| Craving | Where to start | Address and category | Planning use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pho | Pho V & V Vietnamese Restaurant | 5434 S Tacoma Way, Vietnamese | Easiest pho stop if you are already driving South Tacoma Way. |
| Pho | What The Pho | 4504 S Steele St, phone (206) 575-6628 | Call ahead to check hours, and pair it with its Chinese neighbor. |
| Pho and Vietnamese | Mekong Vietnamese Cuisine | 2901 S 47th St, Vietnamese | A third bowl to compare if you are on the 47th Street side. |
| Chinese | Flaming Wok | 4502 S Steele St, Chinese | Good for groups that disagree about dinner. |
| Thai | Peanut Sauce Thai Cuisine | 5003 Tacoma Mall Blvd Ste 105, Thai | Plan this as its own stop, not a walk between others. |
| Mexican | Tacos Guaymas | 2630 S 38th St, Mexican | A casual tacos stop on the 38th Street side. |
| Pizza | Stonegate Pizza | 5421 S Tacoma Way | A pizza fallback close to the pho on South Tacoma Way. |
| Pub food | E9 Firehouse & Gastropub | Historic 1907 fire station with an on-site brewery | The pick when you want elevated pub fare and a sit-down meal. |
Addresses and categories come from the South Tacoma restaurant directory, and the pub detail from a Tacoma restaurant roundup.
Lincoln District Tacoma restaurants are best approached by craving: start with pho near South Tacoma Way, add a Thai, Mexican or Chinese kitchen, then finish at a pub with a full menu. Check hours before you go.
This guide works as a cuisine-first route rather than a ranking. For the wider city, the best restaurants in tacoma guide covers other neighborhoods, and the pub picks below are Tacoma-wide choices rather than a Lincoln District-only list.
Phase one: start with pho
Pho is the clearest reason to eat in this part of Tacoma, and the directory lists several Vietnamese kitchens in the area. Pho V & V Vietnamese Restaurant sits at 5434 S Tacoma Way, What The Pho at 4504 S Steele St, and Mekong Vietnamese Cuisine at 2901 S 47th St, all with 98409 addresses according to the South Tacoma restaurant directory.
No listing ranks these bowls, so treat them as starting points and judge the broth yourself. If you are asking where to find the best pho in Tacoma, the practical answer is to compare the same order, such as a plain chicken or beef bowl, at two of these places and keep the one you like.
How to choose your first bowl
- Pick by street. If you are on South Tacoma Way, Pho V & V is the obvious first stop. If you are on Steele Street, What The Pho is closer.
- Call ahead. What The Pho lists (206) 575-6628, which is worth using to confirm hours before a special trip.
- Order a baseline bowl. A simple version makes it easier to compare broth between restaurants than a loaded specialty bowl does.
- Add herbs and lime last. Taste the broth first, then season it, so you know what the kitchen made.
Once you have a favorite bowl, the next phase widens the map beyond Vietnamese cooking.
Phase two: international kitchens beyond pho
The same directory shows how varied this part of South Tacoma is, which answers the question of which international cuisines you can find nearby. Beyond Vietnamese, the listings include Thai, Mexican, Chinese and pizza, each with its own address, so you can plan around the cuisine you want rather than a single street.
Thai, Mexican and Chinese
- Thai: Peanut Sauce Thai Cuisine is at 5003 Tacoma Mall Blvd Ste 105. It is listed on Tacoma Mall Boulevard.
- Mexican: Tacos Guaymas is at 2630 S 38th St and is listed as a Mexican and Latin American restaurant.
- Chinese: Flaming Wok is at 4502 S Steele St, on the same street as What The Pho at 4504 S Steele St.
- Pizza: Stonegate Pizza is at 5421 S Tacoma Way, on the same road as Pho V & V at 5434 S Tacoma Way.
An Argentinian grill for a bigger night
Steakhouse Asado is described by a Tacoma restaurant roundup as an Argentinian grill serving wood-grilled steaks that arrive on cedar planks. It is a sit-down choice for an occasion, not a quick lunch, and the roundup does not tie it to the Lincoln District, so confirm its location before you plan around it.
If you are heading out after dinner, the next phase moves to pubs that treat food as more than an afterthought.
Phase three: pubs and bars with a full menu
Pub food is the other half of the Tacoma dining picture here. If you are looking for bars with a full menu, the roundup points to several Tacoma venues that cook real food rather than only pour drinks, and the table below compares what each does best.
| Venue | Menu angle | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| E9 Firehouse & Gastropub | Elevated pub fare in a historic 1907 fire station, with E9 Brewing Co. on site | A sit-down meal with house-brewed beer |
| Little Jerry’s | Casual neighborhood bar with a Seinfeld theme; cheap drinks and snacks | A relaxed, low-cost evening |
| Dirty Oscar’s Annex | Breakfast for dinner, including Chicken and Waffles and a candied bacon Bloody Mary | Late breakfast-style cravings |
Details are from the Tacoma restaurant roundup, so confirm current menus and prices with the venue.
Choosing between them
E9 Firehouse & Gastropub suits anyone who wants the pub to be the meal itself, because its brewery and elevated menu make it a destination. Little Jerry’s suits a cheaper, looser night where the theme and the drinks matter as much as the plate. For Tacoma sports bar food, none of these entries is described as a sports bar, so if live games matter, check the venue’s screens and schedule first.
The last phase is about what to order once you are seated.
Phase four: bar appetizers and breakfast for dinner
A bar with a full menu usually lets you build a meal from shareable plates before committing to a main course. Appetizer-style plates such as glazed wings with vegetable sticks and dip suit groups of friends, and they work best when ordered for the table rather than one each.
- Check the menu categories first. Look for appetizers, mains and any all-day breakfast section on the venue’s own website before you go.
- Share a starter. One platter for the table lets you sample without filling up before a main.
- Use the late-breakfast option when it fits. Dirty Oscar’s Annex lets you get breakfast for dinner, with Chicken and Waffles on the menu.
If you would rather have those breakfast dishes earlier in the day, the best brunch in tacoma guide is the better place to start. And for a different part of the city with its own dining strip, see the old town tacoma restaurants guide.
Troubleshooting your plan
- The address is not where you expected. The directory groups these restaurants under South Tacoma with 98409 addresses, so check each address on a map against the Lincoln Avenue stretch you have in mind.
- A listing looks closed or changed. Phone numbers are listed for What The Pho and Stonegate Pizza, and calling is quicker than driving across town.
- The group cannot agree on a cuisine. Use the Steele Street pairing of pho and Chinese food, or split the night with a meal first and a pub second.
- You want a pub, not a restaurant. Go to Little Jerry’s for a casual stop, or E9 Firehouse & Gastropub for a full meal.
Frequently asked questions
Can I eat pho and Chinese food on the same block?
Yes, nearly. What The Pho is listed at 4504 S Steele St and Flaming Wok at 4502 S Steele St, so they sit side by side.
How much does a drink or snack cost at Little Jerry’s?
A blog estimate puts it at about $6 to $12 per drink or snack. Prices change, so check with the bar before you go.
Which other cuisines are listed in the area?
The directory’s category list also includes Cuban, Italian and Korean restaurants and sushi bars, alongside the Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican and Chinese places covered above.
Where can I get breakfast food in the evening?
Dirty Oscar’s Annex serves breakfast for dinner, with Chicken and Waffles and a candied bacon Bloody Mary on the menu.
