Pho Ever Yours

When I first arrived in Jacksonville, Florida, the house I was staying in was not in a good state for living. So, the first few weeks, I was eating out all the time.

So… here is my ranking of top Phở restaurants in Jacksonville.

If you are not familiar with Pho, it is Vietnam’s most popular food to serve, at least in America. It’s a soup-based dish with rice noodles. You can get it with beef (Pho Bo) or chicken (Pho Ga). Most restaurants have something called “Dac Biet”, which means Deluxe.

Please note that this is not a definitive list. I know everybody is raving about Pho Today, but that place is just too far for me to visit (just to eat Pho).

The small list below are the restaurants that I’ve eaten at … which are generally close to where I live, or happenstance that are in an area that I’m visiting.

Vu’s Phavorite Pho in Jax

	ZEN Pho & Noodles zennoodlescompany.com This is a chain of restaurants in the Florida area, with locations in Gainesville, Tampa, and Terrace. The Jacksonville location just opened in June 2024… and it’s my favorite of the few places I’ve eaten at. The main reason is that they offer a generous portion (although I should mention that they are the most expensive at $16 for a bowl). Plenty of broth, plenty of noodles, it was good from the first to the last slurp. I also like that the place is new and clean, and consistent to its other locations.
	PK Noodles pknoodle.com PK Noodles, or Pho King Noodles, is the cheapest ($8 a bowl), and based on the price and value, I will highly recommend you check them out. Although they’re own and operated by Vietnamese, their waiters do not speak or understand Vietnamese. It is probably because of the location (on Beach Blvd), which may be more appealing to foreigners. Their menu is also very diverse, offering Bun (white noodles), Mi (yellow noodles like egg noodles or ramen), and Com (rice). I had a very good experience asking for a customized to go dish, which the friendly staff was more than happy to accommodate.
	Banh Mi and Pho Express banhmiphoexpress.com This place is unique, based on the fact that it is the only Pho place I’ve ever eaten at that has a drive-through. I believe this is strictly for the sandwiches, because I can’t imagine trying to order Pho through the drive though. Of all the locations, I felt this one was the most modernized (or westernized) and I like that. With that said, seating is limited to the location (more like a small café) and their focus is for you to take home. Their sandwiches (Banh Mi) are tiny! This might be a regional thing, because other places in Jacksonville also sell them at that ‘baby’ size. I’m used to foot long Banh Mi’s, so seeing smaller versions is kind of laughable. The Pho is about $14 and it was very good, but if that’s not your thing, you can always get the baby Banh Mi.
	Pho 99 pho99vietgrill.com If you ever wonder why so many Pho places have numbers behind them (like Pho 87 or Pho 88 or Pho 69), it’s because of some superstition that certain numbers are lucky numbers. For example, you would never name a place Pho 44, because that’s bad luck (four in Chinese sounds like ‘death’, so that number is considered unlucky). A bowl of Pho will cost about $11 for a small and they have a large dining area and they also offer beer & liquor.
	BONUS: Saigon Coffee & Sandwiches no website Never eaten there. I am sure they don’t serve Pho, just coffee and sandwiches, based on the signage. Unfortunately, when we were there in early December, the café was not open for business. I am assuming they are now open for business, but now that our house in Jacksonville is in working order (complete with a stove and running water and electricity)… I can’t see myself going out to eat much anymore.