PHO - Noodlebar (Mitte) — Restaurant in Berlin

As a foreword, I wanted to hold of on this review until I could revisit the spot since it might have been a bad batch like the waiter said but its not like I give other spots second chances and there are too many in this city anyway.

This spot has very hip and cozy design and styling to it. Starting with the menu cards to the neon lights and all the other stuff that's going on on the inside. Service is really good and the waiters recommendations are genuine and nice, complementary to what fits the occasion (we were 4 and wanted to order a starter that was kinda unpractical for sharing, grecommended something else which was cheaper i noticed). They often came around to check up on us but not in a pestering kind of way but very balanced and low key.

Pricing however is expensive for the portion size you are receiving. Which would be fine if the food was impeccable but it was not. I ordered a soupless rice vermicelli dish and got the saddest version of noodles that I had seen in a good while and ever in a restaurant setting. Overboiled and breaking apart. That combined with the price ruined the experience for me.

I grew up with this food so I have a baseline of standards but thats what I would have expected from other cuisine natives to deliver too. Just because its trending now, don't lower your standards. Anyway, I was ensured that it's a one time thing and next time will be better but who...

This is probably the worst restaurant experience we have ever had…and we’ve been to a lot of restaurants around the world. We chose Pho because of the many 5-star reviews and its proximity to our hotel (as well as something different than German food). Initially service was very friendly but it deteriorated quickly. Our drinks sat waiting at the bar for over 10 minutes (I could see them from our table); we had to remind the waiter about our drinks before he remembered about then. Then we waited another 45 minutes for our food which never came even though tables who arrived 30 minutes after us were getting their meal. Finally we asked the manager where our food was and he expressed surprised. Our waiter came and said the kitchen has “made a mistake” and our food would arrive shortly—and would be comped because of the error. We waited another 20 minutes until our pho arrived. We ordered the beef/meatball pho but what we got tasted like weak chicken stock with some tasteless, even inedible sausage pieces. We thought that maybe there was a translation error so we just tried to eat the pho, only to see our neighbors actually get a rich looking beefy soup with meatballs 5 minutes later. At that point we just got up from our table and left, opting for a hot slice of pizza from a store down the street. At least they did comp they...

If you have a gluten allergy, if you are a celiac AVOID AT ALL COST.

I told the waitress my gluten allergy, and she assured me that they can cater me. She was nice. Ordered my “gluten free” food, started feeling off and throwing up in their bathroom after eating it.

I then asked the waitress if there was any gluten in it since I was having an allergic reaction. They reassured me I had no gluten in my food whilst I was having an allergic reaction. And there was no contamination.

Then I went to my table, my friends asked for the bill so we can go to a pharmacy immediately. The waiter came and asked me if I was okay while I was still having the reaction.. I told them there was gluten in my food. He said they had many customers with gluten intolerances and they were fine. So their food is fine. He said that to me as I had already thrown up the food, I was clearly not well as I could not speak in full sentences. I also tried to tell him tolerances and allergies are different.

He then asked me to pay for the “gluten free” food before I can head out to the pharmacy.

If you have a gluten allergy, if you are a celiac AVOID AT ALL COST.

The food tastes good, aftermath was horrible. Waiters horrible, kitchen won’t care for your gluten allergy, and food is not good enough to risk...