So Ba East Atlanta Village

Its hard not to compare Phở to Buford Highway Phở. This is good for East Atlanta Phở but does not compare to Buford Highway Phở.
What is most awesome about the spot is the ambiance! It definitely is great for date night! The music is cultured and upbeat, the lights are dim. It was very comforting on a chill January evening.
For drinks we ordered the ginger lime margarita. I can say the flavor was completely ginger so if you are not a fan of ginger, stay away! It was really good and with the strong ginger flavor it is better without salt. It came in a nice big glass, but it was not strong in alcohol.
The service started off great but as the night went on, it went down hill. At one point we figured our server had a mishap or something because he just didn’t come back for a long time. When we asked, we were told he was busy with outside tables. Explanations like that really bother me, because it makes a statement that this table that I am currently sitting at is not part of him being busy and that’s not acceptable. From other reviews it seems like this place gets busy but the service stays laid back like the ambiance and that needs some work.
We ordered the vegetarian spring rolls to start and they came out quick. They were fresh and your average rolls. I had a medium Phở and it was ok. I drank some broth before adding anything to it and it was okay. I ordered number 12 which came with steak and brisket. I can tell you the medium bowl suggested I needed to only get a small but the meat contents were minimal. But had tons of noodles though. I was left unimpressed. My niece ordered a number 34 which is Tom Thit Nuong Cha Gio with extra shrimp because she doesn’t eat pork and an egg. She was very happy and finished it up. It did look good.
I would rate this a 2 star but the ambiance kicked it up a notch.

I always wanted to try phở and tonight was the night. I thought it would be a regular broth with noodles and cilantro. This phở surpassed my expectations! I can’t really put into words. The broth was developed and full bodied… I literally ate the whole bowl. I even drank it from the bowl LOL I had the chicken phở and I added the basil the jalapeño the sprouts and hoisin sauce… I can’t wait to go back that’s just how good it was. Like, I want to go back tomorrow.
Thanks So Ba for my first phở experience!

Food is great service is terrible including bartender. Forget to put in your order mess up the bill bartender too busy talking. Two hours for phở forgot to put in appetizer order. Get take out don’t go to eat.

Food was great. Service was great. Nice ambience. Prices were fair. Couldn’t ask for more.

Soba has the best Vietnamese dishes without having to go all the way to Buford highway. The serves are always very nice and the food is decently priced. I would definitely recommend you try them.

Vietnamese food in East Village. Although this place closes at 10 pm, Octopus Bar opens at 1030-​240 am next door and it’s a collaboration of So Ba’s chef. The Vietnamese food at So Ba is amazing, really amazing. I tend to complain and gripe about expensive Vietnamese places (I hate that a bowl of phở is more than 5 – 6 dollars) but here, I’ll make the exception. Everything I had was top notch.
PHO TAI
The broth is fantastic. Got a small bowl and it was perfect. The veggies were fresh and they put cilantro into the broth as well. Super awesome bowl of phở… but a little on the expensive side.
PHO GA
The broth is also fantastic and same as phở tai, everything was delicious. I didn’t have the chicken but my friends loved it.
FRIED TOFU WITH PEPPERS
This is my favorite dish by far. I saw it in appetizers, but then ordered the entrée size and I’m glad I did. The tofu is piping hot, crispy on the outside and so fluffy on the inside. It’s also tossed with a great mixture of jalapeño peppers, cayenne, onions, and seasoning. It is SO GOOD.
EGG ROLLS
Good egg rolls, not full of greasy fats and cabbage, but filled with delicious carrots, mushrooms, and vermicelli like the way Viet eggs rolls are supposed to be.
COCKTAILS
I had the LONG-​AN cocktail and it was very strong and delicious. My friends had the JACKFRUIT one with tequila and that was a little too strong for me, but the jackfruit is delilicous!!!
Go to Octopus Bar next to it if you stay late and want a late night drink after.

Went here on a quick stop in ATL. Was craving Phở and this was near the Air BNB I was staying in. Don’t be put off by the outside of the building, it looks like an old house. Once inside it is a true Vietnamese feel. It was a bit of a wait for a table and the hostess did not inform me until I asked that the bar was open seating. Once I sat at the bar the service was excellent, was offered the special of the day but I was only focused on the phở! Got the XL bowl of phở and the BROTH WAS TO DIE FOR. It was not greatly and very tasteful, the temperature was perfection and lol the fixings were fresh. I would recommend this spot to anyone.

I am from the San Gabriel Valley, the first suburban Chinatown in California! Of course, this is where Asian restaurants are overly abundant and competition is stiff.
So when a local suggested this place, I was not expecting much.
I got the Bun Chay or vegan vermicelli bowl. It came with thin white noodles, sautéd veggies, large tofu cubes (not fried, yes!), lettuce, all mixed in a coconut hoisin sauce. I had to ask for extra sauce, it was a bit dry at first. It turned out to be pretty tasty once I added more sauce.
Even though this place met my expectations, I would say this is not a bad option if you are craving Asian food in Atlanta!
My co-​workers seemed to enjoy their phở.
The restaurant is the hip place to be. The menu changes after 10pm and turns into a lounge.
We got to witness someone doing the Phở King challenge. You have to finish the bowl within 1 hour. If you win, you get to keep the bowl. You also get a t-​shirt and a monetary prize ($ 300 I heard!). If you lose, you get a t-​shirt that says «Phở King Failure». Either way, you’re a winner! :)

I usually love Soba. I crave it regularly. Today though I was horrified by my experience.
A chubby Asian girl with super long hair, who I see every time told us to seat ourselves wherever when we first walked in. There was only 1 table, it was dirty, but we took it. We then sat there for 20 minutes completely ignored. We got up to get the menus for ourselves. She came to check on the table next to us and I tried to get her attention. She made a dramatic turn so I would only see her back and walked away.
Eventually a different waitress took our order. When our appetizer arrived we waited with no chopsticks or plates for 10 minutes. Again the chubby girl is at the table next to us, I say, «excuse me, can we please get some chopsticks and plates?» She looked right through me, made no acknowledgement, turned away and walked away. At that point I turned to my friends in shock and she turned back around and made a face at me.
I’m pregnant. Does she hate pregnant ladies? Does she hate regular customers who are polite? I don’t get it. I love the food but don’t ever want to be treated that way. I guess I won’t be back because she is always there?

FOOD IS GREAT! SERVICE IS HORRIBLE!
I’ve been an avid fan of So Ba for a few years now. The food is fantastic. But the service, and the way a guest is treated, is crumby.
Every time I go in there, it’s as if the waiters, hosts, and bartenders could care less about you. The servers (when they finally visit your table) are always incredibly «blah» with their attitudes, like they just can’t be bothered w your presence. Never a smile, never a thank you, not even a friendly glance.
The food takes forever to get to your table, but I tend to forgive that bc it’s always tasty.
I just wish the environment would be a bit more friendly and inviting, and it can totally be accomplished if the staff would just smile and be nice.

Please note that this is an enthusiastic three stars. If 3.5 stars were an option, that’s what I’d go with. The food here is good and more than satisfactory if you don’t want to drive to Buford Highway. The service is also good, although it can be a little slow occasionally.
So I’ve had the phở and the com bo luc lac here. The phở wasn’t my favorite. The spice balance of the broth was off, with star anise being the prevailing flavor. It became a bit overwhelming toward the end of the bowl. My SO, however, really enjoyed the broth. So it’s all a matter of personal taste preferences. The bo luc lac is delicious. It comes with fried rice, of which I’m not usually a fan, but this one was well-​flavored and not too greasy.
The pork egg rolls are better than average, though. The spring rolls are good but don’t come with peanut sauce, which makes me sad.
Though the service can lag, the staff is professional. I once had an issue with the dish I ordered and the server quickly corrected the problem, which I appreciated.
And this shouldn’t be a surprise but prices are definitely not BuHi prices. You’re going to pay for the convenience of not having to drive out there. For example, currently, the medium bowl of phở is $ 10. That’s a couple of dollars more the typical BuHi phở joint. Personally, I am okay with that. This is just a heads up.
Overall, I’m happy with So Ba and am glad they’re in my ‘hood. Yay phở!

The phở here mediocre and overpriced. The place is trendy is a hipstery, so that’s probably what you’re paying for. They do have a phở eating challenge here for $ 25 that is fun but nearly impossible. You have to eat the equivalent of 3 large phos (soup and all) within an hour. I got about ¹⁄₃ of the way before I felt like I was up to my eyeballs in broth. My guy friend got about ²⁄₃ before he felt the same way. Win or lose though, you get a nice shirt that says Phở King Failure or Phở King Champion.

So Ba is a Vietnamese restaurant that opened in East Atlanta Village in December 2009. So Ba means 3 in Vietnamese. As a frequent eater of Vietnamese food in metro Atlanta, particularly on Buford Highway and in Gwinnett County, I can vouch for So Ba’s authenticity. They serve legit phở (noodle soup), bun (vermicelli noodles), and com (rice dishes) here with a few subtle differences. That is a good thing because in a neighborhood like EAV, I was afraid So Ba would turn out to be one of those Americanized Asian (possibly Asian fusion) type places.
So Ba doesn’t look like the typical Vietnamese restaurant you’d find on Buford Highway. In line with the surrounding neighborhood, the restaurant is more hip and has a cool, laid back vibe. There’s an enclosed patio. Late at night, the bar next to the patio becomes Octopus Bar (
). The restaurant is popular and on weekends, it can be hard to find a table.
Along with phở, bun, and com, So Ba has appetizers like cha gio (ground pork egg rolls) and goi cuon (fresh shrimp spring rolls). Apps run about $ 5 – 8 each. One app I recommend is the dau hu rang muoi ($ 8) — salt and pepper fried tofu with sauteed onion, spring onion, jalapenos, and red chili peppers. Admittedly, it’s loaded in sodium, but extremely tasty and potentially quite spicy depending on how potent the batch of peppers are at the time the dish is prepared. The fried tofu is delightfully crispy on the outside and soft and moist on the inside.
Phở, bun, and com are Vietnamese comfort foods. The noodles used in both the phở and bun dishes are made of rice. The rice used in the com dishes is broken (or fragmented) rice. Prices for these dishes are more expensive than their counterparts on Buford Highway. So Ba is $ 2 – 3 dollars more in several instances. A small bowl of phở is $ 9, medium $ 10, and large $ 11. Prices for the bun and com dishes are in the $ 10 – 13 range.
My favorite phở to order is the phở dac biet. This is often called a «special combination» phở or phở «with everything.» The noodle soup comes with the following meats: eye round steak, well done brisket, flank, soft tendon, and tripe (stomach). I like having all of these different meats because they make the broth heartier and there is a nice variety of textures and flavors to eat. It’s good stuff.
The phở broth is fragrant and delicious. Also included in the bowl are chopped cilantro, spring onion, and white onion. On the side is a self-​serve plate of vegetables including basil, bean sprouts, jalapeño, and lime. Unfortunately, So Ba does not stock culantro, which is one of my favorite phở condiments and is served standard at other phở places. This omission is probably the most disappointing thing to me about the restaurant.
Don’t forget about the table-​supplied Sriracha hot sauce, hoisin sauce (brown stuff), and chili garlic paste. All are great for putting directly into the phở and/​or for using as dipping sauces for the meat. The latter is my preferred method.
Bun is often an overlooked Vietnamese dish because phở’s popularity overshadows it. If you still want noodles, but don’t want a soup, order bun. I suggest bun thit nuong cha gio, a classic. This dish consists of a bowl of rice vermicelli noodles topped with grilled pork, a sliced egg roll, and assorted veggies like carrots, radish, and cucumber. The pork is mouthwatering and the egg roll is crispy and savory. This dish is served with a side of nuoc mam (fish sauce), which you should pour into the bowl for extra flavor. Overall, this dish is very flavorful and satisfying.
Service is OK. It can be slow at times. When the restaurant gets busy, completed tables can go uncleaned for 15 – 20 minutes at a time, making the dining area feel messy.
Overall, So Ba is a good option for authentic Vietnamese food in East Atlanta. It’s a step below the Buford Highway/​Gwinnett stalwarts, but is definitely king in this part of town.
The restaurant is located inside what looks like an old house off of EAV’s main drag. There is no parking lot, but plenty of street parking should be available on the primarily residential neighborhood streets.
Side note: So Ba has a phở eating challenge. It’s called the Phở King Challenge. The challenge is to finish one Phở King Challenge competition-​sized bowl of phở within 60 minutes. I was told by staff the competition-​sized bowl is equivalent to 3 large bowls. Photo:
. Over 65 have tried. Only 1 has succeeded. The original prize was $ 333, consistent with the restaurant’s name. Today, the prize is a gift certificate. I think it’s $ 100. Win or lose, you get a t-​shirt. The entry fee is $ 25, so it’s not a terrible deal when you think about it.

Almost all the good Vietnamese food is up Buford highway so having a decent place in the more urban area of Atlanta is great! I can’t give it 5 stars because some things were a bit too salty (especially the Phở) but besides that, everything was great. If this was up Buford highway or Northern Virginia or Westminster CA, I’d have to give it 3 stars because the competition is stiff but that’s being very picky. This place is solid for the area.
At first glance, price is about average but the serving sizes are larger than expected so it’s a pretty good deal. On top of that, they have 16oz Miller High Life’s for only $ 3! And ON TOP OF THAT, if you buy a medium phở, you can get a Bloody Mary for only $ 2! Now we’re talking a great deal. Plus, it was a pretty darn tasty Bloody Mary.
Salt & Pepper Tofu: very good, almost excellent but could have used a little less salt. The combination of the onions, jalapenos, spicy red peppers, and green onions was delicious.
Goi Cuon (non-​fried spring rolls): these were excellent. Some places the goi cuon can taste bland but the flavor was good and the shrimp was tasty. The peanut sauce was not as thick as most places but still decent.
Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio: Overall, pretty good dish but I might actually consider the grilled pork to be one of the best I’ve ever had. It had an amazing charred taste to it that was excellent.
Phở Tai, Chin, Sach: Very good but too salty. After adding a little water from our cups, it was much better. Good proportion of meat, noodles, broth, etc.

We eat here at least once a month to fill the phở void in our hearts (and stomachs.) The large is $ 2 more than the small (which is $ 9) and can feed an average person twice. The pork vermicelli is also abundant and delicious.
We love living a couple of blocks away as it has the best Vietnamese food we have found ITP.

Good food and great ambient music.
Cozi place but not so good service. Overall, good experience!

Finally made it in here during the day! I’ve been to Octopus Bar several times (housed in Soba after it closes) & have been meaning to stop in here for some Vietnamese.
The shrimp & pork spring rolls were tasty, the Phở was great too! I had the rare steak & shrimp, my mom had the rare steak, brisket & flank steak one. Tasty broth, fresh ingredients & calm atmosphere.
We sat in the bar area Saturday afternoon & the bartender was attentive & charming. Can’t wait to go back to try some of the entrees!

I had the Sunday special– $ 12 for a medium
Phở and a Bloody Mary
The drink was ok — came with olives and a pepperoncini, not real strong or flavorful but it was good overall
The phở was delicious — I had the tofu phở. The tofu was fried and just slightly soggy but still tasted great. The soup was loaded with veggies, cabbage, carrots, and broccoli. The broth was delicious and the serving size was perfect– I even took some home.
The atmosphere was very low key and a crowd picked up in the evening. Bathrooms were clean and the service was good. We sat at the bar and had an overall great dining experience… finished the night off with a few $ 5 sapporros on draft
Make your way here– taste the phở– don’t expect fancy — expect good!

Hallelujah! I have finally found a new regular and very local spot for phở!
Soba: warm customer service, great interior ambience, fresh ingredients that will make your mouth water and tummy happy, and the list goes on!
I have been wanting to visit this particular place for quite some time now and i don’t know what i was waiting for.
I took my boss (an older gentleman) to experience phở for the first time and he is now a believer!
We started with fresh spring rolls with shrimp wrapped in rice paper along with some peanut sauce and each went for a large bowl of phở. Yes, large. — a bowl about the size of one’s head for a mere $ 11.00.
I went for the #12 that included beef and my boss went with #15, –the chicken phở. Add all the fresh ingredients: mint leaves, bean sprouts, and HOT sliced jalapenos along with a bit of sriracha sauce and two of their other sauces that they put on the table, and you have a culinary masterpiece!
Oh! and i took home my left over phở which more than provided a filling lunch the following afternoon.
Bottom line: I will be back and most likely a regular.
And we went dined a Monday night (they open at 5pm) which was a bonus. No waiting for seating and you get to seat yourself.
.just an all around pleasant dining experience and evening, indeed!

Love this place! Has a great vibe and yummy food. My go to is the grilled chicken vermicelli and my friend always gets the phở. Good prices and plenty of food. I always leave already excited to come back.
The atmosphere is great. Would definitely recommend as a great date spot.
Doesn’t get five stars because the service is usually not very good, but I’m never in a rush so it doesn’t usually bother me. I would definitely do take out from here.
The beer list is also very lacking, but I wouldn’t expected it to be overwhelmingly fantastic anyway. Just wish there were a few more beers on tap.