Huonglan#9 — Restaurant in Fresno

First of all, I would like to give a 5 STAR for their FOOD. The pho they serve has such a clean, flavorful broth without any grease nor oil. It is very refreshing to have their pho. The pho are served very hot which makes everything taste even better. Noodle are cooked to perfection (not too hard and not mushy at all). I had pho with brisket only, and their brisket are cooked really well, not dry at all and do not contain a lot of fat.

I also tried their beef teriyaki sandwich and grilled pork sandwich. The french bread is so crispy and the meat are very tender. I really like their how their teriyaki beef tastes since it’s not very sweet like a lot of other restaurant would serve. Their grilled pork is very tender and full of flavor.

However, I can only give 3 STAR for their SERVICE. it could be part of cultural difference, but I found that the servers are quite rude to customer, including us. Upon entering the restaurant, the server picked up some menus and stood still and told us to come grab it, and proceed to point to the table and he wanted us to sit at. The tone he used is like ordering us to do so. 
We ordered some sliced onions with our food, but then after asking for a few times, we didn’t get them until we’re almost done with the pho. The server keeps saying sorry but we still were not served in a timely manner.

The cleanliness of this restaurant is fair. The place is a little out dated but pretty clean for such an old establishment. From the dining hall you can see right in the kitchen and it seems very busy and do not offer a calm eating experience. Place is not well organized as some other newer restaurants.

All in all, I would definitely go back cause of the delicious pho and sandwiches and Vietnamese iced coffee, however I will be expected to put up with not up to par services. If they can improve their service, I would easily give them a 5 star rating.

(just some recommendation, for Huong Lan - their menu stated that they will charge EXTRA 50 cents on SANDWICHES if customer ordered for dine-in. I’d recommend them adding this extra charge to all their sandwiches, and in return provide discount to people ordering take-out. Charging extra money for dine-in when there’re actually no difference in packaging of the sandwiches, seems extra and could...

Based upon the reviews, I was excited to try Huong Lan but walked out disappointed.

As I'm being walked to the table before I've even seen a menu I'm asked, "Do you know what you want or do you need a minute?" I tell him I've never been here before so I'll need a minute to look at the menu.

It's a good 4-5 minutes before anyone bothers to comes back. I start off with the small crispy egg rolls. When they arrive their a weird reddish-orange color, unlike any other egg rolls I've ever seen. One bite and I realize they are so tough I can't even chew them. I spit the bite out as it's totally inedible and look for a server fire help. No over is coming by so I have to stand up to get attention. I ask to have them removed.

The pho arrives and it's got good flavor, not spectacular (as I was hoping for) but good. I really wanted some extra onions but no one was coming back to check on me. I finally see 2 guys pushing a cart, bussing tables and I ask for the onions.

No one ever came to check on the food or offer refills. No one offered a "Welcome!" or "Thank you, have a nice day." I get better service at a drive thru.

Service: -1 star Atmosphere: 0 stars Soup: 3 stars Egg rolls: -2 stars Pricing: 2 stars Grand Total: 2 stars

It's HIGHLY unlikely I'll return. There are a variety of pho restaurants around and I'm sure someone else can provide...

Starting from the service. It was spectacular the hostess not only did she take time to seat us down she explained the popular options as well as the rest of the menu. Food was served promptly.

The food was beyond delicious. The broth in the pho was so rich and flavorful that I didn't need condiments, however, I still added the regular condiments and it only made it better. The broth and it's contents were hot but even then the moment the food got to my mouth I couldn't stop eating even if I was burning myself in the process. The #5 BBQ pork sandwich was extremely good and well balanced between flavor and freshness. The buns were out of this world. Perfectly fluffy with delicious pork filling and a nice surprise of half a boiled egg inside.

The Thai tea was great, it didn't taste at all like instant or powdery.

The atmosphere was pretty sweet and relaxed with the buzz of the staff who continued to serve people and keep an attentive eye on all the customers.

I would definitely recommend this place. I drove 48 minutes to get there and it was worth every second.

Also be mindful as this place gets busy quickly.

Even after a long time this review still holds up, if anything the flavors have gotten even better. The staff is still amazing and the food is delicious.

A must try if you are...