King Pho - Edgebrook - Chicago

Place has been open for almost two weeks now. It's on the busy stretch of Devon just West of Central Ave. Metered parking out front. Sign on window mentions free parking in the rear.

I've enjoyed pho at many places at Argyle and Broadway and on Lincoln Ave. King Pho is as good if not better than other pho I've enjoyed at well established places.

Upon walking in you're greeted with a really nice interior, spacious dining area, and smooth music. They are BYOB for right now. Lots of 4-tops and 2-tops with many booths on the side walls.

Large menu:

http://kingphorestaurant.com/menu.html

Here's some still photos of my meal yesterday:

http://imgur.com/a/1YBX5

Here's a SpinCam of the interior:

http://spincam.net/s/jfkw

King Pho
5414 W Devon Ave, Chicago, IL 60646, USA
773-312-3995
773-312-3876
Fax:773-340-0922 (fax your order to us)

Hours
Sunday - Thu 10am - 9:00pm | Fri-Sat 10am-10pm

I've eaten at King Pho once so far. There were some major service issues on my visit that they need to work out before I can whole heartedly recommend the place. They had an abundance of employees there, but they all seemed more interested in standing around chatting behind the counter than they were in taking my order or coming to my table to see if there was anything I needed. They had only been open a short while when I was there, so I'm not jumping to any conclusions about the service yet.

I tried the pork chop with fried egg broken rice plate (#97 on the menu). It was pretty good. I'm planning on going back with my camera very soon to try the Pho and some other items off the menu. King Pho is a welcome addition to the neighborhood!

stevez wrote:I'm planning on going back with my camera very soon to try the Pho and some other items off the menu. King Pho is a welcome addition to the neighborhood!

It took a little while, but as promised I made it back to King Pho for a little photo shoot. The space is beautiful, thanks mostly to the decorating skills of the previous tenant, Al Primo Canto.

King Pho Interior


We started off with some spring rolls, which were very fresh and as good (or better) than any I've had in Chicago.

King Pho Spring Rolls


Next up, a couple different kinds of Pho. They offer both small and large bowls. These were both small bowls.

King Pho Garnishes


Although the garnishes weren't as plentiful as some I've gotten on Argyle, there was enough offered for my bowl. The only knock is that, like many other restaurants these days, they have subbed lemons for the normal Persian lime.

King Pho Phở Đặc Biệt (#67)


This is the classic version containing beef slices, brisket, tendon & tripe. The broth here is nicely scented with the usual blend of cinnamon, star anise and other warm spices.

King Pho Phở Nạm Bò Viên (#54)


This version, featuring a lighter broth than the Phở Đặc Biệt was still redolent with spices and is pretty complex. Phở Nạm Bò Viên features brisket and beef meatballs.

In both versions of Pho, the meats were cooked perfectly and not tough, as can sometimes be the case when the beef is overcooked. The noodles were good, too, with a nice mouth feel.

I compared King Pho to New Asia Restaurant recently. I can now say that I like both places, and they are welcome additions to their respective neighborhoods. While New Asia has a broader menu, I think the quality of the Pho (based on a single visit to New Asia) is better at King Pho.

While neither one of those places rise to the level of GNR Nha Hang Vietnam or Tank, they'll do quite nicely when the Pho urge strikes and I want to stay in the neighborhood.

I got delivery from King Pho tonight for the first time. Pho came nicely packaged in three separate containers. One for the broth, one for the meats and noodles and one with the cold condiments. I was glad to see that limes have returned to the garnish mix. The lemons they were using weren't cutting it for me.

Downtown Edgebrook was convenient for dinner tonight with my wife. We shared an order of pot stickers an an appetizer. She had the Clay Pot with Beef Stew and pronounced it yummy. Spicy Shrimp Basil for me was quite good and since my wife is allergic to shellfish, I didn't have to share it with her.

No service issues tonight. Though we were only one of three tables occupied at 5pm.

Thanks for the heads up on this spot.

The food here remains passable at best but the service is truly awful. Even as our main courses were being brought to the table, our server couldn't be bothered to take away the dirty plates. He just let them sit there for the duration of our meal. We ended up moving them to an adjacent table. Is this place byo? If so, I suggest bringing your own water since at no point during our meal were our waters ever refilled. And all this with the restaurant no more than 25% full.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:The food here remains passable at best but the service is truly awful. =R=

This is a "local" place for me so I was somewhat optimistic when they opened. Food is good but service has been a chronic problem. Many times I zip past here to end up at Thai Elephant a block over. The locals are tolerant, but things really need to improve.

ronnie_suburban wrote:The food here remains passable at best but the service is truly awful.

Was at King Pho a few weeks ago with my wife for early dinner. While the food was fine/passable, service was poor. My bride, who is patient, kind, even tempered and an all around nice person, became so annoyed with the service she suggested we walk out.

I believe it was EatChicago who coined "should have gone to Mado" if you find yourself at King Pho you may very well be thinking ~should have gone to Elephant Thai~

Yep . . . if it were my call, Elephant would be the obvious way to go. But I was in the back seat on this one, so we ended up somewhere I wouldn't have chosen for myself.

A lunch is a terrible thing to waste.

And Gary, if your bride was annoyed by the place, there must be something wrong with it. She has the patience of a saint.

=R=

Pho No.1 on Lawrence just east of Austin is vastly superior. Tiny place with husband and wife and random young waitstaff.

Pho is good, not Tank but great for the area. I go for the beef stew with noodles. It has carrot, tendon, beef in a spicy rich broth and a bunch of cilantro. I think it's delicious.

Octarine wrote:Pho No.1 on Lawrence just east of Austin is vastly superior. Tiny place with husband and wife and random young waitstaff.

Pho is good, not Tank but great for the area. I go for the beef stew with noodles. It has carrot, tendon, beef in a spicy rich broth and a bunch of cilantro. I think it's delicious.

I also like Pho No. 1 . . . perhaps more than Tank these days, but that's not the boldest statement.

BR wrote:I also like Pho No. 1 . . . perhaps more than Tank these days, but that's not the boldest statement.

I see a visit to Pho No. 1 in my very near future, thanks Octarine and BR.

Tank has been out of my Vietnamese Argyle rotation for a while supplanted with Nha Hang and the occasional Dong Ky. New Asia and Nha Hang are my two current choices for Vietnamese.

Pho No. 1 is just too far to travel for a workday lunch. We go here mainly because of its proximity to our office . . . and one of my partners likes the Singapore Noodles.

I would have lobbied hard for an audible to Elephant but I was already going out for Thai that same night.

IMO, this is the worst Pho King restaurant in the area.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:IMO, this is the worst Pho King restaurant in the area.
=R=

Banner quote-worthy! "LOL" tends to be overused, but in this case I actually did.

~The following is about the recently opened King Pho 2 on Lincoln~

Service abysmal, food passable, aside from the limp greasy Banh Xeo, and this was weekday lunch with three other customers in the joint. Toward the end of our meal the interactive, engaging owner Min walked in, and the server seemed to wake from his trance, but by then it was too late.

King Pho 2 stripped off all sign of the previous tenant, aside from the mural that was there when Bite of Szechuan moved in, though they blocked off the see-through pass and put a TV above which played a shimmering image of Buddha with chanting.

Between the service, chanting and two precisely dressed older gentlemen having a droning circular discussion about global warming, while mentioning their Mensa affiliation every third sentence, I was not in the best of moods at end of lunch.

I'll go again, but not for a while.

King Pho
5659 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
Open for lunch/dinner
773-645-9369

Back to the Devon location, of which I've never been a big fan. Lunch today was actually really good. I shared the Nem Nuong (#10) and Fried Tofu (#12) with a co-worker and both were well executed. The neatly-wrapped spring rolls were well proportioned and tasty. The variety of textures -- crispy, crunchy, soft, chewy -- was great, too. The fried tofu was, expectedly, a bit bland but it was fried really nicely, with a hard exterior crust and custard-like interior texture. And we used the generous cubes to sop up a delicious mixture of house-made sweet & sour, peanut sauce and chili oil.

For my main, I ordered the Bun Bo Hue (#70), which was spicy, rich and full of flavor. This was, by far, the best bowl of anything I've ever had at this place. It was an encouraging experience that will have me returning sooner than later.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:For my main, I ordered the Bun Bo Hue (#70), which was spicy, rich and full of flavor.

The soup gods have smiled upon you . . .