Restaurant in Paris, France
Bib Gourmand value. No reservation needed.
Pho Tai holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) and Michelin Plate (2025) at a single-euro price point, making it the most credentialled budget Vietnamese option in Paris's 13th arrondissement. Walk-in friendly and fast-paced, it is the right call when you want a well-validated bowl without a reservation or a budget conversation. A 4.3 Google rating across 2,114 reviews confirms the consistency.
If you have already eaten at Pho Tai once, the question on a return visit is not whether to go back — it is whether the experience holds up when the novelty is gone. It does. With a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) and a Michelin Plate (2025) at a single-euro price point, Pho Tai is one of the most credentialled budget restaurants in Paris, and the 13th arrondissement's Vietnamese dining anchor. Book it for a second visit with the same confidence as the first, but go in knowing exactly what it is: a neighbourhood bowl destination that Michelin has twice decided is worth noting, not a special-occasion room.
Rue Philibert Lucot sits in the heart of the 13th's Vietnamese quarter, and Pho Tai fits the block: compact, unadorned, and organised around the meal rather than the setting. The spatial logic here is function-first. Tables are close together, the room is oriented toward throughput, and the lighting is flat and honest. There is no design ambition on display, and that is the correct call for what Pho Tai is trying to do. If you came for atmosphere, you are in the wrong part of the 13th. If you came for a bowl of pho that has earned Michelin recognition two years running at a price that does not require a budget conversation, you are in exactly the right place.
For a regular visitor, the spatial experience will feel familiar to the point of muscle memory: arrive, be seated quickly, order fast. The room does not reward lingering, and the pace of service reflects that. Solo diners will find it easy here — communal proximity and no frills mean single covers are absorbed without awkwardness. Groups of four will fit, but do not expect a leisurely table hold once bowls are cleared.
Pho Tai's name signals its anchor dish , tai refers to rare beef, and the pho built around it is the reason Michelin awarded recognition two consecutive years. For a first-timer, that bowl is the obvious call. For a regular, the decision worth making on a second visit is whether to move laterally into the rest of the menu. The venue's cuisine category is Vietnamese, and in the 13th's competitive Vietnamese dining cluster, Pho Tai's Michelin credentials set it above most neighbours at the same price tier. Use that credentialling as a guide: the kitchen has been evaluated and passed , branch out from the signature with reasonable confidence.
If you are comparing Vietnamese options in Paris, Mắm From Hanoï sits at a different register , more considered, more contemporary , and is worth the trip if you want a more structured Vietnamese experience. Pho Tai is the better call when the brief is a fast, well-executed, low-cost bowl with institutional validation behind it.
Two Michelin signals in consecutive years at a single-euro price point is not common. The Bib Gourmand specifically marks good cooking at a moderate price , it is a quality-per-euro credential, not a prestige one, and that framing fits Pho Tai exactly. The 2025 Michelin Plate indicates continued recognition without the full star tier. Together, they tell you the kitchen is consistent, not just lucky. A Google rating of 4.3 across 2,114 reviews adds volume to that argument: this is not a venue coasting on a single good year.
For context on what Michelin recognition means at scale across France, the broader French dining landscape includes three-star institutions like Mirazur in Menton, Troisgros in Ouches, and Bras in Laguiole. Pho Tai operates at the other end of that spectrum in price, but the Michelin system's acknowledgement of it confirms that credential-based dining is not exclusively a fine-dining game in France. See also Flocons de Sel in Megève, Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern, and Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or for the full range of what Michelin tracks in France.
Booking difficulty is easy. No advance planning beyond showing up is typically required, though peak lunch hours in the 13th's Vietnamese corridor can produce a short wait. Walk-in is the standard approach here. For Vietnamese dining elsewhere in the world, Camille in Orlando and Tầm Vị in Hanoi represent the category at different price tiers and geographies. Back in Paris, Pho Tai is as low-friction as dining gets at this credentialled level.
Phone and website details are not publicly listed in our records , hours and reservation specifics are leading confirmed by visiting directly or checking current maps listings before you go.
Quick reference: Pho Tai, 13 Rue Philibert Lucot, 75013 Paris , price range €, booking easy, walk-in standard.
Pho Tai sits within a broader Paris dining ecosystem worth planning around. For the full picture, see our full Paris restaurants guide, our full Paris hotels guide, our full Paris bars guide, our full Paris wineries guide, and our full Paris experiences guide. For fine dining reference points in Paris itself, Arpège and Kei sit at the opposite end of the price spectrum and are worth the comparison exercise if you are building a multi-meal Paris itinerary.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Pho Tai | € | — |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | €€€€ | — |
| Kei | €€€€ | — |
| L'Ambroisie | €€€€ | — |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | €€€€ | — |
| Pierre Gagnaire | €€€€ | — |
Comparing your options in Paris for this tier.
Yes, and it is one of the more practical solo options in the 13th. The format is a bowl-focused meal at a single-euro price point, so there is no pressure to order multiple courses or fill a table. Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition signals a focused, efficient kitchen — exactly the kind of place where solo diners are neither inconvenienced nor ignored.
The name tells you the anchor dish: tai is rare beef, and the pho is the reason to be here. Pho Tai sits on Rue Philibert Lucot in Paris's 13th arrondissement Vietnamese corridor, and it operates at the single-euro price tier — walk in, order the pho, and do not overcomplicate it. Two consecutive Michelin signals (Bib Gourmand 2024, Plate 2025) confirm the kitchen is consistent, not a fluke.
Bar seating is not confirmed in available venue data. Given the compact, neighbourhood format typical of the 13th's Vietnamese quarter and the single-euro price tier, the room is likely organised around tables rather than a counter bar. Arriving early or off-peak is a more reliable strategy than banking on bar seats.
Specific dietary accommodation details are not documented for this venue. The kitchen is built around pho — a broth-centred dish with variable protein options — so some flexibility exists by nature of the format, but anyone with serious restrictions should confirm directly on arrival. At a single-euro price point with a tight, focused menu, extensive customisation is unlikely.
Come as you are. Pho Tai is a single-euro price-tier Vietnamese spot in the 13th's neighbourhood dining corridor — Michelin recognised it for the cooking, not the room. There is no dress expectation beyond what you would wear to any casual lunch in Paris.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
