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| - I'm not a super stickler for service, esp if I know the type of place I'm going to. Generally, I'm not looking for 5 star service when I go to a pho place. But this place made the other over 50 different pho places I've been to in my life look like 5 star restaurants. No one greets you here or tells you there will be a wait. There were at least 10 people waiting by the door and there were at least 4 different servers who saw all the people by the door and said nothing to them.
I come from a Vietnamese background, I grew up in a Vietnamese neighborhood, my parents and family friends make some of the best Viet food around, I cook Viet food, and I've had Vietnamese food all over Vietnam. So I'd say I'm pretty seasoned when it comes to the proper flavor profiles and textures.
Had the spring rolls (25 min after I ordered them). They grasped the general idea but they were mediocre at best...the rolls weren't rolled tightly enough, there were too many rice noodles, not enough greens, and the shrimp/meat inside def could've been fresher. Also, the dipping sauce wasn't complete since they didn't give any do chua (pickled daikon/carrots). I've been spoiled with really good spring rolls my whole life. I can't say I'd order these again.
Pho is a quick dish to serve...it's already prepared (although it takes hours to actually make), so in theory, you should have a piping hot bowl in front of you within 5-10 min of ordering. The pho didn't come til 20 min after the spring rolls. That's a full and unreasonable 45 min of wait time from ordering til it was in front of me. I'll admit that they give you a lot of meat and noodles, which I loved. The flavor profiles were the right context. but it def lacked depth. Felt like it was missing something..not enough fish sauce or star anise? Not sure...
Overall, I wasn't impressed..but I wasn't expecting much in the first place. Sucks that it didn't live up to any expectations I had because I really wanted to love it. I guess it would do if I had a dire Viet craving and was waaaay too lazy to cook.
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