Slurp Your Way Through Arlington History at Pho 75

When Le Thiep and Binh Ngo first opened Pho 75 in Arlington in 1985, their no-frills, cash-only soup house struggled to draw customers — but they stuck it out, and eventually lines formed out the door. Named in reference to 1975 — the year Saigon fell — Pho 75 was one of the first pho-only restaurants in the entire DMV region, founded by two Vietnamese refugees who met in California and brought their shared culture to a strip mall in Rosslyn. Today the Arlington location is run by Chi Ngo, son of co-founder Binh Ngo, who grew up wishing his parents would take him to McDonald’s instead — and now runs the restaurant his father built with the kind of pride that only comes from fully understanding what it represents. The menu has always been the same, offering pho noodle soup with various combinations of beef protein — brisket, flank, meatballs, tripe, tendon — and the broth is simmered for hours to develop the depth that no shortcut can replicate.

The experience at Pho 75 is deliberately spartan: long communal tables, efficient service, no embellishment, no appetizers, and no dessert. The menu is essentially pho in its various configurations and nothing else — a commitment to doing one thing with total integrity. Aside from a surprisingly modest increase in prices since the early 1990s, the experience is basically the same as it ever was — efficient service, spartan interior, communal family-style seating, and genuinely great broth. Cash only; an ATM is available on site. Located at 1721 Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn, between the Courthouse and Rosslyn Metro stations. Open for lunch and dinner daily. Visit pho-75.com for hours.