Pho So 1 — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Tarzana location. Place is clean, I give them that. Mediocre pho, poor service and vibe. The "best" thing about my #2 soup with spring rolls was the brisket, it was decent. Everything else in soup/broth mediocre. Pre-plastic-bottled hoi sin. The pre-mixed and plastic peel-top sealed???!!! thai iced tea was horrible tasting and it was hard to open the pre-glued top that had no tab of any kind, spilled some on me just fighting with it as it spurted out once I broke into it just a bit; ridiculous! Spring rolls were old and stale, the romaine already losing it's color. The "service"/attitude was a joke by the short guy in glasses and Las Vegas hat who took my order, and the guy who rang me up in the white and blue plaid shirt was not much better. Almost like they wished I wasn't there or like they were doing me some big favor by taking my money for all the mediocre food they were charging me for. I sat there for awhile digesting and using my cell after the meal and they picked up tables next to me, joked in Vietnamese, but left me sitting there in all my dirty dishes and paper trash, never removing it nor asking if I needed anything, during or after the meal. Priced average, and I even left a $3 tip on my $27 meal, but I will never go back, even though I am new to the area, they apparently have many people fooled, and their sign says "Best Beef Noodle Soup." I have had too much, much better pho, like Pho 54 in Westminster, Pho 2000 in K-town (closed now I guess), and Pho Hoa...

I went with my family during a busy time, but that’s no excuse for the terrible service we received. We were seated without menus and waited 15 minutes before we could flag our waiter down. We asked for water and menus, but another 10 minutes passed with nothing. We had to ask another waiter, who finally brought menus—but still no water.

Meanwhile, we watched other tables (who arrived after us) get seated, receive menus, and have their drinks almost immediately. After asking four times, we finally got water—but only three cups for a party of five.

We placed our order and asked for the missing waters, along with two forks and a bowl for my elderly mother and young niece. The waiter eventually brought the water but ignored the rest. When our food arrived—still no forks or bowl. I had to stop the waiter again, and instead of a simple apology, he tossed them at us with a sarcastic “Here’s your bowl and forks.”

Not once did we get a water refill. But when it was time to pay, the waiter suddenly became nice—probably because he saw me writing the tip.

The food was decent, but not good enough to justify such rude, dismissive service. We were polite the entire time, yet we were treated poorly while other tables got much better service. It was honestly upsetting to see my family being treated this...

Cheap, nice, and good food. My favorite Vietnamese joint. To be adventurous, try a durian shake, not just their cafe sua da. Phos are nice, but I now prefer Bun for noodles. Pork chops are my kids' favorite. Egg rolls are different because you wrap them into a burrito with a lettice leaf and fill it with other condiments. All servers are cute guys, they could be cuter only if they smiled a bit more. Perhaps I'm asking too much for what I pay, sorry. An update: it's getting better and better. I just had rare beef and tendon pho, which was just delicious! Another update: my favorite now is Pho Ap Chao, which is a stir fried rice noodle cubes with veggies and beef, chicken, and shrimp with light sauce over it. Yummy stuff! I forgot to mention that I've been coming here since 2005, so 13 years! The TV's just got bigger. The wait seems to get a little longer, too. It's popular for a good reason, even though those cute guys working here still haven't smiled yet. But again, regarding smile, I'm sorry because I'm definitely expecting way too much for what I pay... Well, who cares about anyone's dorky smiles when I'm too busy sluppn' away the awesome pho that hits the right spot on any day, especially when it's...