Pho Cao Noodle House — Restaurant in Van Buren

If you are looking for real cultural Vietnamese food, this is it. When traveling through on our way back to Barksdale Air Force Base to Louisiana and finding this surprising gem in the middle of beautiful small town Arkansas my husband and I were so pleasantly surprised, we had to leave a review.

We looked in the Bentonville/Fayetteville area for Vietnamese while there for a car rally for a few days but could not find anything we were looking for.When we pulled up into the parking lot, after finding Pho Cao on Google, we noticed the building is unassuming and didn’t know what we were about to experience. Especially being out of town. The reviews were high but to be honest we feel a lot of people may not know what good Vietnamese food tastes like or how to rate it. (Sorry Arkansas but this is the U.S. on a whole) We were about to find out if the Google ratings were accurately rated.

My husband and I have traveled a great deal over the years and hands down this ended up being one of the best experiences for Vietnamese food that we have ever had. First, we stepped inside, VERY clean, decor is perfectly done. Simple but beautiful. Bathrooms are clean. So glad no one can touch the soda machines so those are clean. Everyone is so welcoming and gracious when you enter. The SMELLS! When you walk in, the truly authentic smells hit you like one of the best hugs to greet you!

I am not a huge lover of seafood so I requested pork spring rolls in At the time I had asked for these, I hadn’t realized pork spring rolls were not on the menu until after we had left. Long story. Having not realized these were not on the menu until after we left made an even bigger impression on me because they were the best pork spring rolls we had ever tasted. The peanut sauce itself so fresh, so good, and could have eaten it by itself. My husband said the same about his tamarind sauce. He stated that he could thrown back the tamarind sauces as if they were little shots they were so 🤤! His heritage is deep Spanish descent so he is a big tamarind guru although you would not be able to tell this by seeing him since he is tall and blondish brown hair. Our entrees my chicken pho was so fresh and exactly as it should be! Just incredible goodness! If you haven’t had chicken pho (pronounced F-uh not Fo), it’s like an incredibly elevated chicken soup. My son’s girlfriend is Vietnamese and says over seas that chicken pho is the norm so over here in the U.S. making beef pho here is what they prefer because beef pho is not the norm overseas. It would be like a delicacy there and hard to come by. My husband’s bbq pork was delicious and IS bbq pork! I say this because we have been to so many places that say bbq pork only to have the pork to be more like boiled than bbq. And the Vietnamese coffee? GLORIOUS! If you’ve had a real Vietnamese coffee, you will appreciate this one! It will be a stronger coffee flavor with a nice sweet but not overpowering sugar. Nicely balanced and good for a coffee drinker who likes a sugar cube but not sugary. Yummy goodness!! We are taking more trips into the Bentonville area and will be stopping here every time we drive through. We have this place pinned and it deserves it! My childhood was spent in Arkansas and Arkansas needs culture such as this. I believe the ones who owns this restaurant understands culture but also seems to have grown up in or around Arkansas themselves but carry their own true heritage into their food. They are a rare find and when I say they deserve your business, I truly mean it. They deserve it because they earn it. They are good and we will be back. The owner had spoke of possibly opening a restaurant in Fayetteville or surrounding area and that is such a great idea. Especially since I’m seeing the consensus saying they expect growth of 800k over the next 15 years. It’s a perfect area!

Maybe I’ll ask if they can make me a Banh Mi next time! I’ll pay extra or bring the bread because I know it’ll be worth it Pho Cao -

Blessings over you, your family, your business, and...

Van Buren doesn't deserve to have ethnic food this good hahaha. This place deserves to be slammed packed all day, everyday. It is a small and quiet space but with just enough room to not feel cramped. The staff is friendly and attentive without being a bother. The head chef comes out and with genuine appreciation greets and thanks each patron and makes sure they are happy. I was able to ask him questions about the pho broth and their how long they simmer the broth. You can taste all 12hrs of labor given to this broth. As pho is supposed to be, it is clean, simple but loads of the right flavors while (as it's originally supposed to) giving you room to modify the soup with Sriracha or hoisin without ruining the core flavor of the soup base. Noodle are not soggy and the ingredients are very fresh. I'm writing this as I eat. I don't care if this was $100 a bowl, pho Cao is a must...

I have eaten a lot of Pho bowls in my life. Often the best food is not where you expect it. This place is a liftime top five bowl, if not higher. The meat was proportioned well, with very good quality cuts. Not the leftovers or bad cuts you get with other places. Tender, good noodles and meat. Good quality basil and vegetables. Fair pricing, good service, excellent recommendations. They even make the soup the way I personally like with LOTS of thin sliced white onions. If I have to point a fault it's that the broth was not the strongest in flavor, which begged for extra heat. A stronger broth would have discouraged extra spice. The noodles also needed a few minutes in the bowl to cook perfectly. They weren't perfect at the start. If I lived around here, I would be back a couple times a month. But sadly, I love 500 miles away, so I don't think I'll...