Pho Basil Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine — Restaurant in Arlington

(Arlington Basil) I’m not surprised to see the amount of similar reviews like the one i’m writing here and to be honest, I don’t know what happen to the original team that worked here a year or two ago but ever since they have been gone, the customer service has been so awful. The original team was very attentive and friendly… customers first attitude.

My fiancé and I are regulars and we’ve been ordering the same thing for years. I’ve noticed that the new waitresses are very to themselves and not friendly. They stand behind the counter to avoid talking with customers and never check on them. We never ever get greeted at the door anymore, sometimes they forget to bring us waters and its not usually packed when they do, we have noticed that they bring the check as soon as we started eating as way to not have to come and check on us anymore (which they never really do anyways). I went in today and ordered my usual (kids pho) and they usually do a great job with noodle to broth ratio and we are very much aware that the portion size is small which is why we like getting it but this time, my fiancé and I noticed that there was only enough noodle for one or two bites. I asked the waitress for a little more noodles and she brought us out an ENTIRE PLATE. The manger came to prep us on why they don’t put a lot of noodles in there because they don’t want to spill the broth, but there was barely broth in the bowl to begin with. They definitely gave the energy like they were mad we asked for anything.

We got our bill and of course, they charged us for a plate of noodles just like we thought and when we brought it up to her she got an attitude and walked away as we were talking to her, cut us off and said they would charge us next time. She also got annoyed we didn’t tip but tips are earned based on your service. If you give lousy service you are getting a lousy tip. 🤷🏽‍♀️ The workers just seem like they don’t want to be there and you can see and feel that. Just so sad how the customer service has got here. This use to be our favorite spot. This place has messed up our orders before or forgot our meat or our spring rolls and we usually don’t care for the most part as we understand it gets busy but to make us feel like WE are the ones that caused this situation and make US pay on your error is ridiculous.

I hope one day basil can get back to that warm, inviting, customer first atmosphere we...

The believe this place has the good and the bad. Let’s start with the good!

(TLDR: Great tasting food. Terrible pricing on To go orders and terrible service for to go members.)

Their food was amazing and delicious. I would say it’s the best pho taste spot in Marysville/Arlington. I ordered the steak vermicelli noodle plate and a side order of thee egg drop soup. The vermicelli plate was cooked great good portions of meat and veggies with good portion of noodles. The egg drop is probably my favorite egg drop soup I’ve tasted with the right amount of creamy goodness.

The atmosphere was busy and very clean and tidy. I’d say this place is perfect for those looking to be able to sit down and talk with one another without having to yell across the table.

The bad is simply the pricing. Their menus at first glance have fair pricing to the area. Although what I don’t like is their to go pricing and service for to go orders. While dining in you are offered standard prices a good pho bowl and some high priced appetizers. The to go prices for items have a .75 cents fee added onto the price of each item and then you are charge with another to-go fee at the end. When I first showed up it took them some time to notice me waiting to be seated and when I finally was sat and ordered, they did not give any estimates on time to which my order would be out. When the food was finally ready they brung it out in a bag all ready to go they were quick to pull up the pay menu. Which again the pricing is not great.

Please take everything I said in this review with a grain of salt as I may be the outlier. I do hope they sort out their pricing and customer service issues as this place is 50% close to 5 stars. I hope this review helped...

Let me start this review by saying that my husband and I are/were FAITHFULL patrons at the Everett Basil location. We went weekly and sometimes even more- it just really is the best pho in Snohomish County!

We moved in March of this year around the same time the new Basil location opened. To say we were excited is the understatement of the century! We did take out and then ordered delivery three or four times before coming in. Takeout was great and we enjoyed the food, so we decided to come in for a date night. The atmosphere of the new location is VERY different. This one is more of a dated Chinese restaurant.. because well, it is just that. I cannot speak to the Chinese food, but the Pho is every bit as good as the location in Everett. I just find myself missing the comfortability and coziness that the Everett location brings with its bright walls and open concept dining.

We would like to become regulars at this location too, but taste aside, it is still worth it to us to drive to Everett if we want to sit and eat. Otherwise, we will enjoy our steamy bowl of pho from home (and this is...