I am branching out and starting to review restaurants in addition to products I receive. I usually review on TripAdvisor so this isn't really anything new to me but I figured I might as well put these on my blog too. Yesterday was my husband's birthday so he chose Pho for his birthday dinner. We already have our "go-to" Pho place which I will blog about another day but we decided to try out a new one because you never know unless you try it. Unfortunately, this was a negative experience and we won't be going back again. We usually give a restaurant 2 tries before we say we won't go back but there just wasn't anything special about this to go back a second time. So I'll begin with the good:
The only positive thing about this restaurant was their spring rolls. For $4 you receive 2 adequately sized spring rolls with a side of peanut sauce. Compared to our usual Pho restaurant, the peanut sauce served here was pretty dang good. Had more of a liquid like texture and tasted like a peanut/soy mix. I was impressed with the sauce so we thought that this meant the rest of the food was going to be great. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.
The prices are just ok. You can choose between a small, medium, or large bowl. I ordered a small pho ga while my husband ordered a medium pho ga. That's chicken for anyone who isn't familiar with the Vietnamese soup. I usually order shrimp pho but since it costs $3 extra for 3 shrimp, I wasn't very thrilled. Compared to our usual, they give you the bowl of soup for one solid price and you can have whatever you wish. From chicken, steak, shrimp, fishball, or a variety of the 3, the choice is yours. So when our server brought out 2 small chicken pho's, we had a feeling that it wasn't going to be the best of service. I mentioned he ordered a medium and he tried to make it right asking if he wanted to go change it to a medium but my husband said that was alright and stuck with the small. We asked for the sweet chili garlic paste and he brought out two very small sides of it for us. I'm used to having it right there on the table so was disappointed in the lack of sauce available. I didn't let this bring me down but what did suck was the ring of grease on the bowl and in my spoon every time I took a sip.
We have lived in so many places (California, Connecticut, Missouri, Virginia, DC, Nebraska..) and everywhere we go, the broth tastes the same; except for this broth. It just had a different taste not even counting the grease. The noodles tasted fine and I am not a big fan of shredded chicken so I didn't even finish my bowl. My husband ate as much as he could but even the man who could eat anything didn't finish his. The price was pretty much unacceptable as well since we are used to bigger (tastier) servings for a cheaper price including egg rolls, spring rolls, or cream cheese won tons. Even when our server asked us how our meal was and my husband just hastily said "it was ok", the serve didn't even ask why not. Especially seeing as there was still a full bowl in mine and half of a bowl in his. That probably would have been a sign to ask what was wrong with it. We were so disappointed in our meal that we left, drove next door to McDonalds, and ordered French fries just to give us something to stomach. McDonalds shouldn't taste better than pho.
Cleanliness: A+
Service: B
Taste: C
Portion Size: B
Price: B
It is safe to say that we won't be giving this a second try.
Phở is a Vietnamese noodle soup originated in the early 20th century in northern Vietnam. The specific place of origin of Phở can be traced to Nam Dinh province, southeast of Hanoi, then a substantial textile market. It was a popular street and night food for the people at the time. Almost a century later, Phở is still a popular street and night food that is enjoyed around the world.
At Phở-nomenal, we bring you the same Phở recipe that was passed down for generations. Some of our ingredients are still imported from half way around the world. Whether you like the original rare steak Phở or other popular Phở such as seafood or vegetarian, we have one that is right for you. We also have several classic foods such as Cơm (rice plate with grilled meat) and Bún (vermicelli noodle bowl) as well as modern twists like our Soft Shell Crabs and Baked Mussels. If you have never tried Vietnamese food or eat it every day, we have something for you.
At Phở-nomenal, we bring you the same Phở recipe that was passed down for generations. Some of our ingredients are still imported from half way around the world. Whether you like the original rare steak Phở or other popular Phở such as seafood or vegetarian, we have one that is right for you. We also have several classic foods such as Cơm (rice plate with grilled meat) and Bún (vermicelli noodle bowl) as well as modern twists like our Soft Shell Crabs and Baked Mussels. If you have never tried Vietnamese food or eat it every day, we have something for you.
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