Little Papa Pho – Best Pho in Seoul

Today I’m very happy to introduce the absolute best pho place in Seoul. I talked in some length about my obsession with pho in the post for my previously favorite pho joint. In short, Pho is my favorite food and I have a good palate for it. With that said, Little Papa Pho is much better than Little Saigon, and any other place in Seoul. That’s a fact.

Little Papa Pho opened at the end of last year to instant success. It’s a small place with about 20 seats, and while I’ve never seen a long line out the door, the place is usually near full whenever I go. I like the exterior design. It’s cute.

The secret to Little Papa’s Pho is this man. The Man, I should say. Unfortunately, because he’s the secret sauce here, there is a huge caveat and downside to this restaurant. When this small Vietnamese guy isn’t in, the pho is disgusting. I’ve been here about 20 times and I can’t stress enough that you must walk out immediately if you come here and this guy isn’t in. The other Korean cooks can’t hang. It’s really disappointing actually, but what can you do. It’s worth the risk in my opinion to waste 20 minutes coming over here to check if he’s in, which he usually is.

Today I went with Mike, a good friend of mine, and apparently too cool to take off his sunglasses indoor.

Brisket Pho (양지 쌀국수 Yang-ji Ssal-guk-su) 7,500w

I get this Brisket Pho every time I come. Actually I come in so often by myself that they stopped asking my order a while back and just bring me this bowl. Man, this pho is good. I just ate it about 30 minutes ago and I want another. I think the secret to it is that its made with all the correct ingredients. Back in college I tried one day to make pho and after reading the ingredients list I attempted to do it without half of the spices. There were a surprising number of obscure spices I’ve never heard of. Scattered around Little Papa Pho are spices I remember leaving out from that first failed pho-making attempt. The soup is complex and layered, and peppery. It’s not the beef flavored salt water served at other Korean pho joints. Also, this pho has a very distinct and wonderful ingredient I’ve never seen in pho before, even in Vietnam: roasted garlic. It’s such a strong flavor but it mixes perfectly here. It’s amazing, and actually they use it on a lot of their other dishes as well. In the photo above they are the brown flakes there.

I just wished they served lime. :/

Make sure to order cilantro separately. 고수 많이 주세요! Koh-su joo-se-yo!

None of my friends seem to agree with me, but I am in love with this chili pepper. It has a strong roasted flavor and is very very spicy. I pour copious amounts in everything I eat here.

Chicken Mushroom Roll (닭고기 버섯롤 dak-go-gi bu-sut roll) 4,500w

This is a great appetizer or complement to the pho. The rolls are fresh, and flavored perfectly, and the rolls are moist. They are made to order so take a few minutes to prepare. The sauce is a perfect complement, vinegary and spicy, with lavish amounts of roasted garlic.

Vegetable Spring Rolls  (야채 스프링 롤 Yah-che Spring Roll) Large 5,000w

Not much to say here. They taste exactly as they look like. Fresh ingredients, made to order, can’t really go wrong with it. But, actually, I don’t like the sauce. It’s too sweet. But that may merely be due to a personal preference for spicy sauce over sweet.

Little papa pho doin’ it right.

Thanks for waiting Toby!

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English Name: Little Papa Pho
Korean Name: 리틀파파포
English Address: 413-15 Hapjeong-dong Mapo-gu Seoul
Korean Address: 서울특별시 마포구 합정동 413-15
Phone Number: 02.326.2788