clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile
A blue and white striped bowl of beef pho with a plate of bean sprouts and a sauce tray beside it and chopsticks in the background.
Minneapolis and St. Paul have an abundance of great pho spots.
Shutterstock

Where to Find a Steaming Bowl of Pho in the Twin Cities

Beefy broth laced with anise, springy rice noodles, and herbs

View as Map
Minneapolis and St. Paul have an abundance of great pho spots.
| Shutterstock

There’s no better medicine for a long, hard winter than a fragrant bowl of pho, layered with rice noodles, meats cooked gently from the heat of the broth, and bright bunches of herbs. Minneapolis and St. Paul have an abundance of excellent Vietnamese restaurants — among those are well-loved spots on University Avenue in Frogtown, on Eat Street, and elsewhere across the Cities serving rich, aromatic pho. (For a look at pho spots across the broader metro area, check out this map.) From broths distilled to beefy ambrosia to vegan varieties, here are 12 restaurants serving flavorful bowls of pho in the Twin Cities.

Note that these restaurants are listed geographically.

Read More
Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Pho Ca Dao

Copy Link

Pho Ca Dao’s pho is packed with flavor, so clear you can almost see to the bottom of the bowl. This spot’s succinct menu features only pho and egg rolls and is cash-only.

Trieu Chau

Copy Link

Located on University Avenue in St. Paul — an area with a number of great pho spots — Trieu Chau’s pho broth is clear and slightly sweet with hints of star anise. Rich and beefy, it’s one of the Twin Cities’ most warming bowls.

iPho-Saigon

Copy Link

iPho by Saigon is famous for its 10-pound jumbo pho. Huge soup bowl or tiny bathtub? Eat to find out. iPho offers every kind of meat combo imaginable, from a seafood medley to brisket and flank steak. This broth runs a little on the sweet side and is laced with anise and cloves.

Ngon Vietnamese Bistro

Copy Link

This St. Paul fusion bistro incorporates local ingredients throughout its menu. Ngon’s classic Vietnamese fare is exceptional, particularly the pho. This broth is made with grass-fed beef knuckle and bone marrow. Add fatty sheets of ribeye for an extra few dollars, or diamonds of oxtail. Ngon also has a vegan pho made with a shiitake mushroom broth — a rare find.

Pho Pasteur

Copy Link

Tiny, golden orbs of fat float on the surface of this broth. Tuck into the pho dac biet, which leaves meat lovers wanting for nothing: It combines steak, both lean and fatty flank, tendon, tripe, and meatballs.

Phở 79

Copy Link

The rich, sweet broth of Pho 79’s signature dish doesn’t skimp on the meat. Order the Special Pho 79, which comes with rare lean beef, well-done flank, fat brisket, soft tendon, tripe, and meatballs.

Pho Mai Dinkytown

Copy Link

Pho Mai’s hearty seafood pho combines shrimp, squid, crab, and fish balls — or keep things simple with the satisfying pho tai, made with tender sheets of lean beef. This light, balanced broth ties it all together.

Vietnam House Restaurant

Copy Link

Vietnam House, just north of Minneapolis in Brooklyn Park, has a vast menu of Vietnamese soups, from hu tieu to bun bo hue, a meaty soup made with vermicelli noodles. But don’t overlook the pho, which is densely flavorful. The menu leans into beef more than seafood, and there are both chicken and vegetable varieties available.

Lotus Restaurant

Copy Link

Lotus Restaurant’s somewhat unconventional “stew pho” has a hearty mix of potatoes and carrots added to the usual meat, rice noodles, and broth. It serves traditional bowls as well — the house pho combines beef, meatballs, seafood, and chicken and clocks in at just $11 for a large.

A white bowl of beef pho next to a white plate of jalapenos, bean sprouts, and basil.
Pho from Lotus Restaurant.
Lotus Restaurant

Quang Restaurant

Copy Link

One of the cornerstone restaurants of Nicollet Avenue’s Eat Street corridor, Quang was founded by matriarch chef Lung Tran 30 years ago Three decades later, the current restaurant is run by her children, and it’s now a go-to for enormous bowls of pho, their broth aromatic and balanced, beef sliced into delicate sheets. Quang’s flavorful pho needs little help from hoisin and hot sauce.

A large pot of broth with a package of spices floating on top of it as it simmers.
Quang on Eat Street.
Rebecca Slater/Eater Twin Cities

My Huong Kitchen

Copy Link

Eat Street is a hot spot for Vietnamese food in a city that’s, well, a hot spot for Vietnamese food. Just across the street from Quang is My Huong Kitchen, a tiny gem of a Vietnamese restaurant. The pho here is ample and lightly sweet — try the pho dac biet, a hearty combination of rare lean beef, well-done flank, and sliced meatball with all the requisite bright herbs.

Pho Tau Bay

Copy Link

The southernmost stop on Eat Street’s remarkable pho trail, Pho Tau Bay’s steaming bowls have a strong, beefy both that’s balanced by bunches of fresh basil. The meat choices also lean heavily into beef, from tripe and tendon to meatballs and lean sliced beef — though the seafood pho is especially hearty, combining shrimp with crab meat and fried fish balls.

Pho Ca Dao

Pho Ca Dao’s pho is packed with flavor, so clear you can almost see to the bottom of the bowl. This spot’s succinct menu features only pho and egg rolls and is cash-only.

Trieu Chau

Located on University Avenue in St. Paul — an area with a number of great pho spots — Trieu Chau’s pho broth is clear and slightly sweet with hints of star anise. Rich and beefy, it’s one of the Twin Cities’ most warming bowls.

iPho-Saigon

iPho by Saigon is famous for its 10-pound jumbo pho. Huge soup bowl or tiny bathtub? Eat to find out. iPho offers every kind of meat combo imaginable, from a seafood medley to brisket and flank steak. This broth runs a little on the sweet side and is laced with anise and cloves.

Ngon Vietnamese Bistro

This St. Paul fusion bistro incorporates local ingredients throughout its menu. Ngon’s classic Vietnamese fare is exceptional, particularly the pho. This broth is made with grass-fed beef knuckle and bone marrow. Add fatty sheets of ribeye for an extra few dollars, or diamonds of oxtail. Ngon also has a vegan pho made with a shiitake mushroom broth — a rare find.

Pho Pasteur

Tiny, golden orbs of fat float on the surface of this broth. Tuck into the pho dac biet, which leaves meat lovers wanting for nothing: It combines steak, both lean and fatty flank, tendon, tripe, and meatballs.

Phở 79

The rich, sweet broth of Pho 79’s signature dish doesn’t skimp on the meat. Order the Special Pho 79, which comes with rare lean beef, well-done flank, fat brisket, soft tendon, tripe, and meatballs.

Pho Mai Dinkytown

Pho Mai’s hearty seafood pho combines shrimp, squid, crab, and fish balls — or keep things simple with the satisfying pho tai, made with tender sheets of lean beef. This light, balanced broth ties it all together.

Vietnam House Restaurant

Vietnam House, just north of Minneapolis in Brooklyn Park, has a vast menu of Vietnamese soups, from hu tieu to bun bo hue, a meaty soup made with vermicelli noodles. But don’t overlook the pho, which is densely flavorful. The menu leans into beef more than seafood, and there are both chicken and vegetable varieties available.

Lotus Restaurant

Lotus Restaurant’s somewhat unconventional “stew pho” has a hearty mix of potatoes and carrots added to the usual meat, rice noodles, and broth. It serves traditional bowls as well — the house pho combines beef, meatballs, seafood, and chicken and clocks in at just $11 for a large.

A white bowl of beef pho next to a white plate of jalapenos, bean sprouts, and basil.
Pho from Lotus Restaurant.
Lotus Restaurant

Quang Restaurant

One of the cornerstone restaurants of Nicollet Avenue’s Eat Street corridor, Quang was founded by matriarch chef Lung Tran 30 years ago Three decades later, the current restaurant is run by her children, and it’s now a go-to for enormous bowls of pho, their broth aromatic and balanced, beef sliced into delicate sheets. Quang’s flavorful pho needs little help from hoisin and hot sauce.

A large pot of broth with a package of spices floating on top of it as it simmers.
Quang on Eat Street.
Rebecca Slater/Eater Twin Cities

My Huong Kitchen

Eat Street is a hot spot for Vietnamese food in a city that’s, well, a hot spot for Vietnamese food. Just across the street from Quang is My Huong Kitchen, a tiny gem of a Vietnamese restaurant. The pho here is ample and lightly sweet — try the pho dac biet, a hearty combination of rare lean beef, well-done flank, and sliced meatball with all the requisite bright herbs.

Pho Tau Bay

The southernmost stop on Eat Street’s remarkable pho trail, Pho Tau Bay’s steaming bowls have a strong, beefy both that’s balanced by bunches of fresh basil. The meat choices also lean heavily into beef, from tripe and tendon to meatballs and lean sliced beef — though the seafood pho is especially hearty, combining shrimp with crab meat and fried fish balls.

Related Maps