| rev:text
| - I went here with a group of 11 people yesterday for our monthly Vietnamese work lunch.
The short version of why I gave the low review was because the server was rude, and the food wasn't tasty. (Comparing to other pho places in the area, not homemade.) The positives are that the manager is nice; the decor is really nice as well, and the presentation of food is beautiful.
Long Version:
Our group came into the restaurant at around 11:20 am yesterday. We were making our orders, and I ordered in English. Then, my co-workers told me I should order in Vietnamese to practice speaking. I awkwardly ordered in Vietnamese and asked for the pork bun and egg rolls with a bowl of pho broth. (In Vietnamese, there are two words for "bowl". A large bowl and a small bowl.) When I first ordered in English, I asked for a side bowl of broth. When I ordered in Vietnamese, I asked for a big bowl of broth. I cupped my hands in a small bowl gesture. While the server was standing there, my co-worker said in Vietnamese, "Make sure you say (small) bowl, not (big) bowl."
The food came out, and I saw this HUGE bowl of pho broth, and thought to myself, "Wow, these people are really generous with the side broth." I seriously got excited and snapchatted about it. And at this point, the manager comes by and asked us if everything is good, and we said we were good.
I eat the pork bun, and honestly it's not that bad, but the meat is pounded really thinly. Probably around ~1 and 1/2mm for each slice. The volume looks like a lot, but the mass of the actual meat is very little. You're looking at about 10% meat/egg roll, 40% noodles, and 50% vegetables. Also, it was really, really dry--similar to eating beef jerky with a little bit of sauce splashed on it. However, I tasted the chicken version of the dish, and it was moist and a lot more tasty. I also tasted my co-workers bun bo hue, and I recommend getting that dish over the pho here.
I started sipping on the pho, and it wasn't that bad. It probably tastes a little more watered down than what people are used to. But if you're the kind of person who uses a lot of hoisin, sriracha, and lime juice, I think you will like it.
As I was eating the pho, I noticed my friend's small side of pho broth, and I was like, "Wait. What the heck?" And he said, "Yeah, this is free, and yours is probably not." Then I was wondering if they were going to charge me a lot for the broth.
Later, we went to go pay, and the girl who took my order was also the person at the register. She charged me $4 for the pho broth, and then I said, "Oh..I said I wanted a small bowl." She shrugged and said, "It'll be $18.85." I was like, "What the heck." She talks to my other co-workers in Vietnamese, and then says the cost of my bill in English. I think she definitely knew that I wanted a side broth because I ordered a entree already. And I feel like if she knew my Vietnamese was bad and says my bill in English, why not use my English order instead of my Vietnamese one? Honestly, I'm partially at fault for saying big bowl, but she didn't clarify after I said side broth in English in the beginning.
Come on, man. Why are you so mean.
I got annoyed and told my co-workers about how I thought the server was rude. And one of them jokingly said, "Well, you said (big) bowl." But the others agreed that she most likely knew what I meant. -__- Later, my friend told me that while she was taking my order, she was rolling her eyes as I was talking.
You should try it out if you want to give newer pho restaurants a try or are introducing people who normally don't eat Vietnamese food. I think the presentation of the food and the decor will impress them. Just don't order in Vietnamese to the girl with the glasses who looks like she's being forced to work there. You will probably piss her off, and she will probably get petty. I wanted to give the restaurant a three star review, but my co-workers told me to leave them a one star review, so I met in the middle.
They could have been having a bad day, but I think that new Vietnamese restaurants should have nice servers and really delicious food when they first open. Also, it seems like the other location in Mesa has better reviews, so I would probably go over there instead. But I'm just a random person on the internet who had a bad experience.
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