Pho 88: Orlando’s Vietnamese Cuisine

Location: 730 N. Mills Ave., Orlando, FL 32803, North of Colonial Drive (State Road 50)

5.5/10 dropps

Orlando has an entire district devoted to Vietnamese restaurants, shops, markets and even dental and insurance businesses. Driving through a certain section of East Colonial is like a quick pass through New York’s China Town. It’s like our own “Little Saigon.” But around the corner at 730 N. Mills Ave. is Pho 88, a family-operated Vietnamese restaurant whose website proudly boasts Orlando’s “Best Vietnamese” (as decided by Florida Magazine).

When I first walked into the restaurant I was greeted promptly with smiles as the hostess immediately sat me at a table near the back of the restaurant. Initially, all seemed fine. As I walked to the table, one of the first qualities that stuck out to me was the color white. White tiles. White walls. Mirrors all around to reflect those white tiles and white walls. It didn’t bother me too much at first, but as the evening went on I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start to get a headache.

Since I sat near the back of the restaurant next to the kitchen, I noticed that they had set up a large fan facing the rest of the patrons (I assume they didn’t have A/C). And while I appreciate the desire to keep their customers cool and comfortable, the fan was rather loud and distracting. To top it off, the floor plan of the building is basically a giant open room. There were no separate rooms, mood lighting or any sort of dichotomy to the restaurant, except that one half was the kitchen and the other half was seating area. It felt like a cafeteria, and I couldn’t help but have flashbacks to dreaded high school days.

But enough ranting about the atmosphere of the restaurant; it wasn’t all headaches and repressed memories. The front and side of the building featured a floor-to-ceiling series of windows, which actually offered a pleasant natural light to certain sections (not my section). So parts of the restaurant may have been better than mine, but being stuck in the back next to the kitchen and an obnoxious fan wasn’t my idea of a good night out.

The waiter was a nice enough man. He didn’t seem particularly interested in my table, but he wasn’t neglectful either. I ordered No. 31 off the menu—their basic beef noodle soup called Pho Tai, which I was told was one of their go-to dishes and worth trying on your first visit. And there’s a reason I mentioned that the beef noodle soup was “No. 31.” Pho 88’s menu features nearly 200 different types of dishes, including appetizers, desserts and special drinks. Their menu was large, and my indecisive personality started to burst from within, since the possibilities seemed nearly endless.

With a little help from a friend, I began with an order of eggrolls proceeded by their “popular” dish. The eggrolls were small but brimming with taste. The sauce they provide for you to dip them in was subtle but full of sweet flavor. It’s hard to put my finger on what made them better than other eggrolls I’ve had before, but when it came down to it, I had to admit that those were among the best eggrolls I’ve ever tried.

The main dish, the beef noodle soup, promptly came out, and their portions were quite generous. It was a large bowl about twice the size of my head, filled with rice noodles, beef, onions, chopped green onions, delicious broth and a plate of lime-flavored leaves (I didn’t know exactly what they were), bean sprouts and sliced limes for you to add to the soup as you wished. The bowl was a giant concoction of flavor, and the table provided Sriracha, soy sauce and other ingredients for you to mix as you pleased, which I did in plenty. I was absorbed in my bowl of beef noodle soup, and I quickly realized I was face first in it like a pig at a trough. Conversation between my friend and me instantly died out. For those few moments, I was quite content. The pricing of Pho 88 is worth mentioning, too. Most of their dishes average about $7 to $10, and my meal was under ten. For such flavor and portions, Pho 88 may definitely be worth the visit for anyone in the Greater Orlando area.

But as I paid my bill and left the restaurant, the atmosphere of the place started to wear on me again. I felt like I was 15 years old, leaving the cafeteria and heading off to 5th period. If it was only for the food, I would say you’d be making a grave mistake to miss out on this rare Orlando gem. Sadly, the bright lights, cafeteria-like floor plan and white-washed walls sucked the flavor of the Pho Tai right out of my mouth, which I was so desperately hoping to savor.

–Robert Miller