Pho Che opens in Great Neck with gigantic noodle soups

New year, new noodles ... A local Vietnamese chain that just popped up on Northern Boulevard may have the largest bowl of noodle soup in Nassau.

Pho Che got its start in Flushing, Queens, and opened a second location in Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 2023. Co-owner David Lee opened his latest Great Neck spot in the former Ponte Mollo Italian restaurant in December after a process that lasted more than a year. 

His long-awaited restaurant offers a compact and approachable menu of Vietnamese greatest hits, like banh mi sandwiches, vermicelli noodle salads called bún and 19 varieties of pho. The menu is rather straightforward and doesn't include any hard-to-find regional fare, but what it lacks in variety it makes up for in size. 

Most people will order the small portion, which hovers around $15. But a pro move here is to split a banh mi, which has some nice, crusty bread but not much meat. And then get a large soup, which was big enough to feed two people on its own.

A few minutes later, a server brought over a comically large white crock of broth with the thin strands of rice noodles. For the fullest experience, get the house special combo pho ($17.58 for a large) with thinly sliced steak, brisket, meatballs and springy clear bits of tendon. Tasty! 

It's important to note that if you want basil on the side, you'll have to ask. If patrons say nothing, the server will bring over a plate of raw bean sprouts, jalapeño slices and lime, but none of the herbs you might expect. The broth here is on the milder side so you'll probably want to load it up with the extra ingredients, as well as some Sriracha sauce for a kick. 

Pho Che, 96 Northern Blvd., Great Neck, 516-303-1755. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

By Andi Berlin

andi.berlin@newsday.com

Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.