Cafe Mama Pho — Restaurant in London

Twas a warm summers night, 5 stars a twinkled upon the lofty heavens. A sign perhaps? Maybe. I thought to myself. A long day of little productivity had drained me of my mental and physical energy, the tanks were empty. Time to refuel. My love awaited me at the hill of Herne whence a procession of two commenced. Over the half moon lane and into the glades of Dulwich we tread. The geese of goose green were nowhere to be seen this evening, only hounds and their masters. We carried on. As we approached the outpost of Peckham, tired and weary from our travels, panic struck the procession. We were low on food and water, exhausted from a day of toil and hardship. Would we make it? We considered alternative destinations, but none brought such promise in the mind's eye as that of the castle of Mama Pho. We continued on, delirious and hungry, but with a determination in our hearts that burned bright as flame. Members of the procession began to slow and give complaint, but we were too far now, and they could almost smell the beefy broth that awaited them, an incentive to proceed like no other.

Another outpost, this time of Aldi, old Kent road. Only another mile or so as the crow flies we thought, which gave us much strength. We ventured into the industrial wasteland that sat before us, a maze of pipes, chimneys and buildings who's sole purpose was to refine and manufacture valuable and essential sheets of slab. This wasteland was vast, shadows peeked from their crevices all around us, was this a trap? Animals in the procession became spooked, but with determination and the promise of beefy broth in our bellies, we emerged the other side unscathed.

We could smell it now, it was close, one vertical and one horizontal avenue navigated without a compass brought us there. The CASTLE OF MAMA PHO. The elation among the procession was unlike anything since the end of the great rains. We cheered and drank fine ale as we waited patiently for our promise of beefy broth.

Suffices to say, it was a good harvest that year. Many a calf was born and peace returned to the kingdom once more.

Great food, nice staff, I wanna try one of your banh mi, they...

I've been a regular at this restaurant for quite some time, drawn not only to its delicious food and cozy family atmosphere but also its charm. Unfortunately, recent visits have left me disappointed with the declining service standards. The staff, mainly young women, seem distant and unengaged, lacking the basic courtesy of a smile or even minimal interaction. It makes for an awkward dining experience, and I can't help but wonder if they receive any training in customer service.

While I understand that some Asian restaurants aren't known for their service, I've always felt warmly welcomed here in the past. However, over the last two years, things have taken a downturn. The food remains one of the highlights, still among the best in town, and the ambiance retains its character. Yet, these positives are overshadowed when the staff seem indifferent and unresponsive to diners' needs. A simple smile and a bit of friendly interaction shouldn't be too much to ask.

Unfortunately, some of my favorite dishes have also seen a decline in quality. Take, for example, the pork chop and rice, a dish I've previously raved about. It used to feature a succulent, char-grilled chop with flavorful, melt-in-your-mouth fatty bits. Now, it's disappointingly dry and thin, resembling a cut of shoulder rather than the juicy, flavorful experience it once was. The absence of those rich Maillard fats is sorely felt, leaving the dish bland and uninspiring.

It's disheartening to witness such a decline in what was once a favourite viet...

Really poor amature service, was given the bill as a sign they want to shut on time and kick us out, all young naive staff, don't know how to handle situation when family with kids come in, wasnt offered an baby chair, it really rude just to come and leave the bill on a customer table without no words and when the bill wasn't asked for, we was an family with kids, no consideration when their is an 3 and 4 year old their, its like a kick up the teeth, we wouldn't have stay over closing hours anyway, we would have finish on time and left as we don't want to keep them and when we left and their were still guys drinking there aswell,

Just be considerate, have Y thuc,

Am sure this must have changed hands, before it was wonderful and one of the best place to eat vietnamese,

Understand you give everyone an equal chance to work, I have no say in that, if that's the case it more of training on your side for your employee, end of all, in my opinion is try avoid giving the table their bill when they its 9.50, because we were actually trying to eat faster to not have you close late and was thankful that we were taken in, I was only pointing out as a family your staff could be slightly more understanding that we doing our best, with the chair i actually had to ask then kindly grabbed myself, the 1 chair i got really helped our experience when eating.

Try to not take opinion to heart, it just a view from a customer towards certain...