Pho Hot

Phở Hot in cville is CLOSED now, its changed ownership and its Phở Duong now. I think this needs to be updated. I tried to Unilocal Phở Duong and its not coming up at all…

This place is now called Phở Luong.
I have to agree with ealier Unilocalers about the broth. The broth was decent at best, but totally lacked any real depth in flavor and was missing all the great spices usually associated with a great broth.
Once again I am having major issues with the noodles being too thin and overcooked. The noodles become soggy after only a couple of minutes.
The 2 good things about this place were the bubble tea and the meat quality. Service was also very slow and the atmosphere was somewhat depressing.
Wether this place is called PHO HOT or PHO LUONG doesnt matter. Either way this place is only worth going to if you simply can’t drive a few extra miles.

This location is closed

Phở Hot is one of two phở joints we frequent in the Centreville area. The other is Phở Bistro, down the street. I like Phở Hot in that they offer a smaller size bowl than the humongous large size that Phở Bistro has. I also find the broth to have more flavor, less sweet. The cuts of meat are generous and good quality. I like it that when I order the one with everything I usually get a good quantity of tendon and tripe. The kids love the soup and their bubble teas. Overall a very reliable place for good phở.

Phở soup was OK but it was good enough for me since I am not a picky eater. However, I stopped going here when I found a gnat in my soup. I kept telling the waiter that it was a gnat but they tried to convince me that it was a piece of «black stuff» from the mint leaves. I pointed at the gnat’s tiny legs but they still wouldn’t buy it. I lost my appetite and didn’t finish my soup. When it came time to pay, they didn’t offer credit or an apology. The waiter said he couldn’t give me credit because his manager wasn’t there. Right… the manager was sitting in a corner playing on his laptop. Great service guys. This is how businesses fail. Go to Phở Bistro which is nearby… it’s crowded for a reason.
UPDATE:
OH, guess what? It did fail.

The first time i went, the Phở was decent. However, the second time I went, the broth was not even hot. The beef just stayed raw in the broth even 10 minutes into the meal. Needless to say, I left and walked over to Phở Bistro.

Had the phở here about a month ago, and it was not good. First, when you walk in, you’ll notice it is wayyyyy to orange in there. Orange on the walls, orange lights, etc. Its pretty blinding. The phở was bland, the soup was watery, and bubble tea just horrible. The owner has to be pretty rich cuz he wear Rock and Republic jeans, and the chandelier in the center is absolutely ballin and blingy. You are better off going to Phở Bistro across the street.

This had been my longtime favorite Phở place in Centreville. Had been. However, my last 2 trips have swayed my opinion.
About 2 weeks or so ago, I went for the first time in a while. Ordered my usual order of summer rolls and a large #1 (the one with everything). A little disappointed with the size and quality of the summer rolls. It was never the biggest nor plumpest (
), but it was always of a decent size with good amounts of lettuce, noodles, shrimp, and basil. However, it seemed pretty small and dinky compared to what I’ve been used to here. And not tightly rolled. Meh. Because I’m not a big fan of peanut sauce, I substituted it for nuoc mam, which is still too sweet for me.
Moving on, the Phở came out piping hot with a side of fresh herbage. Upon first tasting of the soup, something tasted a little off. I’m not talking off as in rotten or having gone bad. Something about the taste, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
Fast forward to New Year’s Day. Went mid-​late afternoon and this place was packed. I’ve never seen it so busy before. Only 2 free tables, 1 of which they bussed off for me.
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*Queue somber music*
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Yep. It was me. Alone. In sweats. First meal of the New Year. Everyone else in the place was eating and laughing within their groups, happily wishing a happy new year to each other and I bet they were all going to secret underground swingers parties in Ashburn, VA afterward.
I ordered my usual (see above).
Summer rolls came out and were similar as my previous trip (see above), but rolled even less tightly. Imagine a flaccid uncircumcised penis. And then imagine it if it had 2 heads instead of 1. And then imagine eating 2 of those. Limp and loose-​skinned and uneventful. That’s how it felt, figuratively.
Then to the Phở. Remember the «off» taste I described before? It was like double or triple that taste this time. Upon the first close up whiff, it hit me. The smell and taste reminded me of feet. Now I know what you’re thinking:
«Man, there’s a lot of different types of foot odors»
I know I know. It wasn’t like the type of foot smell you get from lightweight mesh sneakers you work out in 7 days a week with no socks on. That smell is, how shall I say, thinner and quick hitting. Know what I mean? It comes at you fast and hits hard with a very sharp pungent odor. No, it wasn’t like that. It was more like the work boots you wear during winter with thick thermal socks that get changed out only once a week. And you smell it on the 4^th evening. Know what I mean? The stink hits you slower, but boy, does it have a lot more «warm» body. The pungency is more thought out, like it had a brain that cultivated the odor it would secrete. Another analogy I can use is the smell of chitlins, like how it hits the back of your nose and not the front, but not quite as strong.
I guess that’s the best way I can describe it. I was starving when I went to eat here. Given that, I forced myself to finish the meats, but didn’t finish the Phở, and that says something.
Given that my choices of Centreville Phở are Phở Hot and Phở Bistro, I’m not sure anymore where I’d go for Phở in pinch.
I’d like to point out that others seemed to have been enjoying their Phở. Maybe it was me? Maybe not

I think this place compares well to other Phở restaurants. The flavor in the broth is rich and I enjoy it each time. They don’t skimp on meat or noodles. Maybe just because it’s Phở I can eat here every week if I could. I actually prefer this place over Phở Bistro.

After all the raving I’ve done about Phở Bistro in Centreville, I thought it was only fair that I gave Phở Hot a chance — the ~other~ phở place in C’ville.
I ordered exactly what I usually order at Phở Bistro — summer rolls and Phở Tai Nam. The summer rolls were pretty good, but the peanut sauce was lighter in color than I’m used to but had an almost peanut butter flavor. The rolls themselves were good, but I thought they could have used more shrimp and basil and less rice vermicelli.
The phở came out steaming and full of aroma. The broth was good, but it lacked a bit of flavor — I think that there may have been just a touch too much fat in the broth, which coated my tongue after every mouthful — preventing me from tasting the all the subtle flavors of the broth. The beef they used was of good quality and the veggies they used were fresh.
I don’t think it’s fair to compare the servers at Phở Hot to the servers at Phở Bistro — the service I get there is not usual, as I’m a regular and they all know me there. I noticed that one customer brought her young daughter (maybe 4 or 5) in and a server brought over a special spoon for her. Nice touch, I thought.
Overall, I think that Phở Hot is a solid phở restaurant. My first choice would be Phở Bistro — their broth is a touch more flavorful, I think. However, Phở Hot is definitely a good second choice if Phở Bistro is too crowded and you just have to get a bowl of phở.

My old roommate swore by this place, so I was excited about trying it out. I just thought it was meh though. Service was slow, and the flavors were just ok. Décor was a bit weird too. On the plus side, I noticed that they had at least one female working there, unlike Phở Bistro which seems to only employ guys.

This is second Phở place I’ve found next to Phở Bistro… This place is kinda interesting… even though it’s is close from Phở Bistro, it is not really competing with the other restaurant.
This place has it’s very distinct flavor. Therefore, people who like Phở Bistro only goes there, whereas people whose are acquainted with this place only comes to Phở Hot. In general, it’s a decent place. Doesn’t really standout in any of their dishs. But they don’t taste bad either.
Only suggestion I have is, give this place a try. You may or may not like this place.
Personally, I don’t like the taste of Phở. but there are planty of people who like it.

HOORAY! Hands down the best phở chay I have found. So happy there’s one sort of near my work in Centreville. Great veggie summer rolls and spring rolls. I LOVE LOVE Phở Hot! I have been going to the one in Annandale for about a year. I will drive hours just to get their vegetarian phở — it’s worth it!

Love their dark meat chicken phở! We’ve been going to eat there at least once (sometimes twice!) a week since they first opened, and it gets better every time! You get great service, and good food at a great price, and a clean environment… now that’s big!

Clean, good service, egg rolls not bad.
Overall Good, must try!

I’ve been a fan of phở for a long time now and have had everything from home made, the original Phở 75 in Arlington, a few places in Eden Center to Phở Sate with their extra spicy options.
I’ll admit even though I’ve had the «everything» phở I tend to order mainly the meats because I don’t like to chew forever on the tripe. I also like it when the broth is very flavorful and I like to make it really spicy.
I’ve eaten at Phở Hot once (Phở Bistro is my regular place) and the first thing I will mention is I tasted the broth before adding anything and it was really tasty… big + here. Over all it was a good experience, but I was disappointed the hoison sauce they had was not the one I am used to, it was less sweet and still in the Kumlee? container.
As far as service, when I went (Saturday or Sunday afternoon — it was also almost empty) there was only like one waiter? I throw back a lot of water when I am eating spicy things and I had an empty glass until I was nearly done and finally had to beg for more water.
So this is where Phở Bistro kills them… in service. I love the fact that I get as many refills on water as I need while at Phở Bistro, and never have to look away from my bowl of phở to ask for it. The difference in phở itself is not worth the lack of service I saw at Phở Hot.

Phở Hot was nice on a cold day. And (come to find out) I ran into Lester K. (let me stop rhyming now)
Phở was good — as usual I got Phở Tai. The broth was fine, but was lacking flavor in my humble opinion. I did like that they didn’t skimp on meat and noodles. In fact, Phở Hot wins the «most noodles in the bowl» award without having to ask for double noodles. Nicely done.
The Vietnamese rolls (with crabmeat) are super yum.
Phở Hot is good, but not stellar. As far as Centreville goes, this is the best I’ve had. Service left a lot to be desired, so minus a star + some for that.

I’ve been back to Phở Hot twice since the first time I visited. Both times the Phở Ga has been excellent!
I went in today for a late lunch — I caught a cold while I was out in Tahoe City this past week — which includes a sore throat — I knew I needed to dose myself with the delicious, healing benefits of Phở Ga!
I ordered the small bowl. Again, served with both fresh Basil and Culantro, two lime wedges, jalapenos, bean sprouts…
Added everything, broth was delicious. Towards the end of the broth, I added some ‘cock sauce — the broth was just what I needed! I could feel it working it’s magic on me. Totally made my throat feel better, got my nose going — which is a good thing as I was feeling pretty dried out nasally from a week plus of cold dry weather at 6,400 feet above sea-​level.
Yumm!

This place has great food and excellent service. I have never ventured far from Phở Ga or Tai because they are so delicious and they satisfy my palette every time. I love the heaping piles of sprouts, jalapenos, sweet Thai basil, and saw-​leaf. The restaurant is very clean and modern. Unfortunately, the restaurant never seems to be that busy, but hopefully things will pick up as people realize this place exists in the maze-​like Centreville shopping plaza.

I decided to venture out to the suburbs. I’ve been to Phở 50 and 75 and wanted to try a non-​numbered Phở place. The decorations are… interesting…but the phở was pretty good. I didn’t particularly like the taste of the flank but the broth was flavorful. The veggies on the side were fresh and plentiful. If you don’t mind the drive, I would recommend a visit.
I enjoyed the signs telling people to not let their kids run around (even though I saw kids disobeying the sign).