Pho Nam Lua

Unassuming little place. The food is ok. The broken rice with beef was pretty good. The doing rolls were hard since the skin dried out . The sauces are just a bit off but ingredients were fresh. OnChoy was pretty yum.

The pho broth, meat, and toppings were very generous and delicious. One issue was I ordered the chicken pho but found chunks of beef intestine and quail egg (?) in my soup, and my friend did too. Very odd. Service was very quick though and the restaurant was quite busy. I had bun bo hue at an earlier date and that was also very authentic and tasty.!

Great pho, but you really can't go wrong with any dish on the menu. The spicy shredded chicken soup is such a comfort food, and great to pick up and have at home if you have a cold. Great appetizers. HUGE portions

First time trying this pho, and I’m convinced it’s the best I’ve ever had! The broth is incredibly rich and flavorful, the noodles are perfectly chewy, and the staff is both kind and efficient. I’m so glad I gave this place a try! If you’re in the area and craving amazing pho, this is the spot to go. There is plenty of parking on the side as well!

This place was recommended to me by many Chicago pho enthusiasts, and it did not disappoint! A lot of great menu options made it hard to choose, but I typically judge a pho place by their chicken pho (Pho Ga) and they have a couple of options for that choice. Prices are great for quantity and quality. The broth was rich and deep with flavor! It really hit the spot. I also got the shrimp and pork spring rolls and they were ok; the slices of pork were rather bland and cut in large chunks. The accompanying peanut sauce was lovely though. Definitely a great little gem! It does get very busy at dinner time though but there is plenty of parking!

Good place for Pho. Was taken here by my Vietnamese friend who says it is the best for authentic Pho. Small place that attracts a crowd.

They are so popular that they don’t even have to turn on their outdoor signage. The food is very good here, but getting very expensive too. In Vietnam pho is a fast cheap eat, at $15-$17 a bowl It’s no longer a good deal. That why we only come once in a long while.

The best damn pho in IL!!!! Since this is just my first try, I’d have to come back for Bun Bo Hue. I had pho suon bo & gan and it took me to heaven and back. Will come back for more!!!!

My favorite place in the city for bun bo hue!! I also love their pho and I also always get the Combination stir fry noodle #60 - the portion is absolutely MASSIVE. Always enough for another meal afterwards. Great crab rangoons as well, perfect ratio and always comes out pipping hot.

I found my new favorite lowkey Vietnamese restaurant. I ordered the spicy chicken wings and cold vermecelli noodles with veggies, pork and an egg roll. The food came out faster than I ordered, I'm not even exaggerating when I say this place serves you the food so fast and it's absolutely delicious! The chicken wings were far from boring and had sautéed veggies and jalapeños. It was phenomenal. If I had to really be a critic about something it would be the service. It was ok and could use some work like asking for water refills and being more attentive to customers. Other than that, the food is delicious and they serve it to you as fast as you order. Piping hot and fresh.

Pho is amazing here! Very tasty broth! Quick service! Lunch times are busy, but always been a table available. Their large fried rice is big enough to feed a party of 4-6 ! Yum!

I saved this place on yelp a while back because I wanted to try the bun Bo hue here. I like the portion size here. I like my bun Bo hue spicy. The flavor here is missing the lemongrass taste and could be spicier. The pho is good. Lots of meat and noodle. There are two options to the pho, the bigger bowl portion pretty big. The staff are quick. The food came out pretty fast despite they are super busy today.

Cute local Vietnamese restaurant in the neighborhood. Small cozy place for the days you're craving a bowl of pho or something more. Food is flavorful so be cautious if expecting something mild.

Super fast, solid quality Pho in a cute, no frills restaurant. Rating 9/10 | Cost $13 a bowl Pros: Speedy, simple, tasty, good variety. Cons: None Dropped in for dinner and from seat to food was less than 5 minutes. The interior was cute and simple, the staff were polite and quick. The food was above average and very worth the price and the speed. If you eat fast you could be in an out in 20 minutes. Plenty of parking and some unique menu items like caramelized catfish so I plan to come back again! Exactly what you need when hung over or just hungry.

This place is a gem. They have so many choices for their sandwiches, bread is out of this world. They have the best spring rolls, don't forget to ask for chili sauce. Their fruit smoothies are also delicious

This place is my go-to pho spot. Mostly because it's closer to me than driving to Argyle, but also because I think they serve a really good bowl of pho. I usually go with the pho dac biet (aka the special/all the meats), but will occasionally mix it up with bun bo hue or com suon nuong (marinated pork). All of it is super solid and you'll get no complaints from me. Service is pretty prompt even when they're busy and ambiance is pretty cozy. Sometimes it'll get pretty packed and you'll need a wait, but I haven't had too many issues on that. Servers are always friendly and price is about on par with what you'd expect these days. Overall, really like this place and am so glad it opened up more north than Argyle. Definitely if you live in Evanston/Skokie I'd recommend saving the drive to Argyle and just getting your viet fix here. It's just as good and you don't have to deal with the chaos of Argyle parking lol.

My fiancé's family always loves going here when they don't want to drive to Argyle for quality Vietnamese food. It never disappoints! The service is attentive. Prices are fair. Free parking in the shared plaza lot. I ordered the bun thit nuong cha gio - grilled pork with vermicelli noodles and egg rolls. Comes with fish sauce and so much protein! I feel like some places usually skimp on the protein but this was a solid portion. The egg roll (or cha gio) was also the best I've had at a restaurant hands down. My fiancé ordered the bun Bo hue - spicy beef noodle soup. Super flavorful, not overly spicy, and came with the usual veggie accompaniments. Wish we saved the broth to take home and have leftovers! Definitely recommend if you're in the mood for Vietnamese food outside of Argyle!

Ordered for delivery! The broth for both the pho tai and bon bo hue were delicious! The portion sizes were HUGE and the fried rice was one of my favorite I've tried. Definitely will be ordering again!

This is a pretty nice and warm bowl of pho. Just a tad sweet. But if you had some jalapeños for spice and dip your meats in hoisin sauce... it's quite good. Don't really like the interior, makes me feel a bit claustrophobic. Service is fast

For those who can read, the name of this place gives it away that they have pho on the menu of course. It can be gathered the pho is the recommended item for sure. Pho Nam Lua also has other foods, but you should get the signature item though. Has a few varieties of it. There's meaty and vegetarian based options. Anyone looking for a good pho should check this place out and get a bowl. It may not be a fancy place but it has it's own kind of charm though. This is a pretty small place in a plaza on McCormick near Devon, so head a bit west from all those Indian restaurants and try out some Vietnamese. It's about $12 a bowl. We got the vegetarian one. It's the Pho Chay. This is made with a vegetable broth and has noodles and tofu. Lots of vegetables in it. There's bean sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, and more. Good prices on most of the items. It has okay but sometimes slow ass service. There's mostly pho, and get the Pho Chay if looking for something vegetarian.

My husband and I found this vietnamese restaurant mentioned in the reviews of another vietnamese restaurant, and we decided to give it a try. On our last visit, we got summer rolls, chicken wings, pho, bun bo hue, and stir-fried wide noodles. The pho is above average. You can definitely taste a higher quality of meat compared to other restaurants, and they also give you a piece of oxtail. The meat isn't excessively fatty, cartilaged, or tough. And the portions are very filling. I got a large, and I had enough for another meal left over. The bun bo hue is also great. No complaints. The stir-fried noodles are a bit oily, but it's still delicious. The portions are very large for this dish as well. You can get shrimp, beef, or chicken, or all 3 of them, and it's all the same price. However, I wouldn't recommend ordering the chicken wings. They were lacking in flavor and dry. Of note, they weren't terribly expensive. $6 for 6 wings if you want a filling appetizer without breaking the bank. The summer rolls weren't anything special either, pretty standard. Overall, this restaurant is pretty solid. It's got a nice atmosphere and good prices. The noodle dishes taste above average, and the service is good. Plus, they have their own parking lot!

This place is our go to Vietnamese restaurant! The food is good and we always order the same thing every time we go there! Their Fried Tofu with Salt and Pepper is a must order in my opinion as it is soooo good! Their service is great and the place is tiny but cozy at least for me. Words cannot express how good this place is! And if you haven't tried Pho Nam Lua yet I highly recommend it over the Pho place right next to it.

Pho 5Lua is a part of my family's dining out rotation. There's limited seating so you might have to wait but you're probably in a better mood to do so because there's ample free parking on site. There's art covering one wall with the rest of the space floor to ceiling windows so you don't feel cramped despite the small footprint. My family always gets some combination of fresh spring rolls, speciality/combo pho, vermicelli noodle bowls, and/or pork chop with rice. Eating here brings back great memories, highly recommend if you're in the area!

Our go-to pho spot. My husband's friend is a pho connoisseur if there ever was one -- Vietnamese, worked at a pho restaurant, lived near Argyle and would order pho (no exaggeration) at least 2-3 times a week. This spot was his recommendation for a non-Argyle pho place. My husband is also very picky about his pho, and we've tried many different pho restaurants in the northern suburbs. After finding this place, we've never once thought about going elsewhere. My mother in law needs to visit here at least once each time she visits from out of town. There is no place like it in the suburbs. We always get some kind of pho, the pork & spring roll vermicelli, and the combination fried rice. Give or take a Vietnamese iced coffee. Unfortunately any time we've strayed from these three things we've been fairly disappointed. But I won't dock any stars since if you stick to the formula, it's by far the best pho experience you'll have in this area.

One of our favorite local spots, good food and prices, and fast service. We come here at least a few times a month.

Pho choices were great! I got the Bun Bo Hue and I think my husband got oxtail if I'm not mistaken. I came here straight out of surgery lol. Not too far from north shore surgical center! Complementary tea, and our server was so sweet. She checked on us regularly. Will be back!

I have come here with my family many times and have never been disappointed. Food is consistent, generous portions, authentic favors, and clean! I have remembered the numbers of our must have as the pictures on the menus are so small and the descriptions are a bit ambiguous.. #89 for the rare beef salad, #29 for Hue Style spicy combo soup noodles and #30 for the grilled spork chop and egg roll on veg and vermicelli noodles! There are so many more dishes I yet have to try. Need a bigger party

Authentic -- Great pho. Vietnamese style Egg rolls are great as well. Best I've had of both outside of Argyle.

Revisiting Pho Nam Lua after over a year, I had to try the Bun Bo Hue. It was phenomenal. But I also had to get the Pho Dac Biet again. It was still outstanding just like I remembered. The flavors of the spices enriched the broth to another level. The Crab Rangoons were humongous, fresh, and delicious. Somehow we left with leftovers (which has never happened for pho before). Both soups were PACKED with meat, and the pho dac biet even comes with a piece of oxtail. There wasn't any blood sausage in the bun bo hue, which was disappointing since I was actually looking forward to trying it again to see if I have acquired a taste for it. I'll ask if they have any next time.

oh my god so good. do not hesitate to order the beef rib pho. it is incredibly tender and falls apart and my goodness is it a bang for your buck. u will have enough food tk last you three or four meals. look at that fried rice. are u kidding me. huge portions and so delicious the mixed pho had so much in it it was crazy. worth it 1000%

The food here is delicious and quick. The portion is big and they open very early in the morning! Service is nice and the place is clean.

Great food, great service, genuinely Thai! Husband and I had 'spicy' pho (but not really spicy), curried snails, a dish with tofu and dandelion greens, and of course, the Tie iced coffee. Everything was delicious.

It was good. Great even. Is it the best pho I've had? No. Is it the best spring rolls I've had? Also no. But is is pretty damn good and will hit the spot? Yeah for sure. Food: 4/5 The pho was ....good. It didn't have the CRISP clean flavors that I was looking for...it felt like it was muddled and maybe didn't use aromatics that were toasted enough? Or the bones weren't skimmed well? Maybe it was a bad day. It was just good. Not mind blowing, not something i'd go for every day, and something I can definitely replicate, even exceed, in my own kitchen. All the different meats were good though and I enjoyed my bowl for sure. Spring rolls were a bit dry. Egg rolls were great. I can't remember what else we got but I DO remember the electricity went out and we had to leave haha. Service: They're okay. 4/5 Walks around and will come when you call for them. Typical asian restaurant stuff yaknow? Ambiance: They're popular. So it's TIGHT. Don't go with a group. Don't expect to sit right away unless you're at an off hour. They prefer cash. 3/5 Overall, there's better pho in the city. If you're in the area and desperate for pho, this place will make you happy. If you're in chicago/chicagoland looking for the best pho? let's keep looking.

they have 12 year old kids taking your order and at cash register. you already know it's bomb food. all the viet aunties in the back making the food. it feels just like Vietnam feels like a small shop in Saigon

Great pho. Very flavourful broth and the service is great great. Looking forward to trying their other menu items.

2nd time coming here, FOOD AMAZING AMAZINGLY SCRUMPTIOUS !! The service is 10/10 so welcoming and not a long wait. the decor and just everything about this place is so amazing definitely want them to win a michelin star cause it's so so good.

This is the best Vietnamese restaurant in Chicagoland. Almost everything on the menu is very good. The Pho and Bun Bo Hue are my favorites here. I eat here at least twice a month. Tip, if you order out for any stir fried foods, ask for a plastic container instead of foil and paper. They tend to pack the foods when very hot and leak as they cool.

My favorite place in Chicago to get pho. Every time I go there, I am never disappointed. This is the place I take my friends who are from out-of-state to eat pho. That is all. Best pho in Chicago.

My family and I have been coming here over the past few years and it's a beloved favorite. Why? They serve hearty bowls of pho and have a wide variety of Vietnamese dishes that is budget-friendly and also delicious. I love to meet my family here for weekend dinners and then order take-out to have more portions for the week. Some of the main items I love to order: Chopped Chicken Pho Spring rolls (meat & shrimp) served with 2 rolls Fried Crispy Chicken Wings Pho Dac Biet Fried Tofu with Salt Their rice vermicelli bowls are also huge portions with fresh ingredients including Thai mint, pickled shredded daikon and carrot, and mung bean sprouts atop crushed peanuts and marinated pork slices. I'm go-to usually beef pho in any other Vietnamese restaurant, but at Pho Nam Lua, their Chopped Chicken Pho here is supreme. (Not the shredded chicken, specifically the chopped chicken!) Their broth is so clear and flavorful, and served with quail eggs, giblets (like gizzard & liver), plus you'll have generous portions of dark meat and white meat; everything is tender and perfect. The bowl topped with sliced sweet onion and chopped cilantro. Comfort food for the soul. During the pandemic, they still serve pho in large white ceramic bowls with soup spoons, but serve all of their other sides on disposable plates. Their chopsticks and cutlery are also disposable - staff will bring out utensils with your food, so there isn't the usual stash of chopsticks & spoons sitting on the table in a holder by the hoisin & sriracha. A bonus is that this restaurant has its own private lot for parking. This spot is always at the top of my list for pho on the northside!

Great food. I always get the Kobe beef or the oxtail soup if I'm in a group. The art is great but very old.

I really like Pho 5 lua overall, but this one experience was alright. I ordered the chicken pho and was super excited when I saw it did have freshly chopped chicken pieces. The noodles were great, the broth was hot, and the chicken was chewy, as expected from fresh chicken. The only thing that made it difficult to eat was how salty the broth was. It was manageable and definitely edible, but I wished there was a lot less sodium and more chicken stock flavor. It tasted like the regular beef pho broth my mom ordered too. Complimentary water would've been nice to get rid of some of the saltiness, but probably because of the pandemic, you have to buy water bottles instead. As for the atmosphere and service, they were great! I would definitely dine in again, and also take out if covid cases rise and I want to eat at home.

The place is packed! It is a very small restaurant and the front door was crowded with people trying to order or trying to be seated. I'll give them points on how they were able to manage and multi tasking. They got all of our orders correct without taking anything down on a notepad. The shrimp fried rice was delicious. The pho was alright but the pho is my boyfriend's favorite. The Ong Choy was delicious but it has too much liquid. Other than the place is really small but customer service is fantastic.

We ordered the oxtail pho, salted fish fried rice with shrimp, a fried chicken wings with fish sauce and iced coffee to share. Everything was great - the soup piping hot, although a little bit on the salty side, and the oxtail meat tender. The star of the table was definitely the salted fish fried rice with shrimp! It was well cooked and the salted fish not too overpowering. The shrimp was cooked just right and the rice grains separated with morsels of fried egg tying the dish together nicely. The fried chicken was crispy and was very flavorful, with onions and jalapeños adding contrasting textures, a sweetness and some heat. The iced coffee provided the sweetness we needed to wrap the meal up. The service was fast and friendly. The overall feel is a neighborhood mom and pop and it did feel homey. The artwork lining the wall gave it a much-needed color. Great job, Pho 5Lua!

Craving pho on a cold day is definitely the best. First time coming here and I have to say the atmosphere is cute and cozy with all these art work on the wall. The food wise was good in my opinion. We ordered the crab rangoon, spring roll, and 2 pho's. The pho broth and noodle was delicious but the meat ball wasn't great. Everything else was delicious. They do plastic plates, cups, and of course wooden chopsticks. I'll be coming back once an awhile.

The food came out quick and everything was very flavorful. We were very impressed by the generous portions. The pho broth was clean and flavorful. The servers took very good care of us. I'd definitely recommend this place.

I had the special noodle soup, basically the pho that has an assortment of meat. It was a little salty but super flavorful. The price was very affordable too! Wish this place was on Argyle!

This was my go to place for pho because the broth were good the first two years of business. I don't know what happened but lately the broth flavors are not as good anymore . The last few times that I was there, the broth for chicken and beef pho were on the saltier side. The required veggies for pho are bean sprouts, basil, lime, sawtooth coriander, and jalapeño. They used to served all of them but now it has be reduced beansprout, basil, and limes. If you want jalapeños or sawtooth coriander, you need to ask for it.

There is nothing quite like a comforting bowl of pho. Pho 5lua went above and beyond in satisfying my craving for a hearty meal. I ordered the egg rolls, crab rangoon, and pho with rare slice steak. The egg rolls were crispy and tasteful. The crab rangoon didn't have my ideal filling to wonton wrapper ratio, but it was still delicious. Lastly, the pho had a great broth and great flavor. The noodles were the perfect consistency and the soup temperature was just right to cook the meat. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. As of July 2021, they require masks when you are not actively eating or drinking, so be sure to have one on hand. They have a private parking lot as well, so don't worry about having to find street parking! Great location overall.

Cheaper compared to other places. And flavor is authentic . My Vietnamese friend recommended me this place. Came a few times, always busy, sometimes need wait for 20-30 min for a table.

I wasn't too impressed with what we got although it was not bad and it didn't have that special zing to make it stand out form other Pho places around town. I was t sure why it was so busy and it could have been that it was the only type of restaurant within a mile radius of the area. Maybe the people who can there has creeped up from the East side if the Kimball. If this place is open really late or past midnight, it's a decent enough place to visit again if i am in the situation. It's a pleasant environment and they spent some time to decorate the place to make it interesting and unique. Lots of families with different age groups come visit and it seems like a flow of people that kept on coming in with little or no wait time. Just not sure why it is so popular. Nice people and please to give them some business. Please review my other reviews as well. Hit a few thumbs up below and my other reviews if this was helpful to you. Thanks.

Very good pho small place food was absolutely delicious . I don't think I have ever food as we had this place .

Very quick service after placing order. Pho tasted excellent. Deep rich broth, tender meat, meatballs, FRESH basil and other veggies.

I was really looking to come here because of the high ratings and that The Hungry Hound said it was the best pho, a fact that they clearly are proud of. I of course got their 'special' with the oxtail in it, which is pricey but I figured was worth the price. I kind of wish I just went with the regular pho because the oxtail didn't make the broth richer and there wasn't much meat on the bone, it was just there as a showpiece basically and once I took it out it seemed like there wasn't much to it, usually there's a seeming gallon of broth left but there wasn't much. I went a second time and decided to forgo the ox tail for a simpler version which was better but not the most amazing pho I've had.

My family and I have been coming for years but recently the experience left much to be desired. We arrived lunch time during full house which was exciting for us to see. We sat down only to be left alone for 12 minutes waiting for a waitress or waiter to come take our order. Even the table who came after us ended up ordering and then receiving their food before us. When we received our first dish the spring rolls, they looked tasty but was not filled with much of anything as we expected herbs and such. The wrapper was also tough seemingly left in the fridge. Our Pho came out and we were happy to see the quantity of food even though it was a small. The broth itself was much sweeter than what we normally experienced. The tendons were tough and borderline inedible. Everything else was fine. We did enjoy the texture of the noodles because in other Viet restaurants, the noodles are usually overcooked. The last dish that came out was the water spinach. The first few bites were fine but after the dish cooled, you could taste the sweetness in the sauce and we could barely eat half of it. Price wise, it was okay with each bowl of noodles costing only $12 before tax. Spring rolls only 4.50, but the veggies were $15! Remember to go up to the cashier to pay because they won't come to your table. In addition to that, when we attempted to pay, we were almost overcharged by $30. Luckily I checked the machine before tapping my card. Also, be aware of the tipping. They have buttons and one is even set at 30%. If they had come over and asked how the food was or even bothered to offer water I would have considered. Truly disappointed from our most recent experience and hope they get it together because we have had some nice times at this location. Grade : B-

Inexpensive, delish and it's a BYOB! Food is very flavorful. The beef short ribs were cooked perfectly. I will definitely be back to try other items on the menu...

This place was recommended by a vietnamese friend and it did not disappoint; it has quickly become the place to go for Asian cuisine. they serve good, solid food at affordable and competitive prices. located in a strip mall, it's easy to miss if you don't slow down ahead of time. The entrance is narrow and the store front doesn't face the street. As you enter the place. The aroma of fresh beef broth welcomes you as a preamble to what you are about to experience. The place is deceptively small, but they managed to fit about 50 chairs/customers. Colorfully decorated, the walls are covered with paintings from local artists, if not for the tables one may think you just entered an art gallery. Half if not more of the customers appear to be of Asian ancestry, a testament to the quality and authenticity of the food. The menu is large and can be a bit overwhelming at first. Especially for the uninitiated. With 94 items in the menu, most staple Asian dishes are represented; But most customers appear to order one of the Pho Noodle Soups. Their signature dish. Order one, and find out why. The menu lists 14 pho dishes, each with a different protein or a combination of a few. Most popular cuts of meat are represented. Two sizes are offered: small and large. The small serving is good enough, especially if an appetizer is ordered, but, I prefer the large size for the abundance of ingredients; eventhough I have never been able to finish the bowl. The portions are large, so bring your appetite and be willing to share a dish or two. Other dishes worth mentioning are: Fried Egg Noodles (try the combination beef, shrimp & chicken), The Chicken salad, shrimp soup, spring rolls & crab rangoon. So give them a visit.  Go for the pho and try one of the other dishes, chances are that you will return for more. P.S. This is a BYOB restaurant This is a no frill restaurant. I heard someone complain about the service once but I find it prompt and efficient; they take your order, they bring your order. Fast. Not many pleasantries are exchanged, but I'm here to eat and the food is the star of the show.

Best pho in the city. I've had the #11 Pho Kobe and #17 Pho Thai over a dozen times. Sometimes I order #60 their Combination stir fried noodles with beef, shrimp, and chicken to go. Everything is incredible.