Disappointing. Stopped in here for dinner with friends while in town and had a meal. If you expect this to be real Vietnamese food, you will be sorely disappointed. This is best rendered as "Vietnamese inspired food made bland for German tastes," without the trouble of finding real ingredients.
I had pho, the quintessential soup that Vietnam is known for. Their pho has only one broth and it's flavored with anise, lemongrass, ginger, etc, but it lacks the unctuous richness that simmering bones for days brings. It was watery and devoid of fat.
The noodles were far from the thin vermicelli common to pho; they were rice noodles but flat like linguini.
The beef was the real failure though. What was this stuff? I can't even identify it. Terrible.
Pho is meant to be ordered with specific cuts of meat - smart, savvy people will want tendon or tripe in there. This place fails the basics of even having them. Then one who knows augments with rare brisket or flank, or fattier cuts or meatballs.
Here your choice is beef. And some generic, completely flavorless cut at that.
Finally, the failure of providing a heaping serving of fresh Vietnamese herbs and raw bean sprouts can it be overlooked. What was served had a paucity of veggies in the soup and nothing came cold, crisp, and fresh with the pho.
Epic failure.
Three stars only for the pleasant ambience and service. This is in no way a Vietnamese restaurant...it is a German cafe who maybe visited Vietnam on the internet. Sad. read more
