Pho Van

01/25/2008 Posted by papayamaya

I just read the last review before me for this restaurant and I find it quite baffling. We can't possibly both be talking about Pho Van. I think this customer must be angry and dillusional. At any rate, I just wanted to say what a wonderful restaurant it is. Always good service, and fast. Also, the main courses are under $10 a piece. I feel like I am getting excellent food when I am there but am not paying an arm and a leg. The decor of the restaurant is also quite nice.

11/30/2007 Posted by lovepho

Extremely distasteful service each and everytime I'm there. Servers are rude with extremely poor customer service. Unfortunately, what keeps drawing me back once in a great while when I can tolerate the prices and service are the excellent rice plates. Caucasion's are preferred there no doubt. Next time you're there, look around you and you'll notice native pho eater's are scarce. Prices are way too high. However, I will admit food is delicious and like no other. BUT, you can get tastier pho for a cheaper price without discrimination many other places in Portland. I recommend Pho Vietnam or Pho Hung. It's better to order to go should you need that rice plate from Pho Van.

Pros: Vietnamese rice plates

Cons: Service is slow and poor

10/12/2007 Posted by antonio97b

First off, great customer service. The waiter was prompt and polite and the food was good too. We had the Bún gà (honey lemon grass chicken) and Mì Văn (pork and shrimp noodle soup) with lotus tea and a mango black iced tea. All of it was great and it was in large portions, leaving plenty of left overs. The soup alone is enough to feed two people. I am defiantly coming here again and again. The waiter was so good at his job, I hardly knew he was there. At the same time, I had my drinks refilled fast and felt like we were well taken care of. Not only that. It was a good price also! Two entrees, two types of tea, and a side of rice all for under $20! I would take these over cheese burgers anyday.

Pros: Delicious food with large portions , great customer service, and a good price.

Cons: None.

08/21/2007 Posted by notyeti

Really, I should have a frequent Pho card. I come here alone. I come here with friends. i come here whenever i can. I have probably eaten here 60 times. You would think i would have worked my way through their menu by now, but unfortunately I get stuck on favorites and order them again and again. Then eventually i try something else which then becomes my favorite. The current favorite for me is the Turmeric Noodles. It's a spicy soup, especially once you throw in all the jalapenos they give you on the side. It also contains shrimp, pork, and jicama - and peanuts on the top, as well as a couple of sesame shrimp crackers which are great for dipping. And what a bargain for $7.50. We have also ordered the green papaya and lotus salads and they are crunchy, exotic, and refreshing. My previous favorite was the Spicy Beef and Lemongrass Soup., full of noodles, beef, pork, Last time i was there, my friend ordered the grilled lemongrass beef, which was wrapped around grilled onions and served over vermicelli. It was also delicious. The service here is always gracious. the owners obviously take great pride in their restaurant. It is sparkling clean and beautifully decorated.

Pros: Best Pho and gracious service for great prices

07/29/2007 Posted by quyetha

I'm extremely dissapointed in the quality of service. Who would expect Pho Van to discriminate against their own ethnicity. Prompt seating is available to caucasians or if you bring a caucasian friend. However, would have to agree that their food is good and the atmosphere is quite nice. Perhaps Pho Van should employ non-asian staff to provide better service.

Pros: good setting and food

Cons: discrimination

06/14/2007 Posted by pill_clinton

Pho Van was the first place I ever tried the infamous "pho", and since that faithul day back in 8th grade, I've been craving it ever since. I've been to every vietnamese resturant in the metro area here in Portland, some spectacular at a great price, and some terrible and over-priced. Pho Van has always held itself in the top tier of the pho around Portland, along with excellent service, a beautiful setting in which to dine, and some of the friendliest staff you can find. Since first eating there, I've been to every new resturant they have put out, while still being good, none compare to the 82nd Pho Van. They definetly deserve a hand.

Pros: Great people, great service and amazing food.

Cons: They have gotten a little lazy with their other resturants around town, not quite the same quality

05/08/2007 Posted by barbette

Pho Van on 82nd has become one of our favorite restaurants, period. My soon to be husband and I visit it often and we've taken other friends and family there many times and everyone simply loves it. The food is very fresh, well-flavored and served by very friendly, and polite staff. We've always had wonderful service and we love the authentic decor including the Vietnamese stringed instruments hung on the wall and the rickshaw and the motorbike! Recommended dishes from us would include: grilled shrimp, chicken or pork with rice noodles with delicious nuoc mam poured over it, Pho, spicy seafood soup (a real winner) , green papaya salad with shrimp chips, and yes, the avocado shakes and ginger-flavored creme brulee are a must and compliment the meals well. The prices are extremely reasonable. All in all, Pho Van is an excellent value and a very pleasant dining experience.

Pros: all good

Cons: none

04/24/2007 Posted by franmill

My dining partner has been trying to get me to Pho Van on 82nd for months & I resisted because I tried some Pho at a restaurant on NW 23rd & it was gross. Finally she took me last week & I was so impressed I've been trying to get back there since. We had salad rolls and there was an interesting peanut sauce to go with it. At first I thought the sauce had an unpleasant bitterness to it. After a few more dips of the rolls in the sauce I found it to be a good combo of sweet and earthy that went well with the rolls. My dining partner had been telling me about the avacado shakes (which you can't get at the Hawthorne location) and again I thought eeewwww. But NO these shakes are a stupendous! A mellow flavor that is cool & creamy on the tounge and a perfect compliment/balance to the myriad of flavors in the pho. The soup is so very good! A combination of ginger, garlic, onion and goodness knows what else. I had the round steak in the basic pho. The meat was incredibly lean! A small bowl was huge and I couldn't even finish it. Truly the meal was just wonderful & I can't wait to get back there!

Pros: The Food!

Cons: N/A

12/20/2006 Posted by farreaching

It's a great place for Vietnamese food. Salad rolls rock. They don't cater to Vegetarians. If you're reading this PhoVan please start offering more Vegetarian Friendly food!! Thanks.

Pros: Delicious

Cons: Not Veggie friendly

11/29/2006 Posted by erinjah555

Good service, great ambiance, amazing food! The ginger creme-brulee is to die for! Try the avacado smoothies and the honey-glazed chicken wings. Everything is a culinary masterpiece in every way! I love this restaurant after dark. It's very romantic. In spite of the great prices, it's still on my fine-dining list. In fact, it's where I'm taking my fiance tonight for his birthday.

Pros: Food is great!

Cons: There's a certain vietnamese ingredient that is easy to get sick of.