A Vietnamese restaurant with a name that raised eyebrows across Texas has planted itself back in North Fort Worth, 15 years after its original Keller location shut its doors. Pho King Way opened at 5633 N. Tarrant Parkway on August 26, bringing bowls of phở bò, lettuce wraps, and fried rice to a storefront that has seen more turnover than most strip-mall suites in the area.
Owner Alex Le told Community Impact that the North Fort Worth location opened at the end of August, marking a return to Texas after Le closed his original Pho King Way in Keller in 2011 following a two-year run that began in 2009. Back then, he said, Texans often had no idea what phở even was. Now Le is betting that a much more food-curious Fort Worth will embrace both the cuisine and the name.
A Suite With a Revolving Door
The space Pho King Way now occupies has a busy history. It previously housed Tabla Indian Restaurant, which closed in early 2026 according to prior reporting, and before that it was home to Spice 8 Indian Fusion Grill, a fast-casual concept that Hoodline previously covered when it debuted in the same suite back in 2018. Tabla's exit followed a landlord lockout and eviction by SGQ North Tarrant, LLC over delinquent rent payments on February 17, 2026, according to Community Impact. Tabla had opened in the same storefront in January 2025 as its first location outside Florida, per the outlet's earlier reporting, before its abrupt end just over a year later.
That kind of churn isn't unique to this one address. Nearby on North Tarrant Parkway, Pal's Bar & Kitchen recently became the third bar to claim its own suite, a trend Hoodline detailed in its coverage of the corridor's dining turnover. Investment along the parkway has been heavy in general; Dallas firm Younger Partners Investments purchased the nearby 375,000-square-foot Presidio Junction retail center along I-35W and North Tarrant Parkway in March, a deal Hoodline also reported on at the time.
From Confused Diners to Curious Fans
Le said Texans 15 years ago often didn't know what pho and other Vietnamese dishes were, a stark contrast to today's market. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex now supports the fourth-largest Vietnamese community of any U.S. metro area, with regional demographic estimates putting the population at more than 110,000 ethnic Vietnamese residents across North Texas, according to the Global City Mission Initiative. Tarrant County itself has grown to an estimated 2.26 million residents, with Asian residents making up roughly 6.1% of that population, per World Population Review figures.
Still, old habits die hard. Some customers have asked where the orange chicken is on the menu, according to the restaurant's own reporting to Community Impact — a reminder that not every diner walking through the door is fluent in Vietnamese cuisine yet. Le said he wants people to enjoy Vietnamese food and culture, and that he spends 15 hours a day helping staff keep the operation running. When a customer's order doesn't meet expectations, Le said he'll personally talk with them and suggest different menu options.
What's on the Menu
The build-your-own pho bowls anchor the menu, with the Royal Bowl You Way featuring eye round steak, brisket, fatty brisket, tendon, tripe, and beef meatballs. Diners can also order fried rice dishes with chicken, beef, shrimp, and Chinese sausage, including the Cơm Chiên King Way, which piles on shrimp, squid, fried fish, steamed fish, beef, chicken, and Chinese sausage in one dish. Appetizers include egg rolls, spring rolls, fried wontons, and lettuce wraps, alongside other noodle soups beyond the classic pho.
Drinks range from salted plum and lemon soda to jasmine iced tea, Thai iced tea, and iced or hot French coffee with condensed milk, plus standard sodas like Pepsi, Sprite, and Dr. Pepper. The restaurant's name itself has become something of a marketing engine on its own; CultureMap Fort Worth reported that the pun on the traditional pronunciation of phở sparked significant discussion in local Facebook groups like Fort Worth Foodies. That's not new territory for Le — when he opened his first California location in Mission Viejo in 2011, shopping center landlords initially asked him to change the name over resident complaints, but he kept it, having trademarked the branding years earlier and defended it as free expression, according to Patch.
A Multi-State Operation
Le currently focuses much of his attention on two California locations, in Mission Viejo at 24000 Alicia Parkway and in Aliso Viejo at 26705 Aliso Creek Road, both opened after he left Texas in 2011. The Fort Worth location marks his return to the state where Pho King Way got its start, this time at 5633 N. Tarrant Parkway rather than the original Keller address at 721 Keller Parkway, Suite 116. The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and its grand opening promotions included free soft drinks. More details are available on the restaurant's website, www.pkway.net.
