888 Vietnamese Restaurant

Don't be fooled! Though 888 is in the ghetto, it's got the best beef pho in Austin! Seafood ragoo is a greasy, guilty pleasure more

This is my favorite Pan Asian restaurant in Austin. Everything is always delicious. The Chinese dishes can be a little weaker, though the salt and pepper dishes and the sesame dishes, especially the sesame tofu, are super tasty. They have the most wonderful chicken wings ever that come in a unique sweet, spicy, basil-infused sauce. The seafood puffs are like gooey, melty globs of heaven. The bun, which is a Vietnamese vermicelli pasta bowl, is fanastic, whether you get chicken, pork or tofu. I took a newbie last year who took a bite and said, ""this is a bowl of heaven."" They frequently have really tasty dinner specials and are open late. I love this place. more

My all time favorite Vietnamese restaurant here in Austin. The food is great everytime! more

Since discovering 888 a few months ago, I find myself there a couple of times a week. Since my first basics were great - Pad Thai, Bun, General ""whatevers"" chicken, I moved on to experiment with many other dishes. All were among the best I've ever had. I usually don't show up until around 8:30 or 9, but the service at that time has been excellent. The people are also just very nice. And plenty of comfy booths to choose from. It also feels very clean and the food has been very fresh. Huge fan and I wish them well. more

I ordered General Tso's chicken . The food came and we found the chicken under the sweet syrupy outer coating was completely STALE. We asked the waitress to change it. Round 2 , General Tso's chicken is back. But you guessed it... STALE again... The server did not really know what to do... Interestingly the manager did not even care to taste the chicken to find out what the problem was... We asked for our check left the whole food (it was as good as donating 10 bucks to 888 charity), but as a parting shot I wanted to see the owner who has the audacity to dish out such crap to customers.. He came and said that he got the chicken fresh and he has been selling tons of General Tso's all day long... Interesting!! Had a good impression about this place till today... Very bad service too.. A few days back the waiter had charged me 40 bucks for food worth 8 bucks... I was the only one in the restaurant so i wonder whose bill he mixed me up with... This place has become really sad ... unfortunate because it seemed to have potential.. eat if you are willing to compromise on freshness and quality or cant figure out any better place to go to.. If you still go stick to the green red or yellow curry only.. its a Vietnamese restaurant remember!!! Pros: good ambience Cons: chicken dish was stale, very bad customer management more

I've gone for there many years, I never seen and never had this great service here. RESPECTFUL ! Vanessa was my server that night, the restaurant was so busy, the restaurant phone and the kitchen bell keep ringing, and the people pick -up to go order...only two people working that night, but Vanessa never forgot us, she did her best to serve us. Good Food Good Service Pros: Yummy Food Great Service more

Pad thai my fave dish more

I like it! more

My boyfriend and I were particularly hungry one night, and after finding Java Noodle (next door- delicious food!) was closed, we decided to try 888. As soon as we were seated we were approached by the waitress, we didn't have a second to even look at the menu- it didn't bother me, we just needed a minute to look. After we had decided on our food, the waitress would NOT come back to our table to take our order. Our menus were closed, sitting on the table- and she walked passed us many times, tables that came in after us were already eating- she was walking around, bussing tables, cleaning stuff, refilling waters, and she would not take our order. I waited tables for 7 years, virtually nothing ticks me off at a restaurant, I'm the best customer any restaurant could have, but this REALLY made me angry. I stood up and stormed out. Worst service, and the rudest thing you could do to a customer. My advice: go next door to Java noodle, their service and food are 10 times better for half the price :) Pros: nothing Cons: horrible service more

My husband did research and found this to be one of the popular ones in the Austin area. One thing that bothered us from the start is that the afternoon sun pours in the windows and blinds everyone sitting on the East side. We went on Halloween night and from the time the doors open the place filled up but, still we were one of the first. Because, this place isn't equipped properly with staff I felt, for vietnamese food, we were there for quite awhile. The food was okay and maybe I would come back if there weren't any other Vietnamese places to try, I highly doubt it though. However, I did hear about one on N. Lamar that other Vietnamese people go to...I think I'll be trying that next! Pros: High energy because, a lot people go there. Cons: Ambiance, decor and service (they try though). more

I an from Hawaii and vietnemese food is abundant there. When I moved to texas it was really hard to find great vietnemese food. When i found this place my mouth and belly were so happy!! The pho is great and you can get a bowl for $5.75 The food is great too. Everything that I have tried here is great. They also have a huge t.v. and they play modern lounge music at night. I wouldn't go here for the lunch buffet but I would order off the menu for lunch. The waiters are friendly, it is clean and they are fast with coming out with your food. This is a great place! It is a very casual place with great food and great portions. Pros: great food for the price, great portions and yummy!!! authentic more

I've lived in San Jose and worked in Milpitas, CA where good Vietnamese food is easy to come by...in Austin not so much. 888 was good - I tried the vermicelli and another time the curry dish (ok Indian but not too many places here for that either!). Pros: Not everything in Texas is deep fried and covered in gravy ...or jalepenos!, real Vietnamese food more

Food: The Pho is pretty good. Big and filling. Cheap as well. Its not outstanding but its still good. Pros: price, pho, service, open late, good for gatherings Cons: in a bad area, some of the dishes are below average more

Cheap fast lunch place; the beef soup stock for the pho is relatively aromatic and authentic (for this type of joint). However the decor is bizarre, crazy, and when I was there the music switched from 80's rock to Mozart piano tunes . It is depressing to eat there because of the poor ambience, so there is absolutely no need to linger. Portions are huge. Service very friendly. Pros: Cheap, tasty, authentic Vietnamese, fast service Cons: Lack of atmosphere more

I still don't understand how this restaurant is overlooked by the readers of the Austin Chronicle... This place deserves recognition!!! The food is delicious and the customer service is top notch! I recommend the sesame tofu, seafood puffs, and green curry-vegetable. It is never crowded which rocks since you do not have to wait to be seated. The lunch buffet is also worth a trip to the south side of town! Pros: Parking, Price, People Cons: N/A more

Before anyone discounts this place based on my shabby two stars, let me make it clear that this review is only about the Pho, that wonderful Viet comfort food dish that's easy to do, but hard to do well. Pros: Cheap. Except it tastes like it, too. Cons: Wait a minute.. my pro was probably a con. Coincidence? more

Great place to eat. I went with some co-workers for lunch to try it out and was surprised how good it was. The seating area and restrooms are very clean. The service was exceptional and friendly. The meal was huge and the best part was the bill was NOT. more

Four of us went to the South Austin location of 888 and sat down at a comfortable booth. We were greeted by a friendly host and waitress who let us know about the specials and repeated them to two guys who didn't hear them the first time. Service was friendly and timely. Three of us ate roasted duck in a tangerine and lychee sauce with Hot and Sour soup and seaweed salad beforehand (The seaweed salad was actually a green salad with sesame dressing and a little seaweed.) **we paid between 7 and 8 dollars each for all this!!**. Highly recommended for lunch. Pros: Good food at a good value. Timely and considerate service. Not too crowded. Cons: ?? more

Oh man, you've gotta try this place. Reasonably priced and some of the best Asian dishes around. My wife (a real cook) is Thai and she says it's the best Vietnamese/Thai style food she's ever had anywhere. Pros: Price, Food quality, nice restrooms, open late, excellent lunch buffet Cons: lackluster Pho and fried rice more

I have been to 888 a decent amount of times since I started attending school around here, and I will tell you that they have some really great vermicelli, egg-noodle, and rice dishes! I have tried the pho here and I thought it was rather bland, but I hear it is because they do not use MSG in their cooking. The service is great and the place itself has a relaxed feel to it, which is great for wanting to eat and hang with some friends. The lunch buffet here just was not very appealing to me, and I felt I should have ordered instead. Overall my expericence hase been good, and 888 will has remained on the top of my list for post-downtown asian food! Pros: Good food for a good price... especially late at night Cons: Pho seemed to be a bit bland more