Eva S.
Yelp
I came here with my husband after 1.5 weeks of traveling, and Asian food is always the first thing I crave when I'm back home. We chose Pho Café since it was pretty close to the parking lot under the CTA redline and I knew they were open later (their closing time is 10:00pm).
I've been here several times with my family before (dining in), and usually there is plenty of seating inside. If you're craving pho or Vietnamese food and don't want to wait in line elsewhere, Pho Cafe will do the trick! It's pretty low key and quiet which is sometimes a nice change from all the bustle of Chinatown.
The review is for the food when I came here to dine in last week. While I normally order pho, I decided to get a grilled pork chop vermicelli bowl with a side of broth (extra $2). My husband got the grilled pork rice plate. For apps, we shared the beef skewers which were really tender and flavorful - my favorite thing we ordered that night. I got some fresh shrimp spring rolls as well (an order comes with 2).
Pho Cafe has a wide selection of items on their menu, but my most recent visit felt kind below average. The spring rolls did not have bean sprouts (just shrimp, Thai basil, and rice vermicelli) and the hoisin dipping sauce tasted extra watered down. My husband's pork plate that comes with Chinese sausage only included two meagerly segments. Perhaps it was an off day when we went, because my mom is a huge fan (!) and overall it's nice to have Vietnamese options in a Chinatown, in addition to The Noodle on Wentworth and a version of it from Joy Yee's. Generally it's pretty solid. And a lot of folks do carry-out or delivery.
Has the shortage of sriracha really (negatively) impacted pho in restaurants around the world? That was kind of the vibe of our meal there: "we are out of sriracha, we are doing our best (and we understand there was more to be expected)..." I could be projecting. Anyway, their replacement sriracha was actually a Tabasco branded hot chili sauce. It's not the same, and that's the way it is.
This won't be my last time at Pho Cafe, but I hope next time we dine here we will feel a little bit more love from the dishes.