Boston Vietnamese Restaurant Pho Viet’s Still Feels Like Home | Eater Boston

"When I walk into the new location of Pho Viet’s, my eyes are drawn upward to appealing photos of dishes on an extensive, affordable menu, and I appreciate that longtime regulars can still order by number—No. 16 still gets you pho bo vien (pho with Vietnamese beef meatballs). You place your order at the counter, the folks who have worked there for years get to work preparing it, and the food is brought out cafeteria-style on a tray: wholesome, satisfying bowls and sandwiches that customers have come to expect over more than 15 years of service. It feels exactly right for busy Commonwealth Avenue on the border of Allston and Brookline, where a lunch rush of nearby workers, students, and friends keeps the place lively; that community energy is matched by the family-run hospitality—Qui Anh Tran’s matriarchal presence shaped the menu (cloudy, sweet sips of Vietnamese iced coffee; banh mi; and the Saigon noodles, a “pad thai in disguise” reflecting her time in Thailand), and successive generations of the Tran family have kept the menu consistent since the 2006 opening in the Super 88 food court. Since moving two blocks away in 2021 into a standalone space with triple the room, co-owners Jenn Tin and Thanh Tran have been setting the ambiance to make customers and staff comfortable; regulars praise how the owners remember them and check in, Dung Tran still knows longtime customers’ preferences ("pack extra chile garlic"), and popular items remain pho and other soups, banh mi, Vietnamese coffees, and limeades. I like that the menu is broad enough that staff can recommend dishes to newcomers—Tin thinks of pho ga as an approachable entry—and that the overall goal is for customers to feel at home, whether on a date, grabbing a warm meal after work, or picking up dinner for the family." - Karen Wilber