I love how this is a Houston staple for me! This place is my family's go to pho spot. I love their combination pho that's only $13 and the Vietnamese Che dessert! We've been coming here for years. Please don't change!
Tony H.
I believe that location has a change of ownership. When I had frequented that restaurant before the food and service was great. The owner always smiles and greet the customers. But back to food, I took my mother there for lunch because she wanted some Pho and I thought about this place so I took her there. We didn't order much but two bowl of pho. Even at that the waiter that took the order got my noodle wrong, I ordered the egg noodle since I have not had that for a while, but they must have run out and just put some vermeil noodles in its place, on top of the wrong order I had order the large but that came out small. I guess they were hoping that I don't know the difference since i was on the phone texting a lot with my friend when the food shows up. Trying to get the wait staff's attention was a nightmare, so I said never mind I just eat what I have and just leave it at that. but never once the new owner ask how was my food? unlike the previous owner. Needless to say, I will never go back to that place, and they seem to care about the business but just serve the people that doesn't know Pho too much. So if you are on the hunt for some good Pho, go straight to the Pho 58 on Bellaire just a bit down the road, you won't be sorry.
Leslie Thompson
It was very dirty in the restaurant & the food looked old! I left the nasty food on the table paid and left as fast as I could ! Never again ? I hope I don’t get sick!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Leslie H.
I love the taste. After going to many places in Houston for pho places to try, this one is by far one of the best. I just can't seem to find the same taste from other places
Ma Herrera
Terrible quality of the food, they change ingredients to save money and this shows in the taste. I came because of the good reviews but I won't return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Chego Chego
they really messed me up wth this pho man, was looking foward for it for days just for it to be so tastelesss more expensive and not as good, i can safely say this is probably my last time i bring bussiness to this location.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Mariela Anguiano
Been here a couple of times. I even came her w my family on my birthday. Caught a lady scratching her dirty feet while making dumplings. Disgusting.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Howard W.
I have eaten at this Pho21 several times last year and the food was good. Last visit not so! We ordered BBQ pork and rice, the pork was grossly over cooked, dried out, tough, and tasteless. We also ordered the large Pho with brisket and steak. The brisket was refrigerator cold, tough, and tasteless, the steak was properly shaved but wouldn't fill a tablespoon. The pho soup was poorly seasoned and just OK. The noodles were refrigerator cold and the herbs and garnish consisted of less than two tablespoons of mostly chopped up cilantro stems and some green onion tops; NO basil, mint, cilantro leaves, bean sprouts, Jalapeno slices, or lime wedges. Pretty much worthless pho; the worst that I have ever been served!! I won't be back!
Michael W.
I guess inflation has hit everyone. The lunch special for plates USED to be $6.95 but has been raised to $11.95! That's terrible. The service was also not the best as it use to be. The quality of the meal was mediocre at best. The flavors also did not seem to be cohesive, so sad. I will visit again when it's pay day, this is too expensive for lunch.
Carolina Avila
Place needs a deep clean but food is amazing and decent priced.
It's very rare that I give a spot a 1 star but this place did it for me. It was by far the most frustrating experience I've ever encounter. It started off okay but as the time went by, I grew more frustrated. So here it goes. We came around 12:45pm & did not receive our food until 1:33pm. There were several tables that came 10 mins after us and got their food before us. There was one table that came way after us, ordered, received their food & finished & we are still sitting here waiting on ours. After waiting about 30 mins I asked two servers about our food & they said the tickets were mixed up in the back. What frustrates me is that they didn't offer an apology or at least 10 percent off on the meal. I don't want anything for free but it's the thought that counts and I have to say that the service recovery was complete garbage. I also think that it would've took longer if I didn't say anything. It's ridiculous that I waited close to 45 minutes for some Pho. I know that the broth is already made in the morning & they keep it hot throughout the day. Every pho restaurant I've been to I've waited less than 15 mins. I understand mistakes happen but they made no effort to make it up to us. There was another family that came maybe 2 mins after us & half of their table received their food at the same time we did, while the rest waited.Okay, enough of my rambling. Now on to the food. I ordered a pho combo that comes with egg rolls & a can drink. ($14). The egg rolls were alright, it came out piping hot but taste wise it was nothing special. The pho was just edible, the broth was boring & I had to add a lot of Sriracha & hoisin sauce to give it some flavor. It's like they were in a rushed to make the broth. It just had no substance. The only positive thing that I can say is the well done brisket was tendered. Overall, it was a terrible experience. I would've given them a 3 if they came to my table and at least offered an apology but no one seems to care, so for that it's going to be a 1. I think it's been about 3 years since I gave a 1 star but today is the day. Service was a complete joke & the food was just edible. Will I come back? H-E double hockey sticks no.
Dora Yaki
Been going to this place for 15 years. The pho is consistent and very flavorful. Service is great, very fast as I usually need to go in and out for 1 hour lunch. The location/the shopping center really needs parking lot repair. Overall still gonna
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Noodle Soup, Vegetarian Tofu Soup, Fried Egg Roll
John M.
Fresh, light, friendly, and good. Simple words to describe Pho 21, and a pleasurable dining experience. It was our first visit, probably ok or our last. The pho dac biet...when I first tasted the stock, I initially thought it wasn't punchy enough. But as I sipped a bit, pondered more, I'd conclude that it was a really good stock, but delicately seasoned. This doesn't mean watered down, but think of it as the agua fresca equivalent of Pho stock. It has all the spices you'd expect, but nuanced. It's perfect if you're craving Pho comfort but feel like something lighter. The ratio of meat to noodle is spot on too, as was the crispy freshness of the herbs. Two things happened to us that has NEVER happened in a pho joint before in almost 50 years: 1) they actually brought out our appetizers before our bowls of noodles, and 2) I didn't have to ask for more basil because they weren't stingy on the goods. What a revelation!Surprise of the day...the sriracha chili from Texas Pete. Man, it was really good and more indicative of the traditional Thai sriracha, which was the inspiration for Huy Fong (hate to break it to you, but HF didn't invent sriracha). The service was great too, not overly chatty, but friendly and efficient. I'd pop back in again if in the area.
Younger Wong
Vietnamese rice noodles are my favorite food. The rice noodles here are very fresh, and the beef and seafood are also delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Anita Riojas
First time here and I loved loved loved the service and the pho was simply amazing and good. I will definitely going back for more.
I love how this is a Houston staple for me! This place is my family's go to pho spot. I love their combination pho that's only $13 and the Vietnamese Che dessert! We've been coming here for years. Please don't change!
I believe that location has a change of ownership. When I had frequented that restaurant before the food and service was great. The owner always smiles and greet the customers. But back to food, I took my mother there for lunch because she wanted some Pho and I thought about this place so I took her there. We didn't order much but two bowl of pho. Even at that the waiter that took the order got my noodle wrong, I ordered the egg noodle since I have not had that for a while, but they must have run out and just put some vermeil noodles in its place, on top of the wrong order I had order the large but that came out small. I guess they were hoping that I don't know the difference since i was on the phone texting a lot with my friend when the food shows up. Trying to get the wait staff's attention was a nightmare, so I said never mind I just eat what I have and just leave it at that. but never once the new owner ask how was my food? unlike the previous owner. Needless to say, I will never go back to that place, and they seem to care about the business but just serve the people that doesn't know Pho too much. So if you are on the hunt for some good Pho, go straight to the Pho 58 on Bellaire just a bit down the road, you won't be sorry.
It was very dirty in the restaurant & the food looked old! I left the nasty food on the table paid and left as fast as I could ! Never again ? I hope I don’t get sick!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
I love the taste. After going to many places in Houston for pho places to try, this one is by far one of the best. I just can't seem to find the same taste from other places
Terrible quality of the food, they change ingredients to save money and this shows in the taste. I came because of the good reviews but I won't return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
they really messed me up wth this pho man, was looking foward for it for days just for it to be so tastelesss more expensive and not as good, i can safely say this is probably my last time i bring bussiness to this location.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 3
Been here a couple of times. I even came her w my family on my birthday. Caught a lady scratching her dirty feet while making dumplings. Disgusting.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
I have eaten at this Pho21 several times last year and the food was good. Last visit not so! We ordered BBQ pork and rice, the pork was grossly over cooked, dried out, tough, and tasteless. We also ordered the large Pho with brisket and steak. The brisket was refrigerator cold, tough, and tasteless, the steak was properly shaved but wouldn't fill a tablespoon. The pho soup was poorly seasoned and just OK. The noodles were refrigerator cold and the herbs and garnish consisted of less than two tablespoons of mostly chopped up cilantro stems and some green onion tops; NO basil, mint, cilantro leaves, bean sprouts, Jalapeno slices, or lime wedges. Pretty much worthless pho; the worst that I have ever been served!! I won't be back!
I guess inflation has hit everyone. The lunch special for plates USED to be $6.95 but has been raised to $11.95! That's terrible. The service was also not the best as it use to be. The quality of the meal was mediocre at best. The flavors also did not seem to be cohesive, so sad. I will visit again when it's pay day, this is too expensive for lunch.
Place needs a deep clean but food is amazing and decent priced.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
It's very rare that I give a spot a 1 star but this place did it for me. It was by far the most frustrating experience I've ever encounter. It started off okay but as the time went by, I grew more frustrated. So here it goes. We came around 12:45pm & did not receive our food until 1:33pm. There were several tables that came 10 mins after us and got their food before us. There was one table that came way after us, ordered, received their food & finished & we are still sitting here waiting on ours. After waiting about 30 mins I asked two servers about our food & they said the tickets were mixed up in the back. What frustrates me is that they didn't offer an apology or at least 10 percent off on the meal. I don't want anything for free but it's the thought that counts and I have to say that the service recovery was complete garbage. I also think that it would've took longer if I didn't say anything. It's ridiculous that I waited close to 45 minutes for some Pho. I know that the broth is already made in the morning & they keep it hot throughout the day. Every pho restaurant I've been to I've waited less than 15 mins. I understand mistakes happen but they made no effort to make it up to us. There was another family that came maybe 2 mins after us & half of their table received their food at the same time we did, while the rest waited.Okay, enough of my rambling. Now on to the food. I ordered a pho combo that comes with egg rolls & a can drink. ($14). The egg rolls were alright, it came out piping hot but taste wise it was nothing special. The pho was just edible, the broth was boring & I had to add a lot of Sriracha & hoisin sauce to give it some flavor. It's like they were in a rushed to make the broth. It just had no substance. The only positive thing that I can say is the well done brisket was tendered. Overall, it was a terrible experience. I would've given them a 3 if they came to my table and at least offered an apology but no one seems to care, so for that it's going to be a 1. I think it's been about 3 years since I gave a 1 star but today is the day. Service was a complete joke & the food was just edible. Will I come back? H-E double hockey sticks no.
Been going to this place for 15 years. The pho is consistent and very flavorful. Service is great, very fast as I usually need to go in and out for 1 hour lunch. The location/the shopping center really needs parking lot repair. Overall still gonna
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Noodle Soup, Vegetarian Tofu Soup, Fried Egg Roll
Fresh, light, friendly, and good. Simple words to describe Pho 21, and a pleasurable dining experience. It was our first visit, probably ok or our last. The pho dac biet...when I first tasted the stock, I initially thought it wasn't punchy enough. But as I sipped a bit, pondered more, I'd conclude that it was a really good stock, but delicately seasoned. This doesn't mean watered down, but think of it as the agua fresca equivalent of Pho stock. It has all the spices you'd expect, but nuanced. It's perfect if you're craving Pho comfort but feel like something lighter. The ratio of meat to noodle is spot on too, as was the crispy freshness of the herbs. Two things happened to us that has NEVER happened in a pho joint before in almost 50 years: 1) they actually brought out our appetizers before our bowls of noodles, and 2) I didn't have to ask for more basil because they weren't stingy on the goods. What a revelation!Surprise of the day...the sriracha chili from Texas Pete. Man, it was really good and more indicative of the traditional Thai sriracha, which was the inspiration for Huy Fong (hate to break it to you, but HF didn't invent sriracha). The service was great too, not overly chatty, but friendly and efficient. I'd pop back in again if in the area.
Vietnamese rice noodles are my favorite food. The rice noodles here are very fresh, and the beef and seafood are also delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
First time here and I loved loved loved the service and the pho was simply amazing and good. I will definitely going back for more.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5