Upon arrival, there was a strong cigarette smell lingering near the entrance. It seemed like there was some gambling going on outside, and cigarette butts were scattered around, which was a bit off-putting.
Once inside, the space was bright with plenty of tables. Our waiter told us we could sit anywhere, so we chose a booth-style table. Acoustic cover music played in the background, which I really enjoyed.
The waiter recommended the Vietnamese coffee with cream. They had run out of to-go cups, so it was served in plastic. Surprisingly, my hubby liked it even though he usually drinks his coffee straight black.
For soup, we ordered the Bún Bò Huế and Banh Canh Cua. Both came out in hot stone bowls with the noodles served separately, and the broth was still sizzling when it arrived. My udon noodles tasted like the frozen kind from an Asian market, but the crab broth was very flavorful. It came with two slices of pork, two shrimp, pork blood, and a large piece of pork bone meat. I thought it would come with crab meat but nope, just crab flavor broth.
My hubby said his Bún Bò Huế was good, but the shrimp paste had already been mixed into the broth. He wished it had been served on the side so he could control the amount himself.
Service was good, although I did have to flag the waiter down for water. No big deal.
Overall, I really enjoyed the food and atmosphere. I knocked off one star due to the lingering smoke smell outside, but I'd still come back for the soups.
Side note: there's only two pho dishes so the title of the restaurant was a bit misleading lolol. read more