Pho Sam Restaurant

Reviews

• Tommy C.

  star star star star star_border 4 June 2026

  Clean dining area and kitchen.  Simple seating with a TV usually showing sports.  
  Pho offered in 3 sizes (M,L,XL).  Competitively priced compared to other Pho shops in the area.  
  Ingredients and taste were standard.  Service is standard.  
  They also sell vietnamese sandwiches but there seems to be a limited supply each day.  
  A good place to get a simple bowl of Pho for lunch at a reasonable price.

• Richard K.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 26 May 2026

  Pho Sam is more like Pho Sad.
  
  One thing that irks me is when I go to a restaurant and kids are running around and the parents do nothing. But what made things worse is that Pho Sam is a small restaurant and the kids running around were the children of an employee. It's crazy how the workers did nothing to stop the kids from running around in the restaurant and in the kitchen! Imagine if a kid got poked by a sharp object like a knife in the kitchen or had knocked over a customer's pho?
  
  Instant lawsuit = No soup for you.
  
  Moreover, the tall Asian man server was like a real-life soup nazi. He would slam the water cups down, slam the utensils down, and slam the food down. Normally, I'd be ambivalent with this behavior since bad service Asian restaurants usually make up for this with awesome food. However, the food at Pho Sam did not make up for this slammer mammer jammer.
  
  On Saturday, October 5th at 2:30 PM (hey business owner, go check the camera feed and check out the kids running around - you might even see my angry face) we ordered an eggroll appetizer, a large pho tai, and a grilled pork vermicelli bowl. The food came out all at once.
  
  The egg rolls were freaking mini-sized and looked nothing like the menu photo. In the menu, they show three egg rolls with decent length and girth served with an assortment of vegetables. Sadly, the actual egg rolls were pencil-sized and were served on top of one piece of lettuce. I was disappointed the way many women are after an unpackaging, except Pho Sam doesn't have a friendly personality. LOL.
  
  Then, I took a look at the pho tai which means pho with rare beef. The beef that came out was well-done as if it were made for an orange clown. On top of that, the broth tasted watered down. Maybe it's for the San Ramon demographic, but the pho was disappointing.
  
  The grilled pork vermicelli was meh as well. I'm used to tons of veggies when eating Vietnamese food, not just iceberg lettuce and carrots. On top of that, the pork tasted off.
  
  At the end of the day, I wasted $30 at this over-rated restaurant that has been steadily raising their prices. I came in with low expectations because I do not expect "phonomenol pho" in San Ramon. However, this placed went below even my low expectations.  
  
  De-friending everyone that gave this place 5 stars.

• LyraM45 H.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 17 May 2026

  I love that they actually offer smaller sizes for pho. Price is right too. Food was just OK. I have definitely had much more flavorful pho before, especially the broth. That said.... even if the food was spectacular (and it was just OK-- nothing spectacular), I won't be returning. The server (who I guess after reading other reviews, is actually the owner) was incredibly rude. I ordered a simple soup, added the side of vegetables off the menu, and asked for no noodles. I got a dirty look, a sigh, an eye roll, and he said, "No, that is too complicated. We can't do that." My face must have been hilarious, because I looked at him like, "Seriously? Am I being punked?" This was not a needy request. I'm on an almost no carb diet. I have asked for no noodles in my pho at dozens and dozens of pho places over the years. I've worked in restaurants a long time..... this is not even close to a hard request, and to get that response with the worst attitude was just so off putting. They brought the soup out and I almost left before it even came out because I felt that upset.
  
  I work around the corner and would love to come back here often, but after this experience I'd rather go spend my lunch hour some place else.

• Connie L.

  star star star star star 17 May 2026

  I got this to go and it is a smaller restaurant in a plaza. I only saw maybe 2 people working and they were on it! They're pretty quick and know what they are doing. I appreciated how quick it was even though they were busy and was closing soon with people still coming in. We got:
  
  -Thai tea: comes in a plastic cup like all other Vietnamese places. Pretty sweet but it doesn't taste overwhelming!
  -Spring rolls: it didn't come cut in half for to go orders but I was okay with that. The outside wasn't hard or too sticky, and they didn't skimp out on the shrimp either!
  -Grilled pork bahn mi: wow they loaded this! Lots of meat and other fillers. I saved half because I was already full.
  -my friend ordered one of their pho's. I didn't try it but it smelled delicious. Definitely trying that next :)
  
  I finally tried the pho! I got a combo medium and for me, it was the perfect amount. If I was a little more hungry, I would get the large. My boyfriend got the XL and it was a lot bigger with a lot more noodles and toppings! Overall, the taste of the broth is really clean. I wish it had a little more kick to it but no complaints :)

• Gerard Y.

  star star star star star_border 8 May 2026

  Order a large #18 Combination Noodle Soup - Pho Dac Biet for lunch and wasn't disappointed. Plenty of flank, meatballs, tendon, and tripe along with noodles. It filled me up pretty good for a $10 bowl. I appreciate how the broth wasn't heavy at all and lightly flavored. Food came out quickly.