| rev:text
| - I live in the neighborhood and never seen this restaurant busy during any evenings, so hard to imagine the place is still surviving. I'm guessing the majority of their business is from the lunch crowd because of the proximity to the hospital across the street, the funeral home next door, and the medical clinic around the corner.
I've dined here many years ago and had the pho dac biet (special beef noodle soup with rare beef, beef balls, tripe, tendon, and brisket) which was pretty decent and reasonably priced. Somehow one cannot go wrong with a standard Vietnamese pho dish.
I haven't been to Pho Tien since the renovations until recently and was pleasantly surprised to see how the interior was nice and clean with new furnishings (I was actually in awe as it definitely looked fine), but the clear stench of bleach was overwhelming and made me a little uncomfortable.
The walls were stark white with minimal decorations throughout the restaurant and reminded me of a hospital setting except for the nice dark wood furnishings. Plus it's not your typical Vietnamese pho establishment because there were no containers of cutlery or napkins or sauces on the table, they did advertise as fine Vietnamese cuisine and tables were only set upon seating.
I was quite bothered by the smell of bleach (at least we knew it was hygienic), but the fact we were hungry and wanted to try the 7 beef courses make your own rolls we stayed.
The 7 beef course special was $25 for two people which seemed like a great price, but the server informed us the side dishes were on the small side, so we ordered an extra beef fondue and the bo la lat (grilled beef wrapped in tropical leaves).
That being said the beef special for two wasn't quite that special after all since it wasn't filling for two people. The extra beef fondue priced at $13.95 seemed a bit high and the extra order of bo la lat at $8 was not worth the price at all. I wouldn't mind paying extra if it was tasty, but it was definitely not worth $1.30 for each little roll.
Almost all the beef dishes were on the salty side with the exception of the beef fondue because it was raw beef slices that you dip in the sour soup. Definitely not the special 7 beef courses for two I was expecting.
Plus if you wanted extra lettuce, bean sprouts, mint, basil, vermicelli, and pickled vegetables for the wraps it was an extra $4.50. Most places will provide these items for free or just charge an extra $2-$3 at the most. Extra rice paper for $2.50.
Am giving Pho Tien one star for convenient location and second star for friendly and quick service which was not too difficult when there were only two tables to serve that evening.
I may go back to try their pho, but the rest of menu items seemed a little pricey for portions being served. If this is considered fine Vietnamese cuisine, I can do without the fine. It may probably be a better idea to go a few blocks east and find an authentic Vietnamese pho place in Chinatown.
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