Pho #1 Vietnamese - Saint Paul

Wonderful service and amazing food. I had the Chicken Pho and it did not disappoint at all. Very inviting atmosphere and incredible prices, would 10/10 recommend.

It has a cute decor and a friendly staff and the food was quick and fresh. We had egg rolls to start and, I thought, they were so so. The wrappers were nicely crispy but the filling was a little thick and mushy. I struggled to pick out the flavors and ingredients. She had the Pad Thai with chicken and tofu, 3 hots out of 5 and enjoyed it. The flavor was good but it should be noted that the spice levels are Vietnamese hot not “Minnesota” hot and she started to suffer halfway through. I had the P1 special Pho with rare beef, meatballs, and well done beef. The broth, the only really important part of Pho, was perfectly rich without being too sweet. It was deep in flavor and color. They didn’t skimp on the meet and the veggie plate was heaping (important to me).

When I heard there was a Vietnamese restaurant opening in downtown St. Paul, I was thrilled! Not because it's walking distance from my work place, it's reasonably priced and fulfilling. I ordered their special combo vermicelli noodle bowl and my friend ordered their meatball pho. Portion size was good, flavor was alright, nothing spectacular, but still good, and the price is fair and competitive to others in the area. Good place to get a quick bite for dine in or take out. I'd dine in again.

Pros: casual, decent environment Easy parking on the weekend Clean restroom Very nice and extremely friendly staff Bun tastes good. I like the flavor and how the shrimps were done. The veggie combination was nicely done. Cons: pho is my favorite dish but unfortunately it was a letdown here. We tried special version and pho tai. The broth was over-seasoned with sorry looking beef cut. As you can see the pho with meatballs image below, it's the special pho.

The pho here was alright. Smells good but it does kind of lack some flavor. Service was good, the rustic theme is pretty cute. Could use a little more meat in the special pho. Love it when chili oil is sitting on the table.