Review
Hi. I’m Dustin. I’m a pho-addict. On several occasions I’ve eaten pho everyday for weeks. Many times I’ve eaten pho multiple times a day. And I’ve traveled foolish distances for good pho. I’m telling you this so you can understand just how dismayed I am with the subpar quality of Pho in Seoul. In my opinion, all of the large pho chains – Pho Bay, Pho Hoa, etc – are atrocious and insulting. However, after 2.5 years of chasing every suggestion of “the best pho”, I’ve found a handful of about 5 restaurants that I find quite good. Little Saigon is on the top of that list. It’s not the level of the California Pho I grew up on, but it satisfies the addiction.
Little Saigon was one of the first spots in Seoul to serve pho and it’s been very successful. The Pho soup tastes authentic, meaning I’m guessing they use little artificial soup stock. The meat is good quality and not the fat filled stuff found at many other places. I can’t speak for any other items on the menu, but from looking at plates on other people’s tables, it looks good.
The service is friendly and abundant. Even on busy Saturday afternoons there are always several waiters standing around waiting to help, and are quickly responsive.
Tip: Pho in Korea usually isn’t served with cilantro, but they all have it on request. The Korean word is 고수 KohSoo.
Sorry about my friend there. He wouldn’t get out of the picture.
Coming from California, we had to try the overpriced cannabia beer.
Unfortunately the place is a little hard to find, and even though I’ve been there over a dozen times, I still get lost. Take a close look at the map, you should be able to find it.
Location link for smart phones.
View Seoul Eats Favorites Map in a larger map
Mmmm, pho. Now I want some, but I’ll just go to Le Saigon. Though if I am ever in Sinsa-dong I’ll have to check them out!
Thanks for letting us know what cilantro is in Korean!
Le Saigon is very good as well.
For fried rice. not for Pho.
Thanks for telling me about this place. I can’t wait to check it out! But I still can’t get over the fact that they use lemons rather than limes in Korea.
totally agree!! Limes are key!!
I agree as well. It’s tragic. I am a lime lover and usually squeeze in 3-5 slices. I really hate the little slivers of lemon they give here in Korea. And usually when I ask for more they give me another sliver…. Haha. But here, as you can see from the picture, they were generous and gave me some fat slices.
As a native Vietnamese, I’d boldly say that nowhere in Seoul can you taste real, authentic Pho.
Go to Ansan, 1.5 hour from Seoul and taste the authentic creations. It is the only place where LIMEs and cilantro are not an option, they are vital.
Ansan?! Can you tell me where exactly in Ansan? I’ll go…
From Seoul station, take Ansan line (line 4). It is the almost-last station. Get out of exit 2, cross the street and bus stop, along the front street is a ray of restaurant, head to the left, you will see 2 Vietnamese restaurants called Quan Que Huong & Tre Xanh. Both are pretty similar, but I ate at Tre Xanh.
Tho Pho is easy to recognize, other types of foods are not, with no English trans and very poor Korean descriptions.
Ansan is home to tons of other oh-so-authentic South east asian foods, as well as Nepalese and Indian. But beware, they are authentic to the point that their menus are written in native languages ==’
And and and the open market sells tons of things that you will never find in Seoul, even in Itaewon ;A; And fresh juicy yummy strawberries for 3k won <3333333
Tre Xanh restaurant address in case you want to look for it on map:
tre xanh (그린 밤부)
경기도 안산시 단원구 원곡동 749-2
and the food http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.348929458475434.69941.100000751472168&type=3
Thanks for the tip. I’m assuming they’ll put your healthy dose of MSG in the Pho, right?
Thai Dang – I just got back from Ansan. It’s true that the pho there is better than anywhere else in Seoul, but a little sad that it still can’t match the Pho from the U.S. Is there a restaurant that makes pho like the states? I went to Dieu Hien Quan today, and was a bit dissapointed with their pho, the noodle isn’t fresh, comes from a package and not the thin kind that they use from the south. Taste like a mix of the noth and the south.
Why don’t Korean pho places inlcude basil leaves as a side? I’ve never been to Vietnam, but in Southern California (largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam), basil leaves were standard and added great flavor when you put it into the hot broth.
I’m in Vietnam right now… and I’ve been putting in TONS of basil to make up for the lack in Korea. LOVE IT. And yes it’s tragic that they don’t give it in Korea. Do you know why they don’t give cilantro in Vietnam though?
Cilantro just tastes awful if is soaked in the hot broth of Pho for (not even) too long~
Thai Dang! This is monumental news. I may have to do an Ansan pilgrimage to get some of this Tre Xanh pho!
As for my favorite K-Pho (I often call it ‘salguksu’ to ease the pain that comes from calling it pho), I like vinh Loi or Pho Hanoi, both in Gangnam, but it’s never the pho I’ve come to love.
Do you have directions on these places?
There’s another one near shin non hyeon station ,behind the kyobo gangnam store,
I love this place, I had my first vietname rice noodles here and expected the same quality everywhere, and then I tried the chain stores. Bleagh….
Love the one with the soft bones(??)
Isn’t that the place Daniel wrote about that shows up 3rd when you search for “best pho Seoul” on google? If not, how’s the price?
Really?!?! I used to hang out in that area a lot and I’ve never seen it. I’ll go hunting for it this week and see if I can find it.
So, I just made the trek out here today with a new friend. First, I have to say “thanks Dustin” for the write up because it was good. However, it may have been extra good because we were lucky enough to sit next to a friendly couple who brought their own limes and were INCREDIBLY generous and went out to their car and gave us a whole lime. I heard from my friend Kris they could be 10x’s as expensive in Korea; thus the dearth of limes.
A couple of extra notes:
-initially didn’t realize we were right in front of it because there’s no extra colorful signage; you have to be paying attention to the glass doors where you’ll see “Little Saigon”
-it was VERY busy at 12:30 on Saturday; we got the last table for two and then people were constantly waiting
-it’s 11,000 for the large regular Pho, but we got option #2 which was 12,000 won and the fried spring rolls which were REALLY tasty!
Brandon, thanks for the comments. You indeed are very lucky to have gotten that lime. I am incredibly jealous. And good to know they have a pho and roll option. I’ll definitely get that next time I’m in.
Actually, the rolls were extra – just a heads up
Yes, we were definitely lucky!
I think they have a lunch special where they add the rolls b