Phodat Vietnamese Noodles Soup — Restaurant in Arlington

I watched the owner handle himself pretty well today.

A customer... White female... Came in and ordered her meal.. I ordered two persons after her... So i stayed longer. She calls when arriving home absolutely outraged... Cursing over the phone... About her meal. LITERALLY swearing at this poor guy and he did not use not one disrespectful word. Asked her politely to not speak to him in such manner and degrade him over the phone.

He proceeds to explain to her there are two different types of the dishes she had ordered and she ordered hers incorrectly and that if she wasn't satisfied he would happily refund their money...

She continues to swear at him and we all heard her screaming over the phone. (Just horrible)

After hanging up with her... He was so rattled that he handed me my food without payment. I reminded him. That i haven't yet paid for our take out.

He tried to explain the situation to me and said that the woman was so upset.. Yelling and cursing at him. He wanted to fix the situation for her but she couldn't understand his broken English and kept swearing at him. I told him... I saw it.. I heard her... And that i understood. I felt so bad for him.

Also... Left him a decent tip. Offered to stay a while longer to give her a piece of my mind if she was to show up... He being a good soul said it was fine. That she wasn't going to come by till tomorrow...

How strange...

Refund...

After eating the meal???

Super nice guy.

I will order here again. And...

DELICIOUS PHO!!! The only reason this place doesn't have over 4 stars is because COMPLAINERS always take the time to write a review. I am a phoddict, and this is one of my favorite places to go. I'm not adventurous with my selection, so everywhere I go, I get the steak and brisket pho with extra meat and extra noodles. The broth is so good, I don't need to add anything to it, but I love a little spicy kick so Sriracha always ends up in it 😂 The meat is the BEST QUALITY of any place I have been in the PNW, and I've been to a LOT of Pho joints to satisfy my phoddiction! It has enough fat to be extremely flavorful, but isn't chewy or overly fatty like some other places. Cost is up there, but guess what..... Quality costs money and all of these ingredients have DOUBLED in price since the 'Rona came to town. The price is worth the deliciousness! To address the complaints : I don't care where you get pho, if you get it to go its never as good as in the restaurant. Almost every older real Asian man at Pho places seem rude. I don't know if it's cultural, or a language barrier thing, but it's everywhere you go. I don't come to get warm fuzzies from the owner, I come for warm...

I have been to Pho Dat twice in the last few days and I have been very satisfied with the large pho #2 (eye round steak, flank and brisket). It was a good portion for a good price. The deep fried chicken wings were okay - cooked thoroughly and had a nice presentation, just a little bland. The iced Vietnamese coffee was delicious!

I’ve seen many bad reviews about the service here. The first time I visited this restaurant, the two gentlemen working were very quiet but I wouldn’t say they were rude. Every time I told my server “thank you”, he quietly responded with “you’re welcome” so that’s good enough for me! My order was correct and I got my food in a short amount of time.

The second time, I was helped by a friendly woman. She greeted us, took our order, and even suggested I order a large bowl of pho (instead of a small bowl with extra noodles) which saved me 50 cents (every penny matters).

Overall, good experience! Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. And if you still don’t like it then at least be mindful or cook...