🍜 DFW's Best Pho Rankings

🍜 DFW's Best Pho Rankings (My Personal List 😁) Updated! The top spot goes to BALE in Arlington! It’s now easily in my top three pho spots in the DFW area. The other two are the famous Pho Bac and the hidden gem Pho Crystal. Since Pho Bac and BALE are quite far from me, Pho Crystal still holds a special place in my heart — can't be dethroned just yet! 🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜 Anyway — back to BALE. Just looking at that huge bone in the bowl is already satisfying! 🚗 The place was packed on the weekend — had to circle a bit for parking and wait in line. ⚠️ Pro tip: go sign in on the screen as soon as you walk in! We didn’t know and stood there waiting cluelessly until we saw other people signing in. Even though it was busy and the staff were running around, tables turned over pretty quickly — we only waited about 15 minutes for a seat. First visit, we ordered: One bowl of their most popular Big Bone Pho One Spicy Beef Pho (paid extra and got a bone in it too!) The meat portions were generous, noodles cooked perfectly, though I found the broth a tad salty (Pho Bac’s broth is more balanced). Overall, still really delicious — definitely beats most pho in DFW! The Vietnamese spring rolls we ordered were just okay — not bad, not great. The peanut dipping sauce was a bit thin, nowhere near as good as Pho Crystal’s. We also ordered a Bahn Mi initially, but the staff forgot to bring it. After two big bowls of pho, we were pretty full anyway, so we didn’t ask for it again. Later, I posted on social media — at least six or seven friends immediately replied saying we must try their sandwiches, especially the pig ear banh mi! So after visiting the Japanese Garden that evening, we made a special trip back just to grab two sandwiches. And oh my… it was legendary! At $4.70 for a whole sandwich, it’s an absolute steal — easily the best value banh mi in DFW 👍. Only wish it wasn’t so far from where we live, but this will definitely be a must-visit anytime we’re in Fort Worth or Arlington! 🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜 Some side thoughts: Not sure why it’s called BALE — sounds like “Paris” in French. Reminds me of the winter of 2013 in Paris, when a local friend took me to what was supposedly a must-try pho spot on Yelp and TripAdvisor. We waited over two hours in the freezing cold. Even now, when I think of Paris, besides the touristy spots, I still remember that bowl of pho. That Paris spot and Saigon Shack near NYU have always been my benchmark for the best pho in memory. Thinking back now, maybe they aren’t objectively the best — memories just made them taste better. #DallasFood#DallasPho#DFWLife#VietnameseNoodles