This post was updated Oct. 18 at 11:13 p.m.
26 Pho Cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant, opened in Westwood on Oct. 4.
Located on Glendon Avenue, 26 Pho Cafe offers Vietnamese-inspired dishes including pho, bánh mì and vermicelli noodles, as well as drinks such as Vietnamese coffee with ube and black sesame cream and Thai milk tea.
Owner Niki Wong said 26 Pho Cafe, which offers both sit-down dining and to-go options, aims to offer accessible comfort food to students and families.
“We chose Westwood because we love the energy in this community,” she said. “Vietnamese (food) contains a lot of fresh ingredients, so we wanted to bring kind of a vibrant Vietnamese cuisine into this community.”
26 Pho Cafe has locations in Pasadena and Vancouver and White Rock, Canada. The Westwood and Pasadena locations are operated by the same group of owners but have different menus, Wong said.
Westwood had a shortage of Vietnamese food before 26 Pho Cafe opened, said Jacqueline Wu, a fourth-year economics student who attended the restaurant’s soft opening event. Students lack access to diverse food options because they often have to take long public transportation routes to them, she added.
Restaurants such as 26 Pho Cafe – which is a 20-minute walk away from the Hill – are important for students because of their convenience, Wu said.
The restaurant’s opening follows recent Westwood Village food and beverage additions, including Sana’a Cafe, Raising Cane’s and Milksha.
[Related: Sana’a Cafe brings Yemeni-inspired drinks, pastries to Westwood]
Wong said she is grateful for students’ feedback, adding that several customers have told her that they appreciate the restaurant’s use of fresh ingredients and focus on wellness. She added that she hopes to host community events such as local markets in the future.
Ashley Duong, a second-year biochemistry student who learned about 26 Pho Cafe through Instagram, said the soft opening weekend deals and drink offerings prompted her and her roommates to dine at the restaurant.
26 Pho Cafe will host soft-opening events Oct. 24-25 with special discounts and promotions before its official grand opening in November, Wong said.
Duong said she enjoys trying out new Asian restaurants around UCLA with her family.
“It’s just convenient,” she said. “I can find a home away from home just by having food I grew up eating.”
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