New Pho Bo Ga La — Restaurant in Ottawa

This review is for the long -time visitors who've been here since the early 2000's when their front store sign was blue instead of red. What happened to this place?

Lukewarm spring rolls. Like come on, they're never made fresh - they're blanched and then fully cooked in the deep fryer afterwards but that's not the problem. Mine were not even hot to begin with. It was like warm oil still clinging on to them.

Lukewarm tea also doesn't help digest the oil. Was the teapot just left sitting out? Or belonged to another previous table and just given to us? You could drink it straight from the pot and not be burned, that's how warm it was.

The Size of the pho bowl has also changed - 5 bites of the medium noodles and you're done. Medium sized bowl is what the small bowl used to be. Like wow, skimping on size. No more large oversized bowls that pho is known for.

A weird hot sauce. The sriracha bottle is super diluted. Either they added more water to the sauce or they replaced it with another hot sauce and left it in the sriracha bottle to disguise it as such. Not the real thing!

Also common in pho restaurants is for the customer to write down their own order and then they punch it in the system. Also common is for them to forget your drink order as well. They have forgotten more often than not since the 2000's during my visits and today, they definitely forgot again. Or ignored it. I mean, who wants to make a shake or condensed coffee when it's easier to just bring dishes in and out of the kitchen. I'm not gonna remind them of the order, they should be checking and verifying that all items are accounted for. So then they gave me my cheque, guess what? They left the drinks on, expecting me to pay for something that I didn't receive. They removed the item but that was all. No complimentary drinks after or a % off your food ticket. No customer service. It's always students/teenagers working but teach those teens better.

Which leads to this: minimal tip. Minimalist service to just bring dishes and not be a "true" server. That's always been a pho restaurant staple trope but I'm not clicking on their pre-assigned 15%, 18%, 20% tip options. 5-10% at most. And also, why did they not give me my itemized receipt? They tried to hide or sleight of hand it, simply handing me only the debit machine. So anyone who continues to go here, please verify your checks as they might be adding extra charges without your knowing because they're not giving you that receipt.

Overall mid experience. More a tourist trap than authentic...

Honest review here. Please read before considering to try this restaurant. Never posted a bad review anywhere but my experience today was just the worst I could ever get. I am still shocked... I always go to this place because it is 10 minutes away from my house. I am a regular client and often bring my friends there or people who are from outside Ottawa and who want good pho. Their Shrimp spring rolls and beef pho is good and tasty. Soup might have some extra oil you don't want but it is good.

Customer service ? Never been good, lady at the front is always moody but I would never bother much and will just give some tips for the waiter.

Today I ordered the special fried rice. Was a huge mistake. Rice was literally soaked in oil. And you could smell that oil was used several times already. Very strong and unpleasant smell. We did not eat the plate, one spoon was enough to tell that plate was complete garbage. I am usually not picky with fried rice or food in general. The picture had some various ingredients, the actual fried rice only had some chicken and pineaple. (Almost none actually)

I talked to the waiter and said we were not satisfied with the plate. It's kind to say that he was rude. The manager came to talk and it was even worst. He never could admit that fried rice had bad smell and would say it's "Thai food smell". I eat thai food almost every week and I can tell the difference between thai spices and rotten food. I did not expect him to take the order back. Apology would have really been enough. But he did not even bother saying sorry to his clients for poor quality. When they left, my friend saw them whisper and laugh at us. Saying things like "I am sure they will eat it". In the end we left the plate untouched. Waiter said "you know you still have to pay for this right, why don't you bring it to your family?" Ironically. I ignored the comment. Thought never buying food here again will be good for my wallet.

I will never come back. He lost me and all the people I already brought there and will make sure I spread the word. I have never experienced such a bad customer service. Losing regular clients is probably the biggest mistake a restaurant could ever do. I hope you consider this review before trying it.

(Sorry for blurry picture I took it...

Second time I have been to this place recently.

First time was decent, really enjoyed it.

This time I got there around 7:40 pm. Ordered the xl bowl thinking I would have a decent amount of time to eat as their hours were till 9:30.

I went to the washroom before my food came and saw a huge cockroach in the bathroom it fell off the toilet paper roll. I get it is an old building but it was a bit much to deal with to be honest.

I got the appetizers they were not terrible but not great. The spring roll was decent.

The main came and I was dissapointed everything seemed dull and wilted. Like I got the old veggies. The broth seemed watery not savory.

I got through maybe not even half way then they started sweeping and the dust went everywhere in the air. Was a terrible experience. After they mopped and the chemical they used was so strong it was unbearable, as I was eating.

I just paid and left. I get it was near the end and I was the only customer but i would have appreciated had they at least stopped me from ordering such a big meal.

Honestly this was the worst experience of my life eating out.

My first visit a couple of months ago was decent, the food tasted great which is why I went back.

I had to even stop on the way home for something else to get the taste of dirt and chemicals out.

I dont normally write bad reviews but this experience was an exception. I hope in future I get warned if they want to close before I order a large amount but I would have a hard time being comfortable going back.

I hope they can improve as the food was great the first time. Really does need a deep...