pho quan vietnamese cuisine — Restaurant in Hermiston

Good service, good interior. Overpriced pho. Good broth. Lack of vegetable option pho.

Don't get me wrong. Very nice people here. Clean interior and good dining environment.

I suggest the owner to get some professional advice on sale & marketing especially regarding to menu strategies, pricing, and the current status of charging customers extra when paying via credit card (not really communicated verbally during payment process).

Let's talk about my experience as a regular customer. 17.50 for a bowl of pho. OK, coming from Seattle, this is a big surprise even when our city became the #2 expensive city to live in the US. That is fine. I'll order it and pay for it. I asked if it is indeed 17.50, the waitress responded yes. At checkout, I was charged for 4% more. I asked what's going on. She pointed out to a laminated letter size sign on the desk that says "business is difficult...we need to charge credit card fee ...etc" but nowhere it says "4%". There is also no communication when customers put their credit card into the check presenter. (Standard practice should be: waiter/waitress asking: we charge 4% when paying with credit card, is that ok?)

Here is the question, In the management point of view, do you want to charge this fee and take the risk of potential daily conflicts between customers and staff when customers ask "why this fee. Why didn't you tell me" - or even worse: losing tips? 4% or 15%? Which one is more? The risk is apparent. It's all about business strategy.

Or do you want to just include that cost into your menu price? Raise 4% on everything? (Save your waiters and waitress from this drama everyday when they work)

Or reevaluate all the cost and find other objects to cut price?

Or do more marketing or surveys to boost your flow?

Or simply, like some local coffee shops, label "we charge 4% more when paying with credit cards" and inform customers when presenting the check?

Yes, I understand operating and managing restaurants is hard. But there are minimum communication a restaurant should do especially when it comes to pricing and payment. Payment the most sensitive aspect during the customer's journey. And it all takes strategies. It's all psychology. How to avoid conflict and make the process smooth? How to establish a brand and a flow so financially the business runs steadily? It all takes...

LARGEST BOWL EVER SERVED! 8/10 This was quite good. Ive never seen such a large bowl of pho when ordering a Large! Its more like a stupendous!

That being said, the pho was good. It was strong with clove, weak with cinnamon and cardamom. I tasted a tiny hint of MSG but I may be mistaken. I actually added two small salt packets and it was an 8.5/10 after that. Couldnt finish the Large! I always order large and have never been unable to finish a bowl before. Very satisfying.

The base price for a Large is $16.50. They do not serve Pho Tai Bo Vien, you have to order Pho Bo Vien and add rare steak, which costs an additional $3.00. They also charged for extra jalapenos. However, these were some of the most delicious and fragrant jalapenos ive ever had. They are sliced in a strange way that makes them harder to eat, but looks nicer. The meatballs were good, but not very strong flavor, but the mild flavor they did have was very good. Ive had stronger meatballs, but never larger ones! This pho restaurant makes their pho larger-than-life! Enormous bowl, and enormous meatballs! I felt like a child compared to how big it is!

I would possibly return again, only if they changed the menu to offer Pho Tai Bo Vien (rare steak with meatballs) at base price without being extra. Otherwise, I wouldnt come back. $20 for a large bowl of Pho Tai Bo Vien isnt worth it, although this pho was complex and delicious, it just isnt priced competetively compared to options outside of this small town.

If I lived here, this would...

A bit of an odd experience. I ordered the lemon grass chicken vermicelli bowl which was excellent plus a piece of the Vietnamese bacon. When I was given the bill I was charged $4 for the bacon instead of the $1 listed on the menu. I was also charged $1 for chilli in oil. Who charges for chilli oil?

They have big laminated signs on every table with a long winded explanation of why they charge an unspecified fee (turned out to be 4%) to use a credit card in order “to keep prices down”. At $18 for a large pho their prices are certainly higher than most places in LA, Portland and Seattle. Going to go out on a limb here and say that Hermiston Oregon is a lower overhead environment. Too bad because the...