No.1 Pho Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine — Restaurant in Cary

I gave the food 5 stars because it's really good. We have been going there for many years but 1 star on service and because of what happened the atmosphere was not as nice anymore. 2 days ago we discovered that the first come first serve concept does not exist at this restaurant..4 guests that came 15 minutes after us was served first in a perfect order, their appetizer came first then followed by their entree and we were just looking at their table which was right next to ours how they were enjoying their food and wishing it was us too. The couple that were treating their 2 Asian guests were gushing to their server how good the food is and such an excellent service that they are experiencing. I know this because I can overhear it, our chairs are back to back. I had to wave to the server why they were served first, not only their appetizers came quickly and also their food entrees, all he mumbled was they ordered first...hmmmm...I should have done a video on the number of minutes of what time our order was placed versus the other table. And just like the other table we also ordered 2 appetizers but only 3 main entrees. After waiting for a long time, this same server finally came with our entrées first because we were all so hungry we started eating already, halfway finishing our dinner , our 2 orders of appetizer came. Our server just quietly placed them on our table, no apology no nothing like it's just ok to serve an appetizer when we were almost done, so I requested that those appetizers we ordered be boxed. I felt we were treated poorly and the number of times we eat there that never occurred before. Oh, I also ordered a Taro slushie which was never served or given to me - imagine, all that time we were waiting when they could have served that slushie! Come to find out later the server still charged us for it. Good thing I checked our bill before paying. I felt like I suffered from indigestion that night with the way how we were served. I felt that it was so unfair and the worst part is that these servers are familiar to us we have been going to this restaurant for years even pre- Covid. The wait was really frustrating because I did not expect the service to go like that. I know for sure that the 2 servers were aware of what's going on and that they especially know appetizers comes first and if those situation happens like there might be a misunderstanding in the kitchen and placing orders, please say something- perhaps offer an apology at least it would make us feel human and be treated like a paying customer. For years these 2 servers have been a familiar face to us, there's usually three of them at the front but the other one was not there that night. For years our opinion of this restaurant lived up to it's name, No.1 Pho!!! 2 days ago they became "Never going back there Pho" for us. Food is great but it's hard to forget the treatment /service. I am sure there are Vietnamese restaurants that have good food too, better service and deserves our hard earned money. We just hope no one gets the same experience we had. I must say we thought it was a first but there is a similar review when I read other reviews here. Similar to what happened to me...

Where do I even start?

My wife and I have been here once before, a few months ago, and their service, food, and decor was amazing. We just finished our second and final dinner here.

When we arrived, they were packed. Packed as in all the chairs were full, but this establishment is so small that they had, maybe, about 30 people. There were exactly 4 "employees" working the front of house: two small children (maybe 8 and 12) and two, very confused looking, 18-20 year-olds. There were no other adults in sight other than the chef, a very old lady who had to walk each and every dish out and stand in place before one of the "servers" even noticed her. This was either the employee's first day or they weren't expecting to be working today because the 8 year old cleared more tables (1 table) than the other 3 combined and seemed the most attentive.

The order of events goes as follows:

We were seated at a table. 10 minutes later we called someone over to take our order and he said he'd get us some water. 10 minutes later another waiter approached us with water and asked if we were ready to order. We informed him that we already had. Around this same time another group of customers walked in and were seated. 15 minutes later the table next to us, who had been there since we arrived, left without ever receiving their food. Not a good sign for us. 5 minutes later the teenagers who had just walked in got their food. 25 minutes after the other customers got their food, I got my pho. I had ordered the first pho on the menu, basic pho. The pho I got had no noodles. My wife did not get her sandwich. 5 minutes later we finally got the attention of a waiter and requested noodles for my pho and reminded him about my wife's bahn mi. 15 minutes later I finished my meal and her sandwich arrived. The other customers had been trying to pay their check for a while now. We requested the check ASAP. 10 minutes later I had to walk up to the front and hand my check to a waiter, because it was never being picked up otherwise. We left shortly after that. 3 tables had arrived after us and left before us and there was a table with 2 people that had been waiting since before we arrived and only received their food around the time we got our check.

When I checked our check, it turns out that they had the wrong order put in for my pho. The listed it as "no noodle, extra sprouts".

The real shame is that the food here is delicious! Their pho is fantastic and their sandwiches are hot, moist, and very tasty, but WE WILL NEVER RETURN HERE. The service and wait time today was, simply put, unacceptable....

The food here is PHENOMENAL. We have had the cha gio, the banh mi with beef stew and curry, the lemongrass chicken on broken rice and, the combination beef pho. Everything has been stellar, especially the cha gio which is in a different wrapper than traditional but has an amazing crisp and chew at the same time. The filling is so flavorful. The pho broth is amazing and clearly shows time spent on perfecting. I can't believe it's taken so long for a really good Vietnamese restaurant to come to the Triangle. I've tried most of the pho places around here and while many of them are good, none of them have blown me away like this place. (I grew up in Toronto and spent a good part of my life in Seattle, so that is the metric I go by.) The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated and very tasteful. I enjoyed sitting in it. It was spacious.

I think it's absurd that people are complaining about the pricing. Why is it that food which takes skill and time to do this well isn't worth as much? They clearly put a lot of money into making the interior upscale, and they definitely have quality ingredients, technique and skill to really make the food stand out. Cheap pho places don't put in the time on the food or don't upkeep the condition of the restaurant or are just tragically underpaid. We spent just over $50 including tax and tip for 3 people + toddler for 8 cha gio and 3 large entrees. ~14/person is not remotely expensive for this area. So Cal is well known for having bottom of the barrel prices for food. This isn't So Cal.

Service is a bit of a weak spot. They clearly spend a lot of money on bringing you a quality product, and I guess something has to give a bit. But it's not rude. The owner or manager (I'm not sure, but he's been there every time) is exceptional in making sure you're taken care of if you have issues. But I think they might need to train their workers a bit more. I'm giving them a pass because it is early and because they have been exceptional in making up for it if...