Since opening in 2018, the team at Pho Phong Luu has used scratch-made family recipes to create authentic Vietnamese pho for hungry Austinites. The restaurant is owned by Luu, Vinh and Khanh Vu, along with Long Nguyen and Brenda Luu—all of whom have a passion for combining culture and cuisine to facilitate an edible journey to Vietnam for their guests.

What’s special about it?

The national dish of Vietnam, pho, pronounced “fuh,” is a soup consisting of bone and meat broth, rice noodles and thinly sliced meat. At Pho Phong Luu, creating the perfect pho is their main focus.

“The most important element about pho is the broth," Luu said. “Our broth is always made with passion, love and care, simmered for hours with dried and fresh spices, and a touch of some secret family ingredients.”

What’s on the menu?


Pho Phong Luu offers a variety of beef cuts, as well as chicken, shrimp and tofu, all served in either beef or vegetable broth topped with bean sprouts, fresh basil, lime and chiles. There is also an option to kick it up a notch with the addition of steamed or sliced onions, vinegar, fatty oil and cilantro.

In addition to pho, Pho Phong Luu has a range of fried rice dishes made with chicken, barbecue pork, shrimp and/or tofu, as well as Vietnamese sandwiches called banh mi. Luu said the most popular banh mi is the Special Vietnamese Sandwich made with Vietnamese pork ham, pig’s head paste, pate, butter, carrots, cucumber and cilantro.

“Pho is a dish that can be enjoyed at all times of the day, and it is the [best] soup to eat,” Luu said. “At Pho Phong Luu, we created a place where our guests will feel like they are on a trip to Vietnam with the first bite.”