Pho King — Restaurant in Tacoma

I love love LOVE this place. They have the best vegetarian pho I have ever had. Every time I try veg pho at any other restaurant, I find myself being disappointed because I've had Pho King's veg masterpiece. My friends who are non-veg also love this place and rate it highly so it's a win win for all. It's honestly unfortunate I don't live as close to here as I used to.

It's really rare to find amazing vegetarian food that is more traditionally/commonly a meat dish so I really appreciate this place. Their atmosphere is welcoming and friendly as well!

The location isn't ideal so parking isn't the most reliable in the area, but that comes with being in a larger city so I do not mind that aspect. It's close to bus lines and the new link so it's convenient to get to via public transportation or walking if you live close by. I hope they maybe expand one day and open a location in Seattle. If not, I will still keep coming back for special occasions.

Overall: Good seating, good service, good price, meh location,...

I ordered the Pho King special pho. I always do an "add nothing test" to the broth upon drop off. Flavor was just not there and broth little oily. Think low sodium potatoe chips or diet coke vs coke. The good part is they provide 2 different Sriacha sauces, typical veggie condiments for pho, fish sauce and soy sauce. After a few shakes of soy sauce and fish sauce, the flavor was acceptable. Compared to some of the best pho in Los Angeles CA, San Jose CA, St. Paul MN, where Id give 10/10, this pho is probably at a 6. Keep in mind, my own mother's pho which she rarely made would be a 4- as in "mom...pho? Oh boy.." other dishes like spring rolls (house sauce too watered down) had hoison sauce avail for u to make yiur own sauce (i recc 90% hoison plus 10% sriacha-swirl together). Spring rolls rock and so do the boba teas. If the chef can conjure up a more flavorful and less oily broth, Id revisit. Otherwise, many other places to try upon my return...

This used to be one of my favorite Pho places in Tacoma. The vermicelli noodle bowls were all quite delicious and we had never had a thing we didn't like. I unfortunately have witnessed a serious decline in quality over the last several years. I don't know what the reason is for this. We have tried it maybe five or six times since everything reopened after the remodel that they did during COVID. Each time hoping that the diminished quality was just a supply chain issue or a staffing issue that would get resolved. But unfortunately each time we were disappointed with our food like the last time. The crispy pork would come out, not crispy but tasting a lot more boiled or the noodles would be incredibly limp and overcooked or old. The fresh foods like lettuce and bean sprouts or Thai basil would be wilted or bruised or slimy. There was always just something wrong. I'm sorry to say we are trying to find a new fun place to be our favorite...