House of Pho

San Jose has no shortage of Vietnamese restaurants, so if you find yourself going back to the same one multiple times it's a pretty good sign that they are doing something right. Now to be honest, House of Pho isn't necessarily number one in my rankings, but it is a solid option that offers quality food at slightly better-than-average prices which I always appreciate.

If you've read my reviews before than you may know that I'm not a fan of the actual dish, pho, but many people in my family are so I've had my fair share of opportunities to explore the deeper recesses of the menu at restaurants bearing the name. I've had House of Pho's Grilled Pork over Vermicelli a number of times and have always been satisfied. Their portions on the vermicelli dishes are very generous and can easily feed two, which can be a great way to save money if you are doing takeout especially.

This most recent visit I decided to give their version of shaking beef a try, the Shaking Cubed Marinated Filet Mignon with Tomato Rice. The dish name is quite a mouthful, but thankfully it turned out to be a quality dish. Have I had better? Certainly, but it was good enough that I would probably order it again and as they say, actions speak louder than words.

One other note: House of Pho has the unfortunate fate of being in the same shopping center as both a Costco and a Trader Joe's, two businesses known for never having enough parking to meet demand so you may find it challenging to find a spot and get in and out of the plaza, but it's still worth the trip.

Food mediocre
Service ... Vietnamese woman with the long pony tail is so rude to people! I'm shocked for a new restaurant! She yells across the room, not helpful to people asking questions. Her English is limited and she's treating people like they're the problem! Who does this when you are a new establishment?
The decor is dreary and old looking! The menus look like they are from 1950! I don't recommend this place at all. RUDE

Service was quick and friendly, no frills. I have been craving pho for weeks. Due to schedule constraints, I have not been able to take myself out to eat. I was on PTO and had plans to take Gavin to Soquel for 2 nights to celebrate his birthday. I wanted to get a car wash nearby, so I took the opportunity to take myself out on a solo date.

Appreciate the ability to order a Dac Biet in a small. I could finish a large but did not want to be full. The herbs were fresh, the broth was pretty clean but needed more aromatics, in my opinion. Or maybe that's just my personal preference.

Glad to have a pho place nearby. The parking is not forgiving, so if you go during weekend grocery rush, then you'll be screwed. W/ Trader Joe's nearby and Costco nearby, it's always a madhouse in this plaza.

Food came out super fast, under 2 minutes. I ordered the Pho Combination which has flank, brisket, tendon, tripe. The egg rolls were super crispy and inside has taro filling. Very savory. It's a nice sit down restaurant that's surrounded by department stores and grocery stores, making it a convenient stop for lunch during errand day. The parking is shared with all the other stores.
I like how large the menu is, I had thought it was only pho, but turns out there's rice, stir fry, and different type of noodle dishes for everyone's tastes.

House of Pho is my go to for pho. It's super close to me and has always satisfied my cravings. I ordered the chicken Pho for takeout last week and I really enjoyed it, just wish they gave me more sauces to go. The soup was so tasty and left me very full.

We came around 8pm close to closing:
From the outside it looked like there was no one inside.
We were unsure of coming in, but once we walked in there were people happily eating.
Note: if you are ordering to go you just go straight to the register, but if you are dining in you wait to be seated.
Service was prompt and easy.
They were getting ready to close.
We ordered beef pho: rare steak (size small)
Beef pho: well done lean brisket and tripe (size small)
Spring rolls.
Size small is not small!! It's like a medium!
It was so big for me I couldn't finished it, but it was sooo good!
It tasted home made and not so greasy.
The portions were so big.
Even the spring rolls were a large portion.
So good and it was only about $40
There were some other people sho had ordered fried rice with shrimp and steak and it looked good. I asked them how it was they said it was soo good. The portion was big too. They ended up taking it home.
If you're in the area, check it out! Fall is around the corner, a good pho would hit the spot wonderfully!

House of Pho is my all time favorite hometown Pho place. The soups come out quick and are very tasty. Service is okay depending on how busy it is. Friendly and casual ambiance, good for a cozy night!

First time visit this restaurant in my neighborhood.
The restaurant was full of people enjoying the Pho so it sounds right . Ordered HouseSpecialBeef Pho , Rare steak Pho and egg roll . Although we ordered the small size of Pho but the portion was pretty big ( no wonder lots of people there lol) The egg roll was average but in general the food was pretty good . Base on the price of the food , this restaurant would definitely worth to visit more often .

The old lady at the front was very rude the entire time, gave us dirty looks and when she wasn't doing that she looked anywhere BUT us and SCOFFED at us for being unsure of what to get. Its a restaraunt, its extremely uncalled for. And then to go to both other ladys there, point at my family and giggle like its middle school. The lady doing the transactions. And when we hit no tip for her horrible service, she became even ruder. Its embarrassing to think people who've lived so long never learned how to be polite, or human in general.

Kept interrupting us when we tried speaking and when we couldn't understand her (while her head was facing a COMPLETE different direction than us) she spoke louder and MUCH ruder.

Its a shame, its a nice place, BUT sadly the people make the experience. And the experience sucked.

Very immature. Very rude. VERY condescending.

Red bean smoothie was good tho

Been coming here forever. Don't usually have to wait.

During Covid we did a lot of take out from here. Orders were mixed up a couple times. Just check your to go order before you leave.

Pho, vermicelli, fried rice, veggie spring rolls are our regular orders. Forgot to take pics when the food got here today. So it's after my son dug in.

Hopefully they will stop using plastic straws.