Pho Hoa Restaurant

I meet my best friend here regularly. We think it's the best Vietnamese food in Boston. The specials are worth trying. We haven't yet found our favorite dishes, because each time we go, we try & love something new. Their fruit shakes are also delicious!

Good pho

Pho Hoa has so many classic Vietnamese dishes that I'll need to come back and try more. I came on a Saturday around lunchtime and was seated right away. It's a large space that can accommodate all kinds of groups. I got the House Special Vermicelli Bowl and a Thai Iced Tea. The food was amazing and tasted fresh. There were so many great flavors mixed together, that I ended up eating almost the whole thing.

What changed with Pho? It was good last month; Today my father had a bowl of beef noodle soup, when he got home a couple hours later, he threw up everywhere. My mother said she stated the soup and it was not good and old. I had pork chop rice which was good.

I’ve been coming here regularly for 10+ years, but the quality and service has clearly diminished since they merged with Anh Hong. The last straw for me was when I ordered delivery last time. I ordered pho and added in the comments that I would like extra jalapeño slices because there isn’t anywhere to select that as an option. Normally, when I am in the restaurant they give me 8-10 slices with my pho, and if they don’t, I ask for extra and it’s never been an issue. This time the soup was delivered with 3 slices of jalapeño and a note on the receipt that said “sorry, you have to pay for extra jalapeños”. Really? Jalapeños costs less than a dollar each at grocery stores and I wasn’t even asking for a whole jalapeño, just a few extra slices. Instead, they gave me less than they normally do. That’s a super weird way to lose a loyal customer of 10+ years. There are plenty of other options in the area to get pho.

Just not good. Food wasn’t fresh. Go somewhere else- Pho was passable, broth is probably not from scratch, nothing glaring. But “spring rolls” (aka summer rolls) were awful. Not all the way soft wrappers… why? Like hard to bite through. Bun- same issue- noodles were probably made too long ago and were not soft anymore. The “egg roll” (spring roll) on top was old af and absolutely un-crisp. Probably frozen to begin with. Limeade soda was all sugar. To top it off, the waitress I was in the bathroom with did not wash her hands. Really????

Com tam, huge portion size, meat was flavorful and the sides were good. Pho, lack flavor. Crab and port soup, good flavors. Bun bo hue, lacked flavor and spiciness but has a lot of ingredients. Fried spring rolls, feels like packaged food. Sugar cane shrimp, too greasy, also feels packaged. Red bean milk, delicious. Egg soda, delicious.

Best pho in Boston!