Sometimes LA restaurants decide they don’t need a sign out front. Folks in-the-loop know where to find the door. Pho Café takes the indiscriminant mark of royalty to a new level. If you call for delivery and ask if they have a website, the thick accent on the phone directs you to the menu’s photo on flickr. And it kinda seems like they didn’t put it there, but you should have known where to look. No website, no sign on the door, but the plaza parking lot is always packed with cars. We’re talking locals only, LA style.

Inside, square wood tables line the minty-scented plain corridor. Pots and pans clang in the open kitchen behind the cash register. The white, brightly lit place may be packed but there seems to be one last table available between young, hip foodies slurping their noodles or chomping down crepes. Order a Vietnamese iced coffee, the strong stuff blended with sweetened condensed milk (though it’s not served in a fancy drip press at your table, you’ll have to go south of town to Little Saigon for that). Let it wash down a crunchy egg roll cracked in half over steamy noodles, sprouts and organic meat. The coffee and tasty dish will cost about $10. An affordable menu and quick service distinguish this mysterious restaurant from the effervescent pack, even without a name in bold letters inviting customers to its doorstep. Just don’t ask any questions and everyone gets a fortune cookie. CASH ONLY.

2841 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 413-0888