Love Pho 2 — Restaurant in El Paso

I went there yesterday with the intent to have a relaxing late lunch alone and to enjoy a nice meal. I’ve been there before and was happy with everything so I ddciddd to go again. I ordered the shrimp spring rolls and an entree. I had to ask for silverware and napkins. Oh well. My spring rolls came out and were beautiful! Before I took the first bite of my appetizer my entree was brought out. I asked the waiter why he didn’t allow me to eat my appetizer before bringing my entree out. I felt like they were trying to rush me out the door. My entree was a hot entree so I didn’t want to eat the appetizer and let my entree get cold. He said he just puts the ticket in and brings the food out. The manager comes over and asks me what the problem was. I told her that I had wanted to eat my appetizer first before my entree as that is the usual in any restaurant. She says I should have told the waiter that and that no one can read my mind. I said that anyone in the restaurant business should know that appetizers are eaten prior to an entree not at the same time. So I kindly asked for my bill for the spring rolls and declined the entree which was definitely cold by now. I said if I wanted take out I would’ve ordered takeout. She said I didn’t have to pay the bill. I insisted on the bill then paid for my spring rolls and left. Just because I came alone didn’t mean they should...

I really really hate to give any Vietnamese restaurant a bad review, but this place was so bad, I feel like I have to. The moment you walk in, you get hit with a god-awful sewage smell. This, alone, makes the dining experience bad. The menu is a bit limited but has popular and known Vietnamese dishes. We ordered rare steak pho, and as soon as I caught a whiff of the broth, I knew it wasn’t going to be good. It did not have a delicate ginger taste. Instead, it tasted like “cheese pizza”. I thought my kids were crazy at first, but at the second taste of the broth, I realized they were right. It’s a really odd taste that I’ve never tasted in the broth before. It was not edible. The majority of the rest of us had grilled pork with rice. We might as well have been eating plain, flavorless, chewy meat. The pork had zero Vietnamese flavor to it. One of our dishes had hair in the rice. I appreciated that they didn’t charge us for the plate, as it was pretty much untouched. 3 of 5 plates ordered were left uneaten. The only redeeming food were the egg rolls. They were delicious. I’m deeply saddened to leave a bad review, but if you’re looking for good quality Vietnamese cuisine , this is NOT it. I would like to add that the only reason we came here was because our favorite Viet restaurant closes every Monday. Go to that...

This was hands down one of the most unpleasant dining experiences I’ve ever had.

Yes, the place is physically clean but that’s about the only positive thing I can say. From the moment we sat down, it was unbearably hot. There was no air conditioning, no fans, and no airflow. It felt like we were eating inside an oven. How anyone customers or staff is expected to tolerate that is beyond me.

But what made it truly unbearable was the atmosphere created by the owner herself, who spent most of the time yelling at the employees in full view of everyone. Loud, aggressive, and honestly disturbing. You could see how tense and nervous the staff were. It was incredibly uncomfortable to witness and absolutely unprofessional.

Our server did their best, and I genuinely felt bad for them having to work in that environment. It’s clear the issue here is not the staff it’s the management.

It’s a clean space, but the toxic energy and lack of basic comfort (like air) made this a hard no for me. I will absolutely not be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone until major changes are made ...