Pho La- Vie Plant City — Restaurant in Plant City

This was my second time visiting this pho restaurant. The first time I went, they had just opened, and while the food was just okay, I figured they might still be working out the kinks. I really wanted to give them a fair shot because I love pho, and my favorite spot is all the way in Brandon—dealing with that traffic can be a hassle. This place is right down the road from me, so it would have been perfect.

Unfortunately, after my second visit, I won’t be returning. The staff was great, the waitress was very kind and attentive. However, the overall dining atmosphere left much to be desired. Sitting in a Vietnamese restaurant eating pho while listening to Daddy Yankee and mainstream pop music didn’t create the cultural or immersive experience I was hoping for. Ambiance matters when dining in.

When my food arrived, it looked fine, but the broth was very disappointing. There was one overwhelming seasoning that overpowered the entire dish. I added chili oil, hoping it would balance things out (I usually love adding chili oil to my pho), but that made it worse. The oil had a sour smell, which was concerning.

I spoke with the owner about it, and he explained that the smell came from the ingredients in the chili oil when he named them and said lemongrass. I thought maybe that was the issue, but regardless, the flavor was unpleasant, and I couldn’t eat the dish beyond picking out a few pieces of chicken.

My husband, who had his own bowl and enjoyed his meal at the time, offered to eat mine. He ate my whole meal despite me telling him it might be bad. The next day. Unfortunately, he woke up with a severe headache, vomiting, and diarrhea. We hadn't eaten anything else that day out of the ordinary, so we strongly suspect the food from this restaurant caused the issue.

I had really hoped this would become my go-to pho place, but sadly, that won’t...

On our vacation trip in Florida, we were traveling from Orlando to Tampa and was hungry. We googled some places to along the route and found a Vietnamese place in Plant City. We read some reviews and thought it was the perfect place to stop to get our Pho on.

Ambiance - the place was located in a strip mall, so it can be easily missed if your not from the area or using GPS to find it. It was nice and clean with a warm setting. There was lot so light into the place due to large windows and it being a corner spot.

Wait Staff - The waitress was very nice and friendly. Super helpful

Entrée - The 3 of us ordered 3 regular bowls of the house special Pho. The broth was so flavorful. He put a lot of effort into making the broth. 35 lbs. of product in each pot for avg of 18hrs of simmering to bring out the rich beef flavor. Having tasted many pho from all over the country, I feel this is one of the top tasting bowls I have had thus far.

Drinks - Vietnamese ice coffee was very tasty and refreshing

Value - the regular bowl was very large in size and had ample amounts of food for us. We are 3 rather large guys and it was enough food. Price wise it was 14.50 for a regular and 16.50 for a large. I give a full 2 thumbs up for value for what your getting.

Overall - this a real gem in plant city, Florida. We were extremely pleased with the meal and how friendly our waitress was. I highly recommend trying the place for any locals or passerby like ourselves. Until the next one. Keep...

My wife, daughter (1.5 years old), and myself went to Pho La-Vie for the first time today. We didn’t realize there was a Pho spot in Plant City and usually drove to Brandon or Riverview when we wanted Pho. I’m glad we found this location.

The staff/owners were truly so kind to us. My daughter is young and at a very interactive age. Every single staff member said hello to her and even gave her a snack before our food was ready and a popsicle after dinner. She loved it! And they loved her and were very accommodating - 11 out of 10 customer service.

The food was really good also. I got the Seafood Pho and my wife got a noodles with chicken dish. We both really enjoyed it and so did our daughter. Was it the best food we have ever had? No, but it was good, fresh, and arrived pretty quickly (5 to 10 minutes after we ordered). Next time I’ll try the beef broth but the pork broth was pretty good, if not a little sweet.

It is a quiet spot in Plant City and I think it deserves to be busier than it is. It was just a Tuesday night when we went but there should be more than 4 customers. I’m not sure how weekend service is (I’m sure it is busier) but you should give them a chance.

I also seen people mention the A/C not working. That is not the case anymore. It works and it was blowing cold, which was nice with a hot bowl of Pho.

Thank you! We will definitely...