Pho Capital Fairfax, VA - NOVA Pho Challenge

Pho Capital
9412 Main St
Fairfax, VA 22031
Mon-Sun: 10 AM – 9:30 PM.

Picture of the outside of Pho Capital

I've heard of and seen other pho challenges in other states, most notably California (I guess there's a large Vietnamese population there), but nothing around here.  I've been trying to eat at practically every pho place in northern Virginia but there are a lot to choose from.  A brand new pho restaurant named Pho Capital opened up in the Picket Shopping Center (the former location of Popeyes,

Unusual seeing booths at a pho restaurant

I still don't know why they closed that location AND the location in Fair Oaks Mall, luckily there's a new location in the same shopping center as Fast Eddies in Fairfax). I first saw the coming soon sign a few weeks ago and then a couple weeks later the sign changed to say Grand Opening.  This was about as exciting as when I found out about Pho Deluxe (until I ate there and was disappointed).  Sadly, Pho Capital was also a disappointment.

Condiments with disposable chopsticks on table

The first thing we noticed when we walked into Pho Capital were the booths.  Anita commented that this is probably the first pho restaurant that she's been to that has booths.  Normally you only find tables.  Once we sat down at the table I noticed that there was no napkin dispenser, toothpicks, or spoons.  In my opinion these are requirements for a pho restaurant.  The chopsticks were also disposable.  Anita said that's a good thing because the traditional long plastic chopsticks could be dirty especially since they're stored eating end down.  I think it's easier to eat with the longer traditional plastic chopsticks.

Summer rolls

We ordered our "usual" order of summer rolls, order of spring rolls, and 1 large and 1 small bowl of the "everything" pho.  The summer and spring rolls came out first.  The summer roll's peanut dipping sauce appeared to be very brown and thick, which is a good thing. 

Greasy spring rolls

Anita said it wasn't bad especially when you compare it to some other pho restaurant's thin sauces.  The spring rolls were very greasy.  I believe they were par cooked before and then fried again to give the final crisp.  I think the oil temperature wasn't hot enough.  The summer rolls weren't rolled very nicely.  There was probably too much vermicelli noodles inside and barely any shrimp.  I didn't care for the basil in the summer roll, but that's just me.  I know a lot of other restaurants include basil since a lot of people like it, just not me.

Pho soup

When our bowls of pho arrived I noticed how thin the beef was sliced.  1 "slice" was actually 3 or 4 thinner slices that were still stuck together.  Thinly sliced meat is usually a good thing, however, not if it's done as a means to make a little bit of meat go a long way!  There wasn't too much meat in the soup.  The broth had a very mild flavor.  It was in fact too mild!  The temperature of the broth wasn't quite hot enough either.  The bean sprouts didn't really cook.  What a shame.  Anita said the noodles were a little overcooked.

Bean sprouts, basil, jalapenos, and limes

They were ok for me.  I was hoping that this pho restaurant was going to be a hit.  I was cautiously optimistic because of 2 favorable reviews on Yelp.  Just one more reason you can't always trust those reviews on Yelp.  If you want the real scoop you gotta hear it here first!

Menu's description of the Pho Challenge

While I didn't take on the SUPER Bowl Challenge, I did inquire about its size.  The waiter said that it's equivalent to 3 large bowls.  WOW that's a lot of pho to eat in 15 minutes!  Maybe I could do it if I was really hungry and I had more time.  The real challenge is trying to ingest hot soup and noodles in a very short amount of time.



Here's the description of the SUPER Bowl Challenge transcribed from the menu:

Are a self-proclaimed pho-natic?  Do you have what it takes?  Have you tried and sampled all the Pho at every corner of the street in the Nation's Capital?

Now, do you dare to explore out biggest and boldest challenge to conquer our ginormous bowl of Pho: the SUPER Bowl Challenge.  It's going to take colossal determination to finish our whopping Super Bowl Pho Soup.  The contestant has exactly 15 minutes to finish the entire bowl of soup to its last drop of broth. (sorry, no sharing!)  Whoever finishes within this time frame accordingly shall eat it for free, without paying even a penny!

$14.95 Finish it all and it's FREE!

The verdict?  If you've been in search of a pho challenge in Northern Virginia then Pho Capital may be the place for you.  As of this writing 2 or 3 people have been able to successfully complete the challenge.  That means it is possible, but I don't think 15 minutes is enough time especially considering it is a hot soup.  You could of course just order the challenge sized bowl for a seemingly good deal at $14.95 for the equivalent of 3 large bowls, but I wouldn't waste the money on a below average bowl of pho.

P.S . a coworker pointed out that the restaurant is named Pho Capital, but they have a picture of the Capitol building in their logo.  Does that mean the name of the restaurant should be Pho Capitol instead??