Living on the south end of the 650 area code, the challenge we face is finding a good bowl of pho nearby without a dry-throat-inducing, finger-swelling, cold-sweat-causing quantity of MSG. House of Pho strikes a good balance.
The pho was delicious and hot. I had the rare beef, tendon and flank steak and came away full. The broth was flavorful, but this could in part have been due to MSG. There were signs used at least a minimal amount of the stuff. Jenny and I were both thirsty after coming home and I wasn't able to yank my wedding ring off (not that I make a habit of this--honest--it's just that the ring test is as sensitive to MSG as a mass spectrometer).
Overall, the food was good and the quantity was generous, especially given the tab, a mere $30 with tax. What will bring us back, though, is the ambiance and friendly service. We asked for an extra soup bowl for the kids, they gave us two. They refilled our glasses with water multiple times. The ambiance was about the best of all the pho restaurants in our area. It's the clean, well lighted place of pho restaurants. I appreciated that tables were cleared by our server picking up the dishes and bringing them back to the kitchen rather than using a cart with a built-in garbage can (talk about an appetite-killer) so prevalent at pho restaurants.
Best of all, the boys were full. In fact, Dylan ate more at dinner (he had the barbecued pork) than he ever has in recent memory. Tyler polished off his share of the barbecued chicken shown above. My, how they've grown.
House of Pho
1066 E El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 260-8410
