How to Eat Pho Like You Grew Up With It

There is no single right way to eat pho, but there is a way that gets you the most flavor out of every bowl. Consider this the advice we would give a friend sitting down to their first bowl of Phở Bò.

Step one: taste the broth first

Before you add anything, take a spoonful of plain broth. A proper pho broth simmers for eight hours or more with charred onion, ginger, and whole spices like star anise and cinnamon. That first sip tells you everything about the kitchen. Ours starts before dawn, and we think it shows.

Step two: herbs go in hot

Your bowl arrives with a side plate of bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime, and jalapeño. Tear the basil leaves and drop them in while the broth is still steaming so the heat releases their aroma. Add sprouts a handful at a time to keep their crunch. Squeeze the lime over everything.

Step three: sauces on the side, not in the bowl

Here is the one place we will gently take a stand. Squirting hoisin and sriracha straight into the broth covers up those eight hours of simmering. Instead, pour a little of each into the small dish on your table and dip your beef as you go. You get the sweet-spicy hit and the clean broth.

Step four: chopsticks and spoon work together

Chopsticks in your dominant hand for noodles and beef, spoon in the other for broth. The rhythm is noodles, broth, noodles, broth. Slurping is not rude here. It cools the noodles and is the universal signal of a good bowl.

Choosing your bowl

Our Phở Bò ($17.99) comes with thin-sliced ribeye and beef meatballs in beef-bone broth. Prefer poultry? Phở Gà ($16.99) uses our signature poached chicken and a lighter, crystal-clear chicken broth. Both come with the full herb plate.

Still deciding? Browse the full menu, or just come hungry and ask. We love converting first-timers.