Pho Thien Phat Vietnamese Noodle House — Restaurant in Cary

This new pho place is Cary is quite good and quite an anticipated experience. I saw that this place was being renovated and was replacing a previous Szechuan restaurant, every I drive by, on my way to Milk Lab. I have been eagerly waiting for this place to open, so I can taste their pho. I consider myself a huge pho fan, so I know when a pho is good or needs improvement. And they’re pho did not disappoint and it exceeded my expectations. For one, this place is one of the only places in the area that provides different cuts of beef, that are not just brisket, meatball, etc. but they also had tendon and tripe, which in my opinion is a must have in the pho experience. I got their small pho dac biet, which is beef pho with the combination of all the beef parts this restaurant has, and got a order of their Cha Gio fried spring rolls. Their Cha Gio came out piping hot, so it was very crispy, the filling was flavorful, and the side of Nouc Cham sauce was light and refreshing, which cut through the greasiness. One order of rolls are served with two pieces, and were also long and dainty. They were a perfect appetizer size and start to the meal. Now, let me talk about their pho. The first thing that marks whether a pho restaurant is good or not, is their broth. A good pho broth must be crystal clear, but also must be very beefy and flavorful. This place’s pho broth was exactly that. The rice noodles were perfectly cooked. The beef parts were extremely thin, tender, and melt in your mouth. The only I think this place could do better is, I wish that there was a better and more even beef distribution between all the parts. In my bowl, I got quite a bit of brisket and fatty beef, which I’m not complaining about, but only got like two to three pieces of tripe. However, everything else is good and the food was delicious. The atmosphere is clean and neat. The service was good, but because this place just opened up, the staff seems to be trying to get the hang of things, so it seemed a little chaotic between the staff. So, yeah! I really recommend people come hear a try this...

Pho Thien Phat used to be my favorite restaurant in the Triangle for good Phở and Bún Bò Huế, but I had a very disappointing experience there today. I arrived and was seated at around 7:40 PM. It was Mother’s Day weekend, so the restaurant was quite busy, which I understood, and I was prepared to wait patiently for my food.

Around 8:10 PM, I mentioned to a waitress that it had been 30 minutes since I ordered. Before I could finish my sentence, she cut me off and asked if I still wanted my order or not, telling me that it was a busy day and that several large tables had ordered before me. Her attitude surprised me, but I said I would wait and just wanted her to check with the kitchen to ensure my order hadn’t been overlooked among the larger ones. My food arrived shortly after I made that request.

During my meal, no one came to my table to check on me, which is fine; I don’t require much attention. However, while I was halfway through my soup, the same waitress went to the table in front of me to ask how that customer (who was White) was doing and gave him his receipt. They checked on him a few times. Then she came to my table, she dropped the receipt without asking if I needed a to-go box or saying anything to me, then left.

I was left wondering if I had done something to deserve such treatment. Additionally, while I was there, the customer in front of me kept turning his head to check on me, which made me feel uncomfortable since I was alone. As a result, I stood up and asked another waitress to help me check out.

This isn't the first time I've felt treated differently at a Vietnamese restaurant, and I'm writing this to express my concerns about potential discrimination at Pho Thien Phat. I hope you will improve your service to the Asian community. I truly enjoy my hometown cuisine and could visit your restaurant 2-3 times a week without hesitation, but now I will have to find somewhere...

I have been a loyal customer of this restaurant for a while, and I’ve always enjoyed the food. However, my recent experience was deeply upsetting and has changed the way I view this place. When placing my order, the server asked me, “Large?” without giving both options or clarifying that there were two portion sizes. I assumed that meant large was the default. I tried to clarify this with her during checkout, but instead of listening, she argued with me publicly and repeatedly insisted that “nobody orders the small” and that “large is the default because our food is good.” She even made a condescending remark implying that if I wanted a smaller portion, I should order from the kids’ menu. As an adult customer, I found this extremely disrespectful and dismissive. I expect to be treated with basic courtesy and to be clearly presented with options, not to be pressured or patronized. When I brought this to the manager’s attention, I was told “you got your refund, what more do you want?” The server continued to argue her point loudly, even in front of the manager, while I had just witnessed other customers clearly order small portions. The manager neither stopped her behavior nor acknowledged the legitimacy of my concern. This isn’t about the size of a bowl. This is about being treated with respect as a paying customer. I walked away feeling humiliated, gaslighted, and completely devalued. A refund doesn’t erase that. I sincerely hope the restaurant re-evaluates how staff speak to customers—especially when customers raise valid concerns calmly and respectfully. Until then, I will no longer return.

One detail to be added: when I mention I am not criticizing her (Joy the server), she yell at me in front of manager and other customers saying everybody likes her she is a great waitress. This is rude, please check other comments: at least three different comments mentioned Joy and...