It was a little chilly a few weeks ago and so I decided to grab some Pho soup.  To me, Pho is like a bowl of chicken noodle soup, only better.  It feels like a little bit of home (even though when I grew up, Pho wasn’t ever made nor consumed).  Anyway, I’m trying to find the best Pho in DC (among my many other goals) and decided to try Nam-Viet/Pho 79.

 

  • Food: No surprise here, but I ordered Pho soup.  While some places let you pick what cut of beef you want in your soup, there was no option.  Also, thanks to a tip from a commentator, I now always ask for the beef to be raw.  That’s when my server told me that large bowls of Pho always come with raw beef (yay!).  As soon as I got home and had a chance to dig in, I briefly heated the broth for about 2 minutes just in case (though I don’t think I had to since it was still pretty hot).  Anyway, as soon as I opened the lid, there was an intense aroma of star anise.  The styrofoam container held the raw beef; underneath that was the rice noodles; then on the left was bean sprouts; lime slice; and on the right side was cilantro and onions (white and green).  I was bummed there were no jalapeno slices, but I’m sure if I would have asked for them, they would have put some in.  Thankfully, I had some in the fridge!  They did include a little side mixture of hoisin and sricachi sauce.  The Pho was good because of the broth. 

 Nam-Viet/Pho 79  Nam-Viet/Pho 79 

So I went back again and this time, ordered the vegetable garden roll with tofu.  While it was a bit bland (yet chalked full of healthy veggies), the sauce made the rolls yummy.  And yes, I ordered the large bowl of pho again which was good!

Nam-Viet/Pho 79 Vegetable Garden Roll  Nam-Viet/Pho 79 Vegetable Garden Roll  Nam-Viet/Pho 79 Large Pho Bowl  Nam-Viet/Pho 79 Large Pho Bowl

  • Service: I ordered to go and that means when you walk in, you go straight to the back of the restaurant to the bar.  There a server will take your order. 
  • Atmosphere: While it has more atmosphere than some places, it’s not going to impress anyone. 
  • Attire: Casual
  • Price: $$
  • Overall: If you’ve never been and car-less like me, add this to your list of places to go for Pho.  It’s good and it’s incredibly convenient to the Cleveland Park metro stop. 

Details:

  • Hours: Daily 10 AM-10 PM
  • Address: 3419 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.; Washington D.C. 20008
  • Ph: 202-237-1015