Pho King Way
In South Orange County, a three-location Vietnamese chain with a memorable name and forgettable food
If there’s any Orange County Vietnamese restaurant with more name-related drama than Pho Akaushi, that would probably be Pho King Way – a pun that controversially became an actual Mission Viejo restaurant in 2011. So it’s perhaps unsurprising that when Pho Akaushi’s Lake Forest location closed, Pho King Way snapped up the space and opened a second location in February 2024, followed by a third in January 2025 at the Aliso Viejo Town Center.
Half of the pun is quickly addressed on the menu: “we are here to serve you as we would serve royalty.” To that end, their royally-named pho bowls each include six cuts of beef, ranging from the extra-large Pho King Way Bowl ($26) to a large Prince Bowl ($16) and regular-sized Princess Bowl ($15). No meat ($9) and one/two-meat ($13) options are also available. We went with the Prince, which the menu depicted as overflowing with sliced meats, but actually arrived 85% rice noodles with 10% beef and 5% vegetables, all in a bland broth that needed help from on-table flavorings.
While the portion was substantial thanks to the noodles, we had no interest in slurping down the broth, and felt glad we hadn’t ordered the extra-large bowl for $10 more. Despite the menu’s royal pretenses, higher-end meats – filet mignon or oxtail – are only offered in single-meat bowls for $20 each, while chicken, shrimp, seafood, and vegetarian soups each go for around $15.
Everything else we tried hovered around “okay.” Five cha gio were served with barely enough greenery to wrap one and a half of the crispy rolls and a small bowl of fish sauce, the only thing that added flavor past the taste of cooking oil. Two spring rolls were so bland that their shrimp and pork fillings barely stood out from the rice vermicelli inside, and paired with a thin, not particularly good peanut dipping sauce. And bun with beef and pork ($15), an alternative to the $20 Bun King Way Combo with five different meats, was a large portion with actually good grilled meats but very little flavor from the included veggies or fish sauce. Again, we had to resort to sauces on the table to make it more edible. Our two drinks – a Thai iced tea and Soda Chanh limeade – were probably the best-tasting things we ordered.
There are a few other options on the menu, including com and fried rice dishes, stir fries, and various luc lac plates, but we don’t expect to return to try them in the future: there are hundreds of better choices in Orange County, especially if you’re willing to drive near or into Little Saigon. In other words, we’re stopping short of saying “no Pho King Way,” but would only recommend it to residents of southern OC cities who don’t want to drive up the 405.
Stats
Price: $$
Service: Table
Open Since: 2011
Addresses
24000 Alicia Pkwy. #22
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
949.472.5464
22641 Lake Forest Dr.
Lake Forest, CA 92630
949.415.5656
26705 Aliso Creek Rd.
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
Instagram: @phokingway