Pho Dena

Frank, the owner, was super accommodating and the staff was very friendly! The aesthetics were so pretty!The Vietnamese egg coffee was the best I've ever had. The chicken wings and shrimp toast were soooo good and the beef pho was amazingly flavorful . I can't wait to go back!

A bowl of hot Pho on a cold day is one of the best thing someone could ask for.This spot is a hole in the wall in a strip mall out in the middle of nowhere. Sorry Pasadena, but this area of Maryland just seems like way out there. That said, I wouldn't mind the drive for more delicious authentic Vietnamese food and excellent customer service!My mom got hit with the Facebook ads and wanted to check it out. So of course, we ordered all sorts of things for our first try.Vietnamese Fried Chicken Wings - delicious! crunchy outside with tender, juicy meat. The flavor was good and the fish sauce wasn't overpowering.Beef Papaya Salad - refreshing! the papaya was the perfect ripeness. sauce was just the right sweet and sour tang with a little bit of spice. And the peanuts were the perfect crunch.Shrimp Toast - this was a hit among the table. This wasn't your typical Chinese carry-out dish. The shrimp mixture is baked atop a baguette type vessel. Shrimp was creamy and the spicy chili sauce complimented it well.Com Tam Suon Bi Cha Trung - broken rice with pork chop, pork skin, egg custard and a sunny side up egg. This dish was a little meh. The pork chop was tough; pork skin's flavor was overwhelming, but we enjoyed the savory egg custard.Now, we ordered the Pho Saigon special. And I was already full from the appetizer so I opted for the child portion of the extra tenderloin in soup.Broth was clean and savory. Usually, I need to add a little more hoisin sauce or sriracha, but the broth was so good, I didn't need to add much more. Meat was tender.**You MUST ask for their special pepper paste (it's yellow/red in color). I am not sure what it is called, but the guy just brought it out for us to try and we fell in love. It was spicy, garlicky and really made our meal.We also ordered the Fresh Mango and Sticky Rice. One of us has a mango allergy, but the kitchen was able to separate the mango items so that she could still try it. The mango was unripe, but the sticky rice was different than how I've seen it in other restaurants. The rice is green (maybe pandan flavor?) and cooked with desiccated coconut pieces for a different texture. The coconut cream sauce was on point.The interior was not what I was expecting. Very sleek inside, almost like a well lit night club. Overall, we had a great experience, even with one of the dishes being just ok. I look forward to seeing this place grow and add more options to the menu.

Pho Dena is the epitome of authentic Vietnamese food and open EVERY DAY from 10:30AM-8:30PM . Whether you're craving a hearty bowl of Vietnamese Pho with fresh noodles, rolls, chicken wings, banh mi, or a tasty salad , they've got you covered! I took off a star because there was no bartender and we couldn't try drinks or desserts. Stop in and taste the magic!

I ate some of the best Pho I've ever had. I stumbled upon it thanks to TikTok (because, really, how else does one find great spots these days?), and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I ordered their Pho Dena (one of the best bowls I've had in a long time), their wings (I still think about them till this day), and a cocktail. The food and service were great. The staff, however, were absolutely wonderful. Super helpful, patiently answering our barrage of questions. Honestly, it was hard to choose because everything sounded so good! Truthfully, if they step up their cocktail game, we're looking at perfection.Felt like they just mixed some things together without knowing how to actually make a decent cocktail.

*Updated* I recently visited Pho Dena and it was such a great experience, I just wanted to update my rating. The service here is truly exceptional every time I come here. The owner & staff are very welcoming, kind, and friendly. The owner genuinely makes an effort to interact with customers, makes thoughtful recommendations and provides truly exceptional service. I think it's a rarity to find restaurants where the owners connect with customers, provide great customer service and have delicious food options as well. Again, I find the food to be exceptional in taste, flavor and quality. I definitely have my favorites, specifically the Shaky Beef, Grilled Beef and the Pho. I will be returning to try some of the other delicious options on the menu. The overall ambiance, vibe and service is definitely worth a visit. Thank you for always providing a great experience!!

Hungry after 24hr fast, and what do I do? Yes, Pho Dena indeed. My first time and it won't be my last.Located at the Lakeshore Plaza, the menu is loaded with photos and descriptions. Options are plenty though I wish claypots were available. My son loved his Pho Dena Special and he and I shared our bahn mi halves. I enjoyed my heaping bowl of Saigon Special. Bowls come out piping hot and loaded. Broth is excellent and I appreciate they do not skimp on the proteins and accouterments... extra onions, cilantro are bonus. The banh mi are on the small side and pickled veggies were sparse; the bo and nem nuong were ample and flavors are fantastic. Service was friendly and attentive! Ambience was bright and the space was very clean. Access is available for all, and caution booth spaces on the far right have a step up.This is one happy Elite to have Pho Dena. I can't wait to come back soon!Cảm ơn bạn rất nhiều, Pho Dena!

2 stars because the venue is well decorated and the furniture is very comfortable.My friend and I were seated right away, the place was fairly empty. The waiter provided us menus, then water. So far, so good. I perused the menu, going directly to the Bun options - I'm not a pho person. Essentially pho is soup I have to doll up to make edible, so I may as well eat that at home. However, Bun is delicious!That said, Pho Dena's Bun options were really limited, only 3 total. I only wanted a version with the grilled pork, but that didn't exist. The Bún Chả Hà Nội was the closest I could find, but it had "pork patties" in the description. I didn't know what that was (sounded like a breakfast meat) so I asked the server, and he said it was good. So I ordered that.I was super surprised when the Bun came out and it was on a plate. I've never seen Bun served on a plate - it's always been in a huge bowl before. I asked the server for a bowl and one was brought out to me shortly. I dumped the contents of the plate into the bowl along with the leafy greens and fish sauce.To start, I did not like the pork patties, so I picked those out after just one bite. And the leafy greens were too big and aggressively flavored to be edible. I picked those out too. The noodles, regular pork, and sauce were good though.We waited around quite a bit after completing our meal since our server disappeared. We asked for the check as soon as we saw him, paid, and got out of there.For the cost of that Bun, I'd prefer to go somewhere it is served properly right away and all the meal is edible, not just parts. Will not return.

Totally upscale pho in Pasadena! This place is brightly lit room with high end flooring and furnishings. The wait staff are professional but not over talkative. They welcome you to the restaurant and quickly bring you refreshing water and a menu to your table. The atmosphere here is laid back with hints of glamour. The cleanliness of this place is one of the cleanest places I have seen. I ordered the crispy summer rolls and the Pho Saigon Special. The crispy summer rolls came out and hot and super crispy. The pork inside was tender and very tasty. 8/10As for the pho, at $22 dollars a bowl it was worth every cent penny. The broth was fragrant and had that little bit of oil sheen that good pho has. The big winner were the meats and noodles. The meats were perfectly prepared and tender, tasting super fresh not that frozen taste you sometimes get a your local pho shop. The noodles were wider than most and swam around in the bowl effortlessly not like most noodles that clump at the bottom of the bowl that require you to pry them apart before you can eat them. 9.9/10The side of spouts and basil was fresh and fragrant.Overall this ranks as one of the best bowls of Pho I have had worldwide. Give them a try you won't be disappointed!!!!!!!

This place has great pho in an upscale dining area. I got the pho and egg coffee. The pho was nice and plentiful with fresh toppings, and hand made noodles. The egg coffee was unique, strong coffee topped with egg custard. The server was very nice and helpful and explained to me about the menu. This place is a bit more expensive than the average pho place, but I can see why, since it is a pretty restaurant to enjoy lunch or dinner.

To be honest I didn't know what to expect when trying this spot, but I utterly enjoyed everything we had ! Starting with the juices: I got the peach tea and she got the Lychee tea which was sweet but not overpowering with sure and fresh! For apps: the shrimp toast was a banger, the wings were tasty, the mango salad was the most surprising because it had a lot going on.The pho we had was made with fresh, which is something Frank (the owner) told us he takes pride in making sure everything is freshly made!!! To end it off we had the mango sticky rice which was too good!The aesthetics were there as well; beautifully decorated!!! Overall I would go back.