Quan Pho Bac Hai: The Best Pho in Da Nang

2019-04-17 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

After an unexpected hike and hours of shopping, I was absolutely starving. I keep saying this, but we came here to rest. Looking back, I think I was the only one who thought that, but regardless, I was so hungry I was starting to get annoyed. When I mentioned I was hungry, my friend's eyes sparkled once again. They opened a web browser where all the links were already purple from days of research back in Korea, and proudly announced, "I've got it all planned out! Let's go eat pho!" They hadn't done anything wrong, but why were they being so annoying today?

An arched bridge illuminated with green lights stretches across the river in the dark night. — Dragon Bridge (Cầu Rồng) on the way to downtown Da Nang

We grabbed a seat at a street-side restaurant and ordered beef pho. I had no idea where we were, but the broth came out almost immediately after we ordered, and one sip was enough to know it was fantastic. It definitely wasn't made with expensive spices—you could taste the cheap MSG (like Miwon)—but it was perfectly delicious. The cilantro flavor wasn't overpowering like what I've had in Korea or other parts of Southeast Asia; it was just right. I always shout "No pak chi" (no cilantro) in Thailand, but I haven't asked to leave it out once since coming here.
While banh mi can be hit or miss depending on the restaurant, pho is consistently good everywhere. Even in a city full of great pho spots, this place is famous, so of course it's going to be delicious. I was definitely hungry, but this was the first pho place in my life where I scraped the bowl clean and drank every last drop of broth.

Nighttime exterior view of Quan Pho Bac Hai restaurant with people sitting and eating at outdoor tables.

A bowl of pho (rice noodle soup) topped with plenty of meat and green onions, along with a basket of fresh vegetables for garnish, sits on a table. — Adding lemongrass is good, but I preferred eating it plain so it wouldn't ruin the original aroma.

Now that we had eaten, we headed to a nearby pub to watch the Vietnamese national soccer team (led by Korean coach Park Hang-seo) and mingle with the locals. The locals were a bit startled when we walked in to watch the game, but we cheered together and enjoyed the match. On our way out after the game, we heard "Thank you" so many times. It would have been even more fun if they had won, which was a bit of a bummer.

Two televisions broadcasting a soccer match hang inside a dimly lit bar.

People gather in front of the bar counter and at tables to watch a soccer match on television.

It felt like a shame to head straight home, and

~~because of a certain someone,~~

one bowl of pho wasn't quite enough for the energy we spent today, so we spontaneously decided to try some street food near Dragon Bridge. It looked interesting and there were tons of people, so I wondered if it would taste good. However, it was just cheap and overly sweet—nothing special.

A street food stall with various skewer ingredients, such as sausages and quail eggs, neatly arranged inside a glass display case.

A man prepares food at a cooking counter in front of a restaurant with a green sign.

A street stall with a skewer display case and a small ice cream freezer under a bright sign written in Vietnamese.

Skewers and a stir-fried dish served in two styrofoam containers.

Two packaged food items placed on a table on a street at night.

Plastic tables and chairs, along with a heart-shaped red light, placed on a riverside promenade.

Finally, we drank an ade at a place called High Five and called it a day. Starting tomorrow, I'm seriously just going to lie on the beach.

The high5 coffee sign visible through illuminated trees and plants at night.

> The pho place is called Pho Bac Hai. I'm not sure if it's Quan Pho Bac Hai or just Pho Bac Hai, but anyway, this is the spot.

#VietnamesePho #DaNangFood #DaNangPho