Pho Viet Anh — Restaurant in Seattle

I got the combo bowl and a pork bahn mi, both great! Broth was killer! This one will have you lifting the bowl the not miss a drop. I don't like broth that's too light and this was right on the money. Meats were tender and tasty; I can tell when it's low quality meat and this was not. No complaints on the bahn mi. Good pork like the server recommended. They asked me if the pate and mayo that comes on there is ok and I said yes, but I didn't detect any mayo and I could see the pate had a thin spread. I understand they may be cautious with application because those are divisive ingredients, and this application probably is totally normal, but I personally hoped for more of both, so I may ask for that next time.

Service was fast and friendly, but the older woman serving was getting in the way of the younger server multiple times. One woman was sat at a table by one server, then the other older server came up and told her to move to a single seat. That's just not cool and makes you seem so unorganized at the cost of the customer's convenience instead of their own. They need to get on the same page and stop stepping on toes. Same woman tried to sell everyone the Buy 2 Get 1 Free on Bahm Mi deal, including me, a solo guy that already had a large pho and bahn mi in front of him. Know Your Audience moment.

COVID safety related notes: They didn't look at my ID to reference against my vaccine card and they didn't really look at it for even a second, so that was a little unsettling. You order via your phone scanning a QR code, but the QR code isn't on a little table sign, it's on a laminated page just like a normal menu. This defeats the purpose when everyone touches the QR paper anyway. It should be on a small stand that nobody should have to touch. No docked points for these managerial decisions and toe-stepping because the food is very good, but I'd very much like to see more concern and logic put into their precautions and practices, instead of scraping by...

Tip: this place is quite small (~30 seats) and very popular for weekday lunch (almost completely full by 12:15), but it clears out fast thanks to the speedy, efficient service! So if you want to go with a group, go after 12:45 and it'll be half empty.

Of course you have to get the fantastic beef pho. The soup is full of flavor and will have you gulping it down even though you know it's also full of salt and will make you regret this when you're pounding back water hours later and still parched. It doesn't taste too salty at the time though because it's well balanced with other seasonings.

As for toppings, the fatty flank is absolute perfection in both texture and flavor. This alone will guarantee I go back for more. I could happily eat just a big bowl of the fatty flank. Mmmmm tender, tasty, fatty flank.

The beef balls are really good too, just the right degree of chewiness! Save them for last to soak up more flavor from the soup.

I don't love the steak and brisket as much, I find them a bit tougher and drier than ideal.

Tendon costs $2 extra to add to your pho. At first I thought this was ambitious as tendon comes free at most other places, but I quickly realized this tendon is on a whole different level. Instead of thin strips that leave you wanting more, it's these huge gratifying chunks that taste amazing as you chomp down with great satisfaction. So worth the extra two bucks!

The fried rolls with pork and shrimp were a little TOO deep fried, making them overly crunchy (can't believe I'm saying this!), and the flavor is monotonous - the taste of fried dough overpowering any flavors from the fillings.

Overall, a few small things that are less than perfect, but still one of my favorite...

When I opened my phone earlier today and (in the spirit of the rainy weather) typed "pho" into the search bar, I was not expecting to find this gem of a place. Coming first from Socal and the pho-filled mecca that is Anaheim / Westminster, and then from Norcal's little Saigon and San Jose, I honestly didn't think anything I could stumble upon would more than passably satiate my craving for piping hot pho.

Enter Pho Viet Anh. Tucked unassumingly in a corner of what I, as a visitor to Seattle, can only guess from Google Maps's vague labeling is Lower Queen Anne, Pho Viet Anh houses literally the best beef broth that I have ever had. I ordered the spicy broth, and for the first time in my life, I didn't bother picking up the sriracha or hoisin sauce, even for dipping the beef. The broth is the perfect amount of kick to chase away the rainy day gloom, without overpowering the slightly sweet and lemongrassy finish. The portion of beef - Steak and Brisket, in my case - is quite generous (although the noodles/broth themselves are not, especially if you are used to the cavernous bowls that pho from Socal is served in).

My only gripe with my meal is the special spring roll - the skin was way more gummy and sticky than I've ever seen it, and it fell apart as I was eating it. Granted, this may be due to my lack of proper spring-roll-eating experience (i.e. I don't think I've ever had a spring roll NOT fall apart on me as I was eating it), so I'm not docking any points...