Pho Towda — Restaurant in Fairfax

Service is EXTREMLY SLOW! I waited ~40 mins after being seated. We were about to leave the restaurant before the Pho bowls were brought out (after 40 mins). The Thai iced tea - took them like about 20 mins to bring out to the table and it was in the incompleted form. The Thai Iced Tea had no sweetness at all and parialy full. We brought it to the waitress and raised the concern, she said Thai Iced Tea not supposed to have sweet taste. Aha! My first time ever knowing that Thai Iced Tea does not suppose to have sweet taste even the description on the menu stated that it has condensed milk (which alwayssss sweet). I also drank Thai iced Tea from lots and lots of places, included Thai restaurants, all of them have sweet taste. This restaurant really gave me new look of the "Thai Iced Tea" 🤣 May be they mean the "Thai" as a name of a guy and not the Thai as Thailand 🙄 Later, another guy brought out the more of the Thai-land iced tea cup (fuller this time) out to replace the other Thai's iced tea cup saying he did not finish making it and the waitress already took it out to our table (without saying sorry or anything like that, just blaming on the waitress).🙄😩 Another minus star for the service!

The chicken Pho, chicken is super dry and tasteless. The noodles were broken in very short segments and some were clumped up big size.

When we ordered Pho Tai, waitress said no more steak. But when we ordered Pho Dac Biet, they brought out with steak. 🙄 The pho soup tasted good, just salty and was not added enough into the bowls. I guess that was because it was close to 7pm. Overall, the Pho bowls don't look good at all, actually look bored.

I heard there is 25% off on 2nd day of grand opening, but they charged me full price + 18% tip. I forgot to ask about 25% off until I got home. My friend told me about the discount and she got th 25% off even on the 3rd day grand opening.

Recommendation: if you decide to try this place, come with your stomach half full 😄 and prepare for the wait can be up to hours and bad service. The foods are not that good for me to wait that long amd getting...

3/5.

Came here for Pho Towda's soft opening. Had some high expectations due to the popularity being shared around the community, bust was sadly disappointed. Understandable that this was their soft opening, but some things should've been better.

The Food: Since the soft opening offered a 25% deal, a couple of friends and I had to get a few more than we would at a Pho restaurant. We started with the Pork TD Signature Roll, Crispy Eggrolls, Pork Dumplings and Shrimp & Chive Dumplings. The TD Signature Rolls were delicious and I'd highly recommend giving it a try. The eggrolls were a bit weird since one was significantly bigger than the other. Taste was average. The Pork Dumplings and juicy and had a nice filling. The Shrimp & Chive Dumplings were not good at all. No shrimp in the filling and just mushy chives.

Now for the main entree, the Pho. I got the "Pho Ca Nhan" with Rare steak, Brisket and Flank steak. The broth was good, but a little on the bland side. And the meat quality was average, except for the flank steak, that was quite chewy. And, their bowl size options is limited to only one size, which looks like a regular size at any other pho restaurant. For $18, I'd say it isn't worth it.

The Service: Service was quite awful unfortunately. Granted, I came during a soft opening, so they are getting their bearings together, but there was plenty of staff for service. Service was incredibly slow, even with limited food options due to some being sold out. Somehow, one Pho bowl came out before the appetizers and the other two bowls we ordered. Seemed that more people were waiting for their orders, than eating food.

The Atmosphere: The restaurant was decorated very nicely! Very modern and minimal aesthetic. Very tastefully done. There isn't that much seating, and some placements of tables were awkward in my opinion. But, overall a very clean and nice looking restaurant.

Overall, a 3/5. I'd like to give this place another chance when they officially have their grand opening, but from my experience, it may be a while before I return. Recommend some of the food options, but the price isn't...

If you've ever been to a pho restaurant, you know the drill. Tell 'how many in your party, get shuffled off to a folding table (maybe with other pho lovers), order #8, wait a minute for your food, eat, and then go up and pay.

Not at Pho Towda. It's a regular restaurant that serves various pho broth dishes along with several others. I can't talk about the rest because I got the Phở Cá Nhân - Personal Palette Phở with rare steak, flank and tendon. As normal, they provide sriracha and plum sauces along with some hot peppers, bean spouts and basil. I was seated where I could watch what was going on in the kitchen, and it was hopping. Those guys work heard.

The dish was great! Beyond the food, the service was excellent, 2 or 3 times I was asked if everything was ok and did I need anything additional. They would gladly spend a moment or two talking to you, but were always looking to see if the diners needed anything.

When I was done, there was some pho left over... and they did something they never offered at any other pho eatery (at least not to me) -- They offered to prepare it to go. They put it in a container at my table then filled it with additional broth! So now, I have lunch tomorrow as well.

Next time, (and there will be a next time),, I'll have the Phở Thố Đá - Stone Bowl Signature Pho and some Vietnamese Iced Coffee.

If you can't tell yet, I'll say it plainly. If you are in the mood for pho, try Pho Towda. For me, it was a real treat!

(OK... one additional helpful tip that I forgot to mention. I have the gene that says cilantro is soap. Every time I go to a pho restaurant, I remember to say "No Cilantro!" -- right after they bring out the pho. If you share this gift, remember to tell them when you are ordering, or you'll be picking it out of the broth too.}

Next day ... had the leftover for lunch. Absolutely delicious!

August 9 2024 update: Still the best. Try the Bahn Mi sandwich. Insanely good. Also, if you are up for spicy, give the spicy PHO a try. My wife and I typically visit once a week. One of our...