Christy Y.
Yelp
I stopped by Pho Linh on a Monday around 12 pm, and we were the first ones there. It was completely empty when we walked in, but since it was lunchtime, people started trickling in after us. The waiter was super nice and let us pick any table, so we grabbed a corner spot and started checking out the menu.
The place definitely has that authentic Vietnamese spot feel--nothing too fancy, a bit rundown, but in a charming way. The decor is super simple, and you can tell it's more about the food than the decor.
We ordered the special combo beef rice noodle soup (pho), Vietnamese iced coffee, 2 nem chua (pickled pork sausage), and banh beo tom say (shredded shrimp with steamed rice cake).
The special combo beef pho was really solid--the portion was just right, the broth was rich and full of flavor, and it came with a lot of good stuff. A nice surprise was the beef balls! I usually don't see those in pho back in New York, where it's more just beef, tendons, and tripe. I really liked that extra touch.
The Vietnamese iced coffee was strong and tasted great, but the cup was mostly ice, so there wasn't as much coffee as I was hoping for.
I was excited to try the nem chua since I never see it on menus in NYC. It wasn't as pickled as I thought it would be and was a bit milder, but still tasty. I appreciated that it didn't have too much peppercorn, but I think a little more garlic or red pepper would've been nice to adjust the flavor a bit.
The banh beo tom say was a first for me. The steamed rice cakes were hot and sticky, but they didn't have much flavor on their own. The shredded shrimp on top had most of the flavor, but the combo of the steamed rice cakes and dry shrimp made for an odd texture. Adding some fish sauce definitely helped, but be careful not to overdo it or it'll get too fishy!
One important note: This place is cash-only. There's an ATM in the back, but it's good to bring cash just in case.