4 of 62
From Michele's review
Aug 18, 2022
If you were hopeful for new and better Vietnamese food when reading local news that 208 Pho & Vegan at this location had been sold and Pho Real opened in it's place you will be disappointed to find roughly the same menu and food quality, although maybe a little less flavorful, now as then. The original owner passed it on to family members and the menu of half a dozen'ish each starters, pho dishes, com dishes and bun dishes is about the same and at similar price points of $8 to $9 for starters and $13 to $14 for the others. INSIDE: The interior has been cleaned up and seating rearranged. The service is friendly for dine in or take out. Those are good things. EATS: But the rest is lackluster. The absence of the "ahhh...some" aromas that might greet a diner at a Vietnamese food place from the simmering of pho stocks or the grilling of meat for com dishes or the fresh herbs used in bun meals is completely absent. And so, it turns out, were flavor and the herbs from our bun orders. Maybe a little Thai basil but other than that, nothing. (There is hoisin, soy and hot pepper paste on the table if you need to try to doctor a dish.) And when the two women who came in while we were waiting on our orders asked for no cilantro to be served with their meal the server said, in puzzled tone, that they didn't use cilantro in the kitchen. When the customer read to her from the menu that cilantro was part of the dish the server she had never noticed the menu description but it didn't matter since cilantro was not used. Nor any other herbs one might find in Vietnamese cooking it seems based on our meals. Also odd that the noodles in the bun dishes were lukewarm and not cool as is my experience elsewhere. We kept searching for flavor in what we were eating and finally left much of it uneaten. The pieces of cha gio (crispy egg roll) that were served with the bun were abundant in number and good quality, though, so there's that to add to the good list. And they have tasty Vietnamese coffee, although only iced. PARKING: In the strip mall lot. ACCESSIBILITY: A woman with disabilities who came in after us was with service dog and the server was cordial in accepting the need for the dog to be inside. The parking lot has no ADA compliant accessible parking on this side but there is one marked space (with striping on wrong side) and a make shift curb cut at far end of strip by the Boise CoOp Wine Shop. With the rearrangement of tables there are tables where a wheelchair user could sit. The loo is not accessible. BOTTOM LINE: If you're hungry and in the area you could do worse than to have a meal here, in particular at late lunch hour when little else is open. But if you're hankering for really good Vietnamese fare as destination, you can do better in Boise. My fav is Pho Nguyen on the border of Boise and Garden City with Garden City address in GPS. https://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-nguyen-boise read more































