Lúa Cuisine — Restaurant in Frankfurt

We went there as two couples a few weeks ago, but could not enjoy meal simultaneously. We were sitting in the “garden” which is not that spectacular for what it is, but ok, it is in the city. One of the dishes was way too salty and as we said this to the waiter he just took the dish away without communicating what he would do with it, whether he would come back or anything. After quite a while he came back with the same dish (beef pho) and obviously they had put some more water into the soup to make the salty taste less. Only now my partner tasted the meat which was tasting a bit weird. It may have been because of the heat outside but in any case he couldn’t eat it. He asked the waiter to give it back and order something else. The waiter said that this needs to be approved by the Kittchen and went away. Again after another long while the chef came to our table with a piece of raw meat to show us that the meat they use looks good. Honestly, I felt like at a butcher store while we were opposed to listen to many out of the context stories of the chef. And while he wanted to make us believe the meat in the soup was ok, he mentioned that they use natron to make the meat quickly softer…. In the end, after probably at least 15 he spent at our table (you remember the raw meat, it stayed on our table the whole time), he did not want to take the pho back but just said he will offer us sth from the house and went away. After another 10min nothing happened. My partner went into the restaurant to ask if he could get at least 2 spring rolls instead of any drinks. After another 10min he got 2 summer rolls (not spring rolls), but ok… At some point we ordered the bill and again the service was too slow, although it was already close to 22h and no body was ordering anything anymore. In the end the Vietnamese lady brought us the bill. They charged the pho which remained uneaten. We claimed that we’d be glad to pay for the summer rolls but not for the pho.

And the Vietnamese lady got angry. She did not want us to pay and went away with the machine.

After we asked to please finally settle all and go. Then the chef came again to our table with the Vietnamese lady. In the end, she said she would call the police if we don’t pay the pho :))) we insisted on talking to the boss as it was all so ridiculous. She phoned the boss, and we were told he would be there in a few minutes. No body came, so we paid the bill as it is not our attitude to not pay our bills.

But it was the bad attitude of the employees if this highly rated restaurant to disregard its customers’ critics and perception.

We have travelled around Vietnam and enjoy this cuisine, but nir was this one really fresh nor could they adapt to your wishes. And if you use natron, put a cheap hot sauce instead of hot peppers to the pho, I reckon the quality is that high.

It was our second time visiting this restaurant and none of the experiences makes it worthy visiting again nor recommending.

On the next day I had a heavy allergy reaction from some of the ingredients they use, so even here I doubt all is fresh and natural as they claim.

But ok, we are only 2 (or even 4)...

⚠️”Empathy” Not on the Menu ❌ Families don’t go ❌ This place is unfriendly, unkind, and absolutely not family-friendly. The way they treat people when they’re not customers, shows their true colors.‼️

We accidentally sat at one of their outdoor tables during the Schweizerstraßenfest, thinking they were the same Vietnamese vendor from the food truck right in front of their restaurant. A simple mistake.

A woman from the restaurant came out and told me to leave immediately. I explained that my husband had just stepped away and would be back in a moment - we had two very young children, food, bottles, and a stroller to manage. I would leave but just needed a few moments.

She showed zero understanding. 😧 Despite the fact that the entire outdoor (and indoor) area was empty (see picture), she stood there coldly and insisted I leave right away. 😨 Her lack of empathy was shocking and frankly, disgusting.

My husband returned within a minute and we moved without fuss.

But that wasn’t the end of it. As we were leaving, I saw her ranting about us to a colleague behind the counter. I walked in to explain our side of the situation - hoping for basic human decency. Instead, I was met with defensiveness and more hostility. She couldn’t even understand what the problem was.

Ironically, we’re locals in Sachsenhausen, but we’ll never return, and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. Especially not if you have kids.👎👎👎👎👎

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Update: Drafting a reply with AI doesn’t make you more convincing😂 Instead, it continues to show your lack of empathy.😅

Yes, we accidentally sat at your outdoor table during a busy neighborhood festival. It was a genuine mistake, yet you painted our action as deliberate, and evil…

We genuinely thought your space was part of the Vietnamese food truck (yes, also same cuisine) setup directly in front (literally less than one meter) of seating area.

It wasn’t about the policy or the rule. I did not insist or intend to continue to use your seatings. Don’t you understand what the problem was?

👉It was the lack of basic human understanding and kindness in how the situation was handled. You had every right to ask us to move, but the manner was cold, unkind, and made a simple misunderstanding unnecessarily uncomfortable.

When I asked for a few moments, you could have just said “Sure, of course, just a minute is fine!”. Because it literally took a minute 😂

I shared this experience not to be unfair, but to highlight how a bit of empathy goes a long way, especially in a family-friendly neighborhood like Sachsenhausen. Your response unfortunately only reinforces the impression that your behavior is hostile and lack of...

I am going yo adress why I rate 5 stars across the board but 4 stars in general. In short: -1 for broken plates. Broken plates are a matter of how prestigious u want to show you are. Its something nobody will notice if all plates are intact, but people DO notice if some are broken. A restaurant is not a home, we do not need to save chipped plates. Also happened to me as a cook that a chipped plate broke in two IN MY HANDS because I tapped it with a spoon. I wouldnt want that to happen as a server is placing the plate down or picking it up or break in the kitchen and so on. Fun fact I heard but I didnt check if true: plates are made so sensitive because it makes for good business. Restaurants have to re-buy them constantly. I will also not get over how small German toilets are in restaurants... I am not particularly against it but I remember I used to go to restaurants with spacious and beautiful toilets and now they are a 1.5x1. Good toilet design with the mirror on the wall. I dont know how legal it is that women and men share the toilet. There is just one for both. Service: amazing. Although when asked to give us more time to decide what to eat, another server asked if we are ready much faster than expected, that seems to happen a lot so maybe its a thing, id like it that if I say I need time, that the server trusts that I will show him Im ready but maybe other people feel otherwise so I dont mind much. +Points for the lady that when I asked to have desserts and she saw we drank our drinks she offered to get us more, that was very smart up selling or otherwise counts as care. Thank you for reading...