Pho Now Restaurant — Restaurant in Caln Township

I want to preface this by saying that I have never left a bad review for a restaurant in 41 years. But this bad review is after repeated bad experiences at this restaurant.

I also want to say that this place is very close to us, and I also have a severe dairy intolerance and gluten intolerance. this leaves very few easy restaurant options, and since it is mostly dairy free with limited gluten, this type of food is generally my only option. So it would take a LOT for me to say that I will stop going to a restaurant.

First off , the food. The Pho is good, the rest of the food is VERY hit or miss. And it is not even consistent within the same dish. At times I like their pad thai, other times it is so salty and dripping in sauce that I cannot eat more than a few bites.

Secondly, the service.... as others have said, their customer service is abysmal. Look no further than their responses to bad reviews- they have horrible customer service. During covid they just had a sign on the door saying that the prices had changed... some dishes were $1 more, some $2 more, and some $3 more. When I asked which price for which dishes, they said that its individual and that I would have to ask about each item. This was this way for months, when I finally asked why they dont update the menu with correct prices, their reason was that they already had 10,000 menus printed with the old prices. So.... eat the two cents per menu and print new menues. In general they are just very rude, not polite, dont look at your face, dont smile, do not say thank you, and act annoyed at you if you have any questions at all.

The one and only time we ate their with our children, one of my boys spilled water and they were super rude to us. We are parents of small kids, almost never go out, and try to be out as quickly as possible. I already feel guilty being out with my k....We should not be made to feel worse by the people who work there. Its almost ask if they WANT you to know what they dont want you to be there with kids. Did you see the other review where someone complained? their response was "what do you expect if you order 2 dishes for 4 people".... people with small kids sometimes do that, and that should not translate to bad food and bad service.

For me the final straw was a dish I ordered tonight (takeout)... pineapple fried rice. The pineapple tasted so rancid (either rotten or as if it soaked in rancid oil) that I could not eat the dish. Even my husband who will eat ANYthing was like "wow, thats not even safe to eat."

If the food was not great, but they were amazingly kind, I'd still order there. If the food was amazing and they were super rude, I'd still order there. But the food is not great and they are so rude.... so why am I going to keep spending my money there? There are enough other places in the area, I am giving up on this one.

EDIT TO ADD: What a strange response from the owner. For the record, I am not sure which patrons they are referring to, but they must have us mixed up with other customers. I worked in a restaurant for 6 years so I have a lot of respect and am very tolerant of errors and problems at restaurants. The biggest issue here?.... the attitude of management. Just look no further than their responses to customer...

I’ll start by saying that I have been a loyal customer of Pho Now since they first opened, dining in and ordering take out on a regular basis. I have also recommended this place to many friends and family members. I really truly loved their P2 pho with beef eye round. In fact, I liked it so much that I even decided to come back after they were shut down by the health department for numerous violations that I won’t get into here, but you can find online in public record. I even liked the taste of this soup so much that I ignored the poor customer service and worsening conditions of the restaurant itself that is dirty and often empty of diners.

Unfortunately, due to an encounter tonight, I will never, ever return to this establishment.

After picking up my take-out order, I returned home to discover that the flavoring sauce was not in the bag with the soup. If you know pho, you understand that pho is not pho without the hoisin and sriracha. Now, normally, I would just let this roll, but tonight I decided to call because this is the third time I have paid for pho without the flavoring sauce.

Upon explaining the situation and calmly expressing my dissatisfaction with the missing sauce (for my last 3 orders), the man on the phone told me (in an angry voice) that he would give me extra sauce next time. I explained that this wouldn’t help the situation and that I don’t need a double serving of sauce next time. He asked, “Then what do you want me to do?” My suggestion was that he either refund the cost of the soup or offer a free bowl next time. His reply was, “Absolutely not,” followed by language I couldn’t understand, followed by him hanging up on me!

I’m an easygoing person and understand that people make mistakes. This could have been easily resolved with a quick apology or even a discount, but instead I was met with complete disrespect and opposition.

So, I guess my search for a new pho shop will begin tomorrow. Think twice before...

Pho Now, 3911 E. Lincoln Highway, Downingtown, Follow-up, November 28. Fail. Observed live German cockroaches in various stages of development on a hand held slicer hanging on the wall, inside a rice cooker, which are food contact surfaces stored as clean. Also, dead cockroaches and parts of dead cockroaches in various stages of development were observed in a pan holding ingredients on the prep table and on equipment throughout the facility. Clean and sanitize all wares and equipment. A vacuum to quickly depopulate cockroaches has been supplied and is on site. Continue to empty vacuum outside of facility to prevent return. Dead insects were observed throughout the facility and dining room. Thoroughly clean all surfaces, walls, floors and equipment. Disassembly may be necessary to completely clean some equipment and areas. Continue to use the vacuum to quickly depopulate German cockroaches as their harborage sites are cleaned/repaired. Sanitize surfaces used to store food equipment or containers prior to reuse. Numerous live, multigenerational German cockroaches observed throughout facility in food preparation and utensil storage areas and in the Dining Room. Continue work with licensed pest control operator and employ integrated pest management strategies. Chief among these strategies is complete and regular cleaning of the facility to minimize available food, water and shelter. Numerous dead multigenerational roaches were also observed through out the facility. Focus cleaning on wok line and walls and the floor drains. Remove all grease build up.

This is from restaurant...