Review: Pho 95, new Vietnamese place in Cocoa, has the potential to become a first-rate

Lyn Dowling
For FLORIDA TODAY
Pho 95 in Cocoa is only a few months old but already is well established.

A former Burger King here, a Wendy’s there, a McDonald’s somewhere else: Oh, how the now-derelict fast food restaurants litter Brevard, far too many seemingly awaiting the wrecking ball.

The old Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, now Pho 95, on Dixon Boulevard in Cocoa is an object lesson in what to do with such a place: clean it, decorate it and serve better food than the original ever had.

Decorated with pastel blue and white tiles, a floral mural on glass and other bits of Franco-Vietnamese art and blue-clothed wooden tables, Pho 95 is only a few months old, but already feels well established.

It has a fairly diverse menu that is overwhelmingly Vietnamese-flavored. Pad Thai, some dishes shared with other Asian countries and a couple of American extras are about the only items otherwise derived. If you’re looking for sushi, Thai or Korean, this is not your place.

We started with banh phong tom ($2.95), those big, airy-crunchy shrimp-and-starch crackers that you’ve had before but can’t remember exactly when or where. These were warm, not at all fishy-tasting and absolutely delicious. 

The person who ordered them chose steamed Chien huoac hap ($3.75), and it was a decent choice, the dumplings being well-steamed, so that they were neither limp nor sticky, with a fair amount of filling. We’ve had fatter crab Rangoon ($2.95) with more crab and cream cheese, but Pho 95’s hadn’t a trace of oil and tasted quite fresh, which was much welcome.

Five different people had five different entrees: pho nam ($7.95), mi hoanh thanh ($6.95), bun dac biet ($8.95), com tom ($8.95) and hu thieu hoac ($8.50). Let’s start at the upper end of the scale in description, with the latter. 

Hu thieu hoac at Pho 95 in Cocoa consists of fried noodles shaped into a bowl, onto which are heaped slices of tender beef and vegetables.

It consists of fried noodles shaped into a bowl, onto which are heaped slices of tender beef and vegetables, seasoned enough to make it interesting but not to overwhelm the natural flavors of the ingredients.

Bun dac biet is a substantial vermicelli meal with shrimp, carrots, onion, egg and other delights, all of which were fresh and again, not over-spiced but slightly tangy; a little lemongrass, maybe? Com tom was lovely too, with a touch of seven-spice Asian goodness.

Bun dac biet at Pho 95 is a substantial vermicelli meal with shrimp, carrots, onion, egg and other delights, all of which were fresh and not over-spiced.

The fellow who ordered the pho with sliced beef pronounced it some of the best he’s had stateside. 

The mi hoanh thanh was ordered to see how this Vietnamese restaurant does pan-Asian fare. Unfortunately, the filling was a bit too dense, the wrapper a little limp, and there was far too much waste on the slices of (chewy) pork. The broth excelled.

You had the impression that things are just getting underway at Pho 95, the waiter having been, for lack of a better word, lost. He did not know what Vietnamese-style coffee is, and so we settled for lemonade, which was fine. He could not identify or explain dishes and had to rely strictly on numbers.

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Menu items that offered fried or steamed jasmine rice had to be explained. He hovered. No itemized ticket was received. On it went. Customers also had to deal with tablecloths that should have been changed more often and protective panes that were too narrow, so that plates rested on inclines or were placed too far from diners.

At the bottom of it, however, is hearty, authentic Vietnamese food, and if the proprietors, who seem most gracious, can deal with such easily-resolved issues, they’ll have a first-rate restaurant in a venue that could have remained anything but. 

We’ll be back in a month or so to catch up.

Pho 95

Three stars

Address: 938 Dixon Blvd., Cocoa

Hours: 10 a.m.to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays

Call: 321-417-5005

Online: No website

WiFi: Yes

Other: Take-out, special orders

About our reviews

Restaurants are rated on a five-star system by FLORIDA TODAY’s reviewer. The reviews are the opinion of the reviewer and take into account quality of the restaurant’s food, ambiance and service. Ratings reflect the quality of what a diner can reasonably expect to find. To receive a rating of less than three stars, a restaurant must be tried twice and prove unimpressive on each visit. Each reviewer visit is unannounced and paid for by FLORIDA TODAY.

Five stars: Excellent. A rare establishment to which you’d be proud to take the most discerning diner.

Four stars: Very good. Worth going out of your way for. Food, atmosphere and service are routinely top notch.

Three stars: Good. A reasonably good place with food and service that satisfy.

Two stars: Fair. While there’s nothing special about this establishment, it will do in a pinch.

One star: Not recommended. Don’t bother.

Want to talk food? Tweet @lyn_dowling or email 321foodreviews@gmail.com.

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