Pho 99 — Restaurant in Bellingham

It was okay. Do not get me wrong, this is not good or bad. This is the place to get pho if you like all the option to choose from all the different ways and combo choices. We came on a Monday and it was probably 50% full which is good with the COVID variant going around. We were seated within 5-10 minutes. There was a couple wIting before us. The cashier seated people as well, cleaning and taking orders. There was one other service/wait person. She seemed rushed but she got what we needed between she and the other person. Our water was regularly filled and our food came out fairly quickly.

There are 3 sizes of bowls-small, large and XL. The small was plently for me with a good amount of noodles and meat. The condiments on the table were the plum sauce and the Sriracha. If you you want the other spicy paste I think you have to ask for it. I ordered the chicken pho and the meat was a different texture and taste. The broth was extra sour to me. I am not sure if it was the small lime or the both. My son ordered, the beef broth and it was not as sour. I am partial to sour soups so it was not a big deal. Overall, the broth and meat combo flavor was a negative for me.

I also ordered the chicken Summer rolls and was surprised that the sauce was not peanut sauce though it looked like it. Not sure how I feel about the sauce. It was like a gravy...

I can't believe I haven't written a review for this place yet! I've been going to Pho 99 since my first year of college -- at this point, I've been going there for around 9 years, which is wild. There was a time in sophomore year that I was going there once a week or more. The sweet staff here has seen me in every condition: celebratory, heartbroken, hungover, sick, date night, hanging with friends, or just in need of some pho. I've never been a regular at a restaurant before and even though I moved away from Bellingham in 2018, they still remember me and I always make sure to pay them a visit when I'm in town. I truly hope they can pull through the pandemic and eventually reopen for in-house dining because if this place closed for good, I don't know what I would do with myself. This is the best pho (I like the veggie with extra noodles), the best bun (grilled tofu is amazing), and the best Vietnamese iced coffee in town -- don't let anyone tell you any different. Not to mention that they are very affordable! Sorry for the novel-length review, but the love in my heart for Pho 99 is truly boundless

Over the last two years, the prices have gone up by several dollars, while the portions have seemed to get smaller, The broth has gotten much more watery and has lost a lot of its flavor. Overall a huge decrease in the quality of the food. If it had been one or the other I would have continued to go but this place used to be a great spot for college students and is now just an overhyped relic. To be really specific compared to even spots in Bellevue this place is expensive for what you get. The vermicelli bowl is almost 15$ and you get LITERALLY maybe two bites of meat and a huge bowl of noodles. Even for the pho sides they give not a wedge of lime but a QUARTER of a wedge, barely big enough to squeeze. It’s truly horrendous. The guy who was up front was really nice but as far as cutting corners go if they cut anymore you’d just get plain noodles. Go to pho...