Pholklore — Restaurant in Victoria

Not going here anymore. What used to be a friendly, welcoming and delicious place to eat in Torquay has now been ruined by the Pakington St business. I've been 4 times to the Pako one, and no longer will I give it the benefit of the doubt. Service is always shocking and the pho just lacks in so much flavour now. On our recent visit, we basically received no service. We were waiting for so long for our drinks to come and instead the staff were chatting outside the bar in a group doing nothing (I must note it wasn't a busy night so there shouldn't have been a long wait). Once we got our drinks the guy just placed them down, I asked if we could have water for the table and he pointed to the water bottles across the room and said "it's over there" and walked off. Um okay? Is it not table service? No need to be rude, if I had have been told upon being seated that there was self serve water I would've got it. Also if everything else is table service why do I have to be rudely told to get my own water? The guy then proceeded to just go chat again with the other staff. When our meals arrived the staff member literally chucked our plates down and walked off without saying a word.. the bean shoots and stuff slid off the plate onto the table because she just chucked the plate down and she didn't apologise or anything. She had such an attitude of like "I'm too cool to be at work" well ok darl maybe don't get a job in hospo, you aren't cut out for it. The pho all tasted the same despite us all ordering 3 separate styles and it was so bland and lack lustre. The only redeeming food was the fried Cauliflower which was still delicious. Once we were done our empty plates and bowls sat there for about 15 minutes, while the staff continued to just chat in their huddle and do nothing, despite glancing at our table numerous times. Soooo bloody lazy. Like how about coming and clearing our meals and ask how everything was? Show a little personality and service? Is that too much to ask? I will 100% not be coming back. Your service is SO poor and disappointing. Instead of hiring "cool" staff maybe you should hire people who are hard working...

I'm glad I finally got to check this place out. Have driven past quite a few times and it seems to always be packed so it is definitely very popular. I have read a couple of poor reviews, but I think the issue is that those particular patrons don't really understand what this is and who it is targeting. What I mean is that the layout, atmosphere, staff, decor, even the wording on menu, which can only be accessed via the website are all targeted to the hip, trendy, young crowd. This is the sort of place that would be great to go to with a group of friends and catch up and have a good time. It is certainly no authentic Vietnamese restaurant. I doubt anyone that works there even has any Vietnamese heritage, but that is totally ok, these guys certainly are not shying away from that at all, if anything they are embracing the fact that it is an Aussie twist on Vietnamese food. If you are a purest at heart, then my advice would be skip this place, there are other places in Geelong you can go. If however, you haven't tried Vietnamese food before and want to give it a go, or if you want somewhere that you know for a fact they will understand you and your dietary requirements or if you just want somewhere that is chilled and relaxed, where you can have a good time, then yeah this is the place for you.

The only reason I am giving it 4 stars and not 5 is that the venue was very cold. I proably won't go back in winter. But hey, I am probably not there ideal customer. I'm in my mid 40's. If i was young, or if I was prepared and had a coat with me then yeah it would be fine. It is very much the food truck sort of feel to it, so I should have realised this and come more prepared with...

I cannot begin to fathom the disappointment and robbery felt whilst eating at this overpriced westernised 'Vietnamese' restaurant as a Vietnamese person. To be fair the spring rolls were okay and the restaurant was beautifully set, fantastic service with a vibrant atmosphere. Therefore justifies 1 star given.

Firstly, the 'traditional pho' was just okay, very basic. The other varieties of pho (we tried the mi goreng pho) was absolutely awful, the combination made no sense whatsoever - cannot even classify as a 'pho fushion' as it was thrown together flavours and cheap noodles that made no sense. The worst however was the Bun Bo Hue (BBH), which lacked all basic components of the makeup of BBH. This restaurant Bun Bo Hue served us a red sour broth with vermicelli noodles, two slices of dry beef and dry chicken breast. If you have had BBH cooked by Vietnamese people before you know this description barely resembles BBH. It was an absolute joke and almost felt as an insult to the dish, yep thats how bad it was.

To profit of our culture and traditional food and barely respect the aspects of the dish, couldn't help but feel frustrated and disrespected especially with the ridiculous $$$$$ spent. If you're not going to bother respecting the food, just market yourself as an 'asian fusion'. But look if you are looking for something 'instagrammable', 'feel cultured' and couldn't care less about traditional vietnamese, I guess this is the place will do for you. It is a very nice venue after-all. Vietnamese people/ have had quite a lot of Vietnamese, keep swiping to find another restaurant, please don't...