Vietnamese Cocktail Bar Phocific Standard Time Opens in Downtown Seattle

By
Janet Prager
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Just outside of downtown Pho Bac on 1923 7th Avenue is a sandwich sign that says “PST Bar Upstairs” with an arrow pointing up. The sign is easy to miss in a busy area between downtown and the Denny Triangle, but for those who venture into the bright Pho restaurant and head upstairs, a cozy, dimly-lit bar awaits above the Din. Phocific Standard Time (PST) is the latest addition to the Pham family’s traditional Pho business: a cocktail bar serving drinks made with Vietnamese ingredients and flavors.

Co-owners and sisters Yenvy and Quynh Pham opened the speakeasy-style bar above the fourth location of their local Pho Bac chain on Friday October 1st (Yenvy also opened Vietnamese cafe Hello Em in early 2021). The PST has bar seating and a handful of small tables perfect for a date, reunion with an old friend, or as a relaxing after work destination, especially when staff return to downtown after the pandemic. We are working on adding jasmine plants to the small bar to make it feel even more like a “Vietnamese-style tree house,” as the Instagram profile describes.

Grid view

  • As a perfect complement to PST’s cocktails, the Pate Trio offers three pie options: pho fat, mushroom tofu and canned fish tomato, served with sesame crackers.

    Yenvy Pham

  • PST’s Cua Dip is made with crabs, prawns, melted cheese, fried shallots and basil and served with crackers.

    Yenvy Pham

  • PST is a cozy “tree house” and a soft place to land in the city center after a day at work.

    Mark Van Streefkerk

“I want customers to feel at home, but also to be pleasantly surprised,” says Yenvy. “You come into this room above a pho shop: it’s intimate, it’s cozy, you feel welcome, and you have this menu of things in front of you that you don’t normally see.”

PST’s drinks menu includes around eight cocktails with Vietnamese ingredients such as pandan leaf, chartreuse egg yolk pudding and pho broth. Nuoc Mat, a light, sweet drink, contains jasmine, Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic, Cocchi Americano, soju, and longan (a relative of lychee). Dua Dua contains Batavia arrak, chareau aloe, soju, absinthe, coconut milk and lime, with basil seeds that give flavor and a pleasant texture. Trung Muoi is made with Pho Fat Washed Iwai Japanese Whiskey, Cream Sherry, Nocino, Carcavelos, and salted egg yolks.

“I want customers to feel at home, but also to be pleasantly surprised”

PST’s bar director Katharine Frazier began working with the Pham sisters in July when they started developing their beverages. “We got in touch straight away,” says Yenvy of Frazier. “She was able to translate all of these different flavors into drinks in a sophisticated and interesting way, while still maintaining the integrity of Vietnamese culture.”

Quynh oversaw a small selection of natural wines and beers, and Yenvy put together a small, playful snack menu to complement the drinks. There are dumplings filled with pate, potatoes, and mushrooms; and a pate trio with pho fat, mushroom tofu and canned fish and tomato pies, served with sesame crackers and pickles. Cua Dip is made with crabs, prawns, Vietnamese mayonnaise, melted cheese and basil and served with crackers. The menu also features Pho Bacs Pho Cups – a noodle-style take-away pho bac cup developed during the pandemic – with beef, chicken, shrimp and vegetable options. The hearty and salty menu goes well with PST’s cocktails.

The idea for PST primarily came from Khoa Pham, Yenvys and Quynh’s brother, who suddenly passed away in March 2020. The concept of a whisper bar / tree house over a busy Pho restaurant was “definitely led by my brother,” says Yenvy. Khoa was the family business’s chief financial officer and a community leader. The city of Seattle has declared April 21 Khoa Pham Day in recognition of his influence and activism. His souvenir is to honor the drink Khoa Was Here, a pho-fat washed shot of Jameson with pho broth.

PST is located on the second floor at 1923 7th Avenue in Seattle; Open from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 5:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

1227 S Weller Street, Seattle, WA 98144

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