Rice Paddies Grill

I’ve been to Rice Paddies a few times now and had their vegan phở. Love them all — you can’t go wrong!

Food was good. Phở was good but hardly any beef and the container wasn’t closed and I lost my food. Make sure you Check before you leave.

I love this place. If you’re looking for comforting Vietnamese food in Downtown Bethesda, this is the spot! Their vegan phở is amazing! Today, I tried their vegetarian spring rolls which is accompanied by a homemade vegan fish sauce (nom)! The vegan seitan lemongrass was just as tasty, while their seitan is also homemade! Thank you for having these options available.

I ordered a Vegan Phở to go.
First, When I am paying $ 9.40 for a Vegan Phở, I expect a little better. Yes, as another reviewer pointed out, the broth is not hot enough. The veggies and noodles just don’t cook when the broth is lukewarm. The result is a tasty broth but raw veggies and semi raw noodles. Additionally, they could afford to add more tofu into the order, come on, four small tofu pieces? «You can do better Rice Paddies Grill.»
This place is small take out place with some seating available (including outside seating). It has potential, but there is way better out there; But not in Bethesda, this is the only phở lunch spot that I know of located in Bethesda. I would probably go back, if I was in the mood for phở during lunch and I am at work (in other words, no other alternative and I have a craving).

Well this is a great place for Phở as I’ve been inside to eat. But when I just called tonight for delivery the employee told me I have to go online to order because a third party actually does the delivering… except she couldn’t tell me the name of the website… awesome thanks not helpful… I’m pretty sure it’s essential your employees should know the name of the company to direct people where to order.

With the quantity and diversity of food options in Bethesda, I was surprised to find this the only PHO coming up on Unilocal in the area. Always up for a new PHO, I decided to give it a try. Spoiler– Good if you’re in a pinch but not worth going out of your way.
They do things a little different then most PHO places in that you have a choice of Beef or Seafood PHO and that’s it. (maybe there was a vegetarian, I forget). The Beef comes with Eye Round and Brisket, which is what I got. I didn’t notice any brisket in there. The meat was tender but there was not a lot of it. About $ 8.50 per bowl, one size.
There were not a lot of noodles either. The toppings come already in the soup (bean sprouts, basil, jalapeño) with a lime on the side. This is clearly described on the menu. The broth tasted excellent. No issues there.
You order at the counter, they call your number, and you carry the bowl to your table. While the broth was hot enough to cook the meat, it was not hot enough to cook my bean sprouts or onions. By the time I got to the bottom of the bowl they were still crunchy. I’ve been eating Phở for many years and the pattern I have found is that if the soup isn’t hot enough to cook the veggies, you are more likely to have some stomach issues after you eat it.
I guess if it isn’t ladled from a simmering pot, it isn’t hot enough to kill any bacteria that may be on the meat or other items. True to form, 90 minutes after eating there was a bit more gurgling down below than there should have been and I had an unplanned trip to the loo. Nothing severe, but enough to let me know.
I also ordered an iced coffee. It is prepared for you in a plastic cup packed full of crushed ice with the coffee poured over. So, while it looks like a 12 – 16 oz. iced coffee, there really isn’t much in there.
They have a parking lot which is nice AND they have outdoor seating which is a treat for a Phở place. If you can’t park in the 8 – 10 space lot, there is a public metered garage just down the street.
The restaurant was friendly and the soup tasted fine. I didn’t dislike the Phở and if I lived or worked in the area I’d give it a few more tries. But since I don’t, I think when I’m down at Bethesda Row I’ll try some of the many other options instead.

Phở is always excellent — I suggest the seafood — I’ve never eaten in so don’t know about the service inside

One of the best places in Bethesda and that’s not only because it is a family run place with excellent service. The food is always spot on and very affordable. Pretty much all dishes are just ridiculously delicious.
The only thing I would like to see a change in are the opening times. It happened so many times that I wanted to go, but it was closed because it was a Sunday or Monday…

This is def a hole in the wall joint. Really good phở and the dinner size is humongous! I had the seafood phở and I liked that it only had shrimp and scallops and none of that gross fish balls or fish cakes most seafood phos come with.

It is not good for lunch break. It took 20mins to get the food.

Best Phở in town. The owner is friendly and always willing to help get you a seat. Seating is limited so be sure to come early during peak times.

Not a bad place to go for lunch if you work in Bethesda, but don’t go out of your way to come here. There’s better in DC.
It’s a small little house on a corner of a busy street in Bethesda. You walk in and order right away from the cashier. There’s a room connected to the entrance where you can sit and eat. I ordered the chicken and rice and it was good. Not worth eating every single day for a week, but a decent lunch for sure.

I’m giving this place one star because nothing about it was good. The guy at the register is rude and doesn’t even speak to you, the place is small and there is nowhere to sit during lunch and their phở is the worst I’ve ever had! Just water and salt, the amount of meat and noodles is minimal and the crispy roll tastes like the bottom of my shoe. Terrible… Will never go back.

Rice paddies was (4) stars for me last year when I visited bethesda for work. Returned this year for same trip, it was still tasty but not as I had remembered.
Veggie options are great. The lemongrass crunchy tofu added to dishes is crazy good.
For bethesda and take out the price and quality is a good blend.
It’s no-​frills and the staff is doing their own thing as opposed to doting on the customers every whim. Counter guy was listening to some old school James Brown w/​the JB’s, bonus points for that. «Maceo.can I get some asian fusion? moving.grooving.doing it, you know?»

So let me sum it up and then go into details afterwards. When you mix horrible service with even worse food, your result is Rice Paddies. My friends and I love good ol hole in the wall places but this is beyond disappointing.
It’s a self-​serve place (nothings wrong with that but this… lol). When you walk in, you must order at the counter first and pay. There’s fridges for you to choose your drinks from up front as well. No alcohol. There’s free water but you must get it yourself. You get your own utensils. Then you get a number and you go sit down. They’ll call your number when your food is ready and you go pick it up (these aren’t even Asian people cooking your food). The dude up front had no knowledge of the menu and the tables were dirty with leftover vermicelli noodles on it.
$ 65 worth of food and nothing was edible. The egg rolls were warm. The peanut sauce for the spring rolls tasted like water with brown food coloring– not even a hint of peanut in it. All the sauces were served in little tiny containers like ketchup containers from McDonald’s. The Bo Luc Lac (flaming beef) looked like some Chinese dish– all greasy and mushy. The r6? (grilled pork, chicken, beef, shrimp with vermicelli) tasted like microwaved food.
Oh and it doesn’t end there– my friend and I had stomach pain for an hour after eating it. His gf didn’t bc she stopped after like two bites– we were hungry and didn’t feel like throwing it all away. I’m Vietnamese and I dine out quite often so I know what is decent. I didn’t expect greatness but at least decency. NEVER EVER GO HERE unless you want a stomach ache along with your disgusting meal.

I’m a fan. It’s not the best phở around, but it’s a great neighborhood spot. I used to come here at least once a week in the winter to get my head straight. It’s NO FRILLS… cafeteria style… pay beforehand at a counter. Love it.
Honestly, like I said it’s not the best, but it grows on you. It’s also really homey, which I dig.

The phở soup is lackluster in that it the broth lacks any depth (likely due to under seasoning). The only think that saved it was adding copious amounts of hoisin (brown) sauce and Sriracha.

It’s a chilly day. Soooo cold. You’re in Bethesda, where to go? Rice Paddies!!!
This place is nestled next to a Starbucks, so keep an eye out. Its been at thus location for years, and every once in a while I stop in. For phở. They do have other rice and noodle dishes, and they look and smell awesome, but phở it is for me.
Now it is a little more pricey for the bowl here than most, but I chalk it up to being in Bethesda. When your bowl comes out all the fixings except the lime are already in the bowl. I am ok with this, but if you don’t like onions or something make sure to tell them to leave it out. They also don’t have any of the tendon or tripe here. Beef is just beef. They do have a vegan option that looks amazing…
All in all, I still like this place. The broth is good and has the hint of black pepper. The noodles are just the right amount.
So some tips: go through the awning label entrance, it will lead you to the register. Where you order and pay. Then pick your seat. The utensils have to be picked up near the water station. They do have cups if you just want water. Then they call your number and voila fooood. The servers are very nice and even bussed my table for me. Not necessary, but nice!

Very glad an energetic angel suggested this spot
She may not know it but she is and having lunch here with her was a treat
Cold weather equals we want phở in our bellies
Um, phở yeah, I’ll order the beef option :)
Once you enter, order at the front, and you get those plastic number thingy
Quick glance at menu for kicks but phở was on my mind
They take check card — I heart you
Owner/​manager brought out the giggles
Geez…dine outside or in? Hrmmmm… it’s 32 degrees outside so… lol
I like this place already ^_​^
Not many tables but it’s all good since we got here just at noon
The angel and I agreed on the side seats close to the exit
A perfect view for when the order is ready
Phở is already decked out with sprouts, onion slices, and über much basils
Take pic — check
Sriracha face — checky check
Flavorful? heck check!
Comforting? duh
Food porn best describes
Left the spot all warm, full, and content with the angel
Now I need to bring the hubs

This place is definitely different from the phở places I’m used to. Look at the menu and you can see the choices are pretty minimal. Yes, they add the extras (bean sprouts and all) in for you, which isn’t what I’d prefer.
Today I had the pork vermicelli bowl with a spring roll. The pork was marinated very well so it was super flavorful. The
Noodles were fatter than I’m used to, but that was fine with me. The problem in my bowl was the spring roll. The flavor was missing though it looked like any other spring roll I’ve had.
I also tried the summer roll. Those things also needed some flavor. The shrimp wasn’t flavorful in it either. I wouldn’t order them again — and I’m a summer roll fanatic.
So, if you’re in the area and want some noodles, this place is fine — just don’t expect to be blown away.