Pho Xe Lua - Philadelphia

I've been coming here since 2001 and absolutely love their pad Thai and lemongrass chicken with rice. I'll keep returning until I'm very old!

The pho was absolutely delicious! The Thai and Vietnamese iced coffee offered a unique and extraordinary flavor. I would rate my experience a perfect 10/10! The service was also really quick.

It was a nice restaurant with good selection of food. Our team had a great time. Servers were very nice and polite. A good restaurant in Chinatown.

For appetizers, we ordered chả giò and bánh cuốn. The chả giò were excellent — crispy and paired well with the dipping sauce. On the other hand, the bánh cuốn were just okay. For our main courses, we had bò lúc lắc, thịt lợn kho, and canh chua. All were flavorful and delicious, but I would definitely recommend the bò lúc lắc as the standout dish. It’s a must-try with rice! I didn’t sample any phở or bún this time, but I’m eager to return and explore more of their menu.

Not outstanding, but satisfactory. I tried the seafood noodles, which were passable when drenched in sriracha. The seafood didn't taste particularly fresh, and I suspect it might have been frozen. The sauce was somewhat bland, and there weren't many vegetables either. However, it wasn't terrible. The service was also inconsistent. While the staff was very friendly, they didn't serve everyone at our table simultaneously, and one person had to wait almost until we finished to receive their meal. I've had better and worse experiences overall.