Pho 87

It’s not as clean as I would like, but I keep coming back for more. I haven’t tried anything fancy on the menu: just the regular fried rice and phở. I love fresh summer (spring) rolls and fried egg rolls. I always contemplate about which one to get, but if you ask them they can do ½ and ½ which is PERFECT. After a hangover, nothing beats hot soup and the rolls. Like other readers… PHO is the best hangover cure hands down nothing can beat it.

What happened to this place? I’ve been coming here for atleast 7 years and it’s changed. I don’t review based on one «miss» but this was the second time.
Bun Thit Nuong– charbroiled pork with vermicelli was not good. The pork was dry and chewy with some wilted iceberg lettuce. No flavor I had to pile on the sambal and still could not finish. I always finish my plate as I was raised that way. This I could not. Mom also happened to be there. She ordered the fish ball and commented on the broth not being on par, mediocre at best and… not steaming hot.
So Brad Pitt comes and you don’t care anymore about keeping up with good food? Because you’ve hit the pinnacle? This is how you lose regulars.

The owners and #4 are amazing! The #4 comes with cooked and rare need brisket! Amazing! Service is always fast whether I’m eating there or to go!

The phở & egg rolls are so gooood!!!
Phở 87 is definitely a good place to try phở for the first time…

Phở 87 racks up hot hot pleasure points for me. In a non-​descript building, Phở 87 is a casual, hipster, divey resto… I love divey places especially if they have soul food and Phở 87 does. But I have to tell ya, love the grilled pork phở here! Nice pieces of lean char-​grilled pork, dominates the bowl, the grilled meat imparts a smokey flavor and aroma to the broth… gives it that ooooomami flavor… Mmmmm. Addicting. That, with a Vietnamese coffee slow brewed with a glass of ice and I am set!
What are the Pleasure Points about Phở 87?
a) It’s always packed so there’s green freshness in very bowl of phở: high turnover of food means food doesn’t sit and fester; greens are always fresh and that’s the beauty and geniusly healthy Viet cuisine;
b) Egg rolls are a hit, Unilocalers write about them, IMO not as good as Saigon Flavor/​Golden Deli but still really good;
c) Broth is simple not mineral — y like most joints, some places use prepackaged phở flavor… that’s enough to drive me out of the resto;
d) Service is super attentive, smiley and quick – love that;
e) It’s located on the fringes of Chinatown, across from the cool Hollywood-​esque Chinese Motel. next to the 110 Freeway. I am inNout and home in a puff and a jiff.
Don’t even think you’re gonna crowd in here hoping to bump into Brad Pitt and his posse… Stalker, LOL. Unilocal,please take that photo down of Brad Pitt, LOL.
Visits: more than 10, Unilocal checkin 2
Tip: Come early and get a table. Park in the back. Crowded during peak lunch and dinner hours.

Mmmm. If you want a hearty and meaty soup, their bun bo hue is excelllllleeent.
Phở is standard here.
Charbroiled pork lettuce and rice wraps are very ²⁄₅. Lower than avg.
Clean restaurant, eclectic crowd, and decent food. Will come again.

Not sure why people say this place is good. It is one of the worst phở places that I have ever been to in California. Spring rolls were kinda old, skin was chewy. Noodle was a little over cooked, meat in my phở was not good quality, very chewy. Soup tasted ok. I definitely don’t recommend this place when there are plenty of good Vietnamese places in LA.

My go to phở place when I want something quick and fast
CASH ONLY
I got the number #6 large… it’s crazy big but you can always get it to go and warm it up for later
I also get the fried egg rolls that you wrap up in lettuce .be careful when they bring them out it hot at…
Parking is behind it and the road sucks inside its not even

Best oxtail phở soup I’ve had so far. Hands down! So tender, right amount of noodles and broth, the guy who served me my soup made me his special hot sauce for this oxtail soup. It made it more flavorful and oooh OH So Good!!!
Their large size is huge — good for sharing. Awesome place in the heart of Chinatown. So good…

We call this place thumb soup. Because there was a thumb in our friends soup. Not a detached one. But the man holding the bowl decided he would have a better grip of the bowl if his thumb was inside the bowl.
That being said. I have been here for over 8 years. Sunday mornings after long night of drinking. And just random week nights when you don’t know where to eat.
And it has come a long way. Not a thing in the restaurant has changed but… The soup is still delicious and the owner is so sweet. We recently went 5 mins before their closing time and when I called to ask if their kitchen is still open then he said that he can take my order now so it can be down when we get there! Sure enough we walked in and out food was just freshly brought to the table. Thank you sir!

This used to be our go to place for phở until they started jacking up the prices.
Ambiance: lots of seating. Hole in the wall place
Service: excellent here. They are fast and efficient.
Food
#Phở: it use to have a super deep flavorful broth but now more herbal than beefy. A large here is also $ 10.75 as of ³⁄₂₀₁₆ which is pretty $$. We saw a couple sit down saw the prices and left. Meat isn’t as much as it used to be either.
#Broken rice dish with grilled pork, egg quiche: this is still very good. Pork grilled well and rice moist. Good portion size.
Parking: free in the back lot which is nice consider parking is tough in Chinatown
Overall I would say this use to be a really good phở place. But lately quality has gone down and prices up. This makes me want to try other places. However service and free parking is still a big plus.

Loved the phở here, the meat is great and the broth is on point. The large size combination phở is a handful to finish but quality is not compromised. The servers here have a huge smile on their face and make you feel very welcomed. I would definitly go back here for my phở cravings.

I mentioned to my buddy that I was had a pretty severe craving for phở (unrelated, my visit was preceded by one of THOSE weekends where there wasn’t much sleep involved). Though I have been to a few other solid phở spots in Chinatown, they haven’t quite hit the spot for me. My buddy told me this was his go-​to phở joint, so I had to give it a shot.
The phở bowl is a bit more expensive (and cash only), but I have no problem paying more if the bowl delivers! And although it’s not the best phở I’ve had, it does deliver on all three major fronts. The broth is among the best I’ve ever had for sure. Noodles were quite on point as they didn’t stick together and were of the desired texture (not too chewy, not too soft). The amount of meat as well as the meat quality were definitely up there for me as well. Do yourself a favor as well and get those Imperial Egg Rolls, they were definitely up there in terms of best egg rolls I’ve had a phở place.
Even those place is huge and I usually don’t see waits at phở places, I lucked out as I got the last open seat before people had to wait a little (albeit five minutes at most). If you’re lucky, you can sneak into the super ghetto parking lot right next to this place. But there is plenty of paid street parking around the area due to being on the outskirts of Chinatown.
Think I’ve found the elusive go-​to phở place I’ve been looking for.

Everything about this place is top notch. All the Phở here is really fresh and authentic, so it doesn’t matter which one you choose. I recommend #37 as an appetizer and the lemongrass chicken rice plate. The owner is very attentive and hooks it up with tasty sauces each time we are there.
Don’t let the location turn you off from trying Phở 87 (I know, what’s a great Viet place doing in shitty LA Chinatown? Why is it located in the middle of nowhere? How did they score a parking lot when most people can’t find meter parking in Chinatown? How does the food come out so fast even though there is over 30 people in here?) All questions I don’t have the answers to, but you should still come try this place.
Oh and cash only. Take that as you will.

my god do I love this place, so

the cashier gets a 10 he is super cool :)

So disappointed to have to give this restaurant a poor review but I had high hopes for this Phở restaurant after seeing all the positive reviews. I have a Chin Nam Phở, Spring Rolls, Summer Rolls, and Thai Ice Tea. The Spring Rolls had to be the best part, sad to say. They were crunchy & flavorful. The Phở was just okay, it lacked layers of flavor & started tasting very bland after the first few sips of the broth. The beef in the Phở was good, thick-​cut, & good ratio to the soup & noodles. The noodle to soup ratio was perfect though. The broth was also not piping hot & almost lukewarm. The Summer Rolls were horrible, the lettuce in the rolls were not fresh & there were black specks in them so I didn’t finish them. The Thai Ice Tea was very watered down & tasted like I was just drinking milk.
The service was awful, there was literally three people who spoke English & not very friendly. I felt rushed to order & had to go out of my way to ask for things we needed. The restaurant was packed though, very packed sitting but pretty much the usually Phở restaurant atmosphere. I did appreciate getting seated immediately after we were greeted after 5 minutes of standing at the front.
Overall, I would recommend this Phở restaurant to true Phở lovers but I think I will give this place one more try in the future.

Absolutely delicious! It’s the kind of Phở that requires no add ons! The boba isn’t bad either.

When I am sick or it’s raining in LA, I eat phở, ramen, or sopa de fideo. This is one of my go to local phở places. Love it. Very casual, perfect for when Im feeling or looking like crap.

Disappointed. It was busy when my friend I decided to meet here after work around 7pm on a Wednesday night, and we still managed to get seated quickly, hence the sole reason for the two stars. The phở lacked a lot of flavor and that crisp basil-​y taste. The soft spring rolls were probably some of the worst I’ve ever had; the crispy ones were good but not worth the money honestly. My friend got a thai iced tea and it was pretty bland. Most likely will not be coming back here. The quest for the best phở in LA continues.

I’ve tried about ½ of their menu not counting the fortune cookie and ½ of their menu was tasteful! I mostly go back to their #20 and spring rolls but I skip their cookie. Unfortunately there is also a language barrier between most of the waiter and waitresses but I give them an A for effort! They bombard you with almost everything you need except for soy sauce so if you want that you gotta ask for it, oh and they also have wood chopsticks (if you’re the picky kind). The service is so quick once seated we’re usually out within the hour. The gentleman at the cashier got to know us and always hooks us up with the secret menu and sauces

Some people might think all phở restaurant taste the same but let me tell you. If you are a true noodle person you won’t think the same. This place is the best phở place in Chinatown. Their phở taste like they put a lot of ingredients and not a lot of msg that make you feel thirsty afterward. Came here couple of times before to eat but never had a chance to write about it since I recently start writing reviews. As always I order beef tripe noodle because I’m not a big fan with the other meat. This time my husband order extra onion on the side which he add sriracha and scallion with oil which you add only the scallion into the soup, unless you like to drink oil too you can add that in. I believe they charge for the extra side veggie but some place they don’t, so ask before you plan to place the order.
You can park on the street or you park in the back which is really hard to find parking since its really small and its share with people that live there.

I am not from the LA area so I did some research to find and choose this place. My goal was to the find the best phở in LA and while this place does serve a pretty good bowl of phở, I find it hard to believe that it’s the «best in LA».
LOCATION:
Like I said, I’m not from the LA area, but I found this place without any problems. It’s located on the corner of two busy streets in an area that didn’t seem too bad to me. Parking was somewhat of a challenge and had to walk a little to get to the restaurant from my parking spot. But that’s how it is everywhere in this city.
SERVICE:
Service was prompt and friendly. The restaurant was really busy at the time, but it’s also fairly large so it was nice to be able to find a place to sit despite how busy it was. My order was taken fast and arrived shortly thereafter.
PHO:
I ordered a large sized rare steak and well done brisket phở. My 1^st impression when it was delivered to my table was that they were very generous with the green onions, etc. that they add to their broth. This is definitely a plus as some places are stingy in this aspect or don’t even add these things at all. I always taste the broth before adding anything and the broth was very good, containing all of the underlying flavor complexities that make a good broth. The portions and quality of meat were good too. One thing that stood out for me was that they didn’t provide ordinary hot oil. Instead, they offer a couple of versions of hot chili paste, one of which contained fried garlic. I was thrilled to see this as an option and added a generous portion to my soup accordingly.
CONCLUSION:
Overall, this is a solid phở restaurant in my opinion. While I have had better, this is still better than a lot of phở restaurants I have tried.

I’ve been here twice, once hungover and once sick, and I must say that this place is phenomenal. Randomly stumbled about this place and I am so happy that I did. I’m sure many of you, like myself, have passed by this place plenty of times and never realized it was an actually restaurant. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to overlook this place.
First off, this place is pretty busy but there are always available seats when I come in. The menu is pretty straightforward, I usually get a number 4 which is rare and well done brisket and an order of spring rolls (3). The small bowl is more than enough to fill you up but it is a bit pricier than most phở places I’ve been to, a bowl is going to set you back $ 10.25. It’s more than I am used to paying but it is worth every cent. Not only do they not skimp out on the noodles but the broth is different than other places I’ve been to. The spring rolls are typical, but delicious regardless.
Service here is pretty speedy which is always a great plus in my book, don’t be shy to ask for a togo box if you need one. This place is cash only so come prepared.

Definitely my favorite phở place here in the Los Angeles area. You know they’re good because while most of the people in there are Vietnamese, you have people of all ethnicities walking in and out. Their parking is terrible and line is always out the door but they turnover people quickly and you’re never waiting too long for a place to sit.
Once inside you’ll see a smallish round koi pond that I think is pretty cool. You have several tables able to sit 6 or more people around the area always bustling with commotion. The list of things to eat here are your typical phở type dishes. For those who are more inclined to have a rice dish, they have you covered as well.
What makes one phở place better than the other really comes down to the broth. Everything else is easy to replicate and service is pretty much the same anywhere you go. When you go to somewhere like this that is constantly busy, you know that your food is fresh too. Bottles of Sriracha are constantly refilled, tables are always clean and the air is filled with the smell of beef broth.
Whether you’re looking for your first or 100^th experience, this is your place to go. Prices are cheap and you really get the whole deal when you come here.

After going to three different phở places on New Year’s Day (the line was too long at one and the rest were closed), we ended up at Phở 87. The wait wasn’t too long, around 15-​minutes, but it seemed like forever since I was starving and freezing.
Phở 87 is definitely an in-​and-​out kind of spot. I think we were there 40-​minutes at most. I got the small Phở Tai, which was very, very good — on par with Golden Deli in Alhambra. I like that they offer different sized bowls, depending on your appetite.
Service was nice and speedy.

Came here recently on a cold night (isn’t that the best time for phở?) and had an average overall experience.
Food was good, not great, and pricey. Phở was good to very good. Their spring rolls were the worst ones I’ve ever had served at a Vietnamese restaurant.
Ambiance and service were average.
Parking was fine.
I was really hoping that this place would pan out as a go-​to Vietnamese spot because of it’s location, but it didn’t turn out that way.

The best phở I’ve had in LA, the grungiest places always produces the best bowls of noods. Perfect noodle texture and an immensely flavorful broth. Efficient service too.

Phở 87 is definitely THE BEST phở in the downtown LA region. Kinda ironic that the best phở joint is in Chinatown but whatevs. The place isn’t fancy for sure. Kinda grungy even. But the bowl of phở will make you happy. Keep in mind the phở is a little more expensive here than other places.
Looking for a parking lot? Tiny lot in the back but most of the time there aren’t any spots left so just street park. Even if there’s no street parking nearby, park far away and walk. The phở is worth it.
Cash only! There’s an ATM machine inside with a convenience fee.
My top reason for coming here is because they have the sauce I LOVE at each table (ground chili oil sauce). My favorite way of eating phở is taking a little bit of the sauce and mixing it in with the phở!
The phở itself is really good here. The broth is rich and hearty. The meat quality is good.
I definitely recommend meat lovers to order the meat on the side with your phở so you can just cook the meat yourself, which will result in softer meat. Makes the soup base a little oily but still tastes great!

F.O.B !!! Lol jk. If a Vietnamese person rates this place 5* then you bet it’s fu**ing 5 STARS ! :D
THANK GOD I finally found a decent phở place in LA. I was so close to giving up): I tried 2 other «Authentic Vietnamese» restaurants before Phở 87 & I’m sorry to say, it was horrible!
I thought I’m not going to give up on finding a decent phở place. So. hey! Why not?
So … Driving to phở 87 I wasn’t expecting much after the last 2failed phở places. 2 was ENOUGH for me to be disappointed lol trust me.
This time, I didn’t have my hopes up what so ever.
Long story short I’ve found THE place! Phở to me is all about the hearty, fatty warm flavored broth. The noodles was delicious! And the meat in the bowl was more then enough. Overall I’m soooo please to finally find my happy place: D ! I left there smiling more than a fat who loves cake.
I’m more of a Vietnamese girl who LOVES phở!
If you’re browsing to find a good phở restaurant, please stop. I am PROOF. And I say, GIVE IT A TRYYYYYYY! Lol ok I’m done (:

!!!CASH ONLY!!!
I don’t get Phở.
I’ve had it all over Los Angeles county trying to understand it’s wonderment and amazement.
And I still do not get it.
It really just boils down to just being soup.
The food here is very inexpensive. Nice Koi Pond in the front.
But Phở is lost on me. I’ve tried different combinations and get the same results. Doesn’t matter how much or little of Sriracha I put in, the Hoisin sauce, the leaves, limes, white noodle/​root/​things, jalapenos.
Nothing.
I’m not saying the food is bad by any means.
Just that this particular food isn’t what I’d expect when millions of people love it. I’ve also tried beef and chicken and fish and shrimp and the flavor stays the same.
The staff was nice which is a plus. But the whole ‘Cash Only’ thing really starts to bug after awhile. I knocked off a star for this reason.
Charge me money to use your ATM? I charge you a star.

From the outside, this place doesn’t look very promising. I came here on a Sunday afternoon and when I walked in the door, I quickly understood that the phở would be amazing. We were seated pretty quickly even though the place was packed. We ordered the vegetarian spring rolls and some phở. I had the vegetarian one but my sister had the beef broth. Everything we ate was amazing. Authentic and very very flavorful! The staff was also very nice and quick. After all, they get pretty busy.
FYI– they only take cash!

Probably one of the best broths in LA. It’s totally flavorful and more importantly consistant every time.
TIP: they offer tapioca glass noodles here which are my FAVORITE! It’s chewy and is a good alternative to the rice. Try it once and you will see why it’s so good!
Lunch time gets packed so come early or late, or be prepared to wait. Service is quick and efficient so you’ll be in & out in no time.
Cha Gio is delicious.
Spring rolls are yummy — the sauce is so good!
Cash only. They do a quick take out and its just as good!
The only downside? It’s a major hole in the wall. AND, there’s a little koi pond when you walk in. Kinda gross =(

YES Phở 87! I’m a regular. Everything is well made, the food comes out fast. It’s not the best Vietnamese place I’ve had, but it’s everything that I need for my go-​to Viet food restaurant.
Here are my favorites from each category:
Phở: #1 (Phở Dac Biet — Special 87 Phở)
Bun (Vermicelli): #28 (Charbroiled Pork and Egg Roll Vermicelli)
Appetizers: #37 (Goi Coun — Fresh Rice Paper roll with shrimp, pork, veggies & peanut sauce)
Com (Rice) — #74 (Charbroiled pork, shredded pork and baked egg on rice), but I like to add an order of egg rolls with it.
Drinks — 3 way tie between: Lemonade with club soda, the Iced coffee, and Thai Tea
Also, don’t be taken off guard when you ask for the check and the guy just tells you the price off the top of his head. He’s been doing this many years, and at first, it was sketchy, but he’ll also give you a receipt afterwards and his math is spot on.

My friend introduced me to this phở spot recently and I approve! We always meet here for phở now. The phở broth is always on point and they give a lot of meat which is a major plus! Tender meat too! I’m usually picky with eggrolls and opt for spring springs at phở joints — but the eggrolls are a must here.
There’s a small parking lot in the back + street parking if that’s full. I heard a little rumor that Bradd Pitt & Hyun Jin Ryu come to this joint! O. O