Who has the best pho in Syracuse? We tried them all to find out
For a smaller city, Syracuse is certainly booming with its wide variety of cuisines. Asian, Mexican, African, Italian, regional foods from across the US, European, South American… There are so many options. (Now we just need an Australian restaurant with milo milkshakes and meat pies.) And lately it seems that one of the biggest trends is Vietnamese food. With the recent addition of – not one – but two pho restaurants, there are now four great places to order pho in Syracuse. But which one is the best?
What is pho?
Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup, made with broth, beef, and fresh herbs. While a relatively new addition to the much older Vietnamese culture, pho has become the country’s national dish. Sources conflict over who invented the dish, attributing its influences to Thai, Chinese, and French cultures. Nonetheless, it is ever popular now in Vietnam, and making its presence known across the world.
Typically, pho is served in a large bowl consisting of beef broth, rice noodles, slivers of onion and scallions, and cilantro. The soup is served alongside a plate of bean sprouts, lime wedges, fresh basil leaves, and jalapeños. While pho typically comes with slivered beef, diners can choose to substitute or add different types of meat, including meatballs, brisket, tripe, tendon, and more. Many restaurants have also added vegetarian and seafood pho options to cater to special diets.
Mr. Pho
216 Walton Street, Syracuse
mrpho216.com
One of the two new pho restaurants to open in Syracuse, Mr. Pho kicked things off with a bang when they opened on New Years Day 2025. Housed in the former Danny’s Steaks location, the restaurant is quaint in size, but modern and clean. It’s downtown Syracuse location is sure to draw in the crowds.
In addition to the popular Vietnamese staples, Mr. Pho also serves a variety of other Asian dishes. The menu features pad thai, fried rice, stir fry, and beef/chicken & broccoli alongside other Chinese and Thai favorites.
Order Mr. Pho from Door Dash and have it delivered right to you!
New Century Vietnamese Restaurant
518 Kirkpatrick Street, Syracuse
newcenturyviet.com
New Century Vietnamese Restaurant is the oldest Vietnamese restaurant in Syracuse, having opened its doors in 2000. The family-owned restaurant is a true gem in Syracuse’s northside, serving a delicious array of traditional dishes. While its appearance is unassuming from the outside, when you step inside you are greeted by a room filled with Vietnamese culture and decor. The business is steeped in tradition, using paper and pen to take orders and compute totals. The large dining room is filled with the aromatic dishes being served from the kitchen and the menu features all of your favorite Vietnamese meals.
To order New Century pho to go, you have to call to place the order and then pick it up. They do not offer online orders or delivery. Customers paying in cash receive a discount.
Urban Pho
8395 Oswego Road, Suite 103, Liverpool
urbanphoclay.com
The newest addition to Syracuse’s pho-scene is Urban Pho, which opened on February 11, 2025 in Liverpool. While the Vietnamese restaurant specializes in pho, it has all the other regional dishes you’d expect – banh mi, vermicelli, pork chop, etc. Additionally, the restaurant has a wide variety of mochi donuts to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Order Urban Pho from Door Dash and have it delivered right to you!
Vietnamese Noodle House
709 N. Main Street, North Syracuse
3801 Milton Ave, Camillus
vietnoodlehouse.com
Vietnamese Noodle House first opened in North Syracuse in 2015. Owned by Yen Ngo, this has quickly become one of the go-to spots for Vietnamese food in Syracuse. Known for their pho, banh mi, Vietnamese iced coffee, and summer rolls, the menu dishes up a variety of fresh Vietnamese flavors. Yen’s family opened a second location in Camillus in 2019.
So who has the best pho in Syracuse?
Since it’s impossible to compare different phos eaten at different restaurants over a period of a couple months, I got scientific. I grabbed my husband and two of our pho-loving friends and we went in four separate directions, each on a mission to order pho from a different restaurant.
To start, we ordered the same exact pho order from each restaurant – traditional beef pho with steak, brisket, and meatballs. Yes, three different meats. For science. Then we brought them all back to the house to compare them side-by-side in terms of flavor, portion size, tenderness, spice level, price, and more. Here’s what we discovered:
Mr. Pho
Mr. Pho’s beef pho had the best broth of the bunch. It was far darker in color than the other three, but packed the most punch of flavor. The seasonings were rich and well-balanced. On the other hand, the meats were just okay overall. The steak was good, the meatballs decent, and the brisket left something to be desired as it was a bit chewy.
Price: $18.50
New Century Vietnamese Restaurant
Steeped in tradition, New Century’s pho came with all the perks in our carry-out order. While the other soups had small hoisin sauce packets, this one came with a big container (dare I say too big?) of hoisin sauce. And instead of the usual jalapeños, it came with an orange habanero pepper instead.
As for the broth, it had a lighter flavor that tasted more like a salty chicken broth and less like the typical pho with umami flavoring. The steak was also my least favorite, having a strange texture that I didn’t enjoy. But while New Century gave us the fewest meatballs, they were the best meatballs of the four orders.
Price: $15
Urban Pho
As just the first time trying Urban Pho (as I haven’t visited the actual restaurant yet), their pho truly impressed me. To start with, it is the only restaurant that asked for spice level when we ordered. So out of the four, it was the spiciest to start with. And when we picked it up, it had the most meat of the four orders by far. Not only the most, but some of the best. The brisket was extra tender and full of flavor, while the meatballs had a nice texture.
Price: $15
Vietnamese Noodle House
Surprisingly, the pho that I order the most often was the least flavorful. And came with far less broth. Compared to the others, Vietnamese Noodle House offered a broth that was a bit more watery than the others and had only 2/3 as much in the to-go container. And by no means does this indicate that the broth wasn’t good. It was! It’s just that the competition is tough.
What was disappointing is that the pho did not come with the steak that we had ordered. And the noodles were more prone to breaking easily than the other dishes. On the plus side, the brisket was some of the best we ordered, and there were more meatballs than the others.
Vietnamese Noodle House’s pho was the only one that came with a side of chili oil to allow the eater to adjust their level of spiciness in their broth.
Price: $19
In summary…
- Least Expensive: Tie between New Century & Urban Pho
- Best broth: Mr. Pho
- Best steak: Urban Pho
- Best brisket: Urban Pho
- Best meatballs: New Century
Other Vietnamese Restaurants in Syracuse
While these four restaurants specialize in their pho offerings, they aren’t the only Vietnamese restaurants in Syracuse. Mamma Hai in Salt City Market has some excellent banh mi sandwiches and rice bowls. Dang’s Cafe, located in Syracuse and Camillus, has revamped their full dining menu (including pho) to a limited, more casual offering with Asian-American fusion dishes. And Ky Duyen Cafe, located near St. Joseph’s Hospital, is known to have the best banh mi sandwiches in Syracuse.
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