Chicken Pho You

If you avoid restaurants because of punny names, please raise your hand. I admit, I was like this too, until I was drawn in by the amazing smell of chicken soup from Chicken Pho You's San Mateo branch. Sadly, they are no longer open in SM, so imagine my delight when I found another branch in Millbrae! I love noodle soups and this place serves my second favorite bowl. Cilantro, green onions, boneless chicken, a fat serving of noodles, and piping hot soup. So simple and so good! The chicken soup here seems a bit different from other chicken pho I've had; the flavor seems more clean. It reminds me of childhood and a little bit of the soup you get from Hainan chicken rice sets. Get a small if you're trying out this place, because there's a deceptively high amount of noodles. I say this as someone who gets hangry easily and loves noodles. It's a GENEROUS portion. 😆 Stepping in here brings me back in time as a restaurant kid. The chatter, the clients, the service, and food.

I'd put this as a 2.5 stars, but rounded up to 3 because tbh I hate giving low scores to restaurants (especially non-chains)... but damn. I got their chicken noodle soup (pho ga) and almost all the chicken was either over cooked or had fat on it. I ended up not eating most of the chicken because it was so chewy for one reason or another... bummer. As for extras you can add to your pho there's the usual lemon and jalapeno slices, as well as various sauces, but oddly absent were the bean sprouts and mint/basil. No biggie, I usually don't add those in anyway... but still. Everything else was fine, service was prompt and good. Prices were very reasonable (you can choose from small/large sizes).

We got #1 chicken pho in Large and #21 rare beef with shank in small. Both have a nice taste to the broth which is why i gave 4 stars. But really its 3.5 star. Portion dont really match because the small had same or more than my large. The other thing to point out is the tables, it definitely need a thorough cleaning along with the napkin amd sauce dispenser. Sticky and sauces all over.

Came here on Saturday morning. Not busy. After we sat down about 9:30ish many more people came in. Had chicken, Shrimp & Pork dumplings (won ton) with noodles (wide noodles like chow fun(but soup style) and Beef Stew with noodles (same kind of noodles) had left over too. Will try other items on the menu.

Decent spot for tasty chicken pho. I like that their version adds medium wide rice stick noodles with fresh cuts of chicken, almost like Ha Noi (northern Viet) style pho with no bean sprouts. Simple, yet satisfying. Keep in mind, if you ask for a small sized bowl of pho, it's more like large here. You get your bang for your buck! Great location in downtown Millbrae. Will be back soon.