Pho 2000 — Restaurant in Herndon

HOLYMOLY I had the absolute worst experience I have ever had a restaurant. This is going to be super long, so if you don't feel like reading the whole thing the main points are: I would not recommend going here DO NOT place an online order - they will not accept it despite the fact that they have a website that seemingly allows you to do so If you are interested in the whole saga, strap yourselves in because I have the most bonkers story to tell you about what happened last night. I placed an online order through their website and when I went to pick it up the person I spoke with seemed confused and told me "no." Okay. I'm including this next piece of information cautiously, with the utmost respect and only because it's necessary to accurately convey what happened. So, keeping all of that in mind, I need to say that it was extremely difficult to understand the man that I was speaking with. I really want to convey that I am in no way disclosing this information in a judgmental or condescending manner, but rather simply as factual information that is pertinent to this narrative. At this point, I was super embarrassed and thought that I had made a mistake and had accidentally ordered from a different restaurant. I found the confirmation email and I began to tell him so but he stopped me mid-sentence and WENT OFF. He started yelling at me and I was so confused. The language barrier did not help. From what I gathered, I think that someone may have taken advantage of them using online ordering which resulted in a significant financial loss for them. He was very upset and was threatening violence against whomever did this and made a point to say "...and you can call the police, I don't care." He went on for what seemed like an eternity and I just stood there completely dumbfounded. I was tired, hungry and did not understand how my online order had set off such a cataclysmic reaction. When he finally stopped, I tentatively offered my phone with the confirmation to him, but this was an egregious error on my part as it only set him off again. Luckily, I had not paid in advance or else I am positive that I would have lost that money. I really should have just left and gone elsewhere, but as I've mentioned, I was in a confused-mortified-hungry-tired state of mind, so I asked if I could place an order to go. With suspicion, he asked me if I would pay right away and I assured him that I would. (And I did.) So I placed my order - or at least I tried to. The fried spring rolls are delicious (which is the only positive thing that I can say) and I wanted 2 orders. One order of spring rolls comes with 2 rolls. He was trying to clarify what I was asking for and because I was having difficulty understanding him, I wasn't sure if he was asking me how many orders I wanted or how many rolls I wanted. I took my best guess as to what he was asking and said 4 rolls. As he was placing the order in the computer and I noticed that he had put 4 orders of spring rolls instead of 2 (which honestly, maybe was kind of my mistake) so I politely tried to tell him that I only wanted two orders. Then, much to my alarm, he yelled “THEN WHY DID YOU SAY FOUR?!?!?!” I was so exhausted so I very quickly stammered something along the lines of “oh, okay, yes, nevermind, yes, that’s fine, yes, thanks.” I then proceeded to pay for my soup and 4 orders of spring rolls. (I’ve included the picture of all 8 spring rolls just in case you are doubting the authenticity this statement.) It was such an unexpectedly distressing experience that it took me some time to calm down. I am not a confrontational person and never argued, raised my voice or did anything that would warrant the kind of response and treatment that I was subjected to. Seriously though, I left with 8 spring rolls because I so quickly acquiesced at prospect of further invoking the wrath of this man. I know that this was a ridiculously long review, but I did want to get it all out there so that I could potentially spare the next unassuming patron from such a truly...

Winchester’s loss is Herdon’s win. Our local pho meister, Nguyen, had to close shop at Pot-O-Pho in Winchester, as his shopping center is getting demolished. He searched hard for another reasonable space with a kitchen but nothing was available locally. So he made the difficult decision to leave his large fan club on this side of the mountains and head back to Loudoun where he started his restaurant journey years ago at his Xuan Saigon in Leesburg. We found his place there some 18 years ago and would drive an hour for a bowl of his amazing rendition. So it was a great surprise when after having sold his Leesburg spot to a friend, Nguyen ended up a mile down the road from my office in Winchester. My family and I have essentially lived at his place for the past 7 or so years that he has been here. His soup is sublime! I have eaten pho for the past 30 years all over the world and I would put his in the top spot ever. Best broth ever! When I found out he was leaving I decided to go almost every day over the past two months. In 8 weeks I have only missed about 6 days. My fingernails are stronger than they have ever been! My daughter, who joins me often said the same about hers. The broth is a mineral rich health elixir and is so delicious. Nguyen’s garden rolls are equally awesome and among the best you will find. I dip mine in straight sriracha sauce, it is an addiction, and the withdrawals I will experience in a few days are likely to be serious. Enjoy this man’s food and his kind, welcoming disposition. He and his sister who assists in the kitchen are elderly. They don’t move fast. If you have patience and a love for good food, you are in for a real treat. Whatever you knew Pho 2000 for in the past is about to become a distant memory. This man knows his stuff and will be forever missed by our community. In the past month I have listened to dozens of stunned customers as they received the heartbreaking news. All of them assure Nguyen that they will come to his new establishment no matter the distance. We definitely will. Cherish Nguyen and the new Pho 2000. It will be the same gem this man has created a few times over in the past 30 years. He says he opens there January 1,...

The sadest pho I’ve ever ordered for take out and worst pho I’ve probably ever had. I ordered to go the pho with steak, brisket and tendon with extra tendon and what I got was horrendous and inedible. They literally brought it out within2 minutes of me placing the order at the front. First I thought it was great service, but I realized that quick service was a huge red flag.

I opened the box before leaving because I was wondering how it came out lightening fast….and the meats were COLD and the tendon was FROZEN! The soup was barely warm. I was pretty angry but the restaurant said that if the tendon and meat were warm they would be over cooked when I got home and that I was to boil the soup first then add the meat. I didn’t believe her but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. I got home and followed her instructions and am now sitting here in great disappointment begging you to not buy their pho.

The soup was so salty with NO FLAVOR. The noodles were one big squishy CLUMP. The meat was over cooked and obviously all previously frozen after being cooked! This is not what I ordered! Isn’t the beef supposed to be raw and cook in the hot soup and not already be over cooked? The vegetables were EXPIRED obviously.

They came out with my pho in 2 minutes because they got something from the corner of the fridge/freezer probably thinking I’m not Asian enough to know the difference. They talked to me like I knew nothing. SMH they should try a redo. I bet they didn’t think I’d post an honest review of...