Pho Hoa Binh — Restaurant in North Bethesda

ACCEPTS CARD

I enjoyed it. I’ve been seeking out good pho places in the Germantown-Gaithersburg-Rockville area and this is one of my top picks so far. We got two bowls of pho and an order of egg rolls. While the egg rolls were good, the pho was fantastic! The broth was very good as well as the noodles. I come from a family of Vietnamese restaurant owners but it’s something I still can’t really describe… it’s when the broth has that soft “hit” in the back of your throat, it just gives you this great satisfaction. It’s not too strong of a hit and it’s not too bland (maybe the cinnamon?). The broth is also authentic and not from powder (there are some places in the area that do from powder). It has been my favorite broth and I’ve had pho 75 and pho grill already.

Good ambience; it’s a classic Vietnamese takeout vibe. The service was good, perhaps not the most on top of things like during checkout, but these are indeed hard times for restaurants, and I think they are trying to fill labor shortages with family help, something you see at almost any local small restaurants right now. The prices are good all things considered, with food prices and inflation going up. Like I said my family owns a few Vietnamese restaurants in a different state, and it’s a tough time right now. Even things like take out containers are 100x the price.

Support small local businesses!! Especially the ones that serve...

Feb 2023 We first came here at the tail end of noon on a Sunday. The place was empty when we arrived, but filled up quickly after 1pm. The place is dimly lit and decently clean with music playing in the background. They have 2 small tables outside on their porch. Note that this place is located in a busy shopping area (most of the activity at the Megamart) and the area itself is on a slope. I advise caution in the parking lot.

The staff here are friendly and the service is quick. You pay at the counter after you're done and they do accept credit card. Something I found interesting is that they have a bench by the counter, presumably for if you're waiting for a carry out order.

The food here is pretty good. The peanut sauce for the imperial rolls actually has peanut flavor. The pho broth is also very good and they give a decent amount of meat and noodles for the price. For the Vermicelli dishes, they offer choice of thin or thick noodles. These noodles are round and chewy, though the thick noodles are obviously more chewy than the thin noodles. They are also served with the cucumber cut and arranged into a heart. The meat with the vermicelli is marinated and a little too salty. The carrots are also marinated (sweet and sour). I ordered a Taro Smoothie, which was more like a slushy. There was a good amount of taro flavor, but honestly too sweet for my liking.

Overall,...

Disgusting. I will not return.

I've come to this spot since about 2000. Back then it used to be great. Since then, about 5 to 10 years ago I reduced to 4 star. It seems like it changed management.

Now, it seems like new management/owners again, and it's disgusting. The Summer rolls were the best part of the meal. They were okay. I didn't like the Spring rolls. They were small, greasy and the inside was like mush.

For the mail course, both plates were horrible. The lemongrass chicken was so different than anything I've seen, and as a local, I've been to a lot of places around here. It had what looked like a coating of something and that something was soggy. It didn't taste like lemongrass chicken.

The pho was the worst I've had. I lost my appetite eating it, leaving half or more. There was hardly any meat. Every piece of meat hasd hard fat and by the time I removed it, there was more fat than meat. The noodles were disgusting! They were mushy. They disintegrated in my mouth before I could chew. The broth was not what it used to be- a delicacy.

I definitely will not return after this last visit and do not...