Pho Hut — Restaurant in Ontario

I really wanted to like PhoHut. I was excited to see a new option for Brockville and surrounding areas, and especially looking forward to authentic pho without driving to Ottawa. I was rooting for them throughout their opening struggles/delays (Brockville bureaucracy) and couldn’t wait to come and try it. Unfortunately, Pho Hut is a real disappointment, moreover an insult to genuine hardworking Asian restauranteurs. A “pho” restaurant just passing mediocrity in rural Ontario, as if caucasian locals wouldn’t notice or care about the quality/standards.

Nicely redone space, clean well-lit and nicely decorated. Not much ambiance with no low music. Ambiance was impacted by 4 employees/owners walking around yet still service was non-existent.

I would have been ok with the prices, which are about 10-20% higher than Ottawa-area Viet/Thai establishments. Expecting 16-18$ Pho, and $3-6 spring rolls, I would be happy to pay the $20 and $8 if they were fantastic. To my dismay, flavour lacking, quality sub-par, portions inequitable. While the food presentation initially looked pretty good, upon closer dissection and taste, it’s a sham.

Everything was a simplified half-version of what it authentically should be. Paying more and getting less. Spring rolls/rice wraps had shredded lettuce, rice noodle and shrimp, but $4 PER roll expects a mint sprig, cilantro, bean sprout, shredded carrot, just something more. Each wrap with maybe 2 shrimps sliced in half with 5cents of noodle and 30cents of lettuce? Come on! Traditional Gỏi cuốn have julienned cucumber, carrot, bamboo shoots, cilantro scallions, mint etc, NOT just rice lettuce protein. Peanut sauce was literally watered down and lacking flavour because of it. The rolls didn’t taste ‘fresh’ persay (I don’t challenge that they were in fact made fresh) but only tasted of watery blandness. Rice paper wraps are delicate yes, flavourless no. True Vietnamese would be ashamed of those abominations.

Fried calamari for $15 was a quantity that deserved $10, and while they were thankfully properly cooked and not over-cooked (as is commonly the case) the batter had zero seasoning. I wasn’t expecting ‘salt and pepper shrimp’, but they necessitated more than just a flour dusting. Others might, but I didn’t mind the batter falling off; calamari are hard to bread and fry. Dipping sauce was a typical supermarket sweet chili, which would have been fine at $10 price point, for $15 at that portion, put the effort into something house-made.

Pho was bland and basic, extremely undeserving of the price. Ratio of broth to noodles was far off, for $20 the bowl arrived half filled; huge disappointment. Broth flavour lacking though it did hint of authentic roots with cinnamon etc. It was a sad excuse for a bowl of pho; other than green onion and a few slices of beef, it didn’t have anything else in it! No bean sprouts, no thai/holy basil, onion/shallot slices, chili or garlic oil, lime wedges, even an optional chili on the side. For $20 I expect the bowl fuller and with more. Any standard pho house in Ottawa will serve a bowl 30% larger, with 2x the beef quantity, for 16-18$. Pho-Hut was a ripoff.

Pad Thai for $22, vegetarian same price as beef, you’d expect a fair quantity of tofu in exchange. While the portion size was adequate for the price, only 3 small pieces of tofu in the entire dish was astonishing. There was no authentic Pad Thai flavour, it was noodles pan fried in sriracha, lending a strongly acidic flavour with no salt or contrast. Sloppy noodles need fresh crunch contrast, traditionally from bean sprouts or other fresh vegetables. I could have forgiven the freeze-pre-cut foodservice veg if the noodles, egg, tofu, sauce and flavour was there but it simply wasn’t. There was no crushed peanut on top, no fresh herbs or garnish. Just a slop plate of semi-fried (not even crispy) noodles, with no sweetness or tang, no flavour and lacklustre vegetables. Didn’t even finish the dish and didn’t ask for a box to take out.

REVIEW PART 1/2:...

REVIEW 2/2 service:

Ordered an iced viet coffee halfway through eating, but had to wait 4 minutes to be served. Restaurant was empty with 3 tables seated and 4 staff around, 2 seated including our server. Despite making eye contact and trying to get his attention while all pausing our meal, it took 4min (we counted) to come and refill waters and take the order for a coffee. At no other point during the evening did they ask or follow up with the food, if anything needed etc. No, to the contrary they sat down and chatted together instead of attend to the few customers still patronizing them.

What really pissed us off was the lack of service and attitude demonstrated. The combination of negative food, at high prices, with an attitude of apathy and ambivalence really frustrated me when I had wanted so badly to like this restaurant and wish them success. I rarely if ever do not tip, but I couldn’t bring myself to add to the bill, the service was nonexistent and the food overpriced and of undeserving quality. When a customer declines to tip, it is often an obvious signal to ASK or inquire on the part of the proprietor. To the contrary, whom I understood to be the owner came to take payment, and didn’t bat an eye at the unfinished food or lack of a tip. They didn’t ask what was wrong, or how the meal was, they didn’t inquire at all about the experience. They literally demonstrated total ambivalence to the customer experience.

After investing money and effort into renovating and opening a restaurant, an industry with high turnover, thin margins, and low survival rates, wouldn’t you pay attention to customers or be hyper-focused on their feedback in the early days after opening? The behaviour observed from both (assumed) owners was apathetic and disgusting after really feeling for them and their struggles with getting the restaurant open after brockville’s municipal hoops and hurdles.

Pho-Hut, you could have earned a frequent, repeat loyal customer. Instead, another Asian food scam for basic white people in rural small-town has ruined your chances at having genuine staying power and clientele willing to travel for authenticity outside of Ottawa’s Chinatown. A real shame. I feel ripped-off from this meal, you have left me wishing you to fail in Brockville so someone/something better...

My husband and another couple decided to meet for our Christmas visit here. I LOVE Pho and have a difficult time finding it where we live now. It was the Monday before Christmas that we visited. We got a window table - which is exactly what I was hoping for. Natural light and the ability to enjoy the sights of the season outside while we were enjoying our meal inside. The waitress (I didn't get her name) was extremely attentive and accommodating. She encouraged us to "stay as long as we wanted," and offered to bring us extra tea and take out containers as it was obvious we weren't going to be able to eat it all. I had the Pho Wonton Soup and added egg noodles to it. Yes, it is a bit expensive for Pho (I think it was $18.95 and there may have been an upcharge for the egg noodles I didn't check the bill overly carefully), but the portion was large (a little larger than I needed) and we all know the price of food - what's it's going for these days (inflation....). The broth was well seasoned and flavorful. The wontons were just that perfect mix of meat/veggies and wrapper. My husband had one of the curry dishes - which he finished and enjoyed. Our dining companions each ordered a soup and an appetizer and expressed that they enjoyed their meals - although they too needed to take some home (which they planned on having for supper). What I loved about this restaurant: the service was friendly, attentive but not intrusive. the ambiance is nice - and we got a window table (yay) we were encouraged to stay as long as we wanted - there was no feeling of "hurry up." it is open on Monday's - do you know how hard it is to find a restaurant open on a Monday? Much harder than you'd expect. there is a selection of soups, curries and stirfry type dishes - if you love Asian cuisine - you'll find something to whet your appetite. I suspect we'll be coming back here if we venture to Canada in the future - which I'm pretty sure we will be. This is hidden gem - that if I hadn't read the reviews I wouldn't have visited - so thank you for...