Phở 75 — Restaurant in Herndon

Tldr; I strongly recommend everyone to avoid this place. They are not honest and will enforce a mandatory 20% tip to all meals. No where in the restaurant did they mention the mandatory 20% tip. I also received a small bowl of fat with barely any briskets when I ordered extra fatty briskets.

If you do go, DOUBLE CHECK your bill!!!

For context, I've been to this restaurant multiple times with my partner and friends. I never had an issue with the food or service until today. The food is fine. It came quickly, and the portions are decent. The food is good enough value that I would recommend this place to my friends... until today. As seen from the photos, I ordered extra fatty brisket along with my regular bowl of number 1 pho. Previously, they would always run out of the fatty brisket, so I was really excited to get their fatty brisket today. However, I didn't think they would be so serious about the fatty part of the brisket. It only had maybe one or two tiny parts of meat, and the rest was fat. I essentially paid $2.50 for a small bowl of fat. I asked the boss if I could get more of the brisket instead of only fat, but he said, "No," and he walked away immediately. No reasons, nothing. Fine, since the bowl has already been touched, I understand that we can't change the bowl. The only reason why I still gave a 3 star for the food is because it's a decently sized bowl of Pho and it's not terribly expensive either.

However, wouldn't you be pissed if you paid extra money for a bowl of fat that you can't eat?

Moving on to the most infuriating part of the meal, the payment. All along, I thought I was being charged only the meal prices and tax. However, I found out today that the restaurant includes a MANDATORY 20% tip policy with the check. There were NO indications anywhere (not even the menu) that said customers need to pay 20% tip to the restaurant. Tips should be voluntary. I don't understand why we are being forced to pay 20% tip for LUNCH.

I have attached the receipt they gave me for my meal with my partner. I have also attached a photo of the "cost breakdown" written by the boss there. As you can see, they included a $6 tip for a $29.54 meal (including tax). That is an over 20% tip.

Not only that, because of the language barrier, the boss got super irritated and started cussing in Vietnamese. Mind you, we did not yell, be rude, or do anything that deserved this humiliation from the boss. After asking the boss 5 times on how he calculated the check, he finally showed us the receipt and wrote out his "cost breakdown." He would cuss in Vietnamese the entire time (I know this because I know my Vietnamese cuss words).

At the end of it, my partner and I got too fed up with the situation, so we paid and left. We didn't realize until now, but we've been paying double the tips to this restaurant because we didn't know they already included the tip in the bill. It's frustrating because this restaurant only accepts cash, so there's no written record of how much we actually paid. Hopefully, the written "cost breakdown" by the boss can prove this infuriating incident.

We will no longer go to this restaurant any longer, and we will let our friends know not to go here either. I hope you, who are reading this, will also avoid this place. Save your money and respect for somewhere else that deserves it. I am utterly disappointed in this restaurant and very sad that this restaurant turned out to be one of the worst restaurants I've been to. This restaurant was supposed to be my go-to Pho place, but now, I will need to find another Pho...

CASH ONLY!!! ATM inside!! Bring Cash or Debit Card.

20220806 wasn't that hungry but was in the area and decided to support a small business. I like Yu Noodles and they opened a location in this shopping center, but Pho 75 won!! I rather have Pho 75 pho!! 😋 Good thing I have cash since they only take cash. They did move the ATM by the front door from the hall in the back where the bathrooms are.

20211213 love love love this Pho restaurant. The broth is consistently delicious. Just the perfect level of flavor. This time I customize my Pho with tendons, tripe and fatty briskets. I'm getting this from now on!! So good. I ordered the regular size and it was plenty for me. I have room to consume most of the broth. 😋 I also ordered the jello with coconut milk dessert... yummy!! It's so good.

A year ago... The service is fast!! But not overly friendly. The pho with beef broth is so tasty. One of the best in the area... Might just be The Best! I usually get chicken or seafood when I get pho. They have chicken but not seafood. I wanted to try the beef and I'm glad that I did. It was so delicious that I'm glad I ordered a large. 😋 I definitely will come back. The one thing that bothers me is that they only accept cash! I'm glad I had enough cash on me today when I decided to stop by last minute. Otherwise, no...

Twice I tried to eat here in an evening. First, they only do to go...not so bad...figured I'd take it back to the hotel but I was told cash only as they pointed me to the 6 ATM...eff that I dont carry cash and im not paying an extra 6 dollars to eat your pho...learn how to do modern business or you won't make it. I am a pho connoisseur, an addict...and now I won't even bother out of spite. Thanks for the dissapointment.

*Update 12/6 - I decided to try anyways making sure to bring cash. The prices were about 10 dollars for the largest bowl they had (a regular) a bowl, which is pretty typical, and they provided me with a legit disposable pho spoon. Their online price showed something like 6 dollars which is completely wrong. Broth is good, however, I only got half of a quart sized container filled and it included the meat. Meat portion was ok as well. Went to pour it over the noodles and there is not enough broth. Disappointed yet again, I wont be coming here ever. There are a few better places worth the travel to get to in...