| rev:text
| - I've had Pho Nho sitting in my draft box for a few weeks now, and have been twice since I began. That makes three, and it's kind of interesting how my thought process went "4 stars? 3?" after my 1st experience; "3 stars? 2?" after my 2nd, and "2 stars... 1???" after my third.
Here are some interesting points:
1) Their congee is not good. I'm not particularly surprised, but I thought Vietnamese congee might be a nice switch from my love of traditional Chinese congee. This wasn't. It was a flavourless, overcooked take on the Chinese I'm accustomed to.
2) Their spring rolls are unpredictable. First time good, second time too chewy (raw) or over-fried and over-greasy (fried). We didn't order them a third time.
3) The ubiquitous rice vermicelli with grilled pork and spring rolls is damned tasty save for the spring rolls. Improve them, and they've got a winner! The pork's fantastic!
4) Shakes are good but not great, kind of middle of the road for TO.
5) Pho is fine, nothing to write home about, and hits the spot. The shrimp paste soup is very flavourful, and I was amused when they told me something like "many of you don't like it". I assume white folk. Maybe I misheard. I don't take offense to these sorts of comments; rather, I revel in them!
6) Our third trip, a Friday night after 7pm, it transformed into an obnoxious neighbourhood dive bar full of scum bags and loud talkers / yellers chillin' to the anachronistic grooves of 70s and 80s funk music. There was also what appeared to be a hooker schmoozing with the construction workers, and our server spent a good 10 minutes talking and joking with her rather than bringing us our bill after we asked for it.
7) Cash only. No signs anywhere to indicate this save for hidden behind the ATM they not-so-cheerfully direct you to. Friendly tip for restaurateurs: DO NOT TRICK ME INTO USING YOUR STUPID ATM. I will not be happy to pay your $1.75 service fee.
Anyway, points 6 and 7 make me want to drop the rating to a 1, but I'll resist. They have some redeeming qualities (decent soup, shakes, and fantastic grilled pork), but not enough to convince us to return any time soon. I work very close by, so it's likely I'll come for a lunch soup on a rainy day... but other than that, there's far better Viet/Thai options within reasonable distance (Pho Phuong at Dundas W & Lansdowne or Pho Linh at College & Dufferin being our faves...).
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