Pho La Cay — Restaurant in Columbia

I loved coming here after it was newly opened after the gas explosion. It had become my new favorite Phò spot. I always get the pho and banh mi along with papaya salad. However, I noticed the last year and half every time I come the broth gets instantly cold after minute. I”m not sure if I am just coming in while they are slow or had a rush so I'm getting left overs. It’s like they stop caring after they were open up for while.. I”m not sure. I don”t know If they are short staffed or what. The food is not fresh anymore, tastes like something they heat up for minute or two. I was extremely disappointed my last time coming here which was a couple of weeks ago. I”m not one to cause to much chaos as I knew this might happen I even asked for our Pho to be extra hot. It felt like such a waste of money. The waiter was this lady and she was very kind which made it awkward because the food was so terrible. I always order the papaya salad as well. I took a bite and it tastes very off and wrong like it was pre made, but the lady said it was made fresh.. I let the lady know but I didn't wanna cause a scene. There was male worker, me and my family had made eye contact with him several times. It was kinda common sense we needed something but he kept looking pass. We had to call out to our waitress every time we needed something which was also awkward because I did not want to come off too pushy or aggressive. I had another pho restaurant I used to go to before this became my favorite but my last couple experiences was not good at all. I will start going back to my original spot. I was so disappointed as I had long week of work and it was Friday, all I wanted was to enjoy my favorite location. Reading the reviews it looks like its just not me with the...

I just recently moved to Columbia and was excited to see quite a few Vietnamese options nearby. I’ve been to their other location in Wheaton before and didn’t realize this was a sister restaurant. The first time I went, I had a staple: Pho. It was decent, but not amazing. Not very fragrant. I think there were too many noodles that ended up altering the flavor. The papaya salad was good, but definitely different from your typical Thai papaya salad or the usual Vietnamese Goi Du Du (I like the Bo Kho version, which is beef jerky). It is very spicy, which I love. My boyfriend got the bo la nho (beef in grape leaves) and he loved it. I tried a bit of that and thought it was pretty good. We got the Banh mi to go and that was also decent, but not amazing as well. I can’t put my finger on it. I will say that my comparison is to Nhu Lan in Eden center. The second time I went, I got the bun bo hue (spicy noodle soup). Also decent, but not amazing. It wasn’t very spicy and there were too many spices floating at the top. But they did have the coagulated blood and pigs foot which is legit! My sister got one of the noodle dishes and was disappointed that they poured the broth into it already as opposed to bringing the noodles and broth separately. She said the flavor was ok but there were too many noodles. Both times I went, the service was meh. The first time I didn’t get the papaya salad out with our food, so we took it home. The second time I asked for summer rolls with just pork, no shrimp, but instead got shrimp and no pork. Not sure if they’re still pretty new, so we’ll see how things go in the future. Not as great as Eden Center (as expected), but definitely meets my needs and I...

Great place, great food and service. They really know what it means to be a neighborhood restaurant. I was there for the first time with my wife and two kids after a long walk in the park. We ordered some food and had a great meal. Afterwards, when it was time to pay the bill, to our embarrassment we realized that neither of us had brought our wallets with us. This was a first for us but what can I do? I walked up to the counter and explained that in our haste to get out the door we forgot to bring our wallets. They were not only understanding, they downplayed it so much, making me feel so much better for even having to ask them to excuse us while we go get our money. I left my drivers license with them even though they told me it wasn’t necessary and after about 40 minutes I was back with the money to pay for our meals. I would say that there are probably many restaurants that would have done the same thing since there really isn’t that much choice but the way that they handled it was super impressive. There are two other pho restaurants right here in town all about the same distance from me. I have not gone to either one of the others since that day. Their service nor food has ever let me down in the many times i’ve Been there. On a side note: that shopping center was recently devastated by a gas explosion. While it looks like the restaurant survived, many other businesses were not as fortunate. I know that it will take some time for the restaurant to open back up due to the demolition and clean up efforts and I wish them the best and hope to see them back in...