Pho Em — Restaurant in Mansfield

Given how insanely expensive this place is, for WHAT they are serving, this place is probably not worth your time or money, unless you just LOVE flavorless, and seasoning lacking food.

The establishment gets TWO STARS from me: One star as required, and an additional star for excellent service. To be clear, the review ONLY loses three stars from the overall food quality, in my opinion, and nothing else. They were very nice, super professional, super fast (obviously bc everything seems bought in and reheated), very respectfully explained why they had such high prices (in comparison to what the menu shows) and thanked us for our order and invited us back.

Our order consisted of shrimp pho ($21) tofu noodle plate ($16) and one order, each, of the tofu and the shrimp spring rolls ($12 for both). That’s ALL, no drinks, just two mains and two small sides. The total cost, after taxes and a 10% tip (and I usually don’t tip on togo orders but the guy was very nice and respectful) was $58.35.

That comes to almost $30 per person, which seemed EXTREMELY high, but he explained to me that they had to raise their prices recently, because their supplier raised the prices on all of their fresh ingredients, and hadn’t been able to update their menus with the updated pricing, so I paid anyways, expecting amazing tasting fresh food. What we actually got was quite the opposite, unfortunately…

The pho that my daughter ordered tasted of simply canned broth, how do we know this? Because after we tasted it, upon getting home, and noticing it was VERY bland, we opened a can of broth, warmed it up and tasted them side by side. Identical. My daughter agreed. The tofu we got looked, smelled and tasted of the same stuff that Ton’s Mongolian Grill, just one block up Debbie, used to offer for their buffet, before they shut down, which was bought in by an Asian food supplier. The shrimp was frozen, seemed bought in also, as it was rubber and with NO flavor, at all. This only occurs after steaming the shrimp, freezing it after it’s been cooked and then reheating it, you can ask any professional seafood chef. There was NO sauce of any kind on the tofu noodle dish that I ordered. Just dry vermicelli noodles, dry tofu and some lettuce, and a few bean sprouts and sliced cucumber.

The ONLY difference between my dish and my daughter’s, who ordered pho, was she got the flavorless rubber shrimp. Aside from that, there was a bowl of broth, a little bitty cup of hoisin sauce, two small sprigs of basil (instead of the lettuce) and two slices of raw jalapeño… for almost $7 more!

The spring rolls that we ordered came out as an -identical rehash- of the dishes we ordered, but wrapped in moist rice paper, that’s all. Now forgive me for being naive, but I have always known spring rolls to be fried and SUMMER rolls to be raw, but apparently not in Vietnamese dishes, so that’s my fault, but if I had known it to be that way, we would have opted for the egg rolls instead, but I like the delicate fried rice paper in everyone else’s spring rolls, so we went for those. They were just lettuce, a few bean sprouts and either the bland rubber shrimp or dry flavorless tofu. No spices at all, no flavor, just a small cup of peanut sauce with it. A simple picture or description of “fresh”, in front of spring, would have tipped me off to the difference.

So, needless to say… We are NOT fans of Pho ‘Em, but maybe you will be. We prefer Eastern Cuisine that has seasoning and flavor, versus just dry and plain ingredients. And MAYBE the in restaurant dining experience makes the world of difference, but I have tried pho from a place just up north on 157/Cooper St. and it was AMAZING, which is WHY we chose to stop in here on our way to the house, just two short minutes away… but this was NOTHING like what we had from their competitor up the way. I wish it was, as I REALLY wanted it to be, but sadly, for me, they fell WAY TOO SHORT to get me back in the doors, ESPECIALLY with the prices being as high...

recently had the misfortune of visiting Pho Em, and I must say it was an absolute disaster from start to finish. I had heard mixed reviews about this restaurant, but I wanted to give it a fair chance. Unfortunately, it failed to meet even the lowest of expectations.

To begin with, the ambiance was incredibly lackluster. The interior decor was outdated and shabby, giving off a rather unappetizing vibe. The tables were sticky and the chairs seemed like they hadn't been cleaned in ages. It was not the kind of environment that makes you want to stay and enjoy a meal.

Moving on to the service, it was nothing short of abysmal. The staff seemed completely disinterested in their customers. They were slow, inattentive, and downright rude. It took forever for someone to take our order, and when they finally did, they got it wrong. The wait time for our food was ridiculously long, and when it arrived, it was cold and unappetizing.

Now, let's talk about the food itself. Pho Em claims to specialize in Vietnamese cuisine, but the dishes we ordered were far from authentic. The pho broth lacked flavor and depth, tasting like a cheap instant soup mix rather than a well-crafted broth. The noodles were overcooked and mushy, and the meat was tough and chewy. It was a far cry from the flavorful, aromatic pho I have had elsewhere.

To add insult to injury, the portion sizes were incredibly small for the prices they charged. It felt like they were trying to cut corners by skimping on ingredients. The lack of value for money was apparent, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Overall, my experience at Pho Em was a complete disaster. The lackluster ambiance, terrible service, and subpar food all combined to create an unpleasant dining experience. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this restaurant to anyone. There are far better Vietnamese restaurants in town that offer authentic flavors and attentive service. Save your time and money, and steer clear of Pho Em. I honestly felt so bad after that I should have called...

This is my 4th time here and second time I tried something other than pho. I got the catfish plate with added shrimp and calamari, but I didn’t really like it all that much. I specifically didn’t like the catfish since I didn’t finish it and didn’t plan on taking it with me either. My wife’s steak and meatball pho were amazing though and regret not getting something like it. Honestly, I would recommend getting what they’re known for and that pho because it never disappoints.

This is the third time trying pho and it's the first time I actually loved it. I got the beef and meatball pho with some egg rolls for appetizer. The egg rolls were good and freshly made hot. The pho was honestly super good and healthy with its bean sprouts. I did add some sriracha to the soup to spice it up but it's good without it too. The bowl alone fills you up, so much that my wife had to take it to go. The place was super clean and the food was out fast. This probably didn't look right but I honestly was slurping this big bowl just because it was so delicious. I'll come back after it's nice and...