Jeonju pho spot with three dishes for two under ₩30,000: Phodam

"You can eat until you're stuffed with three dishes and it's still under 30,000 won?"

My husband, who's basically a half-local working in Jeonju, strongly recommended this place, so I tagged along, and wow... the value for money was seriously impressive. Most main dishes — pho, banh xeo, bun cha, banh mi — are priced under ₩10,000, so if you're looking for a budget-friendly pho spot near Jeonju City Hall, I want to recommend Phodam!

Where is Phodam near Jeonju City Hall, and where do you park?

Phodam is located in Seonosong-dong, Wansan-gu, near Jeonju City Hall. There's room for about one car in front, but it's pretty tight, so keep in mind that Nosongcheon Public Parking Lot, about a 5-minute walk away, offers 1 hour of free parking!

Inside Phodam: roomy seating with a local Vietnamese diner feel

The inside of Phodam was quite a bit more spacious than I expected, with a comfortable, cozy local-restaurant feel. When I visited, I saw a lot of students, and takeout and delivery orders kept coming in nonstop — I thought, this must really be a well-known spot for great value.

Phodam menu prices: three dishes for two came to 29,700 won

Since there were only two of us, we'd originally planned to order just two dishes — one pho plus one signature dish. But looking at the menu changed our minds. Brisket beef pho was ₩8,900, banh xeo was ₩9,900, bun cha Saigon was also ₩9,900... that's so cheap!? So in the end we ordered all three dishes between the two of us. With extra cilantro added, it came to ₩29,700! Not even ₩30,000.

How the brisket beef pho, bun cha and banh xeo tasted

We ordered the brisket beef pho, banh xeo, and bun cha. Since we'd already ordered three dishes, we couldn't try the banh mi this time, but my husband, who works in Jeonju, recommended it too, so I plan to try it next time 🥹 Honestly even adding banh mi wouldn't cost much, but I don't think our stomachs could handle it!! haha

Brisket beef pho at Phodam, 8,900 won

First up, the brisket beef pho. I like cilantro so I added extra, which is why it looks piled up in the photo — if you don't add it, you just get the meat and vegetables!

The first thing that surprised me about Phodam's brisket beef pho was the meat and the broth! There was more meat than I expected, with no gamey smell at all and a nice tender texture — turns out they use 1+ grade Korean beef, wow. Maybe that's why the broth tasted so on point...

And my husband said he especially liked the noodles. At some pho places the noodles can feel a bit firm, but here they were cooked through so they slid smoothly and softly into your mouth! The broth also wasn't overpowered by herb flavor — it centered on a clean, savory flavor drawn from the meat, which I liked.

The 9,900-won banh xeo was surprisingly huge

And then the banh xeo... this really surprised us the moment it arrived. "Wow, this portion is huge!" — we actually said this out loud while the server was setting it down.

Since it was ₩9,900, I honestly expected something more like a side dish, but seeing it in person, it was big enough that you could fit about three hands on it. It was packed full inside, too, and came with plenty of lettuce and rice paper, so there was nothing lacking.

You cut the banh xeo into bite-sized pieces with scissors, place lettuce on the rice paper, add a piece of the cut banh xeo, and dip it thoroughly into the house-made sauce that comes with it.

Eating it like this, I found myself checking the price again. "This is ₩9,900? Not ₩19,900?" Of everything we ordered this time, this was the best value by far.

Bun cha Saigon comes topped with cha gio (fried spring rolls)

The bun cha Saigon had great composition right off the bat. It's already generously loaded with meat, noodles, and vegetables, and on top of that, it comes with cha gio (fried spring rolls) too.

Dipping it into the house-made sauce and taking a spoonful with meat and vegetables, the noodles were soft and slid down easily just like the pho, and I also liked that the vegetables weren't sliced too thick.

The cha gio had a properly crispy outside that shattered nicely, with a moist inside — top quality! If the pho was all about 'taste,' the bun cha nailed both taste and 'composition.' If you can only pick one dish at Phodam, choosing between the pho or the bun cha will never let you down~!

Verdict: is Phodam the best value pho near Jeonju City Hall?

This time at Phodam we ate three dishes — pho, banh xeo, and bun cha — and it still came out under ₩30,000, and the sheer portion size of the ₩9,900 banh xeo was shocking. The pho had soft noodles and a clean, savory meat broth, and the bun cha came topped with cha gio so you got to enjoy a variety of flavors even ordering just one dish. If you're looking for a good spot near Jeonju City Hall and value for money matters, I recommend Phodam Jeonju City Hall Branch!