NOTE: Long review ahead. We didn't take pictures because we're not "food photo people," and honestly, I didn't expect to be writing a whole pho saga today.
My fiancé and I were excited to try this new pho spot in Manteca -- we've been loving all the new places opening up. I saw on Facebook that it was their grand opening weekend (3/28) with 20% off, so we went on 3/29 after coming back from a long camping trip. We were tired, dusty, and in desperate need of a "pho resets my soul" moment.
We arrived around 6:30pm. It was busy but not chaotic, maybe eight tables full, and we were seated right away. Waters came fast, and we checked out the menu. The menu looked nice, but you could definitely tell it was AI‑generated. No shade, just an observation.
We ordered shrimp spring rolls and two combination phos.
Shrimp Spring Rolls:
These took about 20 minutes to arrive, and when they did... surprise, pork. Yes, the menu listed pork, but we specifically asked for shrimp only. We still ate them because we were starving, and they tasted fine -- just small. Like "blink and you'll miss it" small. I'm used to spring rolls with a little more confidence in their size, but these were more on the shy side.
Pho:
About 15 minutes later, the pho came out. I'm pretty sure they only have one size, and that size is "hope you like noodles." There were so many noodles that the meat was basically hiding underneath like it owed someone money. My fiancé's bowl had so many noodles that the broth was almost completely gone. The broth flavor itself was decent, but the noodle overload made it cloudy and gave it a slightly sour, starchy taste. Not exactly the comforting bowl of pho we were craving. Our appetite dipped, but we powered through because we were hungry and already committed.
Service:
Service was... fine. Not bad, not great. Just "yep, that's service."
A few things stood out though:
- No utensils came with our food -- had to ask.
- Only sriracha, hoisin, and maybe chili sambal were on the table. I had to ask for chili oil, and they brought out a small plate of chili crisp from the kitchen (which was actually tasty).
- We asked for water refills and extra broth. We put both empty cups together at the edge of the table. The waitress came back and filled one cup... then walked away. We had to call her back like, "Hey, don't forget me."
- The table next to us was visibly annoyed -- their order got messed up twice, and their pho came with no veggies and no utensils. The staff did fix it, but the whole vibe felt like "we're still figuring things out."
Price & Discount:
The bill was almost $40. We get it -- eating out is expensive -- but $18 for a bowl of pho is wild, especially when the broth is MIA. When I asked about the 20% discount, the guy was literally on his phone, barely looked up, and said it was already applied. The math said otherwise. At that point, I just paid and didn't leave a tip because I'm pretty sure we didn't get the discount at all.
Final Thoughts:
We came in with low expectations because it's opening weekend -- mistakes happen, totally understandable. But calling it a grand opening without a soft opening... yeah, you could feel it. The staff needs more training, the kitchen needs to chill on the noodle portions, and the whole operation needs a little more structure so the servers aren't taking the heat for things out of their control.
Food was overpriced for what we got, and the experience wasn't great. We won't be back anytime soon, but hopefully they improve because Manteca could really use more solid pho spots. read more