The name of this place may sound cheesy but their food is actually really good! Of course theyre known for their pho but the bao buns are pretty amazing too! You get a lot of food for your money, and every time I go the food is a good quality. I can get busy on some random evenings, but its still worth the wait.
First time visit and was pleasantly surprised. The service was good and the food was good also. The place is clean, food good, service good and the prices are okay for being in a city that tends to run a little higher then others. I assume this is because rents in Castro valley are higher. The Bao buns were excellent and the banh mi sandwiches are good also.
Great soups and sandwiches. One time they played a jazz music in the restaurant which I really liked. Recommended for anyone who likes Vietnamese kitchen.
Found myself coming back to this snug and welcoming restaurant multiple times during my recent trip to San Francisco (I stayed in Castro Valley). I tried a variety of dishes such as pho chin (vietnamese rice noodle soup with beef brisket), pork banh mi (vietnamese baguette sandwich with pork) and bun ba chi suon bo grill combo (vermicelli with a fried egg, vegetables and grilled pork belly and beef short ribs). All of these were delicious, with the pho chin being my favourite. I also ordered the peach fruit tea, with lychee jelly added on) and would recommend it for those who like sweet drinks.The grill combo lets you choose between a variety of grilled proteins to add onto your base of salad, vermicelli or rice - ideal for those who are unable to choose just one meat/protein option (or for those that are indecisive like myself)! The staff are also very friendly and provided great service (thank you to Lily who suggested I try the grill combo).Something of note would be the broth used in their pho - it tastes amazing! Better than the broths Ive tried in Sydneys vietnamese restaurants. Would highly recommend trying either pho chin (pho with cooked beef brisket) or pho tai (pho with rare steak). Looking forward to coming back to Pho Play during my future visits to San Francisco!
The pho and banh mi were great. However, the pho was a bit cold and didnt have much soup. Overall, the food was great!
Bought some bao, immediately realized the food was so good that we would need more and bought a bahn mi. Its amazing. This is there best value for food Ive had in a really long time.
Way overpriced. A tiny little Kids Pho with only noodles and a few slices of meat and 0 veggies for $9 is absolutely laughable.
We tried the pork banh mi sandwich and house special spicy lemongrass bun bo hue. Sandwich was huge for $7.50 and it was packed. Tasted great too. Spicy lemongrass was really good too.Good atmosphere. Clean restaurant with fast service. The place was really busy when we went.
I had a random craving for viet food. So i got some spring rolls, pork banh mi, viet coffee, and peach boba. BOY AM I GLAD. One of the better and fresher banh mi ive had across the bay and it is STUFFED.Spring roll - 8/10 pretty standard. Dipping sauce - 8/10 slightly above standard. Viet coffee - 7/10 STRONK i need slightly more cream, too late in the day for this. Peach boba - 7/10 standard, this is a bias grade, i dont actually like peach, they just didnt have mango.BANH MI - 10/10 DEF WILLLLL GET AGAIN!Next time i gotta try the pho.
Place could be decent if they didn’t use those cheap noodles that break up right when you handle them. They are so flimsy. Not the good silky ones you can grasp with your chopsticks and eat normally. It’s a task to get them to your mouth. Really too bad. And they need to calm down with the MSG. So dehydrated after a bowl.
I love the bao buns with the grilled chicken. It’s a must.
Awesome! Ive only had the lemongrass beef bahn-mi, but its delicious. Ill be back to try the rest of the menu. The restaurant is welcoming, modern and tidy, and the staff are great.
Pho is straight trash here 🤣🤣🤣 wrens Cafe down the street is a little better and pho auntie 7 is still the best in Castro Valley. Thats not saying much tho 😕 cv pho is definitely aimed towards Caucasians 🤷♂️ not gonna find great pho in this town. Ive tried them all... And that watered down Sriracha was pitiful.
The beef combo is my very good, portion is perfect and the noodles are perfect. Thia tea compliments the pho
We abosutely loved this place. Kids enjoyed it. Lots of vegetarian & vegan options.
Very good fast casual. Bao buns were great, pho was tasty, lemongrass beef was delicious.
I chose this place based on its rating on Google. Not being from the area I value what people think of locations such as this one from their reviews.I figure I would help future customers by doing the same in return.My wife and I ordered a Vermicelli bowl and Pho, both were delicious. The north for the Pho tasted fantastic. Glad we found this one and decided to come here.Friendly staff, clean dining area and clean washrooms (restrooms for our American friends).
Really good pho and I like the ordering seating process. There was a line to the door and it only took me 5 minutes to place my order and get my assigned seats.Fast Forward 3 years later. This place is incredible! The pho is the best in the town. I like the Pho Play. My wife likes the vegan pho. Today I tried the pork chop with brown rice. The meat was incredibly tender and full of flavor. Since the whole family loves their food and its reasonably priced, we will now make this a regular stop.
Delicious as always! Pho Play is probably the only local restaurant we go to when we eat out here in Castro Valley. Their food is always great 👍
Really Really yummy food, fresh ingredients, clean and modern environment.. Portions are huge but most importantly awesome natural flavors. NO Msg!
I genuinely like this place, thier pho and banh mi are pretty good (pricey) but last time I came here me and my partner ordered chicken pho and it was not good. The meat was extremely rough. When we complained (we both ordered the same dish) the staff did nothing to resolve our issue. I was very disappointed and I havent been back since.
Worst dine in experience. The lady who helped people to order food rolled her eye at us even when we asked for water. Not sure why, but feeling discriminated against from what she treated us as customers. So, DONT GO THERE!!!
My dining companions had a negative reaction to the food. We suspected MSG. Friendly service and very accommodating.
I usually go to Oakland to get my Phò. Today I thought I would try Phò Play in CV, and it was worth the trip. I ordered online, and my order was ready in 15 minutes. I ordered (2) Chicken Phò bowls w/steamed veggies it came in a huge bowl with carrots, mushrooms, bok choy, red & green onions, broccoli, cilantro, sprouts and rice noodles. It was delicious, and the servings were huge! I was pleasantly surprised. I would highly recommend this restaurant. I didnt get a chance to go inside, I had curbside pickup. Hopefully when the COVID restrictions are lifted we can go eat inside soon.
I love how the taste of their soup and the serving as well! We’ve been here 2x already, searching for the best pho places around the area and so far this on top of our list!
Definitely worth it. Food is delicious, wait time was fast. Indoor and outdoor dining available as well.
Definitely some of the best Bun Bo Hue I have had anywhere around the Bay Area! We love driving up here and getting food at least once every week or so. Everyone is always friendly, the service is simply great. I look forward to being able to dine here one day in the future. Thanks for all the delicious food!
(Takeout review only)Whenever we have a pho craving, Pho Play is a great spot to fill it. Its pretty close to where we live and convenient for take out.Ordering on their website is really nice. What I really like the most about their ordering system is that you can customize quite a bit. I like adding in veggies to my pho, and sometimes will opt for fatty brisket.Pick up is pretty quick, and theres plenty of parking in the lot.The pho itself is good, and the broth is flavorful. Definitely follow the directions and heat the broth up to boiling to really warm up all the ingredients.
I had a coworker pick me up a pork sandwich for lunch and this thing was huge compared to most of the Vietnamese sandwich spots i been to. The bread was soft so it doesnt cut the roof of your mouth. The pork was seasoned and cooked well. Reasonably priced too. Definitely a place to try out.
Both times I ordered togo food was hot and prepared upon my pick up. I had the grilled beef rice plate everything was fresh and good. Good size portion. The pho packaged Togo was packed well with a durable Togo bowl. They do charge $3.00 plus tax for broth Togo with the rice place but if you dine it’s free. Kinda pricey my opinion for broth usually Vietnamese restaurants only package broth to go upon request with no charge.pho broth good flavor. All in all good food good portions.
Not bad. Not great.I ordered a pho and a banh mi. The pho was very bland. It missed the depth of flavor you usually would get with most other slow-cooked/long boiled soups. The banh mi was alright but definitely not something to brag about. A convenient spot for food if youre in the area, but if youre okay with driving another 10 minutes or so, there are many other Vietnamese places close by that will leave you more satisfied.The staff was very friendly.
Prices have increased a lot. Pictures of menus from just a couple of years ago show $10 pho and now its $15. Had a beef vermicelli bowl. It was passable, but nothing amazing.
My husband and I enjoyed our soups. Hubby had the chicken & shrimp while I had the chicken & vegetables. Since we are doing low carb no noodles they gave us extra veggies. The restaurant was busy with people waiting in line to order, so I imagine it is a popular place. Now that we know about it we will come back again.
Sorry to be disappointed, when I recieved my matcha this tea order and it was made with jasmine green not specified on the menu. I don’t like the floral taste in a Thai tea. I asked if I could exchange for a regular this tea and I was told I wouldn’t like it because all the tea drinks where made with that jasmine tea in it. I wasn’t given a choice to exchange when they had regular black tea to make the Thai tea.Basically I Was refused service and refunded. I think Mach’s tea should be matcha an d not jasmine tea and the Regular Thai Tea Definitely was not going to serve its purpose of tradition with jasmine tea in it.
A Good bowl of noodle soup but nothing special vs other nearby Pho places Ive been. On the pricey side and only one size for soup, large. $5 for 3 small egg rolls, wasnt worth it. $12 for Seafood Pho was good but not worth the price IMO. Ill come here on occasion but there are better options given the price they charge.
Another great experience and fast service. The prices are amazing. And there so many options. And it doesnt go crazy on normal pho. They stay simple and make it great with quality. always good availability to sit down and enjoy.
Modern upscale interior. Line up and pay first then get seated. Great place for a quick in and out lunch. BBH doesnt come with pork blood and tasted very bland. The pho is only okay. Soup doesnt have much flavor. Meat quality is good though. Love how they have a self serve bar for cilantro, jalapenos, green and red onions. But they left the bean sprouts out....
Wow? Havent been here in awhile. Prices have gone up 60% in just over 2-yrs. Its no longer an inexpensive place to eat. Pho has risen from $10 a bowl to $16. And the serving size has shrunk a bit too. You get less noodles and less proteins.Food is still very good but the broth had a cinnamony aftertaste. Very strange? I always get egg noodles (some places charge extra, PhoPlay doesnt). I took away one star because I just dont believe their costs have gone up 60% in 2-yrs. Someone is making an obscene profit? By the time you add tax and a tip youre at about $20. Sorry, with other asian soups costing $13-$14 per bowl (like a Wor Wonton Soup), this is a bit of a rip off. Le Paradis/Hayward is a much better/bigger bowl of pho and bit less expensive for the same pho. Im going to take my business there, until pricing moderates here. I cant believe I just spend $16 for a bowl of pho w/a protein. Yikes?
First time eating here, it was a diffent set up than what Im used to at other restaurants. First off, prepare to know what you want already (check menu ahead of time, save time). Plan accordingly to choose your item from menus (located on the wall, front of restaurant), order next (you wont be seated until you do) then pay, then be seated at a table that has a number. Food and service was okay. Seating is not comfortable. Since the tables have 2 chairs on one side and a bench like seat on the opposite side. Overall it was a mediocre experience. Which was a bit disappointing since the food is pricey in my opinion, I was hoping for a classier experience.
Food is excellent with enough to take home and have a second time. Great tasking food and variety.
They have Great food and very fancy pho place. The ambience is great, very clean and nice and friendly servers. Their portions are pretty big, so be prepared to eat a lot. Ive been here often and each time I have found the pho broth to be full of flavor. I love the pho and my bf has grilled pork vermicelli, it was very delicious. But, usually this place is really busy and the line is long to order your food. You have to pay for your food first and they will bring it to your table. Its worth a try!
Excellent food. Typical pho place menu: Pho, Vermicelli, and Bahn mi sandwiches. The atmosphere is modern rustic. Always clean. I would highly recommend. Why not 5 stars? Not sure. Its really close. PS: Prices are reasonable for the quality and size. You most likely wont go home hungry.
Good Pho, soup kitchen atmosphere, order at the bar and get an assigned seat. There is ZERO table service after the bowl is dropped off... which is no problem. Asking you to choose between a 15% and 20% tip while ordering at the counter is the problem, thats so GREEDY. Thats the reason for 3 stars. Asking for that kind of tip up front assumes there will be some sort of service... or even a waiter.
The grilled pork banh mi sandwiches were super good, packed full, and were huge, worth the $10.50. Egg rolls were great as well.
Having lived in CV for 8 years now we know that we have nothing to eat in this town but burgers or pizza. Pho play is always clean, friendly staff, great soups and huge portions. Best part is they have a veggie bar to add as much of the vegetables to your soups as you want.
Walked in to order myself some Pho and first time being here and didnt know what I wanted. So I asked for a recommendation and they said Pho Play. So I got that and when I got it it didnt really look appetizing so I kindly asked if I could get it swapped for something else and said said rudely not for free you cant. So spend $13 for something that I just looked at and walked out.
Excellent quick stop Vietnamese food! The pho was super flavorful and the drinks are delicious!
Good Seafood Pho
Reasonable prices. Menu was well prepared and cooked to excellence. Waitress / Host was very friendly and courteous. A great restaurant with traditional and modern menu.
Great new approach to the classic life-giving Vietnamese soup. This took the place of Dickies BBQ in Castro Valley (and this is a much healthier alternative). This is a nice clean space with a cool new system and look, one that offers a new twist to the beloved soup that heals the soul: pho. The food was excellent. I had the meatless chicken noodle soup and some tofu spring rolls with long rectangles of chilled tofu wrapped in what I guess is rice paper, served with a divine peanut sauce. Delicious. Its all in the broth and this way exceeds standards for pho-philes.This is my new go-to when Im over this way. They really should franchise this business model its very clever. And very tasty.
Went to taste the new vietnamese restaurant in Castro valley. The sign outside the place is great. Its easily spotted when you enter the parking lot. The service is very modern. You seat your self after ordering. Its the America version of vietnamese street food.The menu is setup to speed up the service. A few items in each category. After about 3 mins standing in a fairly short line. 4 orders before us. We ordered the lemongrass beef bao, rare beef and meatball pho, and bun bo hue. We also got a peach fruit tea and soda.The bao was by far the best item of the three. Large portion of meat filled the base of the bao topped with pickled carrots and daikon. The beef pho came with red rare beef. The portions of noodle to beef is balanced. The BBH from as far as I could tell is delicious. The pho only comes in one size, large. The peach fruit tea was really the only thing that we didnt like. We would of likes a black or green tea with peach. Not the fruit tea they use.Castro Valley newest vietnamese restuarant is worth a visit.Update: came back and ate the banh mi and egg rolls. Super soft roll for banh mi and possible frozen egg rolls. Banh mi is a 9/10. Egg rolls are a 4/10.
It was good when i first went there but today, their soup taste blah! Its not flavorful. We ordere two soups, both soups are not good at all. I spoke to the staff about it. She said she will talk to the cook. Nothing else was done. Wasted our money!
I have seen 2 older ladies come out the back door and walk over to Safeway and rummage through the fruit and vegetable waste bin and put various pieces in plastic bags then take them back to the restaurant. I could not believe what I saw and Im so glad I do not eat there. Im sure there has to be some health code violations for this and wonder how many people have gotten sick.
Everything about the pho is done very well. The tendon melts like butter and the meatballs are like steaks. Tastes really fresh, and keeps their restaurant very tidy!
I have come here 3 times and EVERY time its been fast service. Also the bathrooms and facility its self is VERY clean. The pho and the dishes are very yummy. I highly recommend it!
Highly recommend. Food is always so fresh & tasty. Not a crazy menu but that means they put quality into the items that they make.
Relaxed atmosphere, clean facilities, quick friendly service, decently priced fare. Food was excellent. Had steak and brisket pho and grilled chicken bahn mi. Various boba tea and soda offered.
This place has indoor and outdoor eating. The food service is the fastest I ever had.
First time here and whoever was working did not want to be there. She snatched the receipt from my sister and was short to my mom. Not impressed by the attitude, which didnt help how I felt about the pho.
I had the pho brisket, and the broth was OK, but the beef was inedible. My husband thought the chicken pho was fine. I wont be eating there again.
Great food and big portions. The Boba drinks are pretty good as well. Highly recommend it.
I am a vietnamese sandwhich fanatic and this one does not dissapoint. Its huge, the meat and veggies full of flavor. The only suggestion is crustier bread. I cant wait to go back and tried the pho.
Favorite family go-to on takeout nights. Love everything weve had - lemon grass beef is amazing.
The food is excellent and well prepared. The Vietnamese Ice coffee is a must!
Pretty solid place... its nice to have a good pho restaurant in Castro valley!
Got the seafood pho and got only one shrimp. Hardly any other seafood.
Delicious Vietnamese dishes of pho: beef, chicken, vegan or their bao buns or banh mi sandwiches whether takeout or there.
Food and service was great, good portions. We will be back!
Excellent food. Very fast service and the prices are good.
Nice place, still believe is the best place for pho soup, and I am caucasian, my taste is probably different than Asian one.
Delicious and quite speedy Pho and chicken spring rolls! Super happy to have a good spot for Pho close to me.
It was cool. Food was good.
I ordered vermicelli to go got back home I found out that they forgot the sauce. Can not eat vermicelli without sauce
Great eats! Was not disappointed at all. Would come by again if I am ever in the area.
Love this place! Vegies for my son that doesnt eat meat and pho for mom and dad .great place and prices.
It was really good! It was a little pricey but the portions were worth it.
Generally I dont like pho, but the vegan pho here was very flavorful. Its my favorite pho place now!
They have a big bowl challenging too.If you are big eating person, go try..Not me...
Good food and fast service. It’s about time a decent Pho place opened in Castro Valley.
Great food and large portion
Tasty food, really fast and efficient service, great prices, whole food / plant based options
Friendly service, delicious pho, what is not to like? A great addition to Castro Valley.
Good selection of food. The pho is good but not great. Pretty expensive.
Great menu wonderful food fast service family friendly best pho in Castro valley
Fast service and good Vietnamese food
Great simple no nonsense Pho, Vermicelli and Bahn Mi place. Best of its kind in Castro Valley
This is nice restuarant with a nice & short menu of food items. Staff is friendly & efficient.
Food is delicious and in big portion. The price is reasonable considering it is Castro Valley.
Delicious, fresh ingredients, great atmosphere. A true gem in Castro Valley!
Great food always good service .you can eat inside and outside now
Favorite place to get pho. Love how all the fixings are already put and that the portions are large.
The girls who worked there were all nice. The food was awesome
Good food. Good tea. Portions are worth the price tag.
Worst experience. Worst pho! Horrible customer service and management! I wouldn’t trust this place!
Good pho, salads, fresh rolls. Pleasant atmosphere.
Try the lemon grass beef. You wont be sorry. All the food is really good. 😎
The gentleman in the glasses that serves at 7pm on fridays deserves a raise
Fast service, clean modern place, huge portions, delicious food
Best place to get pho!!! So good and such a pleasant experience.
Its excellent. I love the pork belly bahn mi.
Great place for Pho! Love their bao buns.
Pork Belly bahn mi is the bomb, packed with tons of scrumptious belly.
Love this spot !
Surprisingly the dishes are taste authentic. Yay!
Food here is always really good and ready in a timely manner
Fresh and clean. Great customer service and food is good.
Family owned, friend service and quick!
Delicious food, quick service, fair prices.
Good food, great choices at affordable prices
Poor service, you have to place order at the counter before seating. menu limited
Delicious vietnamese food, is my new favorite restaurant👍
Got food service, clean place to eat, and good food.
Delicious pork belly sandwich. Good size!
Delicious pho and good Thai iced tea with boba
Delicious broth and the beef has good quality.
The pork chop was delicious but the rice was mediocre.
Good food nice staff
Pretty good. Good size servings
Great pho soup !!! Meh service !!
The pho and bao bun are delicious
Broth was good and place was very clean
Walked by only seems busy all the time.
It was great! Nice atmosphere!
Food is amazing and so are the people
Great experience. More to come...
Best place in the area to get pho
Really tasty vegan options
Great place. nice environment.
Very testy and good price.
Fast and good value
Good vegan options!
Good food and service
Beef pho was good
Yum. Good stuff.
Chicken bahn mi for days
Good! I liked it.
Cant get enough of this place.
Really good food
Great place
Tasty. Now I eat more special list dishes: banh canh and noodles - Pho Play restaurant never disappoints me.
I LOVED this place! Great service, family friendly, clean and of course the Phô was absolutely delicious. The Black Tea Milk and Boba was delicious.I LOVE this place! Good service, good for families, clean and of course the Phô was excellent. The Black Tea Milk and Boba was delicious.
Best PHO evaaaaaaaaaaa 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Total reviews rating 4.3
152 Reviews for Pho Play 2024:
Review №1
2023-09-16 03:45:54SF East Bay. Consistently good typical Vietnamese menu items found here. For this recent visit, we got the egg rolls which was somewhat of a mistake since the rice paper rolls are significantly better. Ordered our favorite bun bo hue which was delicious. We also got a matcha green Thai tea which we get whenever we eat here.
Review №2
2023-06-04 23:07:25Bahn mi sandwiches are huge! Pork belly bao bun was fresh and delicious! Service for 5 people was quick and accurate. We will definitely be back to try other menu items.
Review №3
2023-10-13 03:19:33We had a pho, grilled combo salad and fried spring rolls. Everything was pretty good. Large portions and food came out fast.
Review №4
2023-11-12 23:37:27Only thing to complain about is the lack of a chili oil, and a fly that was just so attracted to me. I really like the cube meat they gave me, I genuinely really liked the cube meat. Its perfectly proportioned and it actually has flavor to it rather than just filler meat. This place is alright, I respect the simple sign they have for the place.
Review №5
2023-11-19 03:23:29Great pho! Nice ingredients that are fresh and tasty. Order before you sit down.
Review №6
2023-07-02 21:44:57Really fresh, tasty and veggies were delicious! Everyone we have interacted with was pleasant, helpful and kind.I usually get vegetarian items, and I think this has got to be now one of my most favorite places. My family will get meat items, and we all agree that everything is really delicious.We highly recommend this place!Its clean, well lit, and theres a table and chairs outside if you dont want to eat inside.
Review №7
2023-05-29 07:49:19We ordered the beef Banh mi and the beef Bao. Loved both of them!Would recommend them if you are craving a good Banh mi.
Review №8
2023-02-06 06:14:49This is a staple for our family. The food always comes quickly and is perfect for any kind of day. We have been recommending this place to all our friends since they first opened.Do not sleep on their teas. Theyre really good!
Review №9
2023-01-30 05:41:44Definitely the worst pho place I had in the whole Bay Area!!! The soup is not hot enough, no flavor, the noodle is not cooked well, the soup base doesn’t taste like made from bone. Price is higher than average, food is way below average! Highly recommend NOT to come to this place!
Review №10
2021-03-13 00:27:14Had a hankering for some Bahn Mi and I have to kick myself for not having tried Pho Play. Ive seen them being the one of the results on Yelp but thought that Castro Valley was just a bit far for a sandwich. I was in the area so I thought I give them a try.The place is in a plaza near a Safeway and other small stores. Plenty of parking and very clean. At the time of ordering, indoor dining was still not available (but its available now as of the writing of this review) but they have outside seating with heaters. I ordered the grilled pork Bahn Mi. I thought it was a bit pricey but was surprised when it came out.The sandwich was big! About 10 inches long, filled out with meat and veggies.. much bigger than regular sandwiches. Now, to be honest, maybe I didnt do it justice because I bought it to bring to work for lunch. But the fact Im reviewing this positive is a huge plus. I work swing shift so I bought it at Noon but didnt eat it til 9pm (yes, I call it lunch time). The bread held up for all those hours.. still soft, not hard nor soaked. I sliced it to check the content and was not disappointed. Lots of meat! The flavor was perfect, the topping was still crisp. Usually, most other Bahn Mi would be disintegrated by now, but not this one. Very satisfying and filling are two words to describe the experience. Burp! If it was good after 9hrs in my bag, imagine having it warm and freshly prepped!Now that Ive tried the Bahn Mi and indoor dining is available again, Im sure to try their Pho.. since its in their name. Im sure theyll surprise me just like their sandwich.