Jando S.
Yelp
When I want no-frills vibes, fast and furious service, and more importantly, a delicious and piping hot broth of pho, I make sure to go to Pho Tran. It is the quintessential dive in Bellaire Chinatown and the kind of place that is always poppin with locals. It is one of the more underrated noodle soup dives in the city.
The interior is stale, with office style flourescent lighting and a handful of the usual faux-granite tables for medium sized groups. When they're busy, the wait can be 20 minutes, but most folks are usually in and out. Even the odor of the various soups they have cooking in the back sometimes permeate the dining room. I'm not complaining, it's like walking into someone's home while they make you a delicious meal.
Their namesake pho is outstanding. The murky broth is a little darker than I'm used to, but it was full of flavor with a hint of salt. For the dac biet, the accompanied meats were abundant and the side condiments (especially the Thai basil) was extremely fresh. There are some nice cuts of flank and tendon and I was reasonably impressed with their bo vien meatballs. I'm not calling it the perfect pho, but definitely one that I can enjoy on any day.
Additionally they also specialize in bun rieu, bun bo hue, and bun mang vit. (duck bamboo noodle soup) There aren't a lot of places out there that can churn out a quality bowl of each under the same roof, but it's something to take note for anyone who is pho'd out.
I was happy with the prices and the relatively relaxed but efficient service. The latter was quick and wastes no time in getting the food to the table. English is not the primary language here, so keep that in mind if you're not able to converse in Vietnamese. I would give Pho Tran a big xe-lua (#1) style thumbs up.
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(#1) Which btw, is available. Not a lot of places will offer a mega sized xe-lua style bowl, but it's doable here.