Pho-Topia — Restaurant in Hickory

Had the honor of attending their soft opening, and had an incredible experience. This was the first Vietnamese restaurant that I’ve been to where the atmosphere felt inviting, fun, and modern. The green and gold aesthetic of the interior gives the restaurant a very chic feel, and the bubbly personalities of the staff compliment that beautifully. There is even a wall decorated in gorgeous foliage and LED lights that gives customers a unique photo-op!

While it’s clear that they are still working out some kinks, the food was no less than top notch. Everything came out hot and fresh, and was very obviously made with tons of time and care. We came in as a party of four and had a lovely feast to indulge in.

Crab Rangoons: These were light and airy — not as heavy as one would expect! The cream cheese filling-to-wonton wrap ratio was perfect, and these were the perfect snack to start our meal with.

Vietnamese Egg Rolls: As a Vietnamese man myself, these egg rolls were as good as the ones grandma made me growing up. When I had a bite of these, I immediately knew that the rest of my meal would have those same authentic Vietnamese flavors that I know and love so well.

Chicken Wings: As soon as these hit the table, everyone’s mouth was watering at the sight. Fried to perfection, these chicken wings were a phenomenal addition to our meal. They were very lightly battered but still incredibly crispy, leaving me upset that we didn’t order more!

Phó Bo: I could tell that their pho was cooked overnight, as the flavors were bold and prominent. While I love to hook my bowl up with all of the toppings and sauces, the broth was flavorful enough for pickier eaters to enjoy. Will definitely be in to get more as the weather starts cooling down, as it was very comforting to eat — like a warm hug in a bowl.

Bun Bo Hue: For my spice lovers, you’ve gotta get your hands on some of Pho-Topia’s Bun Bo Hue. This dish left me slurping my bowl like a madman. The beef brisket inside was super tender and every bite packed a punch of flavor. Very delighted with this dish.

Chicken Fried Rice: While fried rice is a staple in nearly every Asian restaurant, Pho-Topia’s rendition has a very unique charm. While their shrimp sauce is arguably the best in town (not kidding), the rice alone is enough to leave your taste buds more than satisfied. There wasn’t an overwhelming amount of soy sauce used in cooking it, and the rice was nice and fluffy as it should be.

Overall, I give Pho-Topia 10’s across the board! Fun staff, clean and pretty establishment, and of course, authentic, feel-good food for everyone to enjoy. I urge you to get out there and enjoy some of what they...

PHO-GET about this place! BEWARE: They're all about making profits instead of building a good rapport with customers to retain them. They were out of Bun Rieu, so they recommended Bun Bo Hue, it only had 15 strands of noodles in a huge bowl (same as pho) to make it look like a large amount of food. Sloppily & sparingly chopped meat in it, even added unfitting pork loaf meat squares. The BUN BO HUE that I ORDERED authentically should have pineapple/lemongrass in the broth, Google it. I did not taste it as shown in picture I ordered it! (So dont reply to trip me up saying your Bun Rieu doesnt have lemongrass and pineapple, & that your Bun Bo Hue does, cus I meant to say BunBoHue the crap I ordered!!!) Such expensive but low-quality foods! The pho was atrociously bad. The broth was so light. They were greedy on the side of herbs and veggies. Their reply stated the kids' meal comes with 3 chicken wings, fries and a drink. So now Im just realizing WE NEVER GOT THE DRINK!!! They played Taylor Swift and pop music in here which was unnecessarily annoying. The "small" eggrolls came out with sauce all over it as u can see by the picture, no wood ear mushrooms in it like they claim on the menu. The 3 midget chicken wings were all GMO fat-looking drums, no flat wings with THE MOST DISRESPECTFUL bottom of the bag tiny fries, fried in unhealthy seed oil. And to add insult to this unappetizing meal, the waitress had a nose ring with 1 red fingernail. Her other press-on nails came off so it made me question their sanitation, hygiene etc, just wear black culinary gloves! Customers that gave 5 stars are wannabe foodies only! Their taste buds would not be able tell the difference between sawdust and/or parmesan! Fancy over-the-top name "Pho Topia" just to lure ppl to try basic food. No "Utopia" euphoric, blissful feelings here, only anger at wasting lots of money. The dining table and chairs are already unbalanced and rickety. So much for an overhyped grand opening! Customer service was fake-friendly too, the friendliness felt so generic! After serving distasteful food, they had the audacity to even ask me how did the food taste!!!! And I am correct on their off vibe because look at their micro-aggressive review replies! Bad tight parking spaces too. My photo shows their food is not impressive in price, flavor, color, portion and presentation! No Michelin stars will ever be awarded...

Let me start by saying I rarely ever leave a poor review. You can look at all of my reviews so you can see for yourself that it has to be pretty bad for me to leave a 1star review. Also, I usually give a place another try before dismissing it forever. This was my 3rd try at Pho-Topia and last. Everyone in the Hickory area knows that Pho 777 has the BEST pho in town but I’ve tried Pho-Topia because it’s closer and convenient. My last visit there, the ONLY time the waitress said two words to me was to take my order. She never once checked on me upon delivering my food, didn’t say a word when delivering it, didn’t say a word when she dropped off my check, had no problem eating her food at the table right by me while completely ignoring me. I shook my head in disgust and I know she saw that because I immediately laid my cc on top of the check and she hopped up to ring that out. Having worked in the service industry myself my ENTIRE life, I’ve always given grace and have never NOT left a tip. Well, there’s a 1st time for everything and she was not deserving of a single cent. I didn’t even finish my pho I was so put off. (A $16 bowl of subpar pho.) And about my pho… the noodles were discolored a weird bronze color, the basil was wilted and rotted, and the sprouts were slimy and mushy. Hopefully I don’t end up sick. (I ate the meat and broth and the regular looking noodles because I was hungry.) If this place continues as is, they won’t last. Again, this was my 3rd try there and all 3 times were disappointing...