AN VIET EASTWOOD — Restaurant in Sydney

Was kind of excited seeing this place prop up with an Coming Soon Feb 2024 sign hanging around. Fast forward to early April, they've finally opened with a soft opening offer of "10% cashback". In actuality they just give you a voucher to spend for future visits, which I feel is deceptive marketing as they're not giving you an actual discount or CASH BACK. If you're just going to hand out vouchers, write something like "Opening Special Vouchers Available on Purchase" instead of plastering your premises with posters promising cashback.

That aside, our visit was pretty disappointing. The plentiful staff were slow to assign us a table (I saw this was a common issue with other incoming customers too). I noticed QR ordering stickers on the table, but it was not functional yet.

We ordered one combination pho, which we weren't even sure if it was properly made or missing ingredients as 2 of the staff kept pointing and staring at it after placing it on the table, but they did not pursue the issue. The other, a lemongrass chicken tomato rice, came out as a crispy chicken tomato rice, and when I asked to have it changed as I did not order crispy, I was repeatedly told yes this is crispy chicken, did you order steamed rice? And a whole lot of nonsense, which was really off-putting.

When I was ordering the lemongrass chicken tomato rice, I specifically pointed to the picture (which covers half of their massive page) as well as the text, but all the waiter kept asking was if I wanted egg, which I said no, as I just wanted tomato rice not their listed "rice and egg", and I did not want to be charged extra for the egg (which is listed as an extra on the menu).

They ended up serving the dish out a 2nd time with the right chicken but also with the egg. There was no extra charge for it so honestly that just left me confused about the menu descriptions, since the tomato rice photos don't indicate any egg available with it.

Atmosphere wise, the place is clean and spacious, but our table (the one opposite the counter) was already unstable and would move if you put any pressure on it; are they using old furniture or was it not assembled properly? Prices, considering local competitors, are quite obscene so unless you're willing to pay a premium for servings that are small and honestly will leave you wanting more, which means either spending more or eating elsewhere afterwards, expect your dining experience to be a pricey one.

Hopefully they improve on some of these issues, but value wise I highly doubt they would be willing to lower their menu prices, at best maybe some sort of lunch deal....

From the quality of ingredients, seasoning, down to the fish sauce, this venue is completely different than the other Vietnamese restaurants I have ever been in Sydney. I have to admit these aren't even the taste I have ever experienced in Marrickville. While this is a franchise restaurant, I found the Eastwood branch particularly unique.

You cannot get past this restaurant without stopping at the corner of Eastwood. The decor is so modern and interior is very spacious, bright and clean. This is actually my return visit after trying their spicy beef noodles and combination beef pho last week (See previous post).

This time we tried the crispy chicken with tomato rice, seafood net springroll salad and the coconut ice cream. I cannot stress the portions are so generous and the food are so colourful and presented beautifully. Who would expect this level in Eastwood??

I really cannot pick my favourite as they are all delicious and shine in their own way. The crispy chicken truly lives up to its name as it is really crispy, with succulent juice meat in the inside. The rice not only has the tomato flavour, but also infused the coconut milk. Salad on the side was very refreshing with delicious dressing. The springroll was so good and the fish sauce? It is really really different! It is almost like a bit of citrusy and kumquat flavour. The vermicelli are a little thicker and more springy than usual. I really enjoy the texture!

Last but not least, the coconut ice cream is so aesthetic! 4 scoops of coconut ice cream sitting on top of a real coconut. Indulge it with the crispy roasted nuts, shredded coconuts and the coconut meat! It was such a delight to finish the meal on this note. With the warm weather approaching (approached!), this is certainly...

I went there with my friends for a late lunch yesterday. I knew the place was overpriced for the portion sizes, but it’s clean, and there’s a large poster outside advertising 10% off pho when paying by cash.

When we went to pay, I asked to pay for the pho in cash while the rest of the dishes were paid by card, but the female staff member said they couldn’t split the bill due to their "restaurant policy." She also told me that to get the 10% discount on pho, the entire bill had to be paid in cash, or I could pay full price by card. I chose to pay by card because the card machine had a "No Amex" sign, but there were no signs indicating a surcharge for card payments. Then, she told me that if I paid by card, there would be a 2% surcharge.

While I don’t mind paying a surcharge and can understand not offering separate bills during busy times, the restaurant wasn’t busy at all, and there were no signs explaining their payment policies. If they’re advertising a 10% discount, they should at least mention that the bill can’t be split and that customers need to pay in cash for the entire bill. To me, this seems like a tactic to encourage cash payments so they can underreport their income and avoid paying taxes.

I found the restaurant's practices frustrating, so I asked for a separate bill again. The female staff, who was on the phone with the manager, had an unprofessional and annoyed expression, and then told me to transfer the payment to the manager’s personal account. Even then, they refused to apply the 10% discount on the pho. I ended up transferring the payment via PayID, but felt uncomfortable about the whole experience for the...