Billing itself as a Traditional Vietnamese Beef Noodle House, Phở Diện offers a menu almost solely devoted to phở, and specializes in marinated rare steak.

11830 Bellaire Blvd #C, Houston, TX 77072
(281) 495-9600
Website

8:30am–8:3opm Mon–Fri, 8:30am–6pm Sun 

Visited on September 21, 2018

Phở Diện bills itself as a “traditional Vietnamese beef noodle house” and stands or falls on the strength of its phở bò alone. Aside from an assortment of beverages and smoothies plus a few Vietnamese desserts (ché), beef noodle soup (and variations thereof) is the menu.

Recently, we ducked into Phở Diện from bustling Bellaire Boulevard on an early Friday afternoon. As we entered, recorded classical guitar music was enlivening the restaurant’s airy atmosphere. Patrons were seated quietly at their tables, each facing a gleaming white bowl, meditatively sipping broth and slurping noodles. Eager to join in this dreamy activity, we sat and placed an order for two large bowls of phở ($7.75 each), and refreshing glasses of soda chanh (fresh soda lemonade, $2.95) and chanh muối (salty lemonade, $2.25).

The phở: We discovered from reading online reviews that many people come to Phở Diện for phở tái ướp (phở with marinated rare steak), and the menu features this dish with a star at the top of the first page. We ordered one bowl with just the rare steak, and another one with rare steak, well-done flank, brisket, and tendon. The bowls quickly emerged steaming hot from the kitchen, accompanied by a generous assortment of raw bean sprouts, basil, Vietnamese coriander, lime wedges, and hot jalapeño slices. It was a wonderful moment to be alive.

We each took a few sips of broth before fooling around with the condiments. Phở Diện’s broth is clear, straightforward, a bit salty, and not heavy-handed with sugar and spices. An abundance of chopped scallions and sliced red onions provide welcome notes of allium, and enough fresh herbs are provided to freshen the soup’s flavors a few times throughout the meal. To add tartness, a few juicy squeezes of lime gets you that much closer to perfection. Since the broth was ideally tuned-up with lime and fresh herbs, we dipped the meats in the sriracha, hoisin, and sate sauces provided at the table, instead of dumping condiments into our bowls.

Which bowl is better? All beef ingredients in the soups are delicious and of high quality. The combination has the edge for textural variety, but the marinated steak in the phở tái ướp is tender and delicious—the marinade possibly explains the slight pinkish hue of the broth. The rice noodles were very thin, a bit fragile, and possibly slightly overcooked; we had a hard time wrangling them with chopsticks without breaking them. That said, we managed, and still loved the soup, and would come back and eat it many times over.

Summary: Your life can momentarily be made simple and pleasant at Phở Diện. About the only thing you can do there is take a breath from the never-ending need to make choices, and order an extremely solid bowl of phở.