Com Pho Restaurant — Restaurant in London

We’ve been twice - to give it a fair chance. Because we come from a city that’s famous for the quantity and quality of its Vietnamese eateries, maybe our expectations were set too high. We’re used to an exuberant greeting, steaming pots of free tea, and huge, fresh portions of everything.

The first time we came, early on a quiet mid-week evening, the service was acceptable, but nothing special. The second time, during a busy Sunday lunch period, it was unfriendly and painfully slow. To be fair, there was one server on her own: no wonder she treated us as if we were a nuisance :) Given what other reviewers have said, maybe we were just unlucky.

The food was … ok. All three of us had pho. What was good: the quality and quantity of the chicken and beef. This was actually better than at home, where they sometimes skimp. What was less impressive: the herbs and sprouts were tough, tired-looking, and meagre. (Another reviewer made a similar comment.) We also thought that the broth itself was briny and lacked depth. Our spring and summer roll starters were over-oily and came with a teeny weeny itsy bitsy portion of sauce.

The setting is fine, maybe a bit nicer even than what we’re used to. No-frills works! But I don’t think we’d...

We were there on Sunday for a late lunch/early dinner. The place was quiet with only 6 customers. I was asked to sit at the worst table in the hall, right in the middle opposite the washing up area. I asked if I could sit at the other table as there were so many empty tables but the lady said those were meant for 6 people. But all the tables were meant for two people but just put together to form a bigger table. Then a customer came in and he was given a better table at the corner. Seeing that I then asked the male staff and he very kindly moved me to a different table. Throughout the evening nobody came to fill up those empty tables and there were plenty of them. I really cannot understand why the female staff feel she had to force me to sit at the most uncomfortable table and refuse to let me sit anywhere better despite me asking for it. We also ordered a pork belly dish and it came in a bowl of extremely oily tasteless gravy. The pork belly was mainly big chunks of almost pure fat with nothing much to eat. I wouldn't go to this place again and will not recommend...

Update: Interesting reply. I never mentioned MSG. Instead of assuming I’m the same person as another reviewer or dismissing my comment as “hating,” it'd be beneficial to address the actual issues that equally bad food was served & disrespectful service. People can read reviews and judge for themselves.

Original comment =====

I usually don't give a star but here we go. Very bad experience and will never come back again.

The fried noodles were terrible. I personally love Vietnamese food and eat out often, but the food here was probably the worst I’ve had. The noodles were very dry and didn’t look or taste freshly stir-fried. The only reason that I ate only a portion of it was because I was very hungry.

The fried chicken was covered with too much salt and was very salty.

After eating, my mouth felt extremely dry, and even drinking water didn’t help.

The service was especially poor. The plates were tossed onto the edge of the table without asking who ordered what, and the server just walked away.

Overall, very...