Pho Thanh Restaurant

Pho Thanh Restaurant started off as a one-room show. (True heads still brag about slurping pho and chowing banh mi in those modest early days of the place; bigger props if you dined at Pho Bang). Then it became two rooms. Then three. At some point, a connecting boba spot materialized. In a way, the growth of this Vietnamese restaurant near Christown Spectrum Mall is consistent with the beautifully chaotic ethos of the place: There's no drink program, barely any parking, you squeeze into a seat where you can find one, and service is ... let's just say no one is going to ask how the first few bites taste. Still, the food, staff, and prices at Pho Thanh have remained mostly consistent over the years, earning this spot a loyal customer base of lunchtime diners and pho fanatics. The laminated, multipage menu lists more than 160 items, the most popular being pho tai. After about 50 visits, though, you may feel ready to try other dishes. In that case, we recommend the bun bo xao and the bo xao xa ot, or lemongrass beef.