Pho Thin Bo Ho (Dinh Tien Hoang Street)

Pho Thin Bo Ho is the common name of the Pho Thin restaurant located on Dinh Tien Hoang Street, opposite Ngoc Son Temple (Hoan Kiem District). This pho restaurant has been here for nearly 70 years.

Pho Thin Bo Ho was established in 1955 by Mr. Bui Chi Thin (1928-2001). Currently, the restaurant is managed by Mr. Thin’s grandson - Mr. Bui Chi Thanh, 34. The shop serves four types of beef pho (Vietnamese noodles) – tai (rare), chin (well-done), nam and gau.

In 2005, Pho Thin Bo Ho was granted a trademark protection certificate for the trademark "Pho Thin" by the National Office of Intellectual Property to Mr. Bui Chi Dat (son of Mr. Bui Chi Thin).

Thus, the trademark "Pho Thin" belongs to Mr. Thanh's family. Many diners add the name Bo Ho (meaning Hoan Kiem Lake) to “Pho Thin” (as the restaurant is located near the Hoan Kiem Lake) to make it easier to distinguish between different "Pho Thin" shops.

In 2013, after the trademark protection certificate expired, Mr. Thanh's family continued to register the "Pho Thin" trademark. They were granted another certificate which is valid until December 26, 2024.

In 2019, the Hanoi People's Committee placed a big order of up to 4,000 bowls of pho from this restaurant to serve the US-North Korea Summit. Pho Thin Bo Ho got many positive reviews from international journalists.

Currently, in addition to the restaurant at 61 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Pho Thin Bo Ho has two more branches at 1 Le Van Huu Street and 1 Hang Tre Street. These shops are all managed by the descendants of Mr. Bui Chi Thin. Products there are priced from 50,000 VND - 80,000 VND a bowl.

Pho Thin 13 Lo Duc

Pho Thin restaurant at 13 Lo Duc Street, in Hai Ba Trung district, was established in 1979 by Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin, 71. The restaurant has always served only beef noodles.

In 2009, Mr. Thin was invited to Korea to teach people how to cook beef noodles. A Vietnamese pho shop named "Pho Tang" opened later there, with a recipe allegedly given by a Vietnamese, as well as gratitude for Mr. Thin's pho.

About 10 years later, Pho Thin Lo Duc restaurants appeared in many locations in Hanoi, Hai Duong, and HCM City, as well as in other countries such as Japan, Australia, and the US.

In 2009, Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin registered for protection of the Pho Thin trademark but was refused by the relevant agencies because the trademark registered by Mr. Dat (Pho Thin Bo Ho) and Mr. Thin differed only in the uppercase and lowercase letters on the trademark, which could lead to confusion with the trademark registered earlier by Mr. Thanh's family.

In 2020, Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin continued to file 3 protection registrations for the trademark, which was changed to specify the address and image. These applications are under consideration.

Recently, the Pho Thin Lo Duc brand has received public attention after a conflict between the founder and the person who introduced himself as operating the company related to this brand.

Many diners were confused when pho shops labeled "Pho Thin Lo Duc" and the image of Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin appeared everywhere. Many restaurants served pho that did not have the taste of the 'original' at 13 Lo Duc Street.

Linh Trang