Pho 24 — Restaurant in Duluth

Initially you walk in and are captured by the ceiling and decor. However we were a bit turned off by the amount of dirty tables throughout the place (8 visible) but instead of walking out we just hoped it was because the place was really busy, which would indicate it was really good.... As the hostess greeted us we took notice to the cute bar they had which displays three televisions, and wouldn't you know it, they had our favorite show on!!! Doctors performing face surgery! I mean, who doesn't like a good amount of bloody gore to pair with your lunch! Yum! So we opted for a table around the corner. The table was at least clean, minus the puddle of water that was on my bench seat, but that was easily taken care of with a few napkins. After skimming the menu we sat and waited for someone to take our order... And waited... And waited... Hmmmm.... Not even served anything to drink at this point, I just let our menus teeter-totter on the edge of the table, hoping it would be like me waving a white flag of hunger truce... It seemed to do the trick! Here's our wait---UH-hostess again, so she takes our order (beef pho, vermicelli house special & A1 spring roll appetizer with meal please) "anything else?",.."well some water would be nice"... Within 60 seconds she not only brought out water, but the appetizer I ordered as well, which was the wrap spring roll instead of fried as I had ordered, but instead of sending it back I decided to try theirs (even though this was a clear sign of it not being fresh, unless you have that rubic cube kid in the back whipping these suckers out) bad decision on my part, super chewy as though the shrimp had a long chill vaca in their fridge for several days.... Oh look our food! Already? We ordered 3 minutes ago, another clear indication this was NOT a freshly cooked meal. The noodles were absolute mush, the most texture in the dish came from the bean sprouts & the high volume of sodium in my pho was just about unbearable 😝! I drank down my water so fast I found myself asking for more, just little did I know my water would not only be coming from my hostess, but the beautiful ceiling as well! Oh yeah! What fun we're all having now 😁, how refreshing! Full plates, all shoved to the edge of the table, not one more bite, NOPE, not for me, and not for my man either. Check please.... Check? Anybody? Can we please pay and get out of here? I've never wanted to walk on a tab so bad in my life, but instead we chased a server down to take our money and then left.... So no, don't go there! It's a joke! Gives Vietnamese food a bad name, when its one of my all time favorite...

Bad visit. Wait was way too long. That can be understandable except other guests who came in after were getting their food first. Looks like they forgot the order.

Pho 24 (not open 24 hours!) is located in the predominantly Korean plaza mostly known for its KBBQ and Bakeries. That may sound like an obstacle but as everyone knows of course pho is universally loved by everyone!!!

It's a relative new comer to the area and has only been open pho a few months now. It replaced what used to be a Chinese restaurant which unfortunately didn't do too well and had to shut down.

The restaurant itself is rather spacious and you will have plenty of options when to seating arrangements. The interior design isn't too amazing, pretty basic and I'm sure they kept some of the decorations from the previous tenants.

Alrighty let's get to the good stuff. When it comes to pho there a few things that make it amazing.

First thing is the broth, it will make or break a bowl of pho. The broth here is good not amazingly good but still flavorful.

Second thing is the meat. Is the meat tender? Are proper cuts done? Did they give a little or too much? Well depending on what type of pho you order those answers might vary a bit. If you go for the pho equivalent of a Big Mac which is Pho Dac Biet you will get a variety of different cuts of beef. Pho 24 does a good job when it comes to portions of meat given the quality of the meat is okay not the best but definitely not the worst either. I mean it's pho so you can't expect a filet mignon or something.

Third thing is noodle content. If your noodle game is on point your pho game will be as well. This place doesn't over do it with the noodles. In the case of pho more isn't a good thing. Noodle to the meat ratio should be relatively balanced with just a bit more noodle compared to meat. The same philosophy also goes for any rice dishes too.

Enough about the science of pho. This place serves other dishes as well. You have a selection of vermicelli and ride dishes. You got your fair share of drinks too, some traditional Vietnamese drinks like an avocado shake and also different flavors of bubble tea.

Overall, Pho 24 is probably the closest pho restaurant for a few miles. It has that going for itself. Price is right where it should be for pho and the area is a popular with many businesses so I can see this place being a great lunch spot too. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area.

My Recommendations -Pho -Chicken Rice...

I've been going for a few years now and today was my last visit. They've steadily gone downhill and now that they've opened so many locations are apparently trying to cheap out on everything.

The Food: The portion I got today was the smallest yet and the typical plate of bean sprouts, herbs, and peppers was sparse to put it kindly with not even so much as a single piece of basil and instead of limes they've had lemons the last two times I went. The waitress already knew it was inadequate when she brought it to the table as she was offering to bring more upon request. Nevermind that there are probably 100 places within 5 minutes of there that can serve a decent amount the first time because they aren't trying to cheap out on their customers. With the price increase and shrinking portions it is no longer a good value. I used to be stuffed eating a bowl of their pho and today I was barely satisfied in terms of hunger because the portion was pathetic.

Cleanliness: Wear latex gloves to handle anything on the table because it is all sticky - and not just a little bit. What comes to mind for me with this is if this is what they'll leave visible what are they doing in places I can't see.

The Service: Disorganized, rude, and overall poor. The complete opposite of what it has been until this year. They used to have awesome service. I literally listed to a waitress address a customer complaint with "this is not our problem, it is your problem" and then went on to further scold the customer about how she tried to explain whatever. Completely unprofessional to say the least. Then, as I am reading while I eat (because my lunch is my only time to myself some days so I like to take my time and relax) a man walks up and starts clearing my table and after having removed multiple items decides it's a good time to ask if I am finished. At that point I decided I was finished. Not just with the meal but with this Pho 24 as a whole. Sad, used to love it and now...