(WSB photos)
Two months after we first reported that Alki Phở & Bar was on the way to 2808 Alki Avenue SW, it’s opening day.
The proprietors are Lynda Nguyen and Bien Phu Le.
They’ll be open 11 am-9 pm Sundays through Thursday, 11 am-11 pm Fridays and Saturdays.
You can see the menu here and here. The previous establishment in the space. J & J Public House, closed last November.
Soooooo excited for this opening! How cozy will a bowl of pho be after a dog walk on a cold and blustery winter-I mean-spring-I mean-summer-I mean-fall Seattle day? Welcome, neighbors!
Can’t wait to try it. Although I feel like there is a TON of churn with restaurants located on Alki. Hoping this place lasts
Miss the Pacific Room! A great place for live jazz, great food and drinks. I went several times. It competed really well with Jazz Alley, downtown but here in West Seattle. Miss being able to attend alive jazz venue in WestSeattle. Best wishes to this new venue.
I luv Pho and will probably try their’s and hoping they do well on Alki Beach but prices seem a little high, better be some tasty Pho!
Landlords on Alki charge a premium for rent. All the restaurants that have survived on Alki have very high prices. $20 burritos at Cactus, $35 pizzas at Pegasus, etc. Every restaurant charging reasonable prices has failed, except for Pepperdock.
Actually, the Saigon Boat had VERY reasonable prices, and was very successful….. I really miss it…. Great owners, very community minded, and terrific, authentic food. Word is, they lost their lease due to the relationship between the owner of the pre-school that’s there now, and the owner of the building. We live in the neighborhood, and USED to enjoy eating at all the Alki restaurants several times a week!…. Now, the prices are way too high, and the quality is just ok for the price. We only go once a month or so…Oh well….. they call it “progress”, right?
Can’t wait to try some pho. Looks great. Just out of curiosity, what happened to benbow room, the neon sign is gone
We went by for a look and it appears the building is being painted, which could explain the sign’s removal. Haven’t yet confirmed, though.
There are so many expenses when owning a business. We expect / require businesses to pay their employees a living wage, provide health care, sick pay, and then begrudge the cost of their menu items? Please try and remember, when you are buying the cheap version it’s likely the staff is not being taken care of or the quality of ingredients will be lacking. I know it’s not always possible to afford the higher priced items, but maybe we don’t need to criticize a business for trying to offer high quality food and well paid staff and expect customers to pay for it. To consider the attitude of expecting a business to offer low cost meals and then be surprised when they have to close because they couldn’t afford to stay in business.
Thank you for spelling it out so respectfully. I totally agree! I cannot afford to eat out as much as I have in the past, but definitely want to try this place out.
You make valid points but Phó is not expensive to make. Beside the protein; rice noodles, homemade broth, and vegetables are dirt cheap to buy. Even with rising food costs. Now I will gladly pay more for beef, chicken, or seafood heavy dishes since those ingredients have increased in price. Regardless of inflation, Phó prices remain a constant $8-12 city wide.
$16 for a small bowl of pho is way to pricey for me. Wish you the best of luck.
Food prices have gone way up everywhere. If you compare these prices to McDonalds, it is not that more, and actually seems quite reasonable for the location, atmosphere, and service, not to mention fresh foods. Vietnamese food often has fresh herbs and vegetables which are pricey, but delicious. How do these prices compare to other Alki restaurants? Have we pegged one culture’s food as less valuable than another’s? That doesn’t seem right. I would assume pasta is the cheapest food if you go by ingredient costs, as it’s just flour with an oily, watery sauce. How does the food here compare to the price of an Italian meal on the beach? Really all food is getting too dear for my pocketbook after the pandemic inflation, and long Covid job loss. I wish this place well, the restaurant industry is tough, with tight margins. This place looks like it would make a good date night meal after a day at the beach.
Maybe there’s a bias that Asian food needs to be cheap. Alki landlords are brutal and every restaurant that has survived multiple years has significantly higher prices than other area restaurants. They also have no business in winter and need to survive. You pay for the convenience of eating at the beach.
Which is exactly why I said I will go to Pho Aroma on Delridge. Not in a pricey neighborhood, so their rent/lease costs aren’t sky high. Let the tourists and those that can afford it pay beach prices if they want to.
Don’t blame the high food prices on tenants. It’s the landlords who charge high rent for a waterfront view that necessitate the price of the food and drink.
It’s in poor taste to grumble about a – new – restaurant’s prices, especially when it includes promoting another competing establishment. We all have our own conception of what is reasonable pricing, but, come on, this isn’t Yelp.
My wife and I just had lunch there. We ordered two small veggie pho (with vegetarian broth). Loved it! I typically add the different sauces to my broth. This broth was so good and flavorful I didn’t want to mess with perfection.Yes it was more expensive than the pho we always get on California but it was well worth the price. Great presentation too with so many fresh vegetables floating on top a bed of noodles and broth. Try it just once. You won’t regret it.
Had lunch there today. Great service and food, very attentive. Yes as one mentioned higher prices than same style restaurant on Delridge Way next to used tire store. Hard to compare to the view on Alki Beach on a nice day. Only interested in the food, aren’t willing or can’t afford a little more for a wonderful setting, go for it. I like a nice atmosphere.
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