Pho Lan KC

Pho Lan is a family-owned Vietnamese restaurant near Kansas City’s River Market and Columbus Park, opened in 2021 by Aiden Truong and named for his mother, Lan Duong, whose family recipes anchor the menu of pho and Vietnamese plates.

Description

Pho Lan is a small, family-owned Vietnamese restaurant at 315 Cherry St on the edge of Kansas City’s River Market and Columbus Park neighborhoods. The kitchen centers on pho — offering roughly half a dozen variations — alongside other Vietnamese staples, with most dishes drawn from family recipes. Reviewers consistently praise the richness of the beef-broth pho, generous portion sizes, and affordable pricing (with pho tai reported around $12).

The restaurant is described as a modest, welcoming neighborhood spot. It offers takeout and online ordering through Toast, with limited dine-in seating and reported outdoor seating.

Ownership and history

Pho Lan was opened in 2021 by Aiden Truong, who named the restaurant in honor of his mother, Lan Duong. According to local reporting, Truong’s family immigrated to the United States in 2003, following an uncle who had come to the U.S. in 1975; Truong has said his mother wanted the family in the U.S. for a better future. The menu is built largely on his mother’s family recipes, and the business is run as a family operation.

Tier classification

Tier 1 — deeply local, family-owned and operated. Pho Lan is an independent, single-location, owner-operated Kansas City restaurant with no chain affiliation. It is built directly on the founding family’s heritage and recipes (the restaurant is literally named for the owner’s mother), and is run by the family that founded it. This is a clear fit for the Tier 1 standard of a KC-rooted, owner-operated business with genuine personal investment in the city.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-07-24 · Source: Pho Lan official Toast online-ordering menu (first-party) · URL(s): https://order.toasttab.com/online/pho-lan-315-cherry-st · Confidence: High (full official menu transcribed)

Vietnamese. River Market, 315 Cherry St. “A family owned Vietnamese kitchen serving our own recipes of Vietnam” (restaurant’s own tagline). Currency note (2026-07-24): the Toast page currently shows “Currently not accepting online orders” and “Closed — opens Monday at 9AM” (checked on a Friday, which contradicts the posted Fri–Sat hours) — possible temporary closure/vacation or an hours change.

Appetizers:¹

• Chả Giò (2) — deep-fried egg rolls: ground pork, cabbage, carrot, glass vermicelli — $4.50¹
• Tôm Cuốn Chiên (4) — shrimp & onion in fried wonton wrapper — $7.00¹
• Bánh Cua Chiên — crab rangoon — $8.00¹
• Bánh Tôm Chiên — fried sweet potato & shrimp fritters — $10.00¹
• Gỏi Gà — chicken salad: shredded chicken, cabbage, pickled carrots & daikon, cilantro, peanuts — $11.00¹
• Gỏi Tôm Thịt — shrimp & barbecue pork salad — $11.00¹
• Nem Nướng — fried strips of marinated ground pork, pickled vegetables — $10.00¹
• Chim Cút (2) — crispy marinated quails — $10.00¹

Noodle Bowls (soups):¹

• Phở Tái — rare-beef rice noodle soup — $13.00¹
• Phở Bò Viên — beef meatball pho — $13.00¹
• Phở Gà — shredded chicken pho — $13.00¹
• Phở Đặc Biệt — combination pho: meatballs, brisket, beef shank, tripe, rare beef — $14.00¹
• Phở Đồ Biển — seafood pho: squid, mussels, imitation crab, shrimp — $14.00¹
• Phở Bò Kho — braised beef stew with rice noodles — $14.00¹
• Mì Bò Kho — braised beef stew with egg noodles — $14.00¹
• Hủ Tiếu Tôm Thịt Bằm — rice noodle soup, ground pork + shrimp, chicken broth — $14.00¹
• Hủ Tiếu & Mì Đặc Biệt — rice & egg noodle combo: squid, mussels, shrimp, barbecue pork — $14.00¹
• Hủ Tiếu Tôm Gà — rice noodle soup, chicken + shrimp — $14.00¹
• Hủ Tiếu Đồ Biển — seafood rice noodle soup, chicken broth — $14.00¹
• Mì Xá Xíu — egg noodle soup, barbecue pork — $14.00¹
• Mì Hoành Thánh & Xá Xíu — wonton & barbecue pork egg noodle soup — $15.00¹
• Mì Đồ Biển — seafood egg noodle soup — $14.00¹
• Bún Bò Huế — rich & spicy vermicelli soup: beef shank, pigs feet, pork blood, pork roll — $16.00¹
• Bún Riêu — tomato-crab vermicelli soup: fermented shrimp paste, minced crab broth, tofu, pork roll — $16.00¹

Salad Bowls (bun / vermicelli):¹

• Bún Chả Giò — vermicelli with fried egg rolls — $12.00¹
• Bún Thịt — with stir-fried pork — $14.00¹
• Bún Gà — with charbroiled chicken — $14.00¹
• Bún Bò — with stir-fried beef — $14.00¹
• Bún Tôm — with stir-fried shrimp — $14.00¹
• Bún Thập Cẩm — pork & shrimp + egg roll — $15.00¹
• Bún Nem — with nem nuong pork strips — $14.00¹

Rice Platters (com):¹

• Cơm Gà — charbroiled chicken, jasmine rice — $14.00¹
• Cơm Sườn — pork chop, egg loaf, fried egg — $15.00¹
• Cơm Thịt — stir-fried pork, egg loaf, fried egg — $15.00¹
• Cơm Bò — stir-fried beef, egg loaf, fried egg — $15.00¹
• Cơm Chim Cút — crispy fried quails, jasmine rice — $14.00¹

Fried Rice:¹

• Cơm Chiên Gà — chicken fried rice — $14.00¹
• Cơm Chiên Tôm — shrimp fried rice — $14.00¹
• Cơm Chiên Thập Cẩm — combination (chicken, beef, shrimp) — $15.00¹
• Cơm Chiên Dương Châu — roast pork, Chinese sausage, shrimp — $15.00¹

Stir-fried Entrees:¹

• Gà Cary — spicy chicken curry — $14.00¹
• Gà Xào Gừng — ginger chicken — $14.00¹
• Gà Xào Xả Ớt — lemongrass-chili chicken — $14.00¹
• Gà Lá Quế — Thai basil chicken — $14.00¹
• Gà Xào Rau — chicken & vegetables — $14.00¹
• Bò Cary — spicy beef curry — $15.00¹
• Bò Xào Xả Ớt — spicy lemongrass beef — $15.00¹
• Bò Xào Bông Cải Xanh — beef & broccoli — $15.00¹
• Bò Xào Rau — beef & vegetables — $15.00¹
• Tôm Cary — spicy shrimp curry — $15.00¹
• Tôm Xào Rau — shrimp & vegetables — $15.00¹
• Đồ Xào Thập Cẩm — combination stir-fry (chicken, beef, shrimp) — $16.00¹
• Đồ Biển Xào Rau — seafood combination stir-fry — $16.00¹

Vegetables & Tofu:¹

• Khoai Lan Chiên — fried sweet potato fritters — $9.00¹
• Đậu Hũ Cary — spicy tofu curry — $13.00¹
• Đậu Hũ Xả Ớt — spicy lemongrass tofu — $13.00¹
• Đậu Hũ Lá Quế — Thai basil tofu — $13.00¹
• Đậu Hũ Xào Rau — stir-fried tofu & vegetables, brown vegetable sauce — $14.00¹
• Mì Nước Đậu Hũ — tofu egg noodle soup (chicken broth) — $14.00¹
• Phở Đậu Hũ — tofu pho (beef broth) — $14.00¹

Drinks: Vietnamese Iced Coffee (phin-dripped, condensed milk) — $5.00 · Can Soft Drinks — $1.50 · Thai Tea (bottle) — $3.50 · Carabao Energy Drink — $2.50 · Peach Tea (bottle; also lychee) — $3.00¹

Full current menu + online ordering: Toast — Pho Lan, 315 Cherry St

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Sources

1. The Kansas City Star (via Yahoo Lifestyle), “This Kansas City restaurant’s tasty pho made an empty table feel like home” — https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/kansas-city-restaurant-tasty-pho-100000309.html — accessed 2026-05-30
2. Yelp — Pho Lan, Kansas City — https://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-lan-kansas-city — accessed 2026-05-30
3. Pho Lan official Facebook page — https://www.facebook.com/pholanofficial/ — accessed 2026-05-30
4. Toast online ordering — Pho Lan, 315 Cherry St — https://order.toasttab.com/online/pho-lan-315-cherry-st — accessed 2026-06-23
5. Yelp — “Pho KC - CLOSED,” 315 Cherry St, Kansas City (predecessor tenant at same address) — https://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-kc-kansas-city — accessed 2026-06-23
6. Kansas City Magazine, “Everything you need to know about pho in KC” (confirms owner Aiden Truong, mother Lan Duong, uncle Thanh Truong in the kitchen) — https://kansascitymag.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-pho-in-kc-1/ — accessed 2026-06-23

Verification

Drafted 2026-05-30 from web research; 4 independent sources (KC Star feature via Yahoo, Yelp, official Facebook, Toast ordering). Owner (Aiden Truong), namesake (mother Lan Duong), 2021 opening, and family immigration history are confirmed by the KC Star feature. Phone number (816) 832-8148 is from listing aggregators — recommend confirming directly. No standalone website; presence is Facebook plus Toast ordering. Note: address sits on the River Market / Columbus Park boundary; base data and listings place it in River Market.

PASS-4 operating-status re-verification (2026-06-23): Confirmed ACTIVE. Yelp listing current as of June 2026 (142 photos / 77 reviews / ~4.7 stars) with positive 2026 reviews; Toast online-ordering page live with current menu; KC Magazine pho feature corroborates the active family operation (Aiden Truong front-of-house; mother Lan Duong and uncle Thanh Truong in the kitchen). No “permanently closed,” moved, or rebrand flag found. Hours added from aggregator listings (flagged for direct confirmation). Light source-link remediation: added live URLs to the Facebook and Toast entries in the infobox; added Sources 5–6 with access dates. Discovered a separate closed “Pho KC” Yelp listing at the same 315 Cherry St address — Pho Lan appears to have succeeded an earlier Vietnamese tenant; noted in Current standing, not a concern for Pho Lan’s own status.

Links

• Primary web presence (Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/pholanofficial/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pholankc/
• Online ordering (Toast): https://order.toasttab.com/online/pho-lan-315-cherry-st

Footnotes

1. Toast — official online-ordering menu, Pho Lan, 315 Cherry St — https://order.toasttab.com/online/pho-lan-315-cherry-st — accessed 2026-06-23; full menu re-pulled and transcribed 2026-07-24. Asserts: full current menu (8 sections, 65 items, native Vietnamese names + prices as transcribed above); phone (816) 832-8148; as of 2026-07-24 the page displays “Currently not accepting online orders” and “Closed — opens Monday at 9AM.” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸ ↩⁴⁹ ↩⁵⁰ ↩⁵¹ ↩⁵² ↩⁵³ ↩⁵⁴ ↩⁵⁵ ↩⁵⁶ ↩⁵⁷ ↩⁵⁸ ↩⁵⁹ ↩⁶⁰ ↩⁶¹ ↩⁶² ↩⁶³ ↩⁶⁴ ↩⁶⁵ ↩⁶⁶ ↩⁶⁷ ↩⁶⁸