Phosho Dough (SAN PABLO AVE) — Restaurant in Berkeley

Spoiler alert*extensively long review incoming

Some of the things I ask myself when I try a place are

-how expensive is it?

-how much food in proportion do I get?

-Is it good?

My humble answers to those questions in relation to Phoshodough are

-Defintely affordable

-Its a great bang for your buck

-everything is flavor packed

It's the trifecta in my opinion, but let me go in more depth and touch upon and few more aspects of why I left Phoshodough delightfully satisfied

Upon entering, me and my partner automatically felt positive vibes from the warm welcomes by the staff. We didn't come in with a game plan of what to get but luckily the staff helped us a lot with great suggestions of what to get. We got some inside info on customizations of their mainstay items to add a bit of a different dimension and flavor profile. Granted there is an upcharge for the extra ingredients but well worth it.

What we tried and followed thoughts

Food:

-beef pho broth subbed in egg noodles and grilled fish instead of the vermicelli and beef that it comes with.

On the side,  a satay sauce that you can either mix into your bowl or add per alternating bites.

Impression: Combining the beef pho broth with the grilled fish fillets would be a new experience for me. Its one of those things I've never thought about but it works. It adds another essence of umami to your standard pho. The fish holds it structure and integrity. It yields that chewy texture while maintaining a tenderness that you expect. The egg noodles also adds another chew texture to each bite that vermicelli noodles don't for me.

They give a boatload of fish and noodles. It's like skimping is not apart of their vocabulary. Lastly the biggest game changer would be the addition of the satay sauce. Its like a refresh factor that allows a dish to not be as monotonous. It has the spice and nuttiness when you alternate between bites. Highly suggest this method if you don't mind the extra labor curating each bite.

-pork bahn mi add shrimp. Extra bowl of beef broth on the side for dipping. (Kind of like a take on a French dip with au jus)

Impression:speaking on the bahn mi itself. It's monstrous in a good way. It's daunting at first when deciding how to eat it but you realize it's a multi biter if you want to enjoy all the components at once. The pickled veggies are fresh and the pork is flavorful. The bread has that crunchy exterior that doesn't cut the roof of your mouth while the flesh of the bread itself has that soft bounciness. Now imagine adding shrimp to it. Definitely surf, definitely turf, definitely bomb. I legitimately think if you could split it into two meals and feel satisfied or eat it in one sitting and feel full. Although I wish I tried the peanut sauce. I think the fish sauce was the move for the amount of food. It was light,clear, and help cut through the meatiness that this sandwich offers with the slight acid in it.

-fried egg rolls wrapped in spring rolls w their signature fish sauce/nuoc mam cham instead of their peanut sauce.

Impression: First time trying this dish. I think it's best element is that the spring roll wrapper insulates the crust friend egg roll and prevents it from getting soggy. I love dunking and soaking my spring rolls/egg rolls in the sauce so each bite is coated. Usually doing that is a trade-off for texture. Whereas with this is maintains that crunchy factor for longer. Especially when the outside is super soaked. The only pitfall which is not really a pitfall is if you don't eat it within a reasonable time. The spring roll wrapper starts to be less pliable and hardens. That in turn makes it tougher to chew.

Closing statement: I honestly wish I had a location near me. The food was delicious and met my expectations if not exceeded them. I can tell a lot of mindfulness and work goes into maintaining the quality of food.

Also shout out to one of their staff, Thomas. If it wasnt for his suggestions. I don't think we would've had these...

New Vietnamese/Pho place that is hitting on all levels!

First, the service is ON POINT. Each and every person who works there was totally invested in making sure we had everything we needed and were happy with our food. For a "fast/casual" place, this is virtually unheard of. Also, zero gums under the table.*

Second, of course - the food. I think my eyeballs and my jaw hit the floor when they brought the fried spring rolls. Let me tell you something - not since the day in 1987 when my aunt taught me to make spring rolls in the traditional Thai way have I seen spring rolls like this. They were amazing and I knew, right away, just by looking at them, that they would be so. Absolute masterpiece. Go here for the spring rolls alone.

Lastly, the pho and the bahn mi - kiddo* said the pho was delicious and she is incredibly discerning, so it was better than good. I tried a few bites - vermicelli al dente, broth translucent, chicken breast, shredded, and veggies on the side, as requested. Bahn mi was veggie and this is the only spot where the food fell a touch flat - too many mushrooms (granted, oyster, shitake, or chanterelles - couldn't quite tell) and celery, which were too soft and overcooked. I'd bet some yellow and red peppers in place of the celery and/or mushrooms and some lemongrass sauce would liven the whole thing up. I'd opt for the chicken or maybe tofu next time, instead of the veggie.

One other tiny point - the food is good, and the artwork and atmosphere is really great. It's too bad that the first thing that hits you when you walk in is the "fabuloso" scent of cleaning products. I saw the staff carrying around Method labeled bottles of spray cleaner but it smelled exactly like Fabuloso. If the food is supposed to be the point, get rid of that heavily scented cleaning product because it is totally over powering and detracts from the amazing food. I couldn't taste it properly for all the spraying and cleaning going on whilst we were eating. Other than that, we will be back for...

Phosho Dough has The tastiest, most affordable Vietnamese food And with Big portions! I normally make the trip into Oakland because their restaurantS have the best food and fun experience but now with this new closer Berkeley location I'll be going a lot more. Their internationally well-known spokesman "Rich" (a former tuxedo wearing super agent) and All of their friendly, hard-working employees will be happy to give you great food and service for not a lot of money. Just try it once and you'll see what I mean.

I had this grand plan of catching a Real genie and one of three wishes was going to be many more locations of Phosho Dough and their Amazingly delicious, super friendly service, priced right items, Vietnamese food (that welcomes everyone with a smile) style restaurant!

So now that that is off my 3 wishes list, I guess I can use that one wish for world peace or something like that instead.

And just in case you think I'm making any of this up... Just go eat at either Phosho Dough location and you will also be wishing real hard to eat their delicious...