Pholandia — Restaurant in Beaverton

Pholandia is located in the former Tona Roma's restaurant location. The ceilings are high, and there are lots is windows. I enjoy the open space. This Vietnamese restaurant has some dishes that are not found at other Vietnamese restaurants in the PDX metro. The food is good, the staff is courteous, and the food arrives quickly.

Feeling adventurous, my wife and I branched out from our usual beverages and dishes. With my childhood nostalgia for salted plum treats, I enjoyed the Xí Muội Muội (salted plum and soda), and the Chanh muối (salted lemon and soda) beverages more than she did. Next time, we'll probably stick with regular Chanh (fresh squeezed lime and soda) or Cà Phê Sữa Đá (Vietnamese strong coffee with sweetened condensed milk, served hot or over ice).

We both enjoyed the grilled lemongrass pork take on Gỏi cuốn (Vietnamese salad rolls), which is normally made with shrimp and boiled (& sliced) pork loin. Our entrees were good as well. Sonya chose the "Moda bowl", a Bún Thịt Nướng Vietnamese cold vermicelli rice noodles dish without broth, usually served with grilled lemongrass pork, sometimes with grilled shrimp or chả giò (fried Vietnamese egg rolls). The Moda bowl had all of this. The egg roll was made with thin translucent rice paper instead of the more common thicker opaque rice paper wraps more commonly found these days. Another piece of nostalgia I enjoyed!

I had Bánh Xèo - Vietnamese Crêpes, which I haven't had in years! A savory crêpe filled with bean sprouts, white onion, green onion, shrimp and pork. It's served with lettuce to allow you to make a lettuce wrap (though I have seen Americans make a salad…or ignore the greenery altogether. LOL! The Pholandia Crêpe is stuffed full of ingredients (though I would have liked more pork)....

What a disappointment! Haven’t ordered from here in a while but typically very good. Today I order 2 of the steak pho bowls for pick up. When I brought them home they smelled extremely strong of star anise. Didn’t think much of it because it’s a common spice in the dish. After assembling the whole bowl with all of the included add ons I tried it. As is smelled it tasted. Super over powered by the star anise and no matter how much siracha or chili sauce that was added could mask or dampen the taste of the overpowering spice. Became unbearable to try and eat. Needless to say I had to dumb $34 worth of pho down the drain. When I called in to say hey this wasn’t great and I’d like a resolution I was told to await a call back from the manager. Hour or so later a woman called saying she received the message and asked what was wrong. My wife explained the situation and the manager explained it was a fresh batch in comparison to something we could have had in the past and it was still strong of the spices. As we explained we understood but the plate was inedible for this evenings dinner and again was looking for a resolution. The manager explained we can come back tomorrow or whenever we wanted to attempt this place next and get another bowl in exchange for this one. Wasn’t solving the problem for the moment so asked for a refund instead. This woman than said she was not authorized to give our refunds and she would need a managers approval. We asked weren’t you supposed to be the manager? She said yeah well I’m a supervisor but I don’t have those permissions. Could have started with that instead of claiming to be someone who could help but evidently could not. The conversation ended quickly after and I’m out my money and dinner. Not a...

An honest review from an honest customer -

I went to Pholandia for the first time. They have great tasting Pho too. Regarding the small plate of veggies, I noticed they went a bit skimpy on the basil and sprouts but it was not a deal breaker at all. I ordered the brisket Pho, a serving of crispy rolls and a Thai iced tea. Everything was delicious and service was very prompt. The atmosphere was great! The inside if very clean, not cluttered, the bench seats are padded and very comfortable where other restaurants have wooden seats in the booths. Pholandia didn’t have loud music playing overhead and they do have a bar, which is really a nice touch. They refilled my glass of water without asking and it was just an overall good experience. They are open every day unlike other Pho restaurants which are closed on Tuesdays. I may have to become a regular at this place, its closer to my house. I would like to note that the bowl of Pho, assuming it was the regular size, seemed a bit smaller than other regular servings from similar Pho restaurants. Also, considering I typically order the exact same thing from other Vietnamese restaurants, the bill was a touch more in price but all good in my eyes. A satisfied...