Pho Ba Co

Located in Irvine’s Stonecreek Plaza along with a collection of okay restaurants, Pho Ba Co is – surprise – an okay Vietnamese restaurant that once merited emphatic “best pho in Irvine!” praise, but now thrives on a combination of geographic convenience and dwindling neighborhood competition from other Vietnamese places. (RIP Ha Long and Pho So 1.)

The menu is divided into salads and lettuce wraps, pho (rice noodle) soups, mi (egg noodle) soups, com (rice), bun (vermicelli rice noodle) salads, and oyster-soy stir-fry dishes, and in our visits, the major assets were how quick the bowls and plates of decent food came out. Northern Vietnamese-style pho bac – which was once this restaurant’s name – alternated between good and watery on our visits, a sign that the potentially legendary beef broth isn’t being consistently prepared or maintained in the kitchen. Unfried spring rolls are competent but plain, and expensive now at $11 for two. THH Sandwiches sells three for under $7, to put that in context.

It’s clear that any price aggressiveness Pho Ba Co once had disappeared long ago, as pho or bun bowls now go for $16-$19 each, making this place less appealing than it was when its food was cheap by Irvine standards. With Little Saigon 20 minutes up the highway and good-ish places such as Pho Saigon Grill just down the road, we’d generally advise looking elsewhere for your Vietnamese fix, unless you’re in a hurry and hungry enough to appreciate only the positive side of their quick service.