Appearances can be deceiving as you approach Pho Noodle, a Vietnamese restaurant that’s been open since 2018. The strip mall it’s housed in has seen better days, and inside the large dining room is outfitted with an odd mix of tight booths and stocky wood tables.

But it was a sound rather than a visual that told me I was going to enjoy Pho Noodle – the sharp crackle of someone biting into flawlessly crusty bread ringing out clear across the dining room.

It was one of their many banh mi sandwiches, a dish rarely found in Toledo of which we sampled three. Per tradition, each banh mi is served on gorgeously crisp Vietnamese bread rolls (similar to French baguettes) filled with pickled carrots and daikon radish, cucumber, cilantro, and jalapenos.

The Banh Mi Deluxe ($5) with ham, cured pork, and pork belly along with a smear of fatty pate, was not overflowing with meat but still packed with unctuous porky flavor. The Banh Mi Chicken Curry Lemongrass ($7) was full of chicken and a fragrant curry spice that built into a pleasant toasty heat with each bite.

Bill of Fare

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The Banh Mi BLT ($3.95) is the cheapest sandwich, probably because you’re mostly paying for the good bread. With only two slim strips of bacon and barely any lettuce or tomato, it was a snack more than a meal.

On the other hand, the hearty noodle dishes were more than filling.

For all the restaurant’s variations on its namesake dish, we chose the Pho Deluxe ($11) so we could sample a variety of meats. The delicate beef broth was served with large, springy meatballs, chewy beef tendon and tripe, brisket, and thin strips of raw ribeye that cooked in the hot soup. It was served with a packed plate of herbs and sauces.

The variety of flavors made the soup a pleasurable adventure to eat, with the tasty mountain of noodles hidden under the meat proving too much to finish. We also made the rookie mistake of being too heavy-handed with the Thai basil and culantro, causing the broth to turn bitter by the end.

The Vermicelli Deluxe ($12) is a refreshing noodle salad known as bun thịt nuong (as confirmed by our cheerful server), topped with slices of fried spring rolls. This dish is a favorite of mine, so the first bites of expertly charred pork and pickled daikon sent my head spinning. However, I was shocked to see the noodles underneath had been served steaming hot, which led to them overcooking as they were eaten.

The Beef with Flat Noodles ($11) is comparable to Cantonese beef chow fun. The pile of rich, fat rice noodles feeds at least two people, in part because the smoky saltiness can become overwhelming after a bit.

The Deluxe Grilled Pork Chop ($11) comes with steamed rice, pickled vegetables, shredded boiled pork skin, fried eggs, and a slice of egg cake – although the the cake was missing from our order. The thin chop was a perfect chewy tender, perfumed heavily with five-spice flavors. The pork skin was more challenging, with a harsh muskiness that screamed “acquired taste.”

Bill of Fare

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For appetizers, we tried Summer Rolls ($3.75) which were light in flavor but great as a delivery system for the sweet peanut sauce they were served with. The Chicken Satay ($6.50), which came with a spicy dressing instead of the promised peanut sauce, was flavored well but a touch dry, although the freshly pickled cucumber and jalapenos helped.

While typical desserts are not on the menu, there are a selection of sweet beverages and smoothies. The Cafe Sua Da ($3.95), Vietnamese iced coffee, was refreshing with earthy tones balancing out its richness. The large plain Milk Tea ($5.19), black tea infused in whole milk, had an equally silky freshness.

Of any word that could describe Pho Noodle, the most accurate is “interesting.” There are no frills on the food – which is often fresh and beautiful – and even when the results are uneven, it’s still filled with flavors that are exciting and rarely sampled.

First Published October 1, 2020, 1:00 p.m.