Pho So 1 Irvine

Homey in its original location in a supermarket-heavy plaza, this now-shuttered Vietnamese restaurant wasn’t a standout by Little Saigon standards, but offered Irvine visitors all the expected classics – Pho soups, Bun vermicelli, Mi egg noodle dishes, Com rice plates, spring rolls, and drinks. By the time it closed in mid-2022, dishes had fallen from generous and tasty to merely competent; it then relocated to Lake Forest, where it’s now thriving.

Roughly two years after the original Pho So 1 closed, it was replaced by a second Irvine location of Northern Cafe, a regional Chinese restaurant.