Emily agreed to have pho with me and write a guest review. I chose the location and met Emily there. As soon as I walked in, I wondered if she might be wanting to kill me for choosing this place, but we went with it… Emily and I agreed to give Pho Quan a 2.5 out of 5 star rating, you’ll see why below…..
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Oh hi, it’s Emily, your friendly guest poster who was lucky enough to enjoy some pho with Nicky at Pho Quan this week.
I’ll start by saying that Pho Quan is hands down the sketchiest place that I have eaten a meal. In any country. I don’t think my standards are really that high, but I did feel a little bit like I might be murdered and no one would find out, so be ready for that.
I’m also not quite sure they have an actual street address, but you’ll find them by keeping a sharp eye out for a hand drawn sign on the door of a tiny storefront with all the shades drawn.
Once you find it (I circled the block twice), you’ll enter by squeezing past cases of soda stacked to the ceiling and seat yourself at one of the eight or so tables in a small room decorated with outdated Asian pinup calendars and an instructional first aid poster that looked like it had been there for about 25 years.
The night we visited, Pho Quan was staffed by one lady who cooking, waiting tables, and ringing up orders. The menu, which is handwritten on taped-together pieces of cardboard hung on the wall, consists of varieties of pho (beef, shrimp, vegetable, or mock duck) in three sizes (regular, large, and a third size that was something like “ultra” or “jumbo”) as well as spring rolls and a few other items.
Nicky and I both decided to go with beef pho. Nicky ordered a regular, and I ordered a large, which turned out to be just shockingly large. It filled me up that night, and the leftovers made two lunches. I have no idea how big the Super Ultra Jumbo Pho is, but I’m scared of it.
Anyway, on to the taste. We both agreed that it had a nice, flavorful broth and the beef was tasty, but that there was something a little different about it than any pho we’d had before. Not necessarily bad or good, but it was just . . . different, making it hard to rate.
However, at $11 for both of our meals, I’d say this place is worth a visit if you’re not afraid of a little sketchiness.
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The Pho
The Menu
Contact:
E 18th and Nicollet Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55467
I can’t find the number but I also don’t think I’d attempt calling….