Vinh Loi Restaurant

This is the best Phở restaurant in the area! I have had several different types and they are all great! My daughter likes the chicken phở here — she’s never liked it anywhere before! We always do carry out — quick, efficient service and the order is always correct!

Wow, I love phở, and hate writing reviews, so writing a bad review about phở should tell you how bad this is.
First, I ordered the summer rolls, which I order everywhere I go. Loosely wrapped, no mint/​basil, there is cold chicken in with the shrimp, and neither have flavor. I asked for fish sauce, I’m not big on peanut sauce, what I got was «out of a bottle» plain bland sauce. I’ve never thrown out a summer roll but this just has to go.
Second, the main entrée! Phở! Yes can’t go wrong there right? I mean this is a phở restaurant! … Think again, broth was clear as water, tasted like water, I mean common you could have used crappy «Swanson» broth and that would’ve been better!
Step your game up Vinh Loi. Unsatisfactory and flavorless.

Nice staff but food was not good. Summer rolls were bland and grilled beef vermicelli tasted funny.

Hey y’all — I’m the guy who posted the female phở nazi photo. Sorry, I deleted it, because it appears she no longer works there, or perhaps she’s kept tied up in the kitchen. Just want to be fair. Anyways, we ate here recently and were still shocked at the generous portions we received. And really good. But the place could use some cleaning and paint. Many phở joints are dumpy, but I think those are the best ones — like BBQ joints.

«Meh. I’ve experienced better» — The definition of the two star rating is beyond fitting. I’ve actually been here several times when I was new to the area. Since then, I’ve been to many other Phở places in the area. There is no shortage of them. I was out of country for a while and was, at first, so happy to stumble across a phở place within the first few days after returning stateside. It fit the bill back then… but as I mentioned earlier, I’ve since found so many other phở places with a much better product.
I normally order the fresh summer rolls and phở with random stuff (normally with meatballs or with tripe, tendon, etc.). The last time I was here, the summer rolls did not taste fresh and the phở broth was really lacking in flavor. Upon looking at it, I noticed how light the color of the broth was compared to what I normally see. And yeah, it tasted kind of like hot water with only a slight amount of phở beef broth flavoring. That kind of pissed me off. I will not be coming back here.
I would not bother with this place when you have things like Golden Cow close by (which is a little better) and the selections that have in/​around the Eden Center area. The saving grace of this place is that the price is pretty decent. People have mentioned how this place is kind of run down/​unclean looking. Maybe I wouldn’t mind this if the phở good enough to make up for this but it doesn’t. If you want to see what phở should taste like (or at least what I think phở should taste like) then head down to Café Banh Mi in Alexandria. It’s worth it to go a little out of your way. You’ll also notice almost immediately, the difference in quality of what you’re eating.

I don’t understand how they got so many good reviews. I went there with my kids. First, the place smelled like a public bathroom. My kid (bad kid!) took a chop stick and licked it and before I could snatch it from him, he put it back in the bucket with the other dozen or so. The waiter didn’t care. Just pushed the container away from him! He’s my kid, but I imagine somebody else might not want to use utensils my kid licked! The water tasted awful. Then we got the menu and it was dirty. I have a picture of it, but can’t figure out how to post it here. I also used a napkin to clean the sticky table and the napkin turned a brownish-​black! The beef soup was terrible. Just broth that tasted like tea and a pile of white noodles with four pieces of very gray looking beef. A small amount of sad looking vegetables were served and I forbid my children to touch it. My children shared a fried roll which they devoured (to my dismay) and they shared a chicken dish over rice. My son, the one with a little more discerning palate, hated the soup and the chicken dish as much as I did. His younger sister thought it was fantastic. She told me, «next time I’ll skip the so so soup and get the chicken!» I told her, «sorry darling, there will be no next time!»
The one star I’m giving is not because I have no choice, but because the hungry girl like it! Truth be told, she was starving and when you are that hungry…

Vinh Loi came through on a cold, rainy, Saturday night in October 2014. I needed something hot to warm me up and could not think of anything else but PHO. The price was right. Service was quick. Serving size was perfect. Best of all, the broth had flavor ! As other reviewers have stated, the phở is decent, but in my eyes, I think its worthy of another visit.

Vinh Loi is a normal fare Vietnamese cuisine restaurant. There are about 35 varieties of Phở, bun and rice dishes for the main dishes for $ 8.25. Goi cuon and cha gio are the only two appetizers for $ 3.55.
The local demographic is mixed race so dont let the absence of vietnamese disturb you. Its genuine Vietnamese cuisine.
There is usually only one waitress without a busboy. You might see tables that havent neen cleaned.

Decent phở. It’s no phở 75 but for the Falls Church area, it’ll fix my phở craving. We also ordered the spring rolls which were just noodles, lettuce, and three shrimp wrapped in rice paper which come with a sweet peanut dipping sauce. Customer service was okay– the waitress did box our leftovers at the end of the meal which was nice. Would come back.

I am going to start off and say I am a phở 75 fanatic so any other phở spot I go to I automatically compare it to them. This place was very small basic set up inside. With one lady to serve clean and greet you when you walk in. I got the round eye steak; which was actually very good. Large serving size for a little over $ 8. The broth had a sweeter taste to it with a hint of cinnamon. The steak was a very large portion of meat in the bowl. Can’t complain about that. The noodles were cooked perfectly and the fact they have chili sauce on the side with your usual siracha and hoisin sauce made it a better experience allowing you to create your broth to any spiciness you crave. Defiantly recommend it for any phở enthusiast in the area.

What a pleasant surprise. Ended up eating here only because I was already shopping nearby and needed a quick bite to eat. I was highly skeptical upon walking in. The place doesn’t look like much… I didn’t order phở because I was just too skeptical it wouldn’t be good. Honestly I wasn’t expecting a good meal…
I ordered the grilled pork and omg, the grilled pork was worth a five-​star review in itself. I will DEFINITELY come back just for the grilled pork. Giant portion of delicious sweet, crispy sliced grilled pork over a bed of steamed rice. Pickled shoestring carrots and a small side salad are also included.
We also had the summer rolls, which were great. Shrimp and pork inside, good peanut dipping sauce.
Go for the pork!!!

Ate here a few times. The latest time incited me to write this review. The food was wonderful, not badly priced and although the customer service isn’t the best the way that things are made here are a treat. The chicken in here is cooked differently. They gave me the wrong order and offered both for free. They do tend to close early (9PM) since people usually rush in around 4−5PM but if you order on the phone they’ll let you pick it up before they close heh. I wish this place was closer, I’d come a lot more. Definitely more of a speciality /​authentic place. They don’t have a lot of dishes, but the broth and way that the meat is cooked is worth it.

Recently moved to the area and it is pretty good. We went to a different PHO place in Alexandria the first time… did not return, we have since been back twice here. It is really good, they give you a lot of limes and decent amounts of all the other ‘fixins. Kind of your cool vibe, low key environment and it has never had more then 3 or 4 other parties in there when we have been there so service has always been good. We will continue to return!

They have huge serving here and I really like how the food taste here compared to the other Vietnamese restaurant by Leesburg pike. I think the name is golden cow or something. They accept card unlike that restaurant and food is way better.

Phở Ngoc Hung was my original destination but I decided to try out Vinh Loi as it was on the way and I am always up for a new restaurant. I didn’t encounter the soup nazi on my visit. I ordered the phở tai and the fresh spring rolls. The phở tai was solid (meat wasn’t as raw as I liked it but it wasn’t completely cooked either). The topping plate came with a fork but there were chopsticks on each table so that was ok — it would be a sin to eat phở with a fork. The fresh spring rolls were bland and the shrimp inside was overcooked. So, all in all, solid phở but I wouldn’t order the spring rolls again.

Lol, omg, «soup nazi»! You guys are funny.
I’ll say this, I know exactly who you’re talking about, but she’s always been very nice to me. I work next door and often pick up chicken or beef with rice. Yes, when I call and say what I want she repeats the order #, and admittedly I never bother to remember, but I always figured it was to not mess up. And we always have pleasant small talk as I’m picking up my order. But I’ve never experienced the busy hysterical version. Too funny!
Anyways, good phở, good rice dishes, and good spring and summer rolls.
I recommend it!

The Phở Nazi! Great food if you can stand the crazy lady.
I have been coming here for about a decade and was a big fan.
The new hostess/​waitress is crazy. She yells at people, fusses about being too busy, and is overtly racist. She told a Latino guy to ‘learn English’ and chastised him for not knowing the dish number. (Her English isn’t that great.) Once she was so overwhelmed she raced around yelling at customers that she was too busy and couldn’t take their order. Had she calmed down and instead of freaking out, took some orders and cleaned some tables, it would be been fine. She makes dining here unpleasant for me!
I called in an order for pickup and she asked me for the numbers for the dishes. How should I know? I’m at home! I don’t have a menu in front of me. She argued with me as I KNEW the numbers and was refusing to share. She refused to get a menu and tell me. My parents think that she can’t read English, so fair enough.
The only saving grace is the phở. The phở is tasty, plentiful and a good value. The broth is fine. They do not skimp on the meat or noodles. I commonly get a number 5 or 6, and my partner gets the eye of round.
The vegetarian phở comes with or without fried tofu squares and is yummy. The veggie broth is good too.
The spring and summer rolls are great, although one I got a summer roll with chicken that was off.
I enjoy the coffee too. Nice and hot with condensed milk, served with ice.
I seriously can’t eat here, as long as this lady is working here. It sucks.
UPDATE– Bumped up the review from 1 to 2 stars.
I’m going to bump up this review one star was the food is just GREAT and the kitchen staff are FAST and CONSISTENT. The food is great. Come Christmas time, slip the kitchen person giving you your soup a twenty.
My wife was sick and phở was just what she needed, so I bucked up and went here.
I got take out yesterday and Phở Nazi was there, but she has settled in a little. here was just one couple eating there so no stress, right? She didn’t freak out when I ordered without having the dish number. However, she did force me to say «Crispy Spring Rolls» instead of just spring rolls.
«and an order of fried spring rolls, please»
«with pork?»
«Yes, they are good»
«Crispy?»
“spring rolls”
«Crispy??»
“yes fried spring rolls”
«CRISPY???» (nods manically)
«YES CRISPY SPRING ROLLS!»
«Your daughter from China?»
«…»
SMH

I usually just read reviews, but never write any. But I’m compelled to write one because of the ire the mentally-​ill Phở Nazi stirred in me. The other reviewer who already baptized her with that name couldn’t have done a better job at it.
I’ve been coming to this restaurant for about the past 7 – 8 years and I’ve learned to deal with a long line of different employees working there, all of which have been either nice or slightly indifferent to customers, UNTIL Phở Nazi (I will use «crazy lady» alternately) started working there. Bad experience #1 started with my brother when the crazy lady decided to charge him $ 1.50 for shirachi sauce, when it’s had always been included as part of takeout and no where did it say they would charge for chili sauce.
Bad experience #2 happened when I placed an order on the phone for pick up and she hung up on me because i didn’t know the order numbers. Mind you, the menu has about 35 different choices, which basically consist of the same thing except with some type of substitution of one thing or another.
Finally, the 3^rd bad experience did it for me. She didn’t understand what i was ordering and when she FINALLY understood the order, she decided to scream at me in front of everyone who was eating there telling me she was going to get fired because she almost put in four orders instead of the three I was ordering and how I wasn’t making any sense. It’s just not the fact that she screamed at me, it’s also that she wouldn’t stop, she wasn’t even breathing in between words — she was making a serious scene. I was starting to think she was having a panic or anxiety attack. I didn’t want to make a scene so i just asked her whether or not she was going to put the order in. To finalize the conversation, she said she would and proceeded to order me to sit down. Not a «Please have a sit» but a «SIT DOWN!» in my face. I finally asked her if she was crazy and what was her problem.
Sitting down, I realized, everyone had just witness a scene over a hot bowl of phở. And all I could do was the good ol’ hey-​let-​me-​pretend-​to-​text-​to-​get-​over-​this-​embarassing-​and-​awful-​moment.
Bottom Line: The food may be good, but you’ll want to throw it up on the lady after she’s just ruined the experience for you. She not only lacks customer service skills, she WILL treat you like an ignorant piece of crap. And if you are short of temper, please spare yourself from punching an older Asian lady in the nose who is half your size. I am NEVER coming back to this place, unless it would be to see her really get fired and then enjoy to see her emotionally breakdown in public. Yes, that is how much this lady irks me.

First of all: the vegetarian phở here is excellent. A very flavorful broth in a large bowl with triangles of fried tofu. I’ve been to 10+ phở restaurants in the area and this ranks very high in flavor. The phở also comes out in under five minutes, even in a busy restaurant, a major feat that is appreciated.
It has been stated that the ambience leaves something to be desired. Most phở places are a little odd with mostly dated 70s features. This one is no exception, but the layout (incredibly small restaurant) makes it feel busier than it is since tables are so close together and lighting is not ideal. That being said, it was almost full at 8pm on a Wednesday night, so people clearly know this is a place for some good phở.
«The Phở Nazi» is the only way to accurately describe this woman. She is shrill, rude, hurries customers, and has no shame in causing scenes. I witnessed her throw a credit card back at customers to let them know she wouldn’t accept it! It is all a bit comical, my friend and I were laughing most of the time, but she is too ridiculous. She definitely understands and speaks a fair amount of English, though.
I think this place is worth checking out, mostly because the phở is truly great, affordable like most phở ($ 8/​bowl) and this woman is entertainingly horrific. If you’re in the neighborhood and craving a big bowl of phở on a cold night, I’d give it a try.

Decent phở at low prices. The broth needed a little jazzing up with hoisin sauce, but two people got large phở’s, Vietnamese coffee, tea, and summer rolls for $ 22.
In the shopping center near Trader Joe’s — convenient — and usually not crowded. Service is good. I like it and will return.