Pho tai is rare-beef pho: paper-thin raw eye-of-round laid over rice noodles, cooked at the table by ladles of clove and star anise broth simmered overnight from beef bones.
The Twin Cities Vietnamese community grew steadily after 1975 and now numbers around 30,000 in the metro, concentrated along University Avenue in Saint Paul and around Eat Street on Nicollet in Minneapolis. Quang opened on Nicollet in 1989 as a four-table bakery run by Lung Tran and grew across the street into the full restaurant; five of Tran's children still run the line. The pho-tai cult is real: Twin Cities reviewers regularly debate Quang versus Pham's Deli at Midtown Global Market versus Pho Tau Bay, with Quang holding the popular vote for the cleanest broth and the biggest portion.
2 editor picks for Pho tai in Minneapolis, ranked by editorial score. All Minneapolis signature dishes · Pho tai across every city.
Quang Restaurant ★ 4.7
eat-street · 2719 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408
Quang on Nicollet Avenue has run Minneapolis's defining Vietnamese pho room on Eat Street since 1989. James Beard America's Classics Award 2024 winner.
Pham's Deli ★ 4.4
eat-street · 920 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55407
Pham's Deli inside Midtown Global Market on Lake Street has rolled Vietnamese banh mi in Minneapolis since 2006. Pork-pate sandwich made-to-order.