This branch of the Pho Hoa chain has a prime location as one of the closest Vietnamese restaurants to the Microsoft campus, and the operations here are streamlined to take advantage of that fact.

In the interest of turning your table over quickly, especially during lunchtime, service is incredibly fast – you often get less than a minute to decide on your order, and the food comes out just minutes after that. Even the menu’s numbered nicely so you can just order your usual (mine is #17). The food here is decent and consistent, but not outstanding, though the prices are pretty good.

Also, there’s always carryout when you come to Pho Hoa – even if you finish your meal, you’ll be carrying the aroma of pho on your clothes for the rest of the day. This restaurant is smellier than most pho places I’ve been – that’s why we call this “stinky pho.”

Finally, I’ve never figured out the right pronunciation of the name, but I think it’s something like “fuh hwah”, which is the guttural retching sound you’ll make when you step into one of the filthy bathrooms here. Yuck.

Good PHO (fuh) the juice is tasty the service is good, not my favorite but decent PHO if you like it.

Very rich tasting soup which is the way I like it. I consider it to be one of the better branches of the chain. It is definitely not the elusively ultimate bowl of full-flavored, yet rich soup. I haven’t yet found that kind of Phở stateside.