Viet Chopsticks Woodbridge — Restaurant in Dale City

I’ve been a loyal customer of Viet Chopsticks for several years, frequently dining at both their Woodbridge, VA and Connecticut Avenue, DC locations. Unfortunately, I can no longer support these businesses due to repeated issues with customer service, food quality, and cleanliness.

Let me be clear: this review isn’t to bash the restaurant. I’m simply sharing what I’ve seen and experienced. I’ve come here with friends and family, left generous tips, and tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. But enough is enough.

The service is consistently cold and unwelcoming. On several visits, I’ve walked in with my party and stood at the entrance for 10+ minutes without anyone greeting or acknowledging us. Staff members clearly saw us but made no effort to say “we’ll be right with you” or offer anything to drink. Instead, they stayed in the back, chatting, walking past us like we weren’t there. The restaurant wasn’t even busy.

When service does happen, it’s purely transactional. They take your order, bring your food, and that’s it. No warmth, no effort, no hospitality. Even when we say “thank you” after they refill our drinks, we get no response. Most of the time, staff members don’t engage unless they absolutely have to.

Now, let’s talk about the food. I usually order #87 — the lemongrass pork ribs. I’ve had this dish many times. Lately, however, I’ve noticed troubling things. I’ve found hair in my food — black strands, white strands, even grayish ones, sometimes embedded in the sauce or stuck to the ribs. It’s happened more than once.

On my most recent visit, I was completely disturbed. I picked up a rib and saw a sticky, yellowish substance hanging from it — thick, gooey, and about 3 to 4 inches long. It wasn’t grease. I’ve ordered this dish for years and never seen anything like it. It looked and felt mucousy. My family saw it too and couldn’t explain it. I stopped eating immediately. Not long after, I started to feel sick, and I honestly feared I had ingested something unsafe. I even worried it might have been spit or worse. I truly hope that’s not the case.

My mother ordered the shrimp fried rice, which was equally disappointing. The rice was overcooked and hard. The shrimp were rubbery. Despite all this, we quietly paid our $100 bill and left. But that experience sealed the deal for me.

Even the water tasted strange — almost like it had been served in dirty glasses or had soap residue. My father once mentioned to a staff member that the bathroom soap dispenser was empty. Their response? A quick, dismissive “Got it,” with no follow-up.

Sadly, the DC location isn’t any better. I once ordered pad Thai there and found a long strand of hair in the noodles. That should’ve been a warning sign. The two locations seem connected — same menu, similar service, same problems.

What frustrates me most is that I really used to enjoy this place. I kept coming back hoping for improvement. I’ve brought friends, family, even dates. I wanted to support the business. But now, I can’t ignore what I’ve seen — the hair, the strange substances, the poor treatment, and the feeling of being sick after eating.

And I say this not just as a customer, but as someone who has worked in restaurants before. I know what’s acceptable and what isn’t. What I saw on that rib looked unnatural — not like food grease, but like something foreign, possibly even bodily fluid. That’s a serious concern, and it’s why I feel compelled to speak up.

If you’re reading this, I urge you to take your business elsewhere. Do not order the #87 pork ribs. Honestly, avoid the restaurant altogether. There are plenty of places that will treat you with respect and serve clean, quality food. This is not one of them.

To the owners: please don’t reach out. This review isn’t a call for apologies or freebies. It’s a warning to other customers. I’ve supported your business for years, but after this, I’m done.

This is my honest review. I don’t write this lightly, but I can’t stay silent after what I’ve experienced. Proceed with caution.

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I’ve been coming to this restaurant for 4 years and I have never been disappointed. Today I came in, ordered the usual and was upset not once but three times. The waitress took the order, and after confirming the order with her two times she left and 15 minutes later two dishes that we did not order arrived. We specifically told her that we did not want broccoli in the noodle dish, and that we wanted soft noodles. They gave us the hard noodles and so much broccoli. They also gave us the sizzling beef with 1 oz of beef and 3 pounds of veggies. For a $17 dish, I expect at least a little more meat. We let the server [not the waitress (bc she did not come back)] know that the noodle dish was incorrect and that the waitress knows what we want. They later came back with soft noodles and once again broccoli. We decided to not make a big deal about the dish, and eat it. 15 minutes passed by and the waitress never came back to the table. The waitress then looked at us from a far and got our check, she then proceeded to slam the check on a random table and she looked our way and grabbed the check she had just slammed on the table and went to the back. She then asked a different waitress to hand us the check. The other waitress was very friendly and said, “you asked for your check?” I said “no, but thank you, can I have to-go boxes?” She said “of course.” I then paid and left immediately. I am not coming back to this place for a very long time. I am extremely dissatisfied with the way the waitress treated us. We were extremely nice to her, and explained what we wanted not once but two times to make sure it was correct. Our order had never been incorrect before, and we had never experience such awful...

TLDR: terrible place to spend your hard earn money. When tips are included, service became terrible. Entrees are either too sweet, too sour, or bland. Read below for full review.

Not a place I would recommend for authentic Vietnamese food or good service, but it's Woodbridge, VA, so I get what I get. Should have kept on driving to Springfield, Centerville, or Falls Church. It was my sister's birthday, and she had never been there.

We came in with a party of 5. They gave us 4 place settings. That was the first sign of trouble. We ordered. The appetizer came, and we were still short a place setting. We asked our waitress for another place setting. She brought a glass of ice water. We asked again. She left and brought a pair of chopsticks. It went on like this with her bring one piece at a time. We should have left by that point, but we felt bad since we already put our order in. Food finally came after about 30 mins. We waved to it waitress to ask for more water and some more rice. She walked passed us at least 3 times without stopping. The birthday girl had enough, so she walked into their kitchen and asked if anyone was working. The rest of the dinner was pretty much the same. When they billed came, they had added gratuity to the check. We asked for a manager and told them how awful the service was, and he said it was restaurant policy for a party of 5 or more. I asked him to show it to me. It wasn't on the menu that we kept at the table. He wouldn't show me where the policy was written. My family was pretty much done, so we left.

Terrible place to spend money. Why 2 stars? The appetizers were actually decent but not the...