Phorage

Maybe it’s because i ordered delivery… but this was a disappointing phở experience for me.
I ordered the chicken phở through door dash. i’m not sure if they use the same broth for all their phở but I was really surprised when I saw that I got a beef based broth for the chicken phở. I’ve never seen this before because usually chicken phở has it’s own broth and doesn’t use the same broth as beef phở.
but I decided to try it anyway because I was sick and I need some sort of soup in my body. However, the broth was extremely salty. Didn’t finish my bowl because I couldn’t handle the saltiness of it in the end.
If the broth wasn’t so salty, I would’ve given it 3 stars because maybe the chef grew up on chicken phở with beef broth.

Got the oxtail phở again, still very satisfied! Delicious on a chillier day.
I tried their café sua da today and it wasn’t made properly. The coffee was on top of the filter instead of in between so the water filtered through too fast. The resulting coffee was very weak and see through (!). I felt so sad and embarrassed about it I didn’t say anything. Would not recommend the coffee.
I only come here for the oxtail phở so just the phở in itself gets a high rating for me.

I always thought that phở tastes the same wherever you go. This place proved me wrong.
The broth they use on their phở is full of flavor. No need to add Sriracha or whatever that dark sauce is called.
Owner told me they use quality ingredients and processes not typical to phở restaurants.
I strongly recommend this place and following dishes. Spring and summer rolls
Bahn mi
Washugyu phở.

Oxtail = OH YAH!!! If you’re feeling like Phở tonight– do the oxtail! The jidori chichen is really good too, serve with rice and pickled carrots– I ordered exta picked carrots and it was perfect!

The chicken bahn mi was good but way overpriced. $ 10 for the sandwich and a buck for tax.

Delicious. We had the chicken phở with additional vegetables. I had leftover noodles and broth the next day and the rich, but subtle flavors of the broth were outstanding! I actually said, «wow» out loud. I am so glad I finally stopped by.

Seriously, this place deserves more stars! I love their ox tail and washygyu phở. The broth is very tasty! Their portions are huge but their drinks are tiny. It is a bit pricey compared to the other phở places in the area.
The restaurant itself is clean although the place is quite small, it does sort of have a hipster vibe to it. It’s located in a plaza so there’s plenty of open parking spaces but it could fill up pretty quick. There’s no waiting, as soon as you order, tadaaaaa out comes your food!

Although the service was great and the restaurant itself was cool, for some reason the food just wasn’t really doing it for me. I really wish I could love this place because our waiter was sweet and I liked the vibe of the place but I just have to be honest.
I ordered their Natural Pork vermicelli noddle dish and my friend ordered the Washugyu Beef phở soup. My noodle dish was just okay, I felt the pork was a bit overcooked and the noodles were a bit softer than I wanted. My friend’s phở tasted too salty. The beef had good flavor though.
Maybe I just came at a bad day but I do want to give this restaurant another chance. Everything else was fine, the food just didn’t taste that great to me.

Been fighting a cold & I wanted spicy noodle soup & remembered I hadn’t tried Phorage yet.
I like that they kept the Chego’s seating & look. All the staff was super friendly too. I had the washugyu beef phở. The beef was super tender & there was a good amount of it. The broth was rich & spicy & was what I wanted. That’s a big bowl of soup too! I won’t be hungry again soon.

This restaurant leaves much to be desired. Came here around 1pm on a Saturday looking for a weekend hangover cure. What would be more fitting than phở?
DON’T COME HERE
1) Salty one-​dimensional broth… this was honestly quite awful. The broth was SO GODDAMN SALTY. It looks nice and dark and you’re expecting this hearty beefy flavor. No. No, no, no. It practically tastes like soy sauce. I kid you not. I gave up on it pretty early on.
2) Disgusting amounts of fat on my oxtail: SO GROSS. I’m one that can certainly appreciate a generously marbled piece of meat. However, they neglected to trim ANY fat off of my oxtail. I found myself trying to pick off the huge globs of fat the whole time.
3) «small bites» on the menu = literally small bites. We ordered imperial rolls for $ 7. They make them with the rice paper, which I love. but we probably got like 2 egg rolls, tops. The portion was tiny. At other places you get at least double this amount for the same price.
4) My boyfriend’s spoon was obviously dirty when his food arrived. Also there are no sauce dishes to be found — you need to ask for it (? Isn’t this a phở restaurant?); however the waiter was happy to replace the spoon and provide a sauce dish right away.
5) Grossly overpriced. Even a basic chicken phở is $ 10? What the hell guys. Oxtail IS expensive (it’s a family favorite) but $ 13 is ridiculous.
Also, viet iced coffee is subpar.
Cute hipster ambience, 2 stars for the attempt at providing the «modern phở» experience. Service was quick, everyone was courteous and polite. But I wouldn’t come here if you want authentic, fairly priced Viet food.

Time for an update.
Décor & Set-​Up: 3 Stars. Not bad. .. minimalist and contemporary. As for tables, there are four 4-​seaters, one long communal table and another communal table attached to one of the sidewalls.
Oxtail Phở: 4 Stars. The phở and the oxtails are delicious. The oxtails, for the most part, are tender and juicy, and of course tasty. However, once in a great while, there is one hard-​headed oxtail that remains not tenderized (this phở contains about 4 oxtails). But this is seldom, and it is usually a small oxtail. The Oxtain Phở dish is a big and generous serving so it’s a good deal for $ 12.
Side Vegetables: 5 Stars. The Oxtail Phở comes with a side of mint leaves, sliced peppers, lime and bean sprouts. They are all fresh – the bean sprouts remain crispy many minutes after you put them in the steaming phở. Here’s a picture from fellow Unilocaler Michael S.:
Steamed Rice: 5 Stars. Never had this type of steamed rice. It matches really well with the phở. It is between a calrose and a long-​grain type of rice.
Service: 4 Stars. One staff isn’t friendly but she’s usually not there during our visits. The rest are very friendly, skillful and work very hard. This place is understaffed.
Unisex Restroom: I never went back.
Ventilation (Restaurant Smell): 4 Stars. It depends on where you sit and hardly any smell anymore.
Parking: 3 Stars. This is in a strip mall. And sometimes, the parking lot is full and, when it is, you are out of luck because street parking is difficult. But I believe some or many of their patrons walk to this place. (This place is close to many apartments.)
In summary, I’m glad I have this place nearby because I love oxtails and they do a good job with their Oxtail Phở.

While I liked the hipster vibe of the restaurant, I thought the food left much to be desired.
The broth of the phở was dark, very salty, and lacked flavor.
Would go elsewhere for cheaper, more authentic phở.

The Oxtail Phở is a big let down. I was craving phở quite badly and haven’t had time to cook it properly so I was hoping for a good Vietnamese place in WestLA. All these pictures on Unilocal of the phở looks better than other places so I was hopeful. The oxtail itself is very good. It’s so tender and falls off the bone, but it doesn’t have phở flavor infused into it. The broth is absolutely terrible. It’s not obvious from the first sip that it’s suppose to be phở broth. I can’t see any traces of phở spices in the soup and it’s an abnormal dark brown, indicating to me that the soup is made from some beef bouillon powder or stock and not from fresh beef. The sodium content was nauseating.
My friend’s pork vermicelli didn’t look very appetizing to me since it didn’t have a marinated, caramelized look. Yes, it had grill marks, but it was pale and looked dry.
I also ordered a Café Sua Da which was watery. After I got home, I made myself a better one.
Service is a bit slow. Took about about 20 minutes to get my Café Sua Da to me, but the food came pretty quick.
The food is 2 stars. I’m giving Phorage a 3 because service bumps it up a star.
Sadly the food does not seem that authentic.

I was so sad to see Chego go but decided to give its replacement a chance. Same exact layout as Chego so I almost could close my eyes and pretend it was…
Ordered the spring rolls which were a tad dry but it was ok bc the peanut dipping sauce was so tasty. Had the pork banh mi that was good but just way too fatty. The fat overwhelmed the sandwich.

I first went to their sister location, Phorage ASAP in Playa del Rey. I had one of the best phở’s I’ve ever had there. The girl working there told me that this one in Palms has more menu selection, so I have been wanting to try it out. Then I was struck by a sudden urge to get phở last night. Phorage here I come!
We got:
Beef Phở, Chicken Phở and Spring rolls (I wanted to get vegetable, but they were out, so got the shrimp/​pork version instead).
Both of the phở’s were good. Tad too salty, but I’m willing to give them 4 stars for the overall excellent flavor. I also like this place puts chunks of shredded chicken, not cut up chicken, tastes so much better in the soup.
Spring rolls were just okay. There is too much noodles in them (70% of the filling is rice noodles). It needs more veggies. I won’t get it again.
All in all, good choice for when you are having phở craving.

This review is for their pork bahn mi only. It was delicious! We ordered for delivery from here so I didn’t want to attempt to get phở and I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t since I didn’t read any reviews before ordering.
Bahn mi is large and very filling. Great flavors. Would definitely order this again very soon.

Party of 2
Ambiance: casual and modern
Dishes ordered: oxtail phở, beef phở, pork over broken rice, watermelon green teas
Total Bill: $ 43
I first discovered Phorage at the Lucky Rice festival last month. I was so impressed that I later bookmarked this restaurant to try more of their food. So glad I did.
When you first walk into Phorage, you have to pay first and then seat yourself. I was actually surprised when I first saw the bill, I mean…$ 43 plus tax for two people? With that kind of money, you can feed 5 cheap Asians at a typical Vietnamese joint.
So I sat down with my boyfriend, and we were first presented with our watermelon green teas– served in cute little mason jars! They were delightfully refreshing in this autumnal heat.
It gets better! The Porkchop over broken rice came next and it really hit the spot. I also appreciated the fact that their fish sauce was more sweet and savory instead of salty. Bleh to salt!
Finally the ox tail phở and washugyu beef phở came at the same time and both were equally delicious. At first, I wondered why these plates were slightly on the expensive side (since most phở is served at $ 6-​$ 8). I soon realized that Phorage sincerely serves quality grade meat.
All in all, money well spent. I just hope parking will always be as easy as it was for me today!

Was able to order the vermicelli chicken and pork Bahn mi sub from Phorage, pretty great stuff. wish I had some pics of it but it was too good to stop. especially love the spicy kick you can add for both meals. one is the jalapeño for the Bahn mis and the other is a spicy sauce with red pepper and pasty substance– recommend having that on the side.
Also try out the Caviar app, they had this listing and instead of driving to the place (not sure if it has delivery), but from comfort of your own home you can now order in and get Phorage right at your door.
Plenty of pics in their galleries but something that is a must get are the imperial rolls. they’re like egg rolls but there’s like a sausage in the inside with some other vegetables, that was mixed in the chicken and noodles meal I had. it was the best part there.

Do you know the age old expression: «third time’s the charm?» Well this is it. Prior to my third time trying Phorage, I really didn’t think this place was that good. I always had the chicken phở, which is pretty lackluster. I also feel it’s quite overpriced. But, I refused to give a harsh rating on Unilocal until I was sure this place had nothing to offer. In general the westside lacks of great Vietnamese selection, but I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that Phorage is one of those places.
The atmosphere of Phorage is cute– rustic and hipster, which makes great for a local eatery or date spot. Parking in the lot is quite compact, but I’ve never had a problem finding a spot. The staff is always extremely friendly and sauces/​utensils are all kept very clean. They offer serve-​yourself water in cute mason jars too.
Now let me tell you what really changed my 3 star rating…
Ox-​Tail Phở [4/​5 stars]: this is something unique and definitely worth raving about. They are very generous on the huge pieces of ox-​tail given in your bowl, shame on me I couldn’t even finish it all. The pieces are cooked quite nicely and break apart easily. The broth is packed with flavor: well-​seasoned and savory. I even had more than enough noodles. However, the only downside is the lack of soup placed in your bowl. This phở is so good, but once your noodles are left without soup-​it becomes less appetizing and defeats the purpose of even ordering phở.

It’s just okay. It’s pretty good for Culver City area, but that’s only because this side of LA severely lacks great phở places.
Spring rolls /​/​too much noodle in these. Sauce is just okay, a bit watery.
Chicken phở /​/​portion is HUGE. It’s pretty good but nothing to rave about.
Kind of trendy and more upscale than most phở places. Only offers three phở options – beef, chicken, or oxtail. No tripe or tendon or combinations. Offers a lot of other options like bahn mis, vermicelli dishes, meat and rice platters, etc. Thai iced tea and iced green teas come in mason jars. Would only come again if I’m really really craving phở but am stuck in the area.