Phở Phong Lưu
The Infatuation scores this bowl 9.0, and the kitchen opens in time to eat it for breakfast.1
Why go
The kitchen simmers beef bones for hours with cinnamon and clove. The big open dining room holds the smell before a bowl reaches the table.2 The Infatuation carries the place in its Top 25 for the city, the guide it describes as the twenty-five highest-rated spots in Austin.2 The card is short: a few pho options, fried rice, crispy garlic fish sauce wings and bánh mì.2 Nicolai McCrary watched the line spill out of the door at weekend lunch, so go early on a Saturday.1
Order this / avoid
- The make your own pho. McCrary's build starts with meatballs, then adds flank, fatty brisket and tendon on top.1
- The meatballs, specifically. He rates them among the best in town for a springy bite that almost pops, and calls the rest of the meats standard.1
- Crispy chicken wings with garlic fish sauce, which comes out sticky, sweet, salty and deeply savory.1
- The house special bánh mì, cold cuts, head cheese and pâté, with pickled carrots for acid. Take the egg version at breakfast.1
- Avoid: betting the order on crisp wing skin. McCrary found it hit or miss between visits.1
What locals & experts say
- Nicolai McCrary, in the review that carries that score:
This is the best pho in Austin, and if you find yourself generally craving a bowl of hot, savory, noodle soup, it's one of the best options all around.
1 - The same review on the room: tables sit close enough that squeezing between them feels like shuffling back into a window seat on an airplane.1
- The kitchen on its own broth:
Our broth is always made with passion, love, and care that is simmered for hours and flavored with all the necessary dried and fresh spices, and a touch of some family secret ingredients.
3
Good to know
- The midweek gap. Open Monday, Tuesday and Friday for lunch and again in the evening, weekends for lunch only, closed Wednesday and Thursday.3
- Order the sides expecting them late. The wings and the bánh mì arrive with the pho or after it.1
- Hygiene: clean. Austin Public Health scores the kitchen 92 on 20 February 2026 and 94 on 30 September 2025, with six inspections back to 2023 whose lowest score is 84. The city's failing line is 70.4
- Getting there: 11800 Dessau Rd, Suite 302, in far north Austin, next to HK Tea.3
Jeff's take (his words)
He sent the review over on 16 August 2026 and asked for the venue in the Austin guide.
Verdict
should-visit — Nobody takes a booking, so walk in and eat early. Breakfast is the meal I would come here for.