First thing to consider, I had such a stumping experience that it's humorous now that I think about it. I'll try to be as gracious as I can, but there definitely needs to be some improvement.
Upon entering we were not greeted. I'll give it to them in that they are short-staffed. It seems like three people were working and truly only one of them was serving all the tables. We were up at the counter looking at the menu for 5 minutes before the worker told us that we could sit at a table. I looked at him with a confused expression. The tables still had the leftover food and dishes from the previous party. We just stared at him until he started cleaning the tables. He took our order and left. Later, we were told that one of the items was not available. We were not provided water and had to ask three times. It took a long while before we received water.
Here's what we ordered
Pho - Not the best I've ever had. It looked and smelled really good, but the broth was a little sweet and heavy on the oil. The best part of the Pho was the noodles. They were bouncy and chewy.
Steak and White Rice - This made me really confused because you can't really mess up a steak. Rice was fine. The steak came overcooked and dry (I'm willing to overlook this), but it was not seasoned. Not the best cut of steak, but again it's just meat. Somehow, this dish performed worst than the rest.
Wonton Soup - I would not recommend. Not that many wontons, and the wonton seemed overcooked. The broth was heavy on the oil.
Dish after dish, we were confused. We were unsure why and how other people rated their experiences so high.
Just my recommendation for improvement, I think this place needs CHILI OIL. This place has a sweet chili sauce but it's not spicy at all. The soup-based foods seem to be on the sweeter side; I think chili oil could improve the taste for all of our food.
Other things that we observed:
* Customers seemed to have not finished their meal and did not take it home.
* A party of 2 asked for a refund. Not sure why but it seemed that they waited a long time. They were there before us and did not receive their food until we were half way through our meal.
* A party of 7 had their order taken. 5 minutes later, they were told that one of the items was not available. As we were leaving, I just saw the table empty, unsure when they left but knew that they were never served their meals.
The restaurant's layout is set up in a way where it can be inefficient. There's counter seating that can possibly fit 4-6 people. The rest of the restaurant seems to combine two smaller tables to create larger tables. It seems like parties of 6 are ideal to accommodate. The tables may be filled with a party but not all of the seating is taken. For example, I saw a party of two take a table that could fit a party of 6.
Funny enough, another party of 2 were just as confused as we were. The restaurant wasn't busy. There was some space at the counter, and a small table could be pulled to accommodate them. The waiter told them it would be a 30 minute wait. The customers, being confused, looked around at the empty seating and repeated that the were a party of 2. Again, the waiter said it would be a 30 minute wait. The customers left.
Aside from that, they've got great taste in music. No pop. Slightly alternative/indie rock with a melancholy sound.
I would only recommend the place if you are on a really, really, really tight budget. Their prices are very affordable, but I think you may have a better culinary experience at other restaurants. read more