Pho J — Restaurant in Auburn

I saw the hot pot pho on Instagram and was very interested in trying this place out. My only issue is that I saw the rating and reviews for this place wasn't interested at first as it seems this place doesn't seem to be the most efficient in terms of service and cleanliness. However, I realized I should still try it out to determine for myself. Plus it was close to a spot we were visiting anyways.

My boyfriend and I entered which triggered a little bell sound to indicate that guests received. We saw a huge fish tank with gorgeous fish and a sign that said to please wait to be seated. We stood there for a bit and waited for someone to direct us. One of the staff members who was eating looked at us and gestured to sit but it was hard to tell as they had their mouth full of food. It was then that the waiter/cashier came out and told us to sit anywhere we'd like. The music playing was very serene and peaceful which fit with the overall vibe of the place as they very modern and minimalistic decor.

I like that they had menus already at tables, but there was no hot pot pho menu on most of the tables. I peered over to the big table and it was the only table that had it so I grabbed as I wanted to order that. For the hot pot pho, your choices of meat seem to oxtails or short rib. I didn't want either as it was an extra charge so I went with the combination meat instead as another Yelper did that. My boyfriend got the combination pho and I also got a side order of spring rolls as they were the cheapest I have ever seen. The shrimp rolls as massive but I feel the execution of how it was rolled was flawed as I never had issues of having the ingredients fall out ever. The look didn't seem as neat as other places. We received the beansprouts, basil, limes, and jalapenos but it didn't seem like a lot so I asked for more beansprouts which was the perfect amount.

After a few minutes, we received our food which was exciting. The waiter dropped off a little piece of paper that just basically warned the dangers of how hot the pot was and how to properly enjoy the hot pot pho. Luckily, I'm a Korean and I'm very familiar with how hot stone pots work. The portions seemed pretty good as well as the amount of meats. As I was putting in the meats, one of my tendons had what looked like an eyelash (not mine cause it was already on it and I didn't touch the meat plate until I received my pho) and I was ready to flag down our waiter but I didn't see him for quite some time after he delivered our meals. It was unfortunate and I just took the eye lash off and did a quick check to see if anything else was off. The food was delicious though and that was very reassuring. The broth for the hot pot pho was different compared to their regular pho which I'm not sure if that's supposed to be normal? But both broths tasted very hearty and comforting. The price you pay for the pho is justified as the noodle portion, meats and vegetables are generous. The chili oil that they have is also fantastic and not just generic hot chili oil, it definitely has either a homemade taste to it or a better brand. The waiter did fill our water once when he noticed my boyfriend's glass was half empty but that was before our food arrived. He checked on us once more after my boyfriend was almost done with his food and I was still enjoying my food. Then we never saw him stop by or ask if we needed containers as I was still eating while my boyfriend was paying.

Now, as my boyfriend went to go pay and apparently accidently tipped too much as the waiter noticed that he gave more than $20. I appreciate that the employee did notice it and asked if that's the correct amount. He went to report to the manager whom I presume is also the main chef and she helped change the tip amount. Other businesses would probably not have said anything or assume that's okay, but at least this restaurant is honest and not crooks. We will consider returning but next time I see something off, I will definitely be...

I went with my family here for dinner last night. We felt like trying out this place because it's one of the only pho places we haven't been. Walking up we saw the detailed pictures on the glass windows advertising what they have. The short rib really caught my wife and myself eye's. She usually gets ox tail if the pho establishment offers it.

We got seated quickly. The place was almost packed. They took our order quickly. Then the place filled up. Took longer than most pho places to get our food but they were busy. We understood that.

I ordered my usual. Brisket and tendon. But then on the menu I saw that they had Bone marrow you could add to it. So, I had to get that. She got the short rib for a change. And our son got the chicken pho like usual. And to go we ordered the tofu yakisoba. The menu showed it had a bunch of veggies in it.

Plates started coming out for us. First was the bone marrow. Huge shock! It was a whole bottom end of a leg knuckle. This was a surprise. I thought they would just add marrow to the soup. It was for sure baked in an oven. It still had meat on the bone that was falling off. And the cartilage was melted on the plate. Tones of marrow in the bone hallow.

Then our pho came out. Wifes came out first. The short rib was huge with 2 pieces. Then our son and mine came out. Before doctoring up our pho with basil, bean sprouts, jalapenos, and sauces. We all tried the broth first. WOW! This place makes really good broth. And a big plus is you could tell it wasn't just loaded with MSG. We weren't tired after and no head pressure. No siracha or hoisin sauce went into our soups. Just the veggies. We didn't want to ruin the flavor.

After we finished our meal our tofu yakisoba (chow mein) came out like requested. We tried this at home. It was great as well.

This is in our minds the best pho we have had in the PWN so far. I would recommend everyone to try this place out. Some of the items are higher priced. Presentation is wonderful. The staff is amazing and very friendly. They are also very accommodating. I requested the bone to go for our furry family member at home. She approved of this place too.

We will be returning. My wife wants to try the ox tail, and I want to try the tofu fried rice. At some point we will try the hot stone pho. I will post an update when we return.

So sorry I couldn't add any pictures to this review. I totally forgot. I can tell you though. The food looks like the pictures.

I saw another review on here someone mentioned discrimination because they were Hispanic. I saw none of this. The place was packed with multiple cultures. And my wife is Hispanic. No one was being...

This is the second time that i brought my family here. But, this will be our last time dining at Pho J because we dont want to support our local restaurants like Pho J. Food was good and same as service, however the way the owner treated her employees in front of us was unacceptable. That was micromanaging and bullying. There was only 1 server in front of the house, we saw that she had to bring water out, take orders, pick up phones, checkout for customers, brings food and drinks out. It was pretty busy but again, she was by herself in the front for both days that we visited Pho J. The owner was in the kitchen yelling out for her in vietnamese and lecturing her that she had to do faster when the owner rang the bell. The server was explaining that there were lots of customers in the front and she'd be right there. Instead of helping out in the front or having someone else helped, the owner kept on going at the server aggressively. And again today, we sat by the front door, but the owner yelled at the server for a whole good 20 mins nonstop. We couldn't enjoy out food because all we heard were the owner yelling : 'you have to use your head to think', 'you gotta be smarter', 'when i talk to you, do not argue'. That'd be more appropriate if the owner talk to her employees in private or after hour where there is no customer around. Maybe no one pay attention because they were talking in vietnamese and only us can understand, but the owner kept calling her 'may' 'tao' which is used in an aggressive and disrespectful way while talking.

For both of our family visits, we left Pho J feeling bad for that server, so we'll not return to be Pho J customer. We really wanted to tell the server to find a better place to work but we dont wanna do in front of her owner and possibly create trouble for her, but i hope you see this review and i hope you will find a better place where you get some respect...