These restaurants are phở-nomenal

4 top pho spots in San Jose, CA

Bowl of spicy pho with the fixings beside it.

Who doesn’t enjoy a hearty bowl of pho from Pho Kim Long? | Photo via @borkeley.eats

We’re not sure if it’s the piping hot, flavorful broth, the lightning speed service, or the satisfaction of soup after a long day and night, but there’s something about phở that just hits different.

But, we do know that our great 408 boasts a large Vietnamese food scene with plenty of phở spots — so here are four of San Jose’s best.

A community mainstay

Pho Kim Long | 📍 2082 N. Capitol Ave.

Just on the border of Milpitas is one of the oldest phở restaurants in the area — established nearly 35 years ago. Its broth has a clean and rich flavor, and the menu offers plenty of options for gluten-free and low-fat diets. As a popular spot, be prepared for a line out the door on weekend nights.

Most variety

Pho Ha Noi | 📍 969 Story Rd., Ste. 6048
Tucked in the back of Grand Century Plaza is this gem, which snagged Metro Silicon Valley’s Readers’ Choice Award last December. Along with its rich broth cooked in 500 lbs of shank bones, it offers Vietnamese specialties like sticky rice, fried chicken wings, duck salad, various spring rolls, and more.

Someone holds a beef bone in front of their bowl of pho. — Would you like a beef rib with your pho?

Best meats

Pho Papa | 📍 1611 E. Capitol Expy.
This spot serves generous portions of tender meat, and for only $5 extra, you can get a side beef bone that’s fall-off-the-bone good. Pro tip: Don’t miss out on ordering fresh noodles, which are thicker than you’re average phở noodles.

Budget friendly

Pho Y #1 | 📍 1660 E. Capitol Expy.

Established in 1997 by two brothers who immigrated from Vietnam, this no-frills restaurant offers heaping bowls of noodles starting at $12. Note that this spot mainly specializes in phở, so there’s limited side dishes to choose from. Pro tip: It’s cash only.

Do you have another phở gem to share? Let us know.

Click here to have your event featured.

Monday, Dec. 12

Fantasy of Lights Drive-Thru | Monday, Dec. 12 | 6-10 p.m. | Vasona Lake County Park, 333 Blossom Hill Rd., San Jose | $20+ | See more than 50 light displays and a 90-ft twinkling tree.
Karaoke Nights | Monday, Dec. 12 | 9 p.m. | O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub, 25 N. San Pedro St., San Jose | Free | Sing your favorite tunes with friends at this weekly karaoke night.

Tuesday, Dec. 13

Dr. Funk’s One Year Anniversary | Tuesday, Dec. 13 | 4 p.m.-12 a.m. | Dr. Funk, 29 N. San Pedro St., San Jose | Free | Celebrate with 50% off select tiki cocktails.
Spirit of The Row | Tuesday, Dec. 13 | 6-7 p.m. | Santana Row, 377 Santana Row, San Jose | Free | Enjoy guest performances by local community groups and schools, including excerpts from “The Nutcracker.”
San Jose Sharks vs. Arizona Coyotes | Tuesday, Dec. 13 | 7:30 p.m. | SAP Center, 525 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose | $21+ | Take to the Tank.

Wednesday, Dec. 14

Open Mic at the San Jose Improv | Wednesday, Dec. 14 | 8 p.m. | San Jose Improv, 62 S. Second St., San Jose | Free | Take to the stage + do your thing.
Living Succulent Grapevine Wreath | Wednesday, Dec. 14 | Tessora’s Barra di Vino, 234 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell | $75 | Enjoy some wine, food, and create something beautiful this season.
Siren: 35 Year Anniversary Celebration | Wednesday, Dec. 14 | Montgomery Theatre, 271 S. Market St., San Jose | $75+ | Catch a live performance excerpt of “Prieto” by Yosimar Reyes — a nationally-acclaimed poet and public speaker who was raised on the East Side of San Jose.

We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

PLAN YOUR WEEK

Weather

52º | Mostly sunny | 8% chance of rain

Development

A housing complex that calls for demolishing Maplewood Plaza is scaling back on original plans, and is currently proposing 260 apartments and 2,400 sqft of ground-floor retail. The residences will be made affordable, but a construction timeline has not yet been announced. 🏘️ (The Mercury News)
San Jose Municipal Water is proposing to build a new office and storage building on a 3.4-acre site in East San Jose on Tuers Road. The public review period is open through Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. 💧

Ranked

The San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara metropolitan area was recently ranked the No. 1 place in the US where immigrants thrive the most economically. Factors that contributed to ranking include average household incomes, innovation, and topics such as “foodie culture.” 💪 (Silicon Valley Business Journal)

Featured

San Jose-raised singer and songwriter Bean Tupou was recently featured in KQED’s “20 Best Bay Area Albums of 2022.” Bean’s “Try the Pie” album was praised for its versatility, and mixing raw instrumentals with heartfelt lyrics. 🎤 (KQED)

Community

San Jose Parks & Rec is inviting community members to the ribbon cutting of the newly restored Backesto Park Fountain on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 11 a.m. As the oldest Solon & Schemmel structure in existence, the fountain will also be celebrated for its 100-year anniversary. ⛲

Arts

Get inspired this holiday season at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which includes seven floors of gallery space packed with paintings, sculptures, photography, architecture, design + media arts. Bonus: Discover local artists at the 2022 SECA Art Award Exhibition, opening Saturday, Dec. 17. 🖼️ *

Sports

Now’s the time to buy the sports lover in your life a holiday present, because Fanatics is offering sitewide sales. Easily find licensed sportswear and collectibles like jerseys, hoodies, and outerwear for the world’s most popular sports teams and win the holidays.*

Content marked with an * is brought to you by our advertising partners and helps make this newsletter free.

We’re squeaky clean 🧼

San Jose ranks No. 6 cleanest city in the US

For the study, InsureMyTrip examined data on the percentage of electric vehicles sold within California. | Photo via Unsplash

Here’s some fresh news. San Jose was ranked the No. 6 cleanest city in the US by InsureMyTrip.

The travel insurance comparison site looked at government and consumer data sets, comparing data on hand sanitizer demand, restaurant cleanliness, recycling collector quantity, garbage disposal satisfaction, electric vehicle market share, and particulate matter pollution to reach its findings.

InsureMyTrip then standardized the data and gave each city a score between 0 and 10, with 0 being the worst and 10 being the best — except for particulate matter pollution, where 10 represents the least polluted. Here’s how San Jose scored:

Hand sanitizer demand: 3.5
Restaurant cleanliness: 6
Recycling collector quantity: 3.64
Garbage disposal satisfaction: 4.49
Electric vehicle market share: 10
Particulate matter pollution: 6.84

San Jose’s overall score was 5.75. San Diego (No. 2), Tampa (No. 4), and Raleigh (No. 15) were also featured on the list.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Alyson.

Editor’s pick: While writing this phở roundup, I couldn’t help but grab lunch at Pho Kim Long right around the corner from my house — and it definitely didn’t disappoint, even as a takeout meal. For pure entertainment reasons, what is the funniest phở restaurant name you’ve come across?

Missed the last newsletter? Get your game on in SJ.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Alyson Chuyang, Britt Thorson, Emily Shea | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Julie Brown | Advertise with us.

Content marked with an * was created in partnership with 6AM City’s advertising partners. Paid content helps keep this newsletter free. 6AM City may also receive a commission on purchases made through affiliate links in this newsletter.

ADVERTISE | SHOP | CAREERS | ETHICS

Did a friend forward this free newsletter to you?

Content marked with an * is paid advertising. Content marked with an ^ is created by our content studio. The company may also generate commission from affiliate links in the newsletter.

Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.

P.O. Box 2505, Greenville, SC 29602

ADVERTISE | CAREERS | ETHICS | PRIVACY | THE BUY