A new location of Pho Ha Noi is coming to Palo Alto and may offer a menu for dogs. (Photo courtesy Helen Nguyen)

By Kate Bradshaw

Pho Hà Noi, an upscale northern pho restaurant with locations in San José and Cupertino, is coming to Palo Alto, slated to bring its next location to the home of the now-closed Wahlburgers at 185 University Ave.

Palo Alto's Wahlburgers, a national burger chain by celebrity brothers Mark, Paul and Donnie Wahlburg, first opened on the Peninsula in November 2017 after launching in the Boston area in 2011. Wahlburgers took over the location from Sam's Chowder House in late 2016. Its remaining Peninsula restaurant is in downtown Burlingame.

Pho Hà Noi owner Helen Nguyen says she plans to have the new restaurant open by early spring.

She's also thinking of opening some of the restaurant's services to a new clientele: visitors' canine companions.

The restaurant cooks about 600 pounds of bone each day, and Nguyen figures some of the extras might make satisfying meals for Palo Alto pooches.

She says she's considering offering outdoor seating for customers who wish to dine with their dogs, but the indoor space will remain for humans only, with the exception of service canines.

The restaurant's menu offers beef rib, sauteed flank and a combination with brisket, tendon, meatballs, ribs and flank steak pho and chicken pho flavors and other items like garlic and fish sauce chicken wings, noodle soups and sweet rice dishes.

In addition, Nguyen says she is planning to add more health-conscious dishes to the restaurant's Palo Alto menu, including fruit offerings like mango, papaya and lotus root salads. She's also intending to make some cosmetic interior design finishes, including adding Vietnamese flowers along the windows and walls, she says.

Pho Hà Noi, 185 University Ave., Palo Alto; 408-239-0888, Instagram: @phohanoisanjose.