Pho Play is conveniently situated in the 580 Marketplace. They offer plenty of parking, making it easily accessible for a quick lunch or a casual dinner outing. The service at Pho Play is remarkably swift, with orders typically being taken and served within 5-10 minutes, even on the busiest days. The seating arrangement of chairs and benches along long tables accommodates both small and large groups, and the atmosphere remains airy and cafeteria-esque yet comfortable. Pho play offers a ton of pho options all of which are generally pretty huge. Lots of good flavor from the spices and beef. They also offer vegan pho options. The bahn mi are a must-try, well-stuffed and satisfying. I love their Thai tea / green Thai tea, especially when served in their tall mason jars, however, sometimes the drinks might also come in plastic cups, which seem less big to me. On hot days, the rice and vermicelli dishes are a refreshing alternative, especially with the accompanying fish sauce. It's a perfect balance of temperature, still feeling 'light', but without taking away half of the substance. It's HUGE. Pho Play also offers a challenge - 2 pounds of noodles, 1/2 pound of meat, and 2 quarts of broth within an hour. Cash prize refunds the $50 entry fee, plus a jackpot prize. The last time I went it was ~$310. Soda fountain drink refills are available upon request. read more

WHEN: Fri @7pm I heard this place was good and since our first and second pho choices were closed, we thought we give this place a try, and we glad we did! Parking was easy since it's located in a center with other businesses, so lots of free parking! This place is great for large parties since they have the large tables with benches. What you do though is order first at the counter, and they bring it out to you when it's ready. And our party was almost 10 people (mostly kids/babies though). So the large tables and benches were helpful! There's a decent variety of options here besides pho:appetizers, Bao Buns, Banh Mi, Rice and Vermecelli dishes, Vegan options, Bun Bo Hue and the Pho Play Challenge for $50. Oh they also have Boba Milk Teas. Here's what I had: VIETNAMESE ICED COFFEE - $5 I know it's late, but something like this sounded really good, and it was! PHO RARE STEAK - $16 Can't complain, it was decent, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I think this is easily a go-to pho spot for my family and I whenever we are in Castro Valley. I like it and wouldn't be surprised if I come back anytime soon! read more

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Fresh, light, and nutritious, Pho Play means business when it comes to serving authentic Vietnamese delicacies at affordable prices. This is a truly remarkable, family-run business that have been serving Castro Valley and the bay area for years. The folks here are welcoming and it's a real friendly environment, once inside. Things get even more exciting when that first bowl of steaming hot Pho comes to table. If you are in the area and looking for a filling meal that will not slow you down for the rest of your day (or break the bank), youve got to try Pho Play. read more

Great. Many options. Always good go to meal when I don't want to cook. Convenient just wish they stayed open later

Pho Play is a mom and pop vietnamese restaurant located in a Castro Valley strip mall away from downtown. It is located by Safeway and its the only non franchise restaurant in the area. We had a banh mi, the grilled lemongrass beef with vermicelli, and their chicken pho. The food was average at best with good portions. The service was good, the staff was friendly, and the ambiance feels new with a recent remodel. However, the bathrooms and the back of the restaurant does give a bleach smell, which gives a weird scent. Overall, I give it an average three stars and recommend folks to at least try it once. read more

Nice, clean restaurant. You order up front and they tell you what table to sit at and serve your dish when ready. Ordered the pho with rare beef and brisket, the lemongrass beef vermicelli and egg rolls. The pho had tons of meat and the broth was tasty. Huge portion of the vermicelli bowl. Was able to save half of it for another meal! I love the flavor of the beef. The egg rolls were ok for me which is served with a sweet chili sauce. Still good though. read more

Pho Play - Pho brisket and rare steak - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Great customer service and authentic flavors! The sandwich was okay. I had a better ones -- the bread is chewy, but they put a lot of stuffing/meat. Bigger portion for soups. read more

Pho Play - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

First of all, it was very clean and it was quiet. We went here for early dinner on a Friday around 5pm and the place was not full. The flow of customers were continuous, some customers were ordering take out. We had to pay for our order to the cashier upfront, she asked for tip in advance but we didn't tip cause we wanted to know how the service was before tipping. We ordered the grilled pork chop with rice for $17 and pho brisket and flank for $17. They don't have a lot of pho dish selections like the other Vietnamese restaurants. Our order came within 5-10 minutes. The grilled pork chop was a 5/5, serving was really large, the pork chop was soft, tender, juicy and flavorful and can feed 2 persons. The pho was very tasty. No complaints about the service. Servers were quick and polite. We tipped 18%. I'll definitely go back to this place again. Price is reasonable, they have Vietnamese sandwiches, they don't have a lot of selection for pho but this is the place when you want to eat Vietnamese sandwiches and grilled Vietnamese dishes. Safeway is walking distance, this restaurant is in a strip mall. read more

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Absolutely love the BanhMi here. Convenient to order ahead online and pick up Sadly have to cut the carbs so cannot visit as often as i'd like . Pho is good too, service is good read more

Food and service is awesome!!!!my favorite is the grilled pork sandwich. Try it and you may not be able to finish its big and very tasty.

We loved This restaurant , súper fresh and delicious, . Good price , pho play is the best read more

Pho Play - Boba so good - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Craving a Vietnamese sandwich so I placed a order on their website for a pork banh mi ($10.50) to pick up. Order was ready within 10 minutes! Located next to the 24 hour fitness in Castro Valley so you can grab a quick and healthy meal after your workout. Plenty of free and easy parking in the lot. The sandwich was huge! I ate it for lunch and dinner. Bread was perfectly toasted and they don't skimp on the meat. The pork was very flavorful and it's a bit salty for my liking. Luckily the cucumber, pickled carrots and radish and cilantro balanced it out. I wouldn't say this was the best Banh Mi I've ever had, but it satisfied my cravings. read more

Pho Play - Banh mi pork - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

When the weather is cold outside, pho play is my go to for pho. When it's warm outside bao buns is a go to... read more

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My go to for Vietnamese!! So far everything has been stellar. Always parking too so it makes it even easier

I love the clear vegan options at Pho Play and my husband thought the chicken pho and pork bao were tasty. The veg pho was loaded with perfectly-cooked veg and the broth is flavorful. Everyone is friendly it's a comfy place to sit and eat. read more

Pho Play - Yummy vegan tofu bahn mi and tofu vermicelli bowl. - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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I love this place and it has not let me down. I was under the weather and my husband picked up some Pho and it brought me back. read more

Pho Play - Pho Rare Steak and brisket (Raw meat on side) - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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My pho was amazing, so much flavor, the noodles, side veggies, chicken and shrimp was based on this delicious hot chicken broth. The ambiance with soothing music was 10/10. The only reason why I did not give a 5star and gave them a 4star was because the service was 2/10. As soon as we walked in the service lady had a look of being annoyed and bothered by our presence. My niece and I had the hardest time getting menu answers to our questions...we still kept a smile and thankful. Either way I keep it honest and a buck on my Yelp reviews. Maybe your service experience maybe better then mine, but the pho was read more

Pho Play - Chicken and shrimp Pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Great pho place with a decent Bay Area price. Place is clean, staff are professional and polite and food is fresh and tasty! read more

Bun bo hue - good size, broth decent, decent amount of meat, veggies fresh. Get some pickled jalepenos near counter. read more

One of my favorite Pho spots in my area! The portion sizes are huge, the flavor is delicious, the aesthetic of the place is super hip and modern. Pho Play is tucked a way in a plaza in Castro Valley, but you wont miss their sign with their aesthetic-looking font. I used to frequent the gym next door and one day decided to try this place with my boyfriend. I have been going to this place to satisfy my pho craving ever since! I have tried many things from their menu before including: -Grill Combo Vermicelli: the portions are huge! I definitely cannot finish this in one sitting. They do not skimp you on anything. The protein to rice noodle ratio is perfect -Bun Bo Hue: Suuuuper flavorful! Tons of meat, tons of noodle, the broth was on point! We always have to do the broth taste test before digging in. I actually almost finished this whole bowl it was too good. -Rice Paper Roll (Chicken): I was not expecting these to be so huge! I was expecting your normal spring roll with peanut sauce but this definitely was a good spin on it! I would definitely say you can share these amongst 4 people even though they are just 2 large rolls. Lots of chicken in each one though which I appreciated. A bit on the pricier side for pho spots, but I would say it is for good reason. Like I mentioned, the portion sizes are good, the food is super yummy, and the workers here are super nice! read more

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I love the simplicity of the menu. It keeps you focused on easy to order options. Most Vietnamese spots will have a menu of pages. ( that alone is overwhelming). At this location, the order board is ready for you to view, decide and place your order. Very decent sized portions! Flavors are all there and very fresh. I enjoyed the modern vibe of the location. The friendly service and quick delivery of the food. Strawberry tea with boba was refreshing. Portions were pretty big so I enjoyed having leftovers to take home. read more

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The food is excellent. The flavors are amazing the fresh smell of mint, the jalapeños, the bean sprouts the carrots the eggrolls are simply spectacular. I love the flavoring, the Chris, the crispiness of the eggrolls, the chicken and shrimp.Pho is to simply magnificent I could go on and on and on if you haven't been here, you need to come down and check it out. It's awesome the service was great. The employees was very helpful and nice and kind as well lasted not least the ambience is perfect. The music is great it's Jazz, it just feels like you're having your soup at home with friends and families. It's just that good feeling you know it's comforting.... I'll definitely be back again it's good ole fashion comfort food and I love it phi's it's cold outside and it's going to rain read more

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This is our favorite Vietnamese restaurant to get our grilled meat with vermicelli. The portion is generous and the flavor is delicious! They have a fun pho competition. Finish 2 (dry) lbs of noodles and a 1/2 pound of meat served with lots of pho broth in 1-hour time will receive the pho meal and shirt for free. Pop read more

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Pho Play is a must when you are in Castro Valley or driving along busy 580. Do yourself a favor and order these: Any flavor banh mi - HUGE Any flavor pho - flavorful Brown sugar boba - milky goodness Any flavor bao bun - tender and delicious read more

Pho Play - Grilled pork banh mi - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Pho Play is not bad by any means, but it did not impress me as much as I hoped. Their pho is a step up from instant meals-- it is a large, generous serving with a fair amount of inclusions, but the broth I found to be less flavorful than what I usually desire from pho. I was glad they added hoisin sauce and sriracha packets to our to-go order, as I used these to flavor the broth. The brisket in my broth: some of it was good, but some of it was tougher than I would've liked-- it was a lot of energy to chew. In addition, some pieces were fatty which I am personally not a fan of. With that being said, they will accommodate celiac and they are both familiar and comfortable with how to do that. It makes me feel comfortable dining there. read more

Really good bahn mi sandwich, good size portions and the Vietnamese iced coffee was really good too. I would definitely go back again and try more of their sandwiches because the meat was really flavorful and not very fatty. read more

We ordered the lemongrass bao buns (3 orders) for dinner tonight ! Wonderful , packed full Of tender meat and trash veggies! Delicious! read more

I am usually not a huge pho fan but my friends husband really had a craving so I caved in. I was honestly not expecting too much but I was pleasantly blown away. You order first at the front and then they bring it over to your table. It is a hearty portion so be prepared to EAT. Loved that they brought out lemons and jalapeños because I prefer to add a lil bit of lemon to most of my soups. The peach boba was also really good and can't rave enough about it! A little on the pricier end but I'd say it's worth it for the portion size minus the boba. read more

Pho Play - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Unlike typical pho restaurants, you order and pay before you are seated. They have a more modern aesthetic than most pho restaurants I have been to. There are a few wooden picnic tables and wooden regular tables. My fiancé and I ordered pho, which we both thought was not mind-blowing, but was good. It does seem a little expensive for pho, but I think probably on par with other places due to inflation these days. We did not try the banh mi, but we saw some as we were heading out and they looked huge! The location is convenient. It's in a plaza with ample parking. read more

Pho Play - Pho Rare Steak and Brisket and Pho Rare Steak - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Nice decor and location. Food was alright. The pho was fine but nothing outstanding. Can see myself coming back when I'm in the area.

I use to love this place a lot and thought it was worth it. It's been a few months since I been back and it's not what I remember it to be. I got the bun Bo hue which is suppose to be spicy beef noodles for $17 and my daughter got chicken pho for $16 plus tax it was over $40! I feel like the food isn't filling and mine didn't come with veggies which I thought was odd. My daughter didn't like her chicken it was super dry. I wouldn't recommend both dishes. The server is a younger guy who kept on serving his friends who sat at the next table. In between serving he was sitting down and hanging out with his buddies. Meanwhile the person who took our order at the front was on her phone. I wanted to ask for extra limes but felt bad interrupting. Service is quick. Went in a weekday which wasn't crowded. Parking is easy since it's in a shopping plaza. read more

Food for thought for you good eaters: The Pho Play Challenge jackpot is up to $310 as of April 2022. All you need to do is finish two pounds of noodles, 1/2 pound of meat/protein and two quarts of broth in one hour and keep it down for five minutes. No bathroom breaks allowed. You'll need to cough up $50 to enter the challenge, but you'll get that all back, plus the jackpot, if you win. Whether or not you are up for that contest, Pho Play is open seven days a week for bún, boba drinks and bao buns. The restaurant is located in a sanitized strip mall environment with easy, free parking. The food is standard Vietnamese fare served up in generous portions; however, the prices are high. A bowl of pho will set you back from $15 to $16; banh mi from $10 to $12. Pho Play's restroom is spacious, practically the size of a San Francisco studio apartment. Pho Play is a comfortable place for a pleasant, albeit somewhat expensive meal. I wouldn't hesitate to visit Pho Play again if I were in the area, but it is not a destination restaurant. read more

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Mmmmm i don't know if I'd come back. The prices are jacked up for Vietnamese food. I got the bbh which is not even bbh, it was like pho... very disappointed especially for the $$ i paid. My bf got the pork chop which he really likes so i guess we can come back for that. You have to order first before seating which i don't really like because you have to tip right away which i base my tip on the service. Ambiance is nice, a lot of room and space. But overall, the price is not worth the food read more

Pho Play - Pork chop - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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They have great vermicelli bowls here, they're generous with the portions, the grilled meats don't have too strong of a charred taste, and the fried egg is perfectly cooked with the crispy outer edges. It's so much food I feel like you can easily share it or have enough leftovers for a second meal. Their pho is also generously sized, there are no small or large options, just one size. When ordering for online pickup using their website, you can modify it if you prefer chicken broth, vegan broth, or even bun bo hue broth. They also have a ton of other modifications and add-ins options you can make. Their dishes are on the pricier side but I think the sizes make up for it. They also serve rice dishes, banh mi, spring rolls, and boba drinks. I really like their passion fruit tea here, it's tart and super refreshing. The restaurant itself is sparkling clean and very modernly decorated! read more

Pho Play - Grill Combo - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Tried this place out for the first time. Ordered bao buns no mayo. Tofu wraps. Vegan pho (asked for just broccoli and tofu and they accommodated!) kids rice with tofu, and a strawberry tea All were delicious. I really appreciated that they say what is vegan right off the back. Not a lot of restaurants do that and it makes the decisions much easier. Generally I feel the fresh rolls with tofu always have the ratios of items off, but these were perfect. I already want to go back tomorrow. You order at the register and they give you a table number to sit at. read more

I've been here several times but only for takeout. Their bun Bo hue is really good and of course their pho play special pho đặc biệt) is pretty good as well. Maybe someday I'll eat inside and of course if I do so, I'll do the pho challenge. The food comes out really fast (10-15 minutes for 3-4 orders) which maybe means they have everything in a large pot. read more

I came here after mini golfing just to try it out. The service was good and the Thai Green milk tea is so amazing. I haven't had a beverage from a pho place that was this good ever. The food came out relatively quickly but the drink I can't really find in many places. The restaurant itself is clean and modern, you order at the front and take a seat. Food is priced fairly and would come here again if I was in the area! read more

Pho play has huge banh mi! As of June 2023, each banh mi is about $10 and they're larger than my forearm. The store is located in a large shopping center, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find parking, but you might have to go to the Safeway side on a busier day. The store looks small from the outside, but the inside is larger than you'd think. There are plenty of tables. I arrived in the early evening on a Monday and it was fairly empty. I ordered two sandwiches for to-go at the counter and was told the wait would be 10 minutes. I sat on one of the benches while I waited. My party ordered a tofu banh mi and a grilled pork banh mi. We enjoyed both of them! As mentioned above, they were pretty large and were very filling. The menu also has noodle dishes, boba drinks, and more. I haven't had their pho in a while, but after my recent good experience I may be back again to refresh my memory. Overall, I am satisfied with the banh mi. Great for a quick meal. Always happy to support a local Vietnamese restaurant! read more

Pho Play - Banh mi - Vietnamese Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Love this place! It's super clean and minimal. Workers are friendly. There's seating inside not outside. They do allow take out, you can order through the phone. I absolutely love their pho. I always go back to this place when I crave any! Their prices are pretty affordable at around $16-$20 per person. read more

Great pho place to eat, quick and friendly service. The pho broth is very tasty and the meat is tender. This is a definite must try pho Restaurant. read more