Pho Viet Nam on Upton. Toledo has Vietnamese!

Woof woof!

If I like the first couple times I visit, I will be an at least once every couple weeks customer.

Great cuisine if properly prepared.

Thanks for posting this upso.

I don't have any experience with Vietnamese food so I'm not in a place to judge. That being said, that is some of the most unappetizing food I've ever seen, lol.

Hey Look....the cat got sick.

Awesome! I've been looking for a good place for pho ever since I moved to Toledo. Mmm.

glad those that like vietnamese food are excited! i couldn't believe it took a year to discover the place! i hope those of you adventurous enough to try it out, enjoy it as much as we did! i'm certain to make this a regular spot. hopefully at least every other week, as 6th_Floor mentioned, if not more frequent. it really was the best i've had outside of china town, nyc.

Thankfully "this group" doesn't make their decisions on where to eat based on your pretentious palate.

Sorry, no offense... A joking reference to all the talk about Mexican food.

Upso, do they offer a 'French' side of the menu? Most Vietnamese restaurants I've been to have a French and Asian sides to the menu.

SensorG, I get the joke. Vietnamese food is very foreign looking, and not like the typical "ethic" food you find in the area! :)

As for a french option, sadly no. I WISH they would do a Bánh mì sandwich, but at the moment they are sticking to their vietnamese food in a bowl favorites.

I suspect if they get enough demand, they'll consider other options! :)

No worries...This one is on me. My apologies.

Guess I never noticed the abundance of Mexican food discussions. And seeing it from that perspective, the joke makes perfect sense. As for this place, I look forward to giving it a try.

Right on! :)

Had to laugh about the "nacho cheese" reference because my first thought was "how long until someone asks how the margaritas are". ;-)

It looks amazing upso - can't wait to give them a try. Thanks for the post.

I WISH they would do a Bánh mì sandwich

Oh yeah...best lunchbox sandwich there is if made properly with a fresh baguette portion or roll. Crunchy crust, soft middle bread, and tasty food inside.

Can I order their fried chicken with the nacho cheese on the side?

Only if you post a review of the fried chicken, OHT.

god i'm hungry just rereading my post! i can't wait to go back!

This is on Upton where exactly, plse? Looks wonderful.

What happened to the Vietnamese restaurant that used to be on Airport, by Swan Creek Park.....?

3636 upton, just a mile or so from central.
The one on airport closed due to a lack of business I believe

Off-but-sort-of-on topic: I had an incredible meal during a business dinner at Le Colonial in Chicago last year:
http://www.lecolonialchicago.com/
If you're a Vietnamese fan, check it out next time you visit Chicago. It's on Rush just off of the Magnificent Mile.

Yeah, the Saigon Bistro was good. I was sorry to see them go, especially after they redecorated the place. It was the first and sadly, only time I've had "Vietnamese coffee" and it was too die for.

FYI... just went back today
and was happy to find out they've added "Bánh mì" sandwiches!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1nh_m%C3%AC

OK. It would seem I have an unsophisticated palette. Thai food I love. But venturing into Vietnamese cuisine with no experience or knowledge raises some anxiety.

My hub has tried absolutley every dish on the menu at the Bankgok kitchen. No kidding. He worked through the entire menu. And by virtue of his adventuresness, I got a taste of each. There were many we liked well enough to repeat. Some were just so-so, but one was exceptionally memorable. It was some kind of a steamed mussel dish in some kind of broth. It smelled just like you'd imagine hot, sweaty, stinky gym socks would smell combined with a whiff of aged atheletic supporter. The odor coming from that dish even had nearby diners turning heads to discern its origin.

So, not wishing to repeat that experience, can anyone recommend a hot entree that would be a good starting place for beginners? Spicy food is welcomed.

The nice thing about Vietnamese food is most of the ingredients are obvious... not a lot of hidden surprises along the way. Everything is fresh for the most part, and there are a lot of uncooked herbs used which add a lot of brightness.

I would think any of the "pho" dishes would be a great start Holland. If you check out their menu, you'll see it's a pretty simple affair: http://www.phovietnam.us/menu.html

You basically pick your protein, and it's served in a large bowl of wonderful broth & vermicelli noodles. You put as many of the included toppings on as you like. Lime, bean sprouts, cilantro leaves, hot peppers. As you eat the dish, and you keep adding sauces while the amount of food dwindles, you get more and more flavorful bites. By the end, depending on how much hot stuff and salty stuff you've added, it can be face melting! :)

I would say avoid the above pictures Bahn Mi sandwich at first. It has some funky elements. My wife who loves the thought of Bahn Mi, found the "pate" element to lean a bit to closely to liverwurst.

Upso, I just followed your link. Pho with "tendon?"

Uh, what??

Yeah, that's a weird one. I asked them about it last time, and yes indeed, it's tendons.

Just did some research: http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/09/offal-of-the-week-beef-tendon/

Actually sounds kind of good to me! :) But i'll eat anything.

The menu looks pretty good. Looks very much like something I'd like.
Thanks upso.

Off-but-sort-of-on topic: I had an incredible meal during a business dinner at Le Colonial in Chicago last year:
http://www.lecolonialchicago.com/
If you're a Vietnamese fan, check it out next time you visit Chicago. It's on Rush just off of the Magnificent Mile.

I've eaten there before and it was fantastic. The decor also really makes the meal special.

Sorry pho sounds like faux to me and makes it sound fake. I'm too much of a boring pallet i tend to order the same thing from places because I know I like it. I need to try different things but I end up playing it safe.

make it a point to try some new things in the new year! :)

Linecrosser: maybe this will help a bit - Pho is actually pronounced as though there is a short "a" at the end as opposed to a long "o".

As in, FA-gettaboutit? ;-)

Seriously, I appreciate Vietnamese food & I'll go there soon for the banh mi. There was an old-school Vietnamese/French place in my college town. Great coffee.

We went a third time to have dinner with my mom for her birthday. They keep expanding the menu, and the service also keeps getting better. It really is a lovely place.

I'll be making my first visit either Friday or Saturday.

Enjoy! They just had a big write up in the city paper, so I suspect theyll be a little busy!

here's that article, btw:

http://www.toledocitypaper.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4190:east-meets-west-toledo-&catid=104:chow-line&Itemid=555

Just went with some friends last night. Two thumbs up!

Hey guys, just got back from dinner at pho. We asked the owner how business was and she said it's been very slow! I was surprised to hear about that and am concerned they make go out of business if it keeps up that way, so I just wanted to encourage all of you to check out the restaurant if you haven't already!

Do they advertise at all? I wouldn't have heard of them at all if not for this thread on TT.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who would appreciate a good Vietnamese restaurant if they knew it was there.

(I'll be honest...I'm not sure I could bring myself to try most of the stuff photographed above, but I would certainly be happy to spread the word if I heard someone looking for a Vietnamese place!)

I don't think they could afford to advertise. Running ads in the papers (any of them) is crazy expensive. Like... ridiculously expensive.

It's going to take some serious word of mouth to get them going strong.

Hey upso, is there anything meatless on the menu? I might be coerced into giving it a shot, if it will help support a local small business.

yup! they have a veggie pho bowl. my vegan friend says it's fantastic, but i can't speak from personal experience.

Hmmn...good to know, thanks for the info.

I gave up meat for Lent, which is why I wondered about the meatless option.

But honestly, I tend to be more adventurous with veggies anyhow. I'll try almost any veggie, but sometimes I'm scared to try meats that are outside my comfort zone. (Like the aforementioned tendon, for example. LOL)

Will try to make it out there soon. I do not think I have eaten at a primarily Vietnamese establishment so it will be an adventure.

How does their pho compare to Wei Wei's?

The Hub came home with a really fresh egg roll-type thing, crispy veggies and cool, not cooked, with pork (we think) and shrimp and a great spicy dipping sauce, what was that called, anyone know? he got three of them and brought me one, it was great! Love Thai, never had vietnamese before, I'm going back!

yum. they have a PHO type dish where there is no broth (but there IS the noodles) and it includes some grilled chopped up egg rolls. yum yum yum

Went again last night - there was a table of 10 and my group of 6. No one else came or went for the hour and a half we were there.

Come support these people by trying their delicious food! I've yet to have anything here that was less than great.

My wife and I ate here this afternoon. The fantastic pho was the ticket after walking around Wildwood Metropark for a couple hours on a cool day. I also enjoyed the egg rolls. I liked the nice touch of being served hot without asking for it right after we sat down. We'll being visiting again soon. It's a satisfying meal without feeling bogged down. The pho was nice and light with fresh toppings. The chopsticks help make it a relaxed eating process.

My husband and I went there for lunch a few weeks ago and it was really tasty- first experience with Vietnamese. Too bad no one else was there- but the location is kind of hard to find and we had to turn around when we realized we may have passed it.
Will definitely go back again! After Grumpy's, got to say this is on my list of best places in TTown to grab lunch :)

:)

I stopped in for lunch a couple of weeks ago. It was also my first experience with Vietnamese - had the vegetarian dish, and it was very good.

On my visit, we were waited on by the owners' daughter who was in town visiting for her spring break week. She wasn't completely familiar with the menu (which was understandable, of course), so I think I'd like to go back another time and get some recommendations from someone who is there all the time.

(Don't get me wrong, I was definitely satisfied with my meal. Since I'm new to Vietnamese, it would just be nice to have a more experienced server walking me through the menu.) :)

I will say... the service is probably the low point of Pho. The owners aren't super communicative.

Well then, I'll just have to thoroughly review the TT and Yelp reviews before I go next time, so I can learn the menu for myself. :)

Thanks for bumping up this thread -- I've been meaning to check it out, and we finally did over the weekend. For anyone who is hesitant about Vietnamese food, there is a good selection of comfort food basics, which they call soul food, including meatloaf, pork chops, fried chicken served with vegetables. There were two neighborhood grannies at the next table, eating their Sunday supper.

The fried rice was awesome -- very light and tasty, large chunks of pork throughout, enough for a supper and leftovers for lunch.

The banh mi sandwich was really good. There was a hearty schmear of pate (very light - no heavy "liver" flavor) on the crusty bun. The pate was a nice complement to the ham and pork also included in the sandwich; a great combination of textures and flavors. I did reduce the number of raw jalapeno slices tucked under the bun, however!

The spring rolls were very fresh and tasty, with lettuce and vegetables (plus shrimp and chicken) inside the rice wrapper. The dipping sauce was great.

I can see how the service would be a source of complaints; I think one of the owners waited on us, and she does not look like she's comfortable being jolly with people. But she did answer our questions and she was very attentive with the tea, water, to-go boxes, etc.

I will definitely go back and try some different things. Following upso's advice, I'll just pick a protein and enjoy whatever else comes with it. After we finished our meal, I felt full and satisfied, but at the same time I could have immediately gone for a big bike ride or even jogging. It's a new sensation for me, to leave a restaurant and actually feel nice and light in the tummy!

This place is kind of hard to find your first time, doesn't stand out, is in an area some might shy away from but has amazing food and great prices.

I've been dragging people here as able but it is generally very quiet or even empty the entire hour we are there. This is the kind of small business that tends to disappear after awhile. Given how hard it is to find good pho, or any pho really, around Toledo, I hope it doesn't end up closing.

i'm REALLY glad you guys are all digging on this place. it's a real treasure

Since reading this thread awhile ago, we've been there twice. The first time, without kids, my husband and I went strictly Vietnamese. The second time, with kids, I had the pho while everyone else had soul food.

The pho was fantastic, but the soul food, particularly my daughter's mac and cheese, left a lot to be desired. It tasted like plastic.

I'll go back again, for sure, but will stick to the Vietnamese offerings!

Had dinner here last night, and cannot stop raving about HOW REALLY REALLY GREAT it was. I had Pho with a variety of meats (including tendon, which is like cartilage and was deliciously chewey). The broth was so delicate, fragrant, and delicious. Have never had anything like it outside of someone's home kitchen. Truly, this is a place to keep on the MUST list.

Others have said the owners are not too communicative, and I think that's because English is still a bit tough for them. The owner's wife, especially, is a soft-spoken and shy person, but that's not the same as uncommunicative. The owner comes out of the kitchen now and then and is quite friendly, if a bit held back by language. They work hard at this place, and man, do they deserve to succeed. (Disclosure: I went there with a friend who knows the family, therefore I had some insight into their situation.)

Support them -- you'll be doing yourself and them a favor. Win win! The food is outta this world....

(Although I can't speak for the "soul food" side of the menu. Hmmm. Let's see. Mac and cheese, or pho? No contest....)

It's not Mac and cheese or pho... it's Mac and cheese and pho.

What is the dish in the top of the picture with the shrimp and cut up egg rolls called? It looks tasty.