I was really excited to hear about a new Vietnamese restaurant opening near our neighborhood, so we finally decided to give Pho 28 Grill a try. Unfortunately, we left pretty underwhelmed.
I ordered the Pho Chin Nam along with spring rolls, and my wife ordered the Bun Thit Nuong. The Bun Thit Nuong itself was good, but the fish sauce tasted very watered down and lacked the funky depth you'd normally expect. The spring rolls were also tasty, but the wrapper was missing that traditional fried rice paper crunch, and again, the fish sauce felt weak and diluted.
The biggest disappointment was the pho. It wasn't inedible, but it didn't really taste like pho. It came across more like a generic beef noodle soup using pho noodles. The broth was dark and salty, but lacked the aromatic spices, depth, and richness that make pho distinct. There was little to no hint of star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, and other layers you'd expect from a proper pho broth. It honestly tasted more like an imitation than authentic Vietnamese pho.
That said, the service was friendly, attentive, and overall very good. The restaurant itself is also clean and nicely designed inside. I just wouldn't describe the food as particularly authentic or representative of traditional Vietnamese flavors. read more