Dining and drinking review: Pho Than Brothers

Did you know that there are over 70 dining and drinking establishments within a half-mile radius of The Esplanade? Culinary reviewers Ted Broussard and Kurt Kwon are on a mission to try them all, and then share their experiences with readers of "The Esplanade News."

Review and photos by Ted Broussard

Pho Than Brothers is located at 1712 Pacific Ave

OK Pho Lunch
If truth be told, it took me a long time to learn how to pronounce the word “pho” and even longer to give it a try. I don’t know what took me so long. What’s not to like about a hot steaming bowl of rice noodle soup topped with fresh basil, bean sprouts and jalapeño peppers in a flavorful broth?  While I certainly don’t claim to be a pho expert, we recently had a good but not great lunch at Pho Than Brothers at their UWT location on Pacific Avenue.

As I understand it, pho restaurants have really taken off in the Puget Sound area and perusing through Yelp reviews gives a clear sense of the strong feelings a good bowl of pho can invoke. On our recent visit to Pho Than Brothers, we ordered the spring rolls with peanut hoisin sauce as a starter and a bowl of Pho Ga (rice noodle soup with chicken) and Pho Bo Vien (rice noodle soup with meat ball). We were pleasantly surprised to learn that they bring free dessert first, in the form of a couple of cream puffs, along with a plate of garnish consisting of fresh basil, lime, bean sprouts and jalapenos as soon as you order. 

Our server was very polite with a friendly smile and the food came shortly after ordering.

I was unimpressed with the peanut butter hoisin sauce, which seemed a bit heavy on the hoisin and really light on the peanut butter. There were chopped peanuts on top but that’s about the only peanut taste I got. The lettuce was fresh and crunchy with one large shrimp in each portion, but overall, not a lot of flavor. Our two soups were good but not great. The basil really added a nice subtle flavor to the broth and our noodles were plentiful and tender.  In both soups, the meat did not quite live up to our expectations. The shredded chicken pieces were a bit dry and I found the meatball slices to be on the rubbery side. Bowl sizes come small, medium and large and the small size plus the spring rolls and cream puffs for dessert made for a very filling lunch.

I've heard mixed reviews about the Orange Door Pho restaurant further down Pacific, and quite a few raves about a place called Pho King (no, I didn't make that up) on MLK in the Hilltop. I wouldn't rule out Pho Than Brothers for a very nearby lunch or light dinner but if you're a true pho fan, you may want to try some other places just pho fun. (OK, I did make that one up.)