Pho Tan Hoa

Only Asian place that opens early (0800) around the Union Square area, located in a less than ideal neighbourhood but food more than makes up for the uneasiness when walking there. Boss is friendly and helpful. Pho served is very good, have em serve you the beef slices separately and dunk the slices of beef in the hot soup til its cooked to your liking. Broth is rich and flavourful. Other recommended dish would be the dry egg noodles with beef combination of brisket, steak, tripe and tendons.

I love their Dry Pho!! Such a unique dish that I cannot find in Australia yet! The meats and the broth are just so delicious! I’ve tried their normal pho & it’s really good too. Located close to tourist area, but in a street where there are some homeless people/substance addicts around… so please just be aware of your surroundings if you’re walking there. Please also check the restaurant’s hours before you go, as they close early (they’re only open for breakfast & lunch, at the time of this review).

There's not much to say about eating here that's more important than that the food is excellent. The medium sized bowl of pho that I was served had a ~delicious~ broth that didn't need any spice or flavoring, but was even more enhanced with the lemon, mint leaves, and jalapeños that accompany it. The meat was tender and delicious, and overall the meal was excellent. The tea was good and the staff was attentive, but those are both not the main point of eating here. Come for the pho, keep coming for the pho, and stay for the extras, like good service and good tea 👍🏻

Mark

This long-established Vietnamese restaurant was recommended by a Vietnamese person who has lived in San Francisco for many years. It's just that its location is in an area with a high concentration of homeless people. Locals are already used to it. However, for first-time visitors to San Francisco, there is a sense of worry and fear. However, those zombies generally won't bother you. Just remember the road signs. The Vietnamese flavor is very authentic. Dry-mixed beef rice noodles, fried rice, and shrimp rolls are all highly recommended. This shop only accepts cash and is open until 3 PM. Taking it to go is also a great option.

Theodore Wong

Authentic Vietnamese Pho, Noodle, and Rice dishes. Go here for the pho and spring rolls, return for the other tasty food as well. On the edge of the Tenderloin, near public transit routes and worth the walk from Market St or Union Square. Cash only, but they do have an ATM inside on the premises for your convenience. The TL district does power wash regularly to keep the sidewalks clean, public parking can have its challenges, so Uber/Lyft is recommended.

doxa praise diaz

If you’re down for some authentic Pho, you’d disregard the aesthetic part of the resto. They have legit peanut sauce. It’s the real pho that touches the soul, coming here as a tourist it brought so many memories while I was in Vietnam and being served by grandma’s pho.

Jeff Ho

2025 update. We came for lunch on a Wednesday. Plenty of seats. Their pho broth is #1 in the TL and hence been rewarded with the Jeff H. Best Pho in the TL Award 2025. It is a flavorful broth that just brings it. The cashier lady/waitress is pure Vietnamese. We had their 2x #7 Pho Xe Lua Tan Hoa $17.60, #6 Bo Tai Chanh (beef carpaccio) $19.17 and #35 Mi Trieu Chau (dry) $16.80 soup on the side. Everything tasted authentic. Great job everyone at Pho Tan Hoa. Cons: There's no dinner service at Pho Tan Hoa and they closed at 3pm. The neighborhood is still the same. Watch where you walk if you have nice shoes on. We used to come to the TL and eat a lot back in the early 2000's so it doesn't bother me. Updated review 9/2/2022. I'm upgrading Pho Tan Hoa to my favorite pho restaurant in the TL. The other place on Larkin, TT went down hill. We had the #7 house special pho $16.50 large, #35 mi trieu chau (dry egg noodles) $14.50 medium and bo tai chanh (beef carpaccio) $18. Pho Tan Hoa is well worth the trek into the TL. The broth, meat, quality of the noodles, service are all excellent. Note, the weird people in the TL are worst now in 2022 than 2021. This was at noon on a Friday. Indoor dining 5/23/2021. Very good noodles here. Today I had the #35 trieu chau (sometimes written as chao zhou or teochew) dry noodles with soup on the side. (Be sure to order it dry). It came with chicken, fish ball, fish cake, crushed peanuts, pork and shrimp. These types of dry noodles are great if you want to mix things up and if you are used to eating noodles in soup. From the clientele dining near me, all I heard, in their native language, was how great their noodles were. This speaks volumes as they probably know their southeastern Asian noodles more than I do. I would have to agree with them that my dry noodles were pretty darn good as well. My meal today with a traditional Vietnamese ice coffee was $22 with tax and tip. One note, this restaurant is located in the heart of the Tenderloin district. There were at least three people passed out on the sidewalk. Look where you step if you value your shoes and carpet in your car. Inside the restaurant is clean, but the outside... Man, it has gotten so much worst in 2021.

Gabby Gonzalez

We got 2 small #14s for breakfast. Omg is was amaaziinngggg !!! There was so much meat in it! So flavorful & hit the spot. I will forever return here! Cash only but there’s an ATM inside. Hours are 8-1500.

Lucy L

A hole in the wall pho restaurant in Union Square. Don’t get fool by this simple bowl of pho - it is absolutely delicious. The both was rich with essence of simmered bones and umami perfection from the bone marrow fat, which you don’t get from most pho restaurants. Price is more than reasonable for this perfected bowl of comfort and indulgence, home away from home.

Christopher Chung

Stick to the beef pho, clearly the house specialty. One of few noodle houses open for breakfast in the Tenderloin — a plus. Standard Vietnamese appetizers, good but not over the top. Full-flavored bone broth, best accompanied with black pepper and homemade chili oil. Forego the sriracha and hoisin which will cover the subtle aromatics. Any combination of beef toppings served by numbered order — in small, medium and large. Seafood pho and fresh spring rolls, decent.

brandyy skye

🍜 Consistently de-lish! The broth here is spectacular and has been for, at least, the last 8 years. The neighborhood might be gross and rough, but that has nothing to do with the greatness within. It's worth it, 💯 my usual is small #13 with egg noodles and if I am in a different mood, the fresh spring rolls. The crepe is also bangin'! thưởng thức

Pamela Li

The food and the drinks are so delicious here. I ordered Pho Tai Bo Vien and my bf ordered Bun Bo Hue. Everything tasted homemade even the meatballs. From my pho experiences, the meatball always taste like frozen package from the store but not here. The coffee was so rich and creamy. Will definitely come back if I was around the are again.

Max Soi

The food is authentic and good. Broth tasty and accompanying herbs were fresh and aromatic. I prefer limes to lemon. Fresh lemonade soda was very refreshing. Neighborhood had a lot of homeless but the restaurant itself was nice. My order arrived 3 minutes after I placed it.

Damian Peh

Only Asian place that opens early (0800) around the Union Square area, located in a less than ideal neighbourhood but food more than makes up for the uneasiness when walking there. Boss is friendly and helpful. Pho served is very good, have em serve you the beef slices separately and dunk the slices of beef in the hot soup til its cooked to your liking. Broth is rich and flavourful. Other recommended dish would be the dry egg noodles with beef combination of brisket, steak, tripe and tendons.

tastysydney

I love their Dry Pho!! Such a unique dish that I cannot find in Australia yet! The meats and the broth are just so delicious! I’ve tried their normal pho & it’s really good too. Located close to tourist area, but in a street where there are some homeless people/substance addicts around… so please just be aware of your surroundings if you’re walking there. Please also check the restaurant’s hours before you go, as they close early (they’re only open for breakfast & lunch, at the time of this review).

Best chicken pho I've ever had!!! Trulyy. Thank you!!! :) Chicken so soft, broth so flavorful and clean!! With lots of onion <3

very good pho. my girlfriend and i were here on 2/22 and really enjoyed the large portions and very friendly staff. good price. cash only.

Jordan Hoang

Wife got pho ga and it was some of the best tasting broth I’ve had in a long time (born and raised in Houston but moved away to a city with not great Viet food) I got the pho bo dac biet kho which was also very tasty and unique! Only ever had pho ga kho but this was delicious!

Miles Petty

This place is really good. The pho and the bun bo hue are top notch. It’s a hole in the wall in the best way, the food is super good, the customers are all regulars and there are no frills. We discovered it on a trip a couple years ago and make it a must visit every time we’re in town. The neighborhood around the restaurant is in kind of rough shape, so I hope people come to support. You won’t be disappointed!

Roy Farmer

Highly recommended for great Vietnamese food. We stop here on every trip to SF. The restaurant is not fancy and the neighborhood not high end but the food is fantastic. Very large portions and great taste. The staff are very friendly and attentive.

I was craving some pho, and found this place. We ordered the shrimps, and fresh salad rolls (4 rolls), the House special beef noodle soup, which came with well-done brisket, flank, tendon, tripe, beef balls, and slices of rare steak in a large bowl, and the BBQ beef, with granulated peanuts, and egg roll over vermicelli. The shrimp rolls were great, fresh shrimps, nice textured wrap, and they paired well with the peanut sauce! The pho was fragrant, served in a good portion, and the noodle texture was great! I like it! The vermicelli bowl was also a really good portion, and came loaded with a variety of ingredients on top of it. The only downside was the BBQ beef; it was way too salty and dry. *CASH ONLY

Phò Tân Hòa one of the best quality Phò in The City (*not “Da San Ho,” of course) established in TL since late 1980s and current owners who are brothers used to be employees at old joint after former owner retired sometime before the Pandemic. Anyway, “picture speaks for itself” and to sum up imhv: ❶soup base (the Vietnamese dashi which is the soul of Phò or any Asian noodles) is not mere powder like many other Pho restaurants use they were actually made by beef bones simmering for hours (ideally traditionally would be the oxtail but common let’s be realistic); ❷quantity of ingredients that are a variety: rare beef steaks (*on the side, my favorite 😉), beef tendons, tripes, flanks, brisket, beef meatballs and fresh herbs including basil leaves, cilantros, mint, rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), bean sprouts, lime slices and jalapenos. ❸ Large bowl #7! Aprovecho! (Buena para la cruda 😂)

When visiting the USA, I always crave a bowl of hot pho soup. I look forward to having a bowl of pho for lunch whenever I'm there. I think the pho here is as authentic as what you’d find in Vietnam. I ordered a simple seafood pho. The broth was fantastic, and even though I knew it had some MSG, I didn’t mind because it was so good! We also had the usual spring rolls with pork and prawns and dipping sauce, which were huge—enough for two people to share! Overall, the food was great, and I enjoyed it a lot. However, it was quite pricey, with our meal costing nearly $30 per person.

Opens early in the morning and serves a really good Vietnamese beef rice noodle soup. There are a lot of combinations of different beef parts to choose from for the noodle soup and they also have an extensive menu beyond that too. Service is quick and efficient. They do not allow splitting of the bill so you’ll have to pay as a whole table.

Alice Hou

I was craving some pho, and found this place. We ordered the shrimps, and fresh salad rolls (4 rolls), the House special beef noodle soup, which came with well-done brisket, flank, tendon, tripe, beef balls, and slices of rare steak in a large bowl, and the BBQ beef, with granulated peanuts, and egg roll over vermicelli. The shrimp rolls were great, fresh shrimps, nice textured wrap, and they paired well with the peanut sauce! The pho was fragrant, served in a good portion, and the noodle texture was great! I like it! The vermicelli bowl was also a really good portion, and came loaded with a variety of ingredients on top of it. The only downside was the BBQ beef; it was way too salty and dry. *CASH ONLY

Mason Chen

Phò Tân Hòa one of the best quality Phò in The City (*not “Da San Ho,” of course) established in TL since late 1980s and current owners who are brothers used to be employees at old joint after former owner retired sometime before the Pandemic. Anyway, “picture speaks for itself” and to sum up imhv: ❶soup base (the Vietnamese dashi which is the soul of Phò or any Asian noodles) is not mere powder like many other Pho restaurants use they were actually made by beef bones simmering for hours (ideally traditionally would be the oxtail but common let’s be realistic); ❷quantity of ingredients that are a variety: rare beef steaks (*on the side, my favorite 😉), beef tendons, tripes, flanks, brisket, beef meatballs and fresh herbs including basil leaves, cilantros, mint, rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), bean sprouts, lime slices and jalapenos. ❸ Large bowl #7! Aprovecho! (Buena para la cruda 😂)

Andrew Goh

When visiting the USA, I always crave a bowl of hot pho soup. I look forward to having a bowl of pho for lunch whenever I'm there. I think the pho here is as authentic as what you’d find in Vietnam. I ordered a simple seafood pho. The broth was fantastic, and even though I knew it had some MSG, I didn’t mind because it was so good! We also had the usual spring rolls with pork and prawns and dipping sauce, which were huge—enough for two people to share! Overall, the food was great, and I enjoyed it a lot. However, it was quite pricey, with our meal costing nearly $30 per person.

Teck Boon

Opens early in the morning and serves a really good Vietnamese beef rice noodle soup. There are a lot of combinations of different beef parts to choose from for the noodle soup and they also have an extensive menu beyond that too. Service is quick and efficient. They do not allow splitting of the bill so you’ll have to pay as a whole table.

Raves: The pho was delicious, and so was that pork chop. Lemonade was good. Large selection on the menu. Fast service. Areas of Opportunity: The cafe sua da was not well balanced and didn't taste like the normal type of coffee grounds used. Something seemed off with the flavor. They used lemon instead of lime for the pho, which I had never seen before of all the places I've ever had pho. Maybe it's a regional thing? Not the cleanest establishment, the tower of spoons had stuff dripped all over them. Notes: walking here was sketchy and make sure you pay in cash!

Lora Lee

Raves: The pho was delicious, and so was that pork chop. Lemonade was good. Large selection on the menu. Fast service. Areas of Opportunity: The cafe sua da was not well balanced and didn't taste like the normal type of coffee grounds used. Something seemed off with the flavor. They used lemon instead of lime for the pho, which I had never seen before of all the places I've ever had pho. Maybe it's a regional thing? Not the cleanest establishment, the tower of spoons had stuff dripped all over them. Notes: walking here was sketchy and make sure you pay in cash!