The food was okay. Not bad at all, just not as good as most places. The service, however, definitely affected the meal.
I got chicken pho and pork spring rolls. Both came out so quick that it was like they were bringing them to the table before I arrived. This could be a good thing, but it did mean that the spring roll outside was a little tough from sitting, which wasn't a huge deal, but affected the taste, and also made then stick to the plate, causing them to rip open when I picked them up. The meat was quite flavorful, and I like the peanut sauce.
I got the mixed dark/white chicken pho. I have concluded that I will never ever find a bowl of pho as good as I Heart Pho, which closed, so I am just going to stick with vermicelli bowls from now on. The pho was not bad, but there were so many noodles it was hard to find the broth, which is my favorite part. The noodles were cooked a good amount though. There was a lot of chicken skin and gristle, but the meat was pretty good.
The service though... I was seated immediately, which is good. I pulled out my camera to take a picture of the menu for my reference, and it was like 3 different waiters were suddenly hovering at the table. When I say hovering, I mean someone immediately came over, and when I said I'd be a few minutes, the next one came over about 30 seconds later, if that. Same thing, and then another one came over a few seconds after that and basically stood at the table until I finally just ordered without looking at the rest of the menu. It was pretty annoying. So then my spring rolls came out immediately, which was okay, but then my soup came out 1 bite into the spring rolls. Not the end of the world, but I appreciate Twin Lions where they subtly keep an eye on you to bring out your food right around when you're finishing your soup.
So I get my food, and that's the last time anyone comes. There were around 4 or 5 waiters, but they were really enjoying socializing. There was a table that needed to be cleared the whole time I was there, but they didn't move from their chatting spot. When I needed a container, it took some work to get someone's attention. Not a huge deal, but if I'm going to a sit down restaurant, I do expect the crowd of waiters to maybe come by and check on things. I had been considering picking up a to go for lunch the next day, but was just ready to go. Definitely a huge contrast from Pho Thanh Ni in Cedar Park, whose employees are super attentive and helpful, bagging up my leftovers for me, and even taking the ice out of the water pitcher to refill my no ice water (on their own, not at my request, they just put that much effort in).
Again, the food is okay. Not great, but okay, but it will be the service that makes me choose someplace else next time. read more