Co'M Cafe — Restaurant in Richmond

Omg where do I even begin? We’ve heard of this place because our foodie friend recommended it to my bf and I. Mind you, because I’m Vietnamese myself and there’s nothing like my own family house made pho, I am very picky when it comes to pho restaurants. I will tell you right now that I can tell if they’ve cheated and used plain old beef broth you buy from the store or how long it’s been sitting in the pot and my number one pet peeve when it comes to pho is if there is a bowl doused in MSG or a film of grease and fat just sitting on the surface. Their pho is very clean, light aroma, light yet balanced flavours; it is very authentic AOK finger sign The star dish is most definitely the bun bo hue, very rich in flavour, again very clean, just the right amount of chilli and saté (ofcourse you can always request for more to your liking) I thought the portions were good, so did everyone else (my bf and 6 other friends whom I took here). The price is justifiable as they use organic ingredients. The nuoc mam chicken wings does not compare to pnomh penh but it’s adequate however there was one occasion where the wings were fried just a tad bit too long so the meat was firm but nonetheless still delicious and it’s not a big deal to me anyways where as it could be huge for others. The spring rolls was solid, just the right amount of filling to wrapping, good ratio where as some places over stuff it. And the in-house coconut ice cream is to die for, you can’t finish a meal without dessert so better make room because you’re about to mouthgasm drooool we were very pleased with the hospitality and quite frankly the decor is something different, I mean I like it. It’s a little bit retro yet it’s got a modern flare. The atmosphere is cozy and definitely worth taking your family. Mind you their recipes has been passed down from generation to generation so that’s something I could really admire. The location is great and easy to find. When I saw that they offer kombucha I was like SHIT, okay okay this place is hip. And I love the quote that’s plastered on the bill tray “When eating choose the place, when playing choose your friends” hmm interesting proverb, lalalalove it! I think some of the people here need to loosen up and stop being so entitled, it is after all a startup business so give these guys a break! I really appreciate the love the owners has put into this business, you could really see it. Every little detail makes a difference and the best part of dining is not just the food, but the experience. Best of all is that the menu isnt large and overwhelming, they feature all of the best pho/Vietnamese staples all in one elegant menu. They even stayed late for us to finish our food when the restaurant was closed, so thank you Michael and COM team for serving us with dignity and passion. ♥️ Oh for sure we are coming back. 100% LET IT BEKNOWNST THAT ITS THE BEST PHO/BUN BO HUE YOU’ILL EVER TASTED...

I went to this restaurant on Aug 11 with my family as we decided to try something new instead of our normal pho spots and remember seeing this place on occasion as we drove by it multiple times. No idea how this restaurant has this many high reviews, because this was the worst pho experience we ever had, and I had some high hopes for this restaurant given the higher prices and reviews seen online.

I ordered the pho bo (beef pho), my fiance ordered the (mien tom) shrimp glass noodle dish, and my parents ordered a BBH (sub flat rice noodle) and another rice dish (I believe it was the cari bo), and an order of the butter garlic chicken wings. All the noodles in each of the noodle soup dishes were overcooked, and the rice dish wasn't anything spectacular from what I was told. We've never had overcooked noodles in pho before, so this was a first. My beef pho had the tiniest pieces of sliced beef I have ever seen, as well they were very dry as was the brisket. The beef ball was different, and not in a good way compared to how most pho restaurants taste, and the soup was bland as were the other soup dishes my family had (I've had better pho soup from a can). Beef pho 1/5. The butter garlic wings were probably the best thing here, but even that was mediocre at best. They were good, but not amazing. They were buttery but lacked garlic flavour and were also some of the smallest wings I've had in while. Wings were 3/5. If you're charging $20 for 8 wings, they better be amazing if they're that small or at least larger than what I saw.

The decor was nice and modern, but a few glaring issues when I was there. Along their bar lights had 2 faulty lights, one was burnt out, and the other was flickering consistently. I'm sure with the way traffic is, some workers here could take the time to change those bulbs so they aren't constantly flashing in the customer's eye. If this place is trying to position itself as a higher pho restaurant, maybe try and have an upkeep on maintenance which may include not don't having all your restaurant supplies stacked on chairs and tables even if they're at the corner of your restaurant. This is expected from a $13/pho bowl restaurant, not $20+. Bill came out to about $113 pre-tax for 4 entrees and 1 appy... $113 for the worst viet experience ever... I get angry just thinking about it. After dinner we all agreed this place isn't going to last unless they drastically make some changes. The restaurant only having 1 other table when we walked in at 8pm should be telling enough. The only praise my parents gave was how high quality the napkins were... I hope this owner sees and makes some changes as I normally don't write reviews, but this...

Please COM again…

Okay, read it as is in straight English somehow doesn’t sound right. I believe it’s pronounced “gom”? (My Viet friends, stop your caravan, take a break at the nail or hair salon or mushroom farms and correct me if I am wrong, thank you).

I have been here when it was first opened and I wasn’t impressed at all. It was jacked up and hyped up by a few foodies who thinks a turkey is a peacock during the Autumn season.

Anyways, I heard it had gotten better over the years so back to give it a 2nd shot (👀).

Here were the food I ordered;

Crab spring rolls. It was okay, nothing to wow about. (Maybe because it became a generic item on the Vietnamese menu, I had better ones). Papaya salad. This one was pretty good; decent amount of each ingredients and the sauce was well balanced. Shaken beef (Bo Luc Lac). The cubed beef were nicely pan fried, tender and caramelized but abit too much oil (as you can see on the pic without me touching it and not enough juicy sauce.. gotta shake that meat more!) Pho Bo. The soup was hot and tasty, the noodle was cooked right but the beef was a bit tough and on the thicker side (beef needs to be sliced thinner, could get choked). Stone bowl pho. The broth was pretty tasty and definitely stayed hot for a long time. I kind of screwed up and dumped everything in all at once (don’t always have time to foreplay with the meat) resulting in certain meats overcooked especially when I am a slow eater. But honestly, besides the stone bowl I didn’t find much difference between this and a bowl of regular pho other than paying more.

Overall, the restaurant was pretty clean with a good amount of spacing between tables. It’s a pretty cozy little space with a casual atmosphere. There’s a free parking garage for customers at the side of the building, make sure to register your parking inside the restaurant.

The service was okay, pretty standard and nothing to complain about. Plus there were only 3 or 4 tables only.

As for the food; the broth for both of the soup were pretty hot and tasty, but meats were a bit on the tougher side, the salad and roll was decent. With that being said, overall it has improved and better than my first visit here. I wouldn’t purposely COM here but if I am in the area I would like to try some of their...