Pho is a typical Vietnamese noodle soup. Some famous noodle shops in Ho Chi Minh City have maintained their brand name for over 50 years and are still very popular.
Saigon has many delicious pho restaurants that are well-known to both locals and tourists. However, regarding the best Pho shops that have been around for a long time here, we can’t miss six restaurants, as shown below.
1. Pho Dau Restaurant
Many Saigon people also love the North flavor of Vietnamese Pho, so many noodle shops, even though they have been in the South for many years, still hold the North taste to please diners.
Gourmets will immediately think of the Pho Dau restaurant near Nguyen Van Troi Bridge when they refer to the real North noodle restaurant in Saigon. In the old days, this shop was also called “Pho Nguyen Cao Ky” because Mr. Nguyen Cao Ky, who was famous in Saigon, often came to taste it here.
For nearly 60 years, Pho Dau Restaurant has not disappointed Pho Bac lovers when visiting Alley 288 on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street to enjoy. A rich flavor of a noodle bowl in clear broth is served with thinly sliced onions.
Pho Dau has so far no vegetables, bean sprouts, and black soy sauce served as noodle shops in Saigon. And, of course, there are no beef balls for those who love the South Vietnamese taste.
Plenty of famous Pho restaurants are available in Saigon. However, Pho Dau, one of the rare shops, is delicious and has been renowned for a long time with crowded guests. However, it is not cheap (compared to the Pho price). The shop in an alley only opens in the morning and is always full of customers.
- Address: Alley 288 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, Ward 8, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City
- Phone: 028 3846 5866
- Opening hours: 6:00 am – 12:00 pm (early morning to midday)
2. Pho Hoa Restaurant
If the Pho Dau is the popular North Vietnamese restaurant in Saigon, then Pho Hoa is the most famous shop for foreign tourists.
Since the official opening of the shop, Pho Hoa has not been for a long time, but because Pho Hoa used to be a small cart that sold noodle soup before 1975, so on the list of famous long-standing Pho restaurants in Saigon is indispensable for Pho Hoa.
Pho Hoa is on Pasteur Street – a typical road in Saigon. It is because more than 50 years ago, there was a concentration of carts selling delicious noodle soup in this city. And now, a big restaurant in Pho Hoa still sells a lovely flavor for the diners on the same street.
Although it is not the best noodle shop in HCMC, Pho Hoa often appears in guidebooks about Ho Chi Minh City, so this restaurant has many foreign customers.
Also, a vast bowl here has plenty of noodles, meat, vegetables, bean sprouts, and soy sauce. Although there are many different reviews about this shop, Pho Hoa is still one of Saigon’s most crowded noodle soup restaurants.
- Address: 260C Pasteur Street, Ward 8, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Phone: 028 3829 7943
- Opening hours: 6:00 am – 12:00 am (early morning to midnight, every day)
3. Pho Minh Restaurant
Also located on the busy road of Pasteur, Pho Minh is different from Pho Hoa. Amid the bustling Saigon, this over 60-year-old noodle shop is still as calm as the vibrant life that has untouched it.
The small shop is in a small alley (Alley 63). If you do not know it in advance, you will be easy to glance; therefore, you miss an opportunity to enjoy delicious Bac Pho in the heart of District 1 HCMC.
Like the ancient Pho restaurants, Pho Minh is part of the old Saigon cuisine, where Alley 63 was a familiar address for a long time for Northern food lovers.
Historically, the Casino next to the narrow road, the vermicelli shops, and the spring-roll eateries were classified in memory. However, Pho Minh was still there, open in the morning to welcome patrons, and strangers who listened to the name also came to taste it.
Accompanied by the years, the space of Pho Minh is also tinged with ancient color. The tables and chairs are still old wooden tables, but it’s airy, and the guests are not noisy. Pho Minh is the flavor for those who love North Vietnamese Pho with a light taste.
Many people who have been away from Saigon for a long time and when coming back to look for Pho Minh are still satisfied with the same noodles after many years.
- Address: 63/6 Pasteur Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Opening hours: 6:30 am – 10:00 am (only morning)
- Phone: 028 3822 0345
4. Pho Cao Van Restaurant
Speaking of Cao Van Pho (25 Mac Dinh Chi, District 1), the restaurant’s patrons will immediately remember the elderly over 90 who collect money at the corner of the shop. That is the owner, Tran Van Phon.
The Pho was first sold from a cart in Hanoi and then sold along streets in Saigon. In 1952, a shop was opened on Tran Cao Van Street and finally moved to Mac Dinh Chi. The traditional North Vietnamese Pho followed Mr. Phon in supplying a tasty one nowadays.
Among modern buildings and many new eateries on Mac Dinh Chi Street, Pho Cao Van still quietly marks its presence with patrons who love Pho North. This is because when you are familiar with the new North Vietnamese taste, you will like Pho Cao Van.
The shop has tasty broth, not greasy like many other places but rich in flavor. With their own secrets and valuable experience in making noodles, the owner of Pho Cao Van has created this typical flavor, making customers when eating will remember it forever.
- Address: 25 Mach Dinh Chi Street, Da Kao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Opening hours: 6:00 am – 9:00 pm (early morning to evening)
- Phone: 028 3822 0509
5. Pho Le Restaurant
Among the long-standing famous Pho restaurants with the Northern Vietnam flavor, Pho Le with the Southern style is particularly popular among Saigon people.
It is also one of the rare Pho restaurants that is rated clean and luxurious compared to the famous Pho restaurants. The Pho Le Restaurant is crowded from morning to evening.
Pho Le has existed since 1970. The first restaurant is located in District 5 (413 Nguyen Trai), an area of noodle, hu tieu, and dumpling shops. Pho Le now has two restaurants in Nguyen Trai and 303 Vo Van Tan.
When coming to Pho Le, diners who love the taste of South Vietnam will feel that they have found the right place to eat Vietnamese Pho because they can order various types of nam-tai-gau beef noodles.
- Address 1: 415 Nguyen Trai Street, Ward 7, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Phone number: 028 3923 4008
- Address 2: 303 Vo Van Tan Street, Ward 5, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Phone number: 028 3834 4486
- Opening hours: 6:00 am – 12:00 am (early morning to midnight)
6. Pho Tau Bay Restaurant
Among the oldest famous Pho restaurants in HCMC is Pho Tau Bay, a renowned brand. For many Saigoneers, it’s not just a noodle shop but a part of Saigon cuisine, associated with many anecdotes and memories.
Many people far from their homeland, returning to Saigon, have stopped at Pho Tau Bay (435 Ly Thai To, District 10). But, eaters must be hungry to eat up a big bowl of this famous noodle shop.
Pho Tau Bay is a North Vietnamese noodle soup. It was present in Saigon in 1954 and quickly became the most favorite Pho Bac in this city. Like many other Vietnamese noodle shops following the North style, Pho Tau Bay initially had no vegetables, bean sprouts, and back sauce.
However, many people remember the rich taste of this restaurant when they have the opportunity to return and enjoy it. They will be surprised when seeing the vegetables and sauce to add to the soup.
Because the Pho Tau Bay restaurant is related to the old memory, it has received both the most compliments and criticisms. In spite of that, it is still a long-standing Pho restaurant. Whenever mentioning Saigon cuisine in the past and now, Pho Tau Bay restaurant is indispensable.
- Address: 435 Ly Thai To Street, Ward 9, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Phone number: 090 730 45 46
- Opening hours: 6:00 am – 11:00 am
The list of famous Pho restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City includes many restaurants in the North Vietnamese style because Pho, a well-known Vietnamese noodle soup, originally came from the North. For that reason, the ancient Pho in Saigon includes a lot of Pho Bac (North Pho).
Nam Dinh was one of the first places to create it, but people refer to Hanoi because when Pho came from Nam Dinh to Hanoi, this noodle soup changed and upgraded to a better level.
Year by year, the taste of Saigon Pho has changed to suit the taste of the diners in South Vietnam. So, Pho in Saigon has become a little sweeter, and the eaters add vegetables and more sauce.
However, the general taste of Vietnamese Pho still lives in each bowl of the noodle soup, even though it is cooked in different styles in various places in Vietnam.
