DD Mau Vietnamese Eatery — Restaurant in Maryland Heights

Today, I visited DD Mau Vietnamese Eatery, located in St. Louis, Missouri, and what should have been a pleasant experience turned bad rather quickly. This was my first time eating at this establishment. My niece was excited for me to try it as she is vegan, and they have a decent amount of vegan options.

I placed my order for a spicy chicken Pho bowl, and my niece decided to try a vegetable pho bowl. When the food came out, we were given two vegetable pho bowls. I took my bowl up to the counter, and when I explained the mistake (to a different person then the one who took my order) the young girl responded with a slight attitude as if she was annoyed. She ensured to look back over the ticket and impressed upon the point that the order was put in for two vegetable pho bowls.

Without an attitude, I again explained that one was supposed to be a chicken pho bowl, but that maybe I confused the girl that took my order when I asked her if tofu came in the bowl.

At this time, the girl rudely snatched the bowl from my hand and then rudely let me know that a chicken bowl would be brought to my table. I decided to wait a few seconds as I was having a hard time processing why she was so annoyed and rude towards me.

I decided to go back to my seat and waited for the new bowl. When the new bowl came out (by the girl who originally took my order), I had to ask for a new set of condiments for the soup.

I prayed over my food, and we all know why I might have done that, but nonetheless, I ate it anyway, and I must say it tasted great! I myself will probably never eat there again because of this negative experience, but outside of the bad customer service, the pho was...

This is one of my favorite places to eat. I normally don't write reviews for places, but this place is wonderful and I feel like more people should know about it. They are really friendly, the food is delicious, and they have menu items at different sizes, so I can select things that are smaller when I am less hungry and don't have to worry about wasting food, or taking home leftovers. My favorite menu item is the Spicy Lemongrass soup, but I get the Noodle Bowl with tofu and Spicy Peanut dressing on occasion. And the Sesame Balls are a nice mildly sweet dessert. I have dietary restrictions that result in me eating like a vegan, and I have family that are most definitely not vegan. This place delivers on fast, healthy food that has options for carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores alike. And for the vegans out there, they also have vegan desserts which is uncommon in restaurants that aren't vegan by nature. This is one of the only Vietnamese restaurants that I have seen in St Louis, yet alone eaten in. So, I won't comment regarding how traditional or modern the taste is. I will say, however, that the food always tastes fresh and they have a variety of flavors on their menu. They do serve alcohol in cans and bottles, but they also have a selection of local and imported soft drinks and teas. I would like to close this review with a quick reminder. I am writing this review at the end of 2021, so the items this restaurant serves may change by time you visit. Additionally, this review is specifically for the Maryland Heights location, so I have no idea how the other locations...

We have had these exact items before and loved them. There must be a new chef or some other problem, because this time, the order was incorrect AND they changed the ingredients.

1. The fried rice was ordered and paid for as a "combo," but the only proteins were the fried egg bits (very few) and shrimp. Very disappointing. Also the rice was different: more like bulghur, it was very short-grained and heavy. It was also skimpy in its portions. We usually get 6-7 servings, but this time only 4-5. I should have called and asked for a refund!

2. We also got the brisket and meatball beef pho, expecting both. Instead, we got no brisket, but eye of round, and hardly any of that. Also, only one tiny piece of lime, no jalapenos, and hardly any basil in the garnish were provided. Terrible. Again, wish I had called to complain.

3. The banh mi steak sandwich was great, as usual, luckily. So was the pho broth. So, 2 stars instead of one.

4. We picked up our food as we were on our way back from the airport. I had been traveling for 12 hours. I called to confirm our order and to say we'd be late, could they please keep it warm? It wasn't even ready! After a long wait, they said they "found" my order (under my first name!?!), and managed to get it together for the new pick up time.

Had no energy to do more than get it home, eat, and go to bed. 5 days later, got an email begging for a review.

Done.

*If you put the refunds or credits for this fiasco of an order on my account, and confirm by email, we might be back. Otherwise, never...