Jeremy K.
Yelp
I am surprised by the number of below average reviews that people have given this place. I, alongside my girlfriend, had a good experience there and a solid, affordable meal.
After a quick drive, we parked right up front at one of the numerous, non-metered parking spots present on that segment on Beacon Street. And we walked right in. It was almost 2PM at that point and we were pretty hungry at that point. After being greeted nicely by one of the staff members there, we walked up a tiny flight of stairs into the dining room area and sat at a table. The restaurant is a no-frills kind of place. Very simplistic decor, nothing special, no theme in particular and no Vietnamese artifacts to be seen. Only background music and a bottle of Sriracha to accompany us through our epicurean adventure.
We decided to split their vegetarian Cha Gio (crispy rolls) to start ($6) - the order featured four perfectly fried rolls of deliciousness. A perfect ratio of carrots to taro root, onions and random other ingredients. It came with a dipping sauce and the whole thing was rather addictive; a great way to start off the meal.
Having a craving for Pho, I then decided to order up a bowl of their Tai Pho (beef noodle soup with rare steak) but the waiter told me that their beef broth wasn't quite yet ready. I appreciated his honesty on the matter and he advised that I try the chicken one instead. I obliged and while a tad disappointed, I actually looked forward to it as I had never had chicken pho before. Each pho comes in three sizes and I got the medium bowl which ran me a meager $8.50. It arrived instants later, pipping hot and full of shredded chicken, spices, herbs and with a side of bean sprouts, Thai basil and lime. I poured the sides in, added a few drops (ok fine, a significant amount) of sriracha in there and off I went, working my way through it, sweating from the spiciness. It was terrific.
Was it the best pho? No. But it was pretty damn good, pretty damn cheap and pretty damn convenient to get to. It's really the only Pho place in Somerville that I know of and it sure beats trying to get to and park in Harvard Square to go to Lee's.
The girlfriend got their Thai salad as her entree, a salad featuring cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, peppers and pickled carrots, all topped with some chicken satay. At $7, it was a steal and she seemed to enjoy it.
Another highlight of the meal was the limeade I ordered. It was made in-house and tasted delicious. Not too sweet, and very limy. The waiter also added a nice little touch by twirling some of the straw wrapped into a cool design (see picture I posted on Yelp). It was refreshing as well and definitely something I'd order again on my future trips back.
All in all this place is convenient, easy to get to by car or from Porter Square (~ 8 minute walk) and it features a varied menu featuring all kind of Vietnamese dishes. They also have lunch specials everyday which will get you a seaweed soup, some Thai dumplings, crispy rolls, a green salad and rice alongside an entre for just $9. That's right. Oh and did I mention that the service is friendly, that the place is clean and that they also deliver?
I shall be coming back.