The Buford Highway location of the I Luv Pho mini-chain is located in the same shopping center as Master Bakery, across the street from the highly visible Sweet Hut. It’s a fairly large, two-story vietnamese joint that opened in October ’13. Adam and I checked it out during the soft opening but at the time only pho and other soups (like the spicy beef stew on the right) were available, and the place was so new that it didn’t seem like we could write a complete review of such an early and limited experience. It took until this week to try again, but try again we did, with Mary in tow.
The foyer is large and decorated with a lot of statues and flowers. There seems to be a bar area off to the left, but the area is always dark and there are never any customers over there. To the right is a staircase up to what I presume is private dining and event space. The tables and chairs are very standard fare, with cafe chairs. (A second-hand purchase, perhaps?) The blinds are done in a unique and decorative manner that looks interesting in-person, but in background of the photos we tok, it just reminds me of this. We were quickly sat at a table and began to look over the now-complete menu.
Sometime after getting a lovely glass of water with an orange slice in it, we settled on eating family-style. We ordered grilled pork spring rolls ($3.45), a barbecued pork banh mi ($3.45), a small beef filet pho ($6.95), a small beef filet and meatball pho ($6.95), and bun bi thit nuong chat gio – vermicelli noodles with twp types of pork and egg rolls on top ($8.95) to share. We were hungry!
While we waited, we ogled the extra-large pho bowl left beside us. The pic is on the left, with regular size bowl (what we ate out of), napkin, and hand for scale… it is seriously large. On the right, you’ll see the greens that were brought out for the pho. They were brought out with zero explanation, which is something I wouldn’t normally give a second thought. However, Mary pointed out that someone not experienced with vietnamese restaurants might have been very confused about getting a plate full of raw veggies – are you supposed to eat them? Fair point!
Our banh mi hit the table before our appetizers and the rest of our meal came out whenever the kitchen was darn well ready to send it out. No effort was made to synchronize our order at all.
Banh mi.
The banh mi was good, but average. Lee’s Bakery’s banh mi is better, as is Quoc Huong’s.
Pork spring rolls with peanut sauce.
The pork spring rolls came out next with peanut sauce. This menu item did not have an english description, so this would have been a bad surprise if any of us had a nut allergy. The were good but not special. In fact, they were a little pricey for what they were (I’m thinking of the much nicer, $2.95 spring rolls from Chateau Saigon or the very tasty $3.95 rolls from Co’m Grill.
Next our were our two small bowls of pho – beef filet and beef filet with meatballs. The soups were basically identical, which was fine. The meatballs seemed to be made of compressed pork. We used sriracha sauce to make one bowl spicy and hoisin sauce to make another sweet. It was a pleasant pair. I liked the pho fine enough, though I am not a huge pho fan.
Left is the beef filet pho, and on the right is the beef filet and meatball pho. Both are in size small.
Right when we were getting decently into our pho, the vermicelli bowl finally arrived. It was disappointing. The flavors were bland, and I would rather than had egg roll, prok, and shrimp than two types of pork and eggroll. The temperature was off, and we didn’t get that nice hot-and-cold combo that i love so much about this dish. Plus it was pricey compared to Pho Dai Loi, where the bun thit nuong is amazing, and comparable in price to Chateau Saigon and Nam Phuong, both of which are considerably nicer restaurants and serve their version of the dish with shrimp. Oh well.
Bun bi thit nuong chat gio.
This was one of Mary’s first experiences with vietnamese cuisine. Here are her thoughts: “I don’t have an abundance of experience with vietnamese food, and I think because of that I was able to enjoy the meal more than someone with a more refined palate. That being said nothing I ate particularly “wowed” me; everything was tasty, but the pho just tasted like a normal broth, and I’ve had better bahn mi sandwiches. I think the deluxe vermicelli was my favorite, though based on what I was told, it wasn’t quite properly served. I’d give it I Luv Pho a solid 3 stars.”
Mary is right; I wasn’t able to enjoy it as much. Adam and I weren’t particularly impressed when we visited I Luv Pho last year, and we were possibly even less impressed this go ’round. The prices don’t match the product and the kitchen’s inability to time the meal didn’t help. Just a little subpar all the way around. 2.5 stars.
I Luv Pho
5145 Buford Highway NE
Doraville, GA 30340
emily
Nerd. Foodie. Gamer. Homecook. Perpetual planner. Gardener. Aspiring homesteader. Direct response graphic designer. I use too many damn commas.
The sauce for the summer rolls is usually a hoisin/peanut sauce, however there are those of us out there who like them much better with a dip in nuoc cham (all Vietnamese restaurants have on hand) and a squirt of Sriracha or some chili garlic sauce. The very special texture of asian meatballs is made by beating the hell out of it. It gives that special bouncy/chewy texture.
One of the things that we like to do when ordering pho is to ask for the raw beef on the side. You can dress it with a bit of lime juice, a bit of fish sauce, Sriracha , scallion slices and cilantro. It’s delicious either by itself (yes, raw) or when dunked in the soup to cook a bit.
Also, about timing of Asian food in general, it’s not meant to all come out at once. Many dishes are served as they get ready because they need to be eaten immediately upon serving. One example of that banh xeo being one of the best foods ever when it comes out crispy and hot and just not very good if it sits more than a few minutes. One of the ways you can tell if the place is catering to Americans is if all food comes out at once.
Great info and advice, Helen! Thank you.
Ordering the raw beef on the side is so smart, because it cooks so quickly. I might enjoy pho more if I try this!
What you said about timing makes so much sense, too. Perhaps it would help manage peoples’ expectations to have a Small Plates or Shared Plates section on the menu, rather than Appetizers, since appetizers signals a certain timing that isn’t recommended or followed.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I look forward to sharing a meal with you someday!