Pho & Grill en Olney, MD (2023)

My T.

Good food. I love the nem nuong roll and the sauce yummy…

Née M.

Cashier was very rude. Looked like she really did not care about her job and no thank you or hello that’s just basic stuff I think. But the phở was average nothing special

Bradley N.

The 411: this is a friendly establishment that serves grilled meats, banh mi, phở and goi cuon (clear summer rolls). Only having tasted the phở, I contend that this place is slightly overpriced and serves a mild, borderline bland, bowl of phở.
The service is friendly. The owner is good at talking people into a large bowl of phở.
The food they serve is pretty. My bowl of phở was very aesthetically pleasing. The broth looked clear and light.
The noodles were a bit rubbery in texture the 2 times I visited. They didn’t have that freshness that I look for in banh phở.
The meat was decent, but it wasn’t necessarily generous in how much they give you.
The broth was pretty, but to be honest, it was bland. I would’ve appreciated a bit more flavor from beef and spices.
The bean sprouts, lime, basil and chillies were served clean and dry. This is good, because wet veggies dilute phở, and nothing peeves me more than wet veggies.
Bottom line: this place charges $ 9.70 for a bland bowl of phở. However, service has been good to me, and it seems that they care about the vegetables they give you. If you’re in olney and don’t feel like traveling for the good stuff, go here. It’ll give you a fix, but it’s definitely not the best.

Linda L.

I have been here a couple of times. The first time I was here, I had the Taro bubble tea and the meatball phở. The second time I had the meatball phở and the third time, I tried the lemon grass pork with spring roll. Food is decent. I had to trade in my Taro for the Thai bubble tea because the Taro just tasted watered down. I am giving this place three stars because they have great customer service.

Justin P.

Came here a few times. Price is very fair, staff is friendly! You get more than what you pay for, especially for a bowl of phở. Other than that, store is clean, parking is available!

Natasha S.

The first time I came here, it wasn’t bad.
Although, the last time I came. My food wasn’t as good.
The shrimp summer rolls were NOT fresh. The lettuce was brown and super wilted. It tasted awful. You could taste the bad lettuce.
And the special — seafood noodle soup looked great. But tasted mediocre. I was really disappointed. I took a few bites and couldn’t force myself to eat anymore. Something about the soup — it just wasn’t tasty. In fact, my soup tasted like chemicals. It was really bizarre. There were shrimp, shrimp balls and sliced fish cake. The fish cake wasn’t bad, but the shrimp ball tasted undercooked and the shrimp wasn’t fresh.
I just left with my barely touched soup. And felt queasy for the rest of the day.
I don’t think it’s worth giving them another chance.

Brad O.

The owners have two stores. One in Olney the other near Lakeforest Mall
Both have been great

Hadley R.

Great food, great service, great atmosphere! Our family loves having dinner here. It’s fast and affordable too. It’s an unassuming location within a shopping center. Give it a try!

Jeremiah R.

A gem of a spot in Olney. Really good (and authentic) Vietnamese food. The staff is fast, attentive and just really nice. You order up front and then have a seat with your number. It’s a must try!

Fatima Z.

This place is awesome. My favorite phở place in the silver spring area so far. Def would recommend this place. The décor is cozy and warm, staff is extremely friendly, portion sizes are huge and it tastes great. Highly recommend the chicken phở

Jason L.

This place was very clean. But the first thing I thought was: where are all my Asian people? And why is Tom petty playing in the background? This place was recommended by one of my brothers so my other brothers and parents came to eat. They have a simple menu of phở with different meats, a seafood soup, appetizers, and meats off the grill served with either rice or vermicelli noodles.
I had ordered the phở with round eye. The broth was not bad; however, I was not fond of the meat. It tasted overcooked or somehow very dry. The summer rolls were very good especially the pork summer roll. My father was in the mood for grilled meat so he ordered the grilled pork with vermicelli. We were expecting slices of pork which had been grilled. Instead, he had ground pork which was flattened into rectangular pieces and then grilled. Essentially he had a grilled pork burger. It tasted okay but was still disappointing from what was expected.
He then ordered some flan which was actually very good and to his liking. And he is very particular about his flan. I think it was a lighter tasting flan that jiggles and melts in your mouth.
Anyways, if you are hungry for phở and you happen to be in the area, it’s not bad. But i would not drive out of my way to come here.

AJ S.

I stopped in here with a friend for my first official meal in Maryland after moving back from the West Coast and settling in. I liked the interior of the place because it looked modern and well-​kept.
You can choose wherever you’d like to sit, but you have to order at the counter first. The employees were very friendly, and they brought the food out quick.
I ordered the #5, which came with: brisket, flank, fatty flank, tendon, and tripe.
I’m used to the brisket being rare/​medium-​rare when it arrives, and then having it eventually cooked while sitting in the broth. It looked like it was already cooked when it got to me, but I think it was fine since the flavor was still there and the meat was a bit tender. The tendon was clear and soft, unlike some other phở places I’ve been to. The tripe was exactly how I like it in my phở: nice and crunchy! The broth wasn’t too salty, and the green onions were plentiful. The noodles were a bit too soft for my taste (in phở, I like my noodles to be more on the al dente side), but it was still pretty good!
I also ordered a chicken and shrimp skewer from their grilled menu. Both skewers are a good appetizer to start with, and they’re cooked to perfection. They both had a subtle sweetness to it, which complimented the char it got from the grill.
I had an enjoyable experience here for my «welcome» meal back to the east coast. For friendly service and decently priced bowls of soup, I would recommend this place.

Jennifer W.

Well to start off, entering the restaurant I was warmly greeted by the staff.
The interior of the restaurant is bright, spacious, clean and decorative. It is self seating, you order and pay at the front. They have both tables and booths for seating.
The staff is exceptionally friendly and can actually hold a conversation with you. They make you feel at home when dining in.
The food is by far the best. They have, of course, the soup as well as sandwiches, salads and grilled options on the menu. Giving a variety of choices to choose from.
I ordered the chicken soup with mixed meat (both white and dark meat). The white meat chicken is fairly dry, while the dark meat is more moist. From the grilled menu I ordered the shrimp skewers. Even though it sounds super original, the shrimp had a sort of sweet taste, kind of indescribable. In other words it was by far the best shrimp I have ever tasted. For an appetizer I ordered pork spring rolls, which were amazing! Their bubble tea is also delicious. I ordered the mango bubble tea and replaced the tapioca with jelly. Personally I think it tastes a lot better with the jelly, but it all depends on your taste buds.
All in all I love this restaurant. It is my favorite phở to go to. If your craving Phở I highly recommend THIS Phở and Grill, you will not regret it. I go so often the staff actually know who I am… whoops.

Tyson W.

if you love phở then you can’t go wrong with this place. I definitely recommend the spring rolls to go as a side the dipping sauce if delitous and a great app whale your waiting for your soup. In a nut shell the do great food. So get some! !

Michael B.

Great welcome. I’m a Leisure Worlder, so the Olney place was convenient. Disabled, I use a wheeled assistive device named Hugo. Seated at a table, I ordered without having to wait, a small accommodation I appreciated. When I couldn’t finish my veggie phở, I was given a sturdy container to take the soup home. Better fresh from the kitchen, my phở after 75 seconds in my microwave was still tasty. I left a generous tip to reward thoughtful accommodations for my disability-​my host held the doors on my way out. I’ll be returning soon.

John L.

You are greeted with friendliness and welcomed. Many varieties of phở available. Always served promptly and everything is hot ready to enjoy.
This is one of our standby to go places.

Paola G.

I noticed that Olney residents are very much into blahh food. How could this place hold more than a star?!
Worst Phở I have ever had in my life. I can say I am somewhat a Phở connoisseur, I have tried plenty of them and long before it became a «trend».
This places is not authentic, it doesnt mean it has to be dingy to be good, but the food is just not the same. The soup is not good, the rolls are not good either, and their service sucks.
I dont like that I have to order at the front.

Gloria Z.

Have only gotten take out. But they do satisfy my phở craving pretty consistently!
They serve banh mi sandwiches now. Get one! Or five!

Jit K.

Good soup, quick and easy service, and always a nice atmosphere.
This is definitely fall and winter fare, menu choices are extremely fresh.

Roberto N.

Good food, at least above average for a Phở restaurant.
First time? You go to the back counter in the right corner, and order there, then sit and wait. Food comes to you. Good food, nice portions, but curiously, the soft drinks are a per-​glass policy– you get a full charge for a refill. Not even a discount. That turned me off enough to think about going elsewhere next time. Until I remembered that a lot of Phở restaurants serve you out of cans, so basically, it’s similar.
Anyway. One thing I did like, was the ability to add small side dishes for not much money, sort of to supplement the main dish I got.