettuce, some vermicelli, veggies and cheap shrimp. The peanut tasted good but too spicy wish is fine but it is not suppose to be. Then the chicken Pho, the vermicelli was way over cooked (like they were cooked the day before), the broth was watery and bland, the chicken dry and the sprouts weren't refresh at all. Even if it is cold, think twice before ordering there. read more

The broth has no flavor and pho should be all about the broth. This is like warm water before you add Siracha, etc. Also stingy on the meat, which is overcooked but that may be inevitable with take out pho, and on the add-ins. There were exactly 3 tiny basil leaves in my baggy, along with soybeans and jalepeno that apparently were a day or two old because the soybeans were actually starting to ferment (I know b/c I ferment at home). I could make better pho at home from a packet. read more

The pork tenderloin bowl is so terrible, that it inspired me to write my first review on Yelp. The meat is served with basically no seasoning or marinade. Very bland, aside from a purely of the pungent, funky taste, without any of the good flavors that come with that sorta thing. The "pickled vegetables" tasted more like steamed carrots and cumbers. And btw, who boils a cucumber? Although the rice was not objectionable taste-wise, it was overdone. I was able to choke down half of the bowl, but amid cries from my coworkers at the smell, and churns from my stomach at the putrid contents it had just received, i had to toss the rest out. I've never had something so odious yet bland. This is a rare, special thing they have going there, people. I understand lots of Vietnamese food can have that funky kind of taste. I've even been to Vietnam and loved the food. This is not Vietnamese food, and it's hardly food at all. running to the bathro read more

Beef Pho & Spring rolls... My first time giving this truck a try. My favorite truck must have went on holiday. It wasn't bad and it wasn't OMG good either...but it hit the spot! I have gotten spoiled having beef brisket from one of the rival trucks. The beef in this looked like steak 'ums. I didn't have enough basil in my bag of veggies. :-( Before I added my condiments and veggies, I tasted the broth...I've had better. The spring roll was what I expected and the peanut sauce was good. read more

I LOVE pho, to the point where I eat it at least once a week, and I have never met a pho I didn't like until today. I'm not a picky eater at all, and I never give bad reviews, but I have to say that this pho was just awful. It was SO oily--I cooled it down and scooped several ounces of straight-up grease from the top, and I still couldn't eat it. They also forgot to give me the sprouts, lime, basil, and jalepenos, which I didn't notice until I got back to the office. It's sad because I absolutely love the name and had high hopes. read more

Ordered pho there at least twice in a couple of months. The bean sprouts and basil were at least a day old and yellow and starting to oxidize -- not fresh! The meat was unevenly cut and didn't look like the nice thin slices that are expected. On top of that the broth was flavorless. All in all - terrible pho!!! read more

This has been my first experience with this food truck, so take that as you will. I got the beef pho--why I would do that in the midst of a hot DC summer, I don't know. It just sounded good. But it was meh. While the overall flavor was decent, the noodles didn't seem like the traditional rice noodles that you usually get at Vietnamese restaurants, but more like really skinny soup noodles. Plus, it was a little expensive at $8 for a relatively small portion. Not that I need big portions, but I can get a slightly larger amount of better pho at the place near my apartment for a little over $5. Just saying. read more

Salty broth. Chewy dry chicken. Chewy noodles. Appropriately named because seriously, what the pho?

The broth in the pho is absolutely amazing. I look forward to having them come to our work neighborhood on Farragut square. No other near-by place compares. read more