Miss Pho

Miss Pho is a seemingly ordinary strip mall Vietnamese restaurant in Greenwood that serves soup, vermicelli bowls, and fried stuff. But nothing about their food is ordinary at all. The can’t-miss menu makes this place a North Seattle destination—whether you live around the corner, or across the county.

Phở hà nội overflows with broth, topped with a raw yolk that works just as well dissolved into the soup as it does strategically dolloped onto each bite of rice noodle and beef shank. Grilled chicken can be as special as a tin can that gets repeatedly run over by cars, but Miss Pho’s tastes like lemongrass-rubbed brilliance. Even completely vegetarian orders are as satisfying—salt and pepper tofu has the outer crunch and inner moistness of a McNugget, crackly taro rolls are nearly indistinguishable from their pork counterparts, and mushroom-steeped phở takes on oxtail flavors sans oxtail.

photo credit: Nate Watters

photo credit: Nate Watters

photo credit: Nate Watters

photo credit: Nate Watters

photo credit: Nate Watters

We also love Miss Pho for how the staff takes care of you, beyond just serving steamy soup that makes us stoked for our next bout of the sniffles. Have a crumpled straw wrapper from a Vietnamese iced coffee? They’ll stretch out a hand to retrieve it without skipping a beat. Leftovers? Sure, they’ll bring over a box, but they’ll also pack it all up at the table. We bet that they’d even let us go for a spin on the moped in the middle of the dining room if we asked very nicely. But we wouldn’t get very far—it’s already parked at our preferred Point B.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Nate Watters

Crispy Taro Rolls

Always kick off a meal here with three of these taro rolls, full of peppery pork or vegetables. You shouldn’t even need to rely on the side of sweet chili.

photo credit: Nate Watters

Salt & Pepper Tofu

These breadcrumbed little cubes hold in some of the tastiest tofu that exist in this whole town. There’s a heavy hand of nutty ground pepper, jalapeño heat, and a crisp crust. Not ordering a plate for the table is a mistake.

photo credit: Nate Watters

Garlic Butter Chicken Wings

Despite having “garlic butter” in the name, the wings aren’t too garlicky or buttery—and we love them that way. The crunchy dredge is thick, but sticks to the skin nicely, and the meat is pretty damn juicy. A standup wing.

photo credit: Nate Watters

Char-Grilled Chicken Rice Platter

Grilled chicken, is that you? These char-marked thighs shatter expectations, with a punch of lemongrass and moistness throughout. Order it in rice platter form, topped with pickled daikon, carrot shreds, and splashes of fish sauce.

photo credit: Nate Watters

Phở Hà Nội

Rice noodles, long strips of green onion, and a comforting, cinnamony broth make this a bowl of phở. Toasty fried garlic, a custardy egg yolk, and sauteed beef shank make this a truly excellent bowl of phở. It’s our favorite soup of the lot.

photo credit: Nate Watters

Phở Sa Tế

Consider this your platonic ideal of spicy soup, complete with paper-thin beef, snipped herbs, and peanuts in a creamy chili oil-slicked broth that clings to each rice noodle.

Tofu & Vegetable Phở

Miss Pho’s vegetarian broth is infused with so much mushroom depth and potent phở spice that it’s as rich as its beefy nemesis.