1. The wait: we arrived at 2:30pm on a non-busy Sunday. There were 2 empty clean tables and 2 dirty but empty tables. Only 1 group waiting. We were then told it would be about a 15min wait for the table anyway but that’s fine,...so we left and got bubble tea next door. 25min later we finally get to sit down at a table (with 3 tables still clean and empty…..) We then proceeded to wait an additional 20min just for anyone to come by and take our order…..we actually had to ask 2 times for someone to take our order before they did eventually come by. We ordered a pho with steak, tripe, and meatballs (cost $1 extra for meatballs) and a bo bun hue (spicy noodles with 3 kinds of meat). We were told they were out of 1 of the meats for the spicy noodles, that was fine. But then we waited again…..and we weren’t the only ones. With only about 6 tables seated, only 1 had food, 3 were waiting for their orders, and 2 were still waiting for their orders to be taken at all. There were multiple inquiries of good times from us and the other tables as time kept passing and no bowls came out. Never once have we had to wait longer than 5-10min for a good bowl of pho even at a busy place. It took over 30min of additional waiting before we got two sad bowls of soup.
2. The food: When the bowls arrived, I noticed the pho had no tripe at all and only 2 slices of meatballs ($1 upcharge?). So I inquired, and was told that they only give two meatballs per order. But it wasn’t two meatballs, it was half a meatball cut into two quarter pieces. You’re charged an extra dollar for half a meatball. What? Okay, so I asked if I could pay more for another order of meatballs because that’s too little. I was told no, not even if I paid extra would I be allowed more meatballs because they don’t allow that due to “shortages”. If you read more reviews you’ll note that they use that reason for any item. I’ve read on here they said no extra sauce, limes, meat, noodles, anything anyone asked for additional of was denied “due to shortages” even if you offered to pay more. PLEASE NOTE: THEY ARE LOCATED RIGHT BESIDE THE BIGGEST ASIAN GROCERY STORE IN CHARLOTTE AND COULD LITERALLY WALK TO RESTOCK IF NEEDED. And this isn’t a new issue for them, I see they’ve been “out of stock” or “low in stock” of so many ingredients for years in their reviews. I’m not sure if this is sketchy business practices or mismanagement or cheapness but something is weird.
But back to the food, they were out of tripe and I guess didn’t feel the need to let me know when they brought the food out lol. Each meat was 2 pieces each max. And the noodles?! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an empty bowl of pho in my LIFE. I have never finished a whole bowl of noodles before, ever. It’s usually full and way too much for me to eat. But this bowl? I finished entirely and was still hungry afterwards. I could have probably finished 3 whole bowls, that’s how little it was. My husband ordered a large bowl, and it was the exact same thing.
3. The flavor: lacking at best, but I guess that makes sense with the lack of ingredients. I could only assume they go small and cheap making their soup broths too. The pho broth was alright, not something to suggest another to try out but not bad. The bo bun hue was not good. It somehow tasted like a seafood broth? But at the same time it was also bland as hell! Lol it made no sense, and freaked me out a bit honestly. Why would it taste fishy? They don’t even have fish in this restaurant…..had it gone bad? I guess we shall see if my husband gets sick from it lol.
4. The prices: they charge 17.99 for a large bowl of nothing and 13.99 for a regular bowl of nothing lol. These aren’t too bad if you got an actual bowl of pho, but you don’t. They raised their prices this month they told me, not sure why as they don’t give you enough food to even warrant 6.00 a bowl lol. I’d say their normal bowl would feed a child at best. Probably not even a very hungry one.
Also note: NO OUTSIDE DRINKS ALLOWED. If you get a bubble tea from next door they will make you leave it in your car.More