iPhở — Restaurant in College Station

I don't post reviews usually, but my experience here was so poor that I had to write to warn others about this place. Me and my family love pho, and we have been to a lot of places before. The food is very expensive and definitely not worth what you get. The spring rolls and egg rolls are about 1.5-2 inches long and not even an inch in diameter, and cost about 4 dollars for two. The cashier lied about what was in the spring roll, saying that there was no red meat or poultry inside, but there was chicken inside the spring roll. My mother does not eat red meat or poultry and only seafood for meat, and when we asked to remake or refund the item, they refused to give a refund and only remade the one spring roll since the other had one bite taken. The pho's portion was very small for the price, and I have seen small or regular sizes at other places that are bigger than this place's "large". The broth was inconsistent. We ordered 2 large beef combinations, and one was oversalted and one had no salt at all. My mother had the tofu noodle soup, and the broth and tofu had a beef smell that overpowered the taste. There was not much meat in the combination, and the meat and tendon that was there tasted very outdated and stale. The beef combination is supposed to have the most protein out of all the options. The noodles were stale and clumped together, and again there was not a lot there. The complementary vegetables were old, and they gave no cilantro and half a handful of beansprouts. Overall, this place was very overpriced and gave very little, and what they gave was very unsatisfactory and disappointing. I would not go here if you are looking for a hearty and filling...

I would have liked to have given this place a 4 because the flavor of the pho broth was just ok, although it was a little salty, and they had boba tea with tapioca, which I hadn’t had in too long. But I’ve given 3 stars because I really wanted a vegetarian pho, which they had on their menu. They were out of tofu and so I asked what type of vegetables they had in vegetarian pho, thinking I’d still be able to have a good bowl of soup. I’m glad I asked because I was told there would be no vegetable, only tofu, but there is no tofu. So, I also could not have a vegetarian spring roll bc there was no tofu. I wouldn’t necessarily count the lack of tofu against them, considering all the shortages now. But it was on the menu. I decided to get chicken noodle without chicken, as I wasn’t sure what flavor the vegetarian broth would have with no vegetables. Like I said, the taste of the broth was good, however, it was a tad too much salt for my taste, but it was pretty light on basil, only a grind or so of cilantro, 3 slices of jalapeño, and a handful of bean sprouts. I usually have a hard time eating all my large size pho at other restaurants, but didn’t have that problem here. I thought I might get plenty of noodles, since I wasn’t getting any chicken. No such luck. I didn’t think of ordering extra noodles, which would have been possible. I did like the boba tea, though, and the little crispy onion bits in the pho, but I could have turned around and gone to Nam where they have vegetarian pho with actual vegetables in it. But then I wouldn’t have been able to get that boba tea. Next time, I’ll get pho from somewhere else and just pick up the tea...

Let's start with I am biased by Houston depth of Pho. I have experience with Vietnamese restaurants and mom and pops including the neighbors house.

Appetizer: great flavor. The spring rolls and egg rolls were amazing. Well prepared, great balance, flavor, cook, everything. Price: expensive. 3/5

Entre items: seemingly well priced. No bun ga. No deeper menu items that are staples to a normal pho fare menu. This is probably due to simplicity and the nature of being in a college town. The protein portions for the steak were atrocious. The flavor however made up for the difference. Also the marinade of the beef was spot on. The tofu dish had an appropriate amount of protein. Tofu soup was good, plenty portions. Overall flavor was great. 4/5

Drinks and extras: expensive, no refills. Standard fare. One can of coke $2, most places are charging $3 a glass but refills if you want. The boba tea was tasty, and about on par with surrounding market.

Service: order at the counter, was quick and orderly. They bring you the food once cooked, and it was cooked rapidly.

Overall: great flavor, limited menu, lacking in comparison with other Vietnamese places. For lunch for our family of four: $83 with tip. About the same as Olive Garden and does not include as much value as OG or the service.

Due to lack of usual options or customization, and price, probably will not be back. It's almost worth the cost in gas/time to go hit up Pho Bihn on 290 if you really need that...