Pho Cyclo, a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant is located right near Gallows Road on Arlington Boulevard. Nestled next to Starbucks Coffee this small yet chic restaurant is definitely a place that is overlooked. Pho Cyclo competes on a day-to-day basis with larger restaurants like Sweetwater Tavern, Panda Express, Chevy’s and Uno’s Grill that sit across the street.

Although this place is hidden and not well-known, you should d

efinitely expand your horizons and indulge yourself with Pho Cyclo’s healthy and hearty entrées.

The restaurant consists of one cozy room lined with small tables, ideal for a date or small gathering with a few friends. The warm yellow walls and modern lighting adds to the pleasant atmosphere of the restaurant. The delicious aroma of Vietnamese food tickled our nostrils as we walked into the restaurant and were ushered to a table by a waitress who quickly brought us water, menus and utensils. The one really great thing about the Pho Cyclo menu is that there is a list of entrées with a description of what is in the entrées as well as a photo on the adjacent page. This easy-to-use menu made choosing our desired dishes quite painless and very easy.

We decided to get an order of “crispy rolls” for an appetizer. The “crispy rolls” were really hot and quite delicious. We were surprised by the sweet taste of the complimentary sauce which tempted us to dunk the entire rolls in the scrumptious sauce.

For our main entrees we opted for an order of fried rice with chicken and shrimp as well as the signature Pho soup with beef and tendons. A heaping pile of fried rice accompanied by a steaming bowl of Pho came out to our table at a rapid speed even though the restaurant had a good amount of customers dining.

We quickly dug into our dishes and were very satisfied. We were expecting the fried rice to not have a lot of shrimp and chicken in it but thankfully, to our surprise, the rice was packed full with these delicious meats. The rice was even better after we added some soy sauce and sweet plum sauce that sat on the table.

The Pho was also a wonderful, filling dish. We were very impressed by the multitude of flavors that were in the Pho. A large Pho soup is the perfect dish to get on a chilly winter night. For approximately a dollar more you can upgrade from a small Pho to a large Pho. Pho is also a great meal to take home because it is a wonderful snack to have the next day and only requires a quick reheating in the microwave.

Not only does Pho Cyclo have wonderful food, it also has great prices, with entrees averaging about $8. Our bill came out to be approximately $22 for two entrées and an appetizer not including tip. Pho Cyclo is a step up from fast food restaurants like Chipotle, Panera or Quizno’s but costs around the same amount. If you are looking for a great place to go for good food without emptying your wallet, you should definitely head to Pho Cyclo for a cultural experience you will not forget!