Toàn's — Restaurant in Bucharest

Had dinner here 2 times, once in 2018 and once in 2022, getting 2 different experiences. What I liked was the location being easy to find and the setting of the restaurant having a cosy feeling to it. The beef Phở was good both times, with a nice broth. A downside was, however, that it did not have much herbs except for the bits of coriander and was not served with lemon/ lime/ vinegar or chilli. Their Nem is alright too. They also serve great coconut ice cream and have a nice selection of Vietnamese beers. Now what I did not particularly enjoy were: The bún chả had really dry meat which was not grilled but was just pan-fried. The bánh xèo was outright bad. It was cold, the pancake itself was not crispy or chewy or anything that it should be; had very little herbs and the meat inside was also dry. The phở xào had a very Chinese feeling to it with all the soy sauce (that should not be present, normally) on it. Definitely lacked the typical Vietnamese freshness. The tapioca pudding dessert was an absolute abomination. It was this odd-tasting/ smelling runny mess of a starchy drink, nothing like a meal meant to be eaten. Both times I went, in 2018 and in 2022, I tried to order the chè long nhãn and both times it was not available.

Service-wise, the restaurant seems okay-ish. Our waiter was the same person both years. One thing that was a tiny disappointment was that they kept reassuring us that all items on the menu were available but when we ordered things, they kept coming out to tell us this or that was not in stock.

If you visit, also do keep in mind that they work until 22.00 sharp and will not shy away from asking you to leave...

Decided to grab lunch today and ventured into this place. The waiter - a thin Asian looking young gentleman - seemed a bit miffed with me from the get go. I’m not sure if my questions for the menu or where to sit ticked him off. Anyways as I sat down and ordered, he had a man arrogant look in his face. I asked him for lychee juice and they didn’t have it in stock. So I asked him for a cold Vietnamese coffee with less ice. He gave me an unbelievably rude look and then a smirk. The coffee came laden with ice. I’m not sure if he put extra ice just to spite me :). Anyways coffee wasn’t bad so maybe he made the right decision for me. I just wish he was a bit nice about it. I placed an order of the pork meatballs as starter and then took some time to look for main food. 2 mins in I politely enquirer if it’s possible to switch my meatballs with another order. I got a RUDE NOT POSSIBLE. Oh well..I can understand. Meatballs were good but a bit dry. Chicken pho soup was good but I didn’t see the mushrooms on top they so prominently showed in the picture. So all in all, food was ok but service definitely can be worked on. Either ways, I’m grateful and thankful for my meal at this place and the people...

I've been a loyal customer since I moved to Bucharest but today something absolutely unacceptable happened.

The romanian waiter with blonde-dyed hair, Costi, who's always come across as a bit shady, added a compulsory 45 LEI tip to the bill without asking us. When I confronted him about it, he informed me that it's new legislation and they're allowed to do that, which I later found out was a blatant lie.

Reminder, TIPS IN ROMANIA ARE OPTIONAL. Legally, waiters are paid at least minimum wage and it is only by the customers choice that tips are added. I'm currently filing a report to ANPC against them.

Also, HE DIDN'T OFFER US A LEGAL RECEIPT, he offered us a "note of information" which is a illegal practice that is used to hide fraudulent activities such as tax evasion and scams. Which is the reason why I will file a complaint to ANAF as well.

I wonder if his boss knows of what he's doing, I'll try to get a hold of him. The food was as good as always but due to their illegal practices I'm never going there again unless it is to give them...