Twenty Pho Hour — Restaurant in Dr. Phillips

When this place opened, it was everywhere on social media. The huge, unique, beautiful 2D, black and white that covered every inch of wall and ceiling and even invaded the dinnerware; just lovely. Also, plenty of photo ops for you to pose with with your whole crew or just on your own. Very hip and trendy spot, aesthetically.

We get in, and it starts out as counter service. You wait in the line and browse the menu and browse the merch. They had a pin, so I got that. I always get pins. The menu was vast, though, so I had to ask the guy at the counter for advice. I got the sought advice, and got to ordering.

I got the Thai Tea to drink, and it was good. Not too intense, if that makes sense. It was a very mainstream Thai tea.

We started off with some Summer Rolls 2pc. w/ Peanut Sauce (shrimp, mixed greens, vermicelli noodles). Freaking great. Huge shrimps inside, a good amount of peanuts in the sauce for that nice little crunch, and some greens inside to add a pop of freshness. Really lovely.

Also got the Lao Pork Egg Roll 3pc (ground pork, taro, carrots, glass noodles, oyster sauce). These were nice, too. Not oily, very crispy, good amount of filling, solid.

My personal entrée was the Pho Hai San (shrimp, shrimp tempura, fishballs, shrimp dumplings, fried onion & garlic). This thing was friggin perfect. The broth was truly exquisite, tastes like they've been tending to the flavor for days, weeks. So much protein in the bowl, and it was all perfectly cooked. Tender, plump shrimp, crispy tempura, stuffed to the brim dumplings. Just wow.

I also got to try the Pad Thai Rice Noodles (rice noodles, carrots, egg, peanuts, beansprouts, scallions, lime and cilantro). The steak tips were chosen. It was a nice pad Thai. Very nice, slurpable noodles, crunchy, fresh texture in droves with all the fresh veggies, and that lime adds the perfect acid contrast that makes this a very Thai dish. Loved it, and the tender steak. Very good.

After this very lovely meal, we got the Taro Cream Delights (Donuts topped with whipped creamy taro) for dessert. Very unctuous donuts fried to perfection. Topped with a creamy taro goo that you have never had before. It was sweet, but taro-y sweet, in a lovely way. So good.

Overall, it looks like I just wrote a love letter to this place. And maybe I did. Finding out this place was style And substance was a very pleasant surprise. I...

Heard about this place from a friend after he learned about it through a YouTube show. We both decided to go together with another friend as well on an early Saturday. When I arrived, I noticed there was already a line forming up. It took us about forty minutes to get inside and place our order. There was a hostess with an iPad taking our orders and handling the payments. I ordered the Korean Fire Noodles (13 dollars) with ramen noodles, brisket, and a hard boiled egg. I was informed that it would be spicy, and I told her that I am happy with that. I also wanted to order the cheesecake, but it was sold out. After placing our orders, we were handed a number and informed that the bar had some seats available. We sat ourselves down, and also walked to the drink fountain area to get water, napkins, and other utensils. Within about 10 minutes, my friends got their food. It took another 5 to 10 minutes to get mine. When I got my noodles, I immediately noticed that it was missing the hard boiled egg. However, it did come 2 minutes later. I must say it was worth the wait. The noodles were indeed spicy and flavorful with some chili sauce giving the burn. It was quite spicy enough to make me teary eyed and nose running. While the brisket could have been a bit more tender, it was still flavorful. The noodles also had corn and scallions. However, for 13 dollars, I wished the portion could have been a bit larger.

The service was friendly and helpful, but I definitely noticed they were very busy and possibly stressed with the crowd. Eventually, the crowd got so large that they were advertising an hour and half wait for the people waiting on line (what the pho?). The atmosphere is the gimmick here. It looks a bit bland with a 2d decoration on the inside. It almost feels like you are part of a comic strip.

Overall, it's a good place to get a noodle or soup fix when in the I drive area. It is located in a strip mall about 5 minutes away from SeaWorld. I would highly suggest waiting for the crowd to ease down before visiting here. While it is a good new restaurant, it is definitely not worth the 1.5 hour wait and the hype.

In addition, I was offered a gift if I posted a review and showed it to the staff. I did not take this offer as I feel it is only good to write an honest review after heading home, and taking in the full experience of...

I'm confused by all the amazing reviews regarding the food. I was also confused as to why the veggie accompaniments usually given out at a pho place were only given upon request. We just assumed... (because it's a pho place, and that's what we ordered?) And because we assumed, we didn't know to ask. When we wondered out loud, only then, we were told that they were given upon request. Veggies came 2/3rd into meal. NO bueno. When we got it, most of the leaves were bruised or black and like, a very sad amount.

We ordered 2 pho, a ramen, and 3 appetizers. All the boths (I tried all 3, just to double check), all of them were exceedingly salty. Thank God there was water available. I had to dilute mine with it to be able to consume it at all. Pretty much an entire small plastic cup full. When it comes to pho, the most important part for me is the broth. Broth was not good. The ramen noodles had a really good texture. I would pass next time on the crispy pork belly as it did not taste fresh but hard and old. Like a latin chicharrone sitting out for a day. Tiny cubes of fried tofu, nearly cold with Thai chili duck sauce were disappointing. The shrimp summer rolls were OK and the best was the Lao spring rolls.

The best thing this place has going for it is, it's hours of operation and its ideal location for tourists. Yes, it was busy. Yes, the decor is insta worthy. I can't help but think that people who absolutely love this place don't eat pho much (which is why there is less expectation to provide the bean sprouts and basil with pho- so WEIRD!)- I didn't pack my leftover broth to go, and that says everything. Apologies to the tourists from major cities. Orlando has SO much to offer in the way of some pretty awesome pho. Please, Twenty Pho, do your locals a solid and make some changes! For now, if I can't make it up to 50, Pho Drive Thru is...