Iowa Pho — Restaurant in Coralville

Note: This is a genuine review. I paid for this food with no discount.

Since Sun Cafe left the area, it has been significantly harder to find quality combination pho with flavorful broth. Iowa Pho popped up a few months ago, but there was no indication when it was for sure opening. I checked today, and unironically it was their first day.

Going in, first thing I saw was a cleanly restaurant. Not too much decor was scattered, but I do like just a little bit decor that gives environment but doesn’t collect dust.

Today I ordered the P2 to-go (I just call it combination) where all the meats you would typically see in pho are used vs select. It was $18.95, which granted, is the highest priced pho I have seen in this area. This typically at most pho restaurants include: meatball, tenderloin, brisket, tripe, and tendon. This P2 only included meatball, tenderloin, and brisket. I would like to friendly push the restaurant into introducing eventually tripe and tendon into their Pho Dac Biet.

I additionally ordered Oolong jasmine tea for $6.25, which let me say, I am not a tea person. But damn, it’s REALLY good. They asked if I wanted 100% or 75% sugar, which I did 75%. It was perfect. The jasmine really shined, while the tea itself was not too sweet, but enough to taste the flavoring.

With all this information, how was the food though? Shockingly, superb. I actually did not have surprisingly high expectations to how the broth was going to taste, but it’s almost identical to Sun Cafe with the richness in flavor, not too sweet, but not too bitter. It’s literally just right. Which makes me think them adding tripe and tendon to their combination pho will actually solidify this restaurant to be best pho in the area at this time. I will even go the distance to say it’s better than some costal areas I’ve ordered pho from like San Francisco or DC.

Now, with all that in mind. $18.95 is a lot for pho. There was another option for stone bowl served pho, which was $25. Granted I did not try it since I got my P2 and tea to-go for this review. Again, I do suggest and push the restaurant owners to add tendon and tripe, because I do think at $19, it is justifiable, and I think the restaurant will see regular business with that.

In conclusion, this is a fantastic addition to the area to fill the void of recent closure of a lot of pho restaurants in Johnston county in general.

Would I go back to Iowa Pho? Yes I would without question. This pho broth is what pulls everything together, and again, to the restaurant owner, adding tripe and tendon will solidify this business being best in the area for pho. Please keep this in mind, and I genuinely look forward to going again and probably making this my “pho spot” to just go every single time when craving pho.

P.S. I tried to call the phone number listed about 3x and it did not go through. That’s okay for the first day, but I will check in a week to see if the call from google goes through.

Best to this restaurant and welcome to Coralville, -Levi (Food...

I tried Iowa Pho for the first time this afternoon. I found the restaurant décor to be clean and simple with an open floor plan. The service was adequate, only complaints were that I was not provided water (however most other tables were, I suspect it was a simple oversight) and not provided with utensils when the appetizer was provided.

The menu was pretty simple. Appetizers including a few varieties of spring rolls, some wings, and a few other items. Mains included Banh Mi, Pho, fried rice, and some stir fried noodle dishes.

I was disappointed to see that they did not offer tripe and tendon options for pho toppings. I chose the Specialty Pho with brisket, meatballs and flank steak and the Gha Gio egg rolls.

The egg rolls were nicely crispy, but the filling was a bit mealy and didn't have much taste. The dipping sauce was fine, kind of a zhuzed up sweet chili sauce.

The pho broth was adequate, if a bit bland. In my opinion it could have used a bit more of something, maybe just more fish sauce. All the meats were tasty and the noodles were thin and properly cooked. The salad accompaniment was a bit skimpy with just one stalk of Thai basil, 4 small jalapeno slices and a few bean sprouts, however they happily provided more basil when I requested.

Overall I had a positive meal experience. I intend to return, try their banh mi, pho ga, and other dishes. I hope they continue to refine their broth making and service and establish a nice Vietnamese restaurant that can stand the test of time. 4/5 stars, good...

I was looking forward to eat at Iowa Pho for some time now. The location is right on the Coralville strip, so it is a great location except during the evening rush hour.

The pho is overpriced and flavor is decent, but it is a rather small serving. This is the priciest pho I have ever paid for ($18.95), and I have eaten pho in NYC, LA, SF, Houston, San Diego, Chicago, and many other cities. The toppings for the pho were also a very small portion. The small portion seeving size also coincides with the cup of water (they add lemon to it).

The egg rolls we got were cold like fridge or out of the freezer cold! They replaced them, but did not even offer to refund them on the bill. Also, the egg rolls were just on a plate with dipping sauce, no garnishes (lettuce/greens) like other restaurants that serve Vietnamese food, so presentation was miminal.

The salmon was the driest and toughest salmon (see picture of a piece of it) I have tasted. I could not believe they even served it. It tasted like it had been cooked left out then reheated.

Lastly, the atmosphere was nice and very clean. The wait staff was attentive...