Pho 101 — Restaurant in Westminster

I have some family in Orange County, and asked them to take me and my brother to the best pho place they know. We’re Vietnamese and my cousin is a bit of a foodie, so I trust his advice.

Parking: I haven’t had a problem with parking here. It is tucked away in a small shopping complex next to a freeway entrance, so it’s low key and in a sense a hidden gem. Even when I went my last time during lunch rush and there was a line, I didn’t have a problem finding parking.

Ambiance: It’s your typical Vietnamese restaurant, maybe a step up. Has plenty of seating for all party sizes. Lots of natural lighting. Otherwise, it isn’t anything super fancy or high-end. Gets the job done.

Food: When I go to Vietnamese restaurants, I usually get rice dishes. Since we were looking for pho, I got it my first time here and it was totally worth it! I’m sure their rice dishes are delicious, but I probably will only get pho whenever I come here. They don’t have a Pho Dac Biet (a special combination with a wide variety of meats). Instead, you pick a medium or large, and choose 4 types of meats. Additional types are an additional cost. My first time here, my brother got the large and couldn’t finish it. My second time here, my dad got the large and finished it. My third time here, another cousin got the large and finished it. I get the medium. It gets me full and satisfied, so I’m sure the large would make me feel stuffed like a turkey. The nice thing here is you can also order oxtail on the side, which I highly recommend. If you do order it, the medium pho is probably more fitting. The pho here is super flavorful, they use good quality meats, and, again, I highly recommend getting the oxtail on the side. Depending on how much you eat, a single order of the oxtail can be shared from 1-3 people I would say. Lastly, they have hot tea for free on request here!

Service: Quick, efficient, you get your food quick! That’s Viet folks for you! No complaints on their service.

Hundred percent would come back (a 4th time and more)! I probably wouldn’t even bother trying to find another pho place in Orange County unless someone highly recommends...

This location was incredibly difficult to get to; if you miss the entrance to this plaza, you either end up on the freeway ramp or you will have to drive a long distance to circle back. Despite being related to Pho 79, it has a completely different vibe with a significantly limited menu, higher prices, small tables, all making it non-inviting to large groups and families with young kids. On the day my family visited near noon, the dining room was less than a quarter full with almost all non-Asian couples and no kids, unlike Pho 79. The decor is modern, but very unusual for a pho restaurant. Imagine eating pho where they shot the Rhythm Nation video, surrounded by grey metal bars and fencing that create cubicles of dining spaces. Thank goodness for the wonderful food and large pots of orchids in the dining room, otherwise we felt like this was a place for punishment or manual labor. My wife whispered "cage" and suggested we leave before we ordered. Despite the decor, we enjoyed our food. Our noodle soups had generous amounts of meat and the broth was well seasoned. Service was quick and friendly. Unfortunately, the A/C was not working. By the time we finished our food, only one couple came into the restaurant. Kudos to the owners for wanting to create something different. I hope they will find...

If you grew up during Pho 79 generation and loved it like I did, then you’ll love Pho 101. One of the offspring from 79, opened 101. It’s like the new generation of pho!

For pho, there are only two prices. Medium ($12.25) or large ($15.25) and you can pick up to 4 items. We got rare, fatty, tendon, meatball in the large bowl with a side of oxtail ($6).

You could smell and taste the strong broth of bone marinated over night and its spices. The broth is a bit darker, not as fatty but very fragrant. I had pho two days in a row and can totally tell the difference. Fiancé also raves about this place.

My other go-to item is the rice item. However they don’t make broken rice, it’s regular rice. Same concept with one ($11.50), two ($12.75), or three item ($14). I got grilled pork, egg loaf and sunny side up. But the server recommended to get the grilled pork chop over the grilled pork bc it tends to be on the dryer side.

The pork chop was thin and was just average for my liking. The egg loaf was the winner. Tasted like my mom’s homemade version and it was moist. Can’t go wrong with sunny side up. It would taste better if it was with broken rice. Still tasty though.

The decor is cute that’s like industrial farm house....