| Overall (based on 6 ratings) |  |
| Broth (flavor, fragrance, clarity) | |
| Noodles (texture, clumpiness) | |
| Meat (tenderness, quality) | |
| Vegetables (variety, freshness) | |
Betty Barker
Some people should just stick to the original recipe. This pho tastes nothing like Pho. If you want to make a traditional dish with something new I ask why fix it if it ain't broke?
Phở Eating K
Where to start...I didn't have the heart to tell the ladies I was eating with that this phở is by far the worst I ever had. I will not be coming back for a second try - ever!
To start, they bring you a small saucer with your condiments pre-loaded. How do they know how much sriracha I may use? Then, there was no fish sauce on the table so I asked for some. The waitress comes back with a small saucer with watered down fish sauce (?) with chilies in it. I asked her when she brought this to the table that I wanted fish sauce. "Oh, this is our fish sauce." Incredulous, I tasted it - NOT fish sauce, NOT NUOC NAM.
Ugh, and then the noodles. Completely overcooked and had no texture (read: so overcooked it was hard to handle the noodles without them breaking from being waterlogged and overcooked). I don't think that it had anything to do with my chopstick skills, I've been using them longer than western utensils. Speaking of waterlogged - sprouts should not be sitting in a pool of their own 'juice' - that funky brown water, you all know what I'm talking about... Browned and bruised basil doesn't fly. The cilantro was fresh, but it was cilantro, not ngo gai (cilantro/saw grass herb). They had some tough as cardboard flank (?) on top. No tendons, no omasum, no tasty, unctuous bits. And, there was one menu item for phở and you had a choice of chicken, beef or vegetarian. WHAT???
The broth was tepid at best with poor clarity and no flavor. Made me thing they were using canned broth in the back of the house. And if they are, good god, add some spices to it.
There was nothing redeeming about the phở I had. I had leftovers and I thought I could fix it to salvage it for dinner - I threw it away (and I am not one to throw food away). If you love phở and you've never eaten here, go elsewhere. We have SO MANY wonderful choices for phở in Denver and suburbs. It's unfortunate that many people who eat their phở here think that that is what phở is, it's not. This was the poorest rendition of it I've had in the Denver area.
Maybe their other food items are good. Their phở is not, unfortunately. At least the restaurant space is nice and airy, with great outdoor seating. At least I enjoyed the beautiful weather and nice company at the table.
anonymous
Tasty!
Pho-Ken Pho-Ker
This place is pretentious - they try too hard. Friendly staff and good drinks, but that's it.
Never again!
Take my advice, go to Federal if you plan on eating Pho. It was incredibly bad and overpriced.
