Pho Cardiff — Restaurant in Castle

PLEASE AVOID! WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!!

I don’t understand how is possible and why this place has soo good reviews??!!! Lets get to the point now! I booked a table at 18:30, however we were in Cardiff already, we were hungry, so we decided to pop at the restaurant to ask if we could sit earlier. We arrived at 17:30 instead of 18:30, The place wasn’t busy so they agreed for us to sit. We ordered straight away 2 starters for us and a salad for our friends. starters came after 10-15 minutes and they said salad wouldn’t take long! after 15minutes the waitress came and said she will check what’s going on with the salad. Then she came back after 15 minutes again s and told us they preparing the salad and takes a while because they making sure they having fresh veggies ! okay, then she is coming after 15-20 min and she said the salad is going to be late because of the veggies i asked what is going on then and she said the chef is new i said okay but you keep coming back and forth without telling us what’s happening so far you changed your words 3 times, she apologised and said thats not her fault but the kitchens fault as they run out of cabbage (put all the blame to your colleagues, is ashamed girl!!) and she will call the manager. Manager came and we explained him that we have been waiting 45min for the salad , the waitress changed her story 3 times and on the top she put all the blame to her colleagues and thats not a teams work and also they could have let us know, so we could choose something different instead of waiting so long!!! Manager apologised, brought as hot starters as the one we had went cold after so long waiting for the salad and finally the salad arrived after a while. Therefore we started eating at 18:30 (after an hour of our arrival)! Meanwhile the place was full and everyone seemed annoying of the waiting time! food is nothing special , most of the staff are friendly, the restaurant is clearly understaffed but if you see you cant handle the restaurant don’t allow so many people to sit in and having deliveries on the too!Also, we weren’t the only ones complaining as we heard the customers on the table behind us raising complaints as well!...

A lovely experience, fantastic food in a busy but friendly environment.

I had been looking forward to trying Pho from the time I'd read that the place would be opening and I wasn't disappointed.

My partner and I went along on Tuesday night and were seated (on a shared table) straight away. We were given plenty of time to review the menu and our order was taken by a very friendly member of staff.

While we were waiting for starters we had Bánh phồng tôm (prawn crackers with sweet chilli sauce) these were a nice reminder of prawn crackers we'd eaten in Ho Chi Minh City when we had visited.

I opted for Cánh gà (crispy chicken wings with sriracha dipping sauce). The wings were small but plentiful and the Sriracha was nicely rich with chilli.

My partner had Nem nướng (pork & lemongrass meatballs with lettuce & herbs to wrap and dip into nước chấm sauce). He loved the soft meat and sharp vinegary sauce.

I then had Phở bò combo, the rich broth cooked with noodles and steak, brisket & meatballs which like all the Phos was served with beansprouts, lime, mint and coriander I could add as I choose.

My partner had Phở chín, the beef brisket pho.

On the table was Sriracha sauce, Fish sauce, Garlic and chilli vinegar and Garlic paste to mix into the Pho. The fish sauce added a lovely saltiness and the chillies and garlic worked very well too. The Pho was rice and delicious.

We shared a side of Rau muống xào (stir fried morning glory in garlic) which was crisp and tasty.

We were really pleased at the richness of the flavours and the opportunity to eat at our own speed with no pressure.

My partner had the delightful freshness of the passionfruit cheesecake and we both had a black coffee. The coffee was not to our taste, this was soft gentle coffee whereas we like coffee that bites back. But with that small off note the rest of the expereince at Pho was wonderful....

Went to Pho last night as I heard good things about it.. turns out nothing special and service was horrendous! We are a group of 4 following a group of 5 into the restaurant, they were seated after 5/10 mins wait. We were told they are getting our table ready should be 5 mins, then a member of staff walked upstairs and told us they are not taking anymore tables as they are fully booked. We explained that we were told our table will be ready in 5 mins and she said they dont work front desk so they dont know. We said we wouldn't mind waiting in case any booking didnt turn up, she replied "well it's up to you, but we were told we are not taking anymore tables tonight." Despite making our presence known and consistently trying make eye contact, all of the staff were facing the bar and blatantly ignoring us. Some of them walked away but I took a photo. We had to grab one of them and asked if they are going to give us a table, then was rudely answered yes. After waiting for another 20mins, we were finally seated. We were absolutely starving by the time we were seated and they took another 15mins until noticing us to take our order. We noticed no one has entered the restaurant after we have been seated and there were many empty tables.(photo taken) I dont understand how we have been treated so badly compared to the group before us. Food wasnt as spectacular as I was expected, so definitely wont be...