Winglee Exotic Fruits market — Restaurant in Mesa

When a previous favorite turns into an infuriating dining experience...

Pho Winglee, I was there before your renovation. I came to eat when your tables screamed dirt, grime and age. When my group was the only one in an empty restaurant during a weeknight dinner rush. I was an avid supporter, even going so far as to argue with other customers who were rude to you and made unjust claims on Yelp (I emailed Yelp on your behalf to clarify the situation). I heard the owner's story about how his family moved here from CA and gave up a normal job to open up a chicken shop and restaurant, something he had no experience in. I was there to support your business before it was successful. But not anymore...

Yes, you've upgraded your look, and with that so were your prices. Sure, you've charged me extra for asking for your chicken pho with thigh meat on the side (without first disclosing the extra cost) and sure you've given less and less meat with each pho bowl... but I still came back. I came back time and time again, each time bringing a new friend so that they could try what I thought, was the best chicken pho in town(Even though your broth can be bland and watered down). I did that because I believed you sold a good product and I was willing to pay a reasonable price for it. And as your restaurant got more popular, the actual product suffered, but the price continued to increase.

Today, I entered your establishment with 3 friends to socialize and talk over dinner. We chose your restaurant because they all enjoyed your food after my introduction of it to them, one of whom came to eat on her own the wk before. They all got the chicken pho with chicken on the side with cooked bean sprouts. An order I pushed upon them and that I personally loved but I was not able to do the same.

Since being on a strict no carb and zero sugar diet, I wanted to support your business but could not eat most of the things on your menu. I resolved that rather than just sitting there, taking up room at your restaurant, I would order two small sides of meat so that your business still benefited from my presence. One order was a side of 5 meatballs and the other a side of 3 slices of flank. When I ordered, the owner scoffed and insisted that I should just order a bowl of pho, even if I didn't want the noodles. I told him that I just wanted a very small bowl of meatballs and a few slices of beef, since I couldn't eat anything else. Even the little bit of soup I anticipated was more than I should be consuming in added sugar. When my order was brought to me, I received a bowl of side soup that I did not order. When I told the owner who brought it, he acted surprised that I didn't order it but left it on the table anyway. Lo and behold, I was charged for a bowl of soup that I did not order, did not want and did not consume. My 2 small meat sides ended up costing almost the same as my friends' bowls of noodles. I am not cheap by any means, it was not a hack that I was trying out to take advantage of the restaurant. No. I genuinely could not eat anything else on the menu. So, having my order scoffed at, and altered without my consent was NOT APPRECIATED!

I left not only feeling taken advantage of, but also disgusted in the downward turn of service from a restaurant that Ive introduced countless people to.

My business is no longer important in their estimation and it shows. I will...

DISCLAIMER: I am not the type of person to be rude to employees. I respect their hard work even when the food is not as good as I was expecting and it takes a lot for me to give a one star review.

My mom went there for lunch and the place and our experience was horrible to say the least. Everything was bad except for our waiter who was very nice and pleasant. I didn't get his name. I'll try to keep this brief.

I ordered the chicken pho and my mom ordered the flat rice noodle dish. My mom's dish looked good but the fish smell from the seafood was unbearable. Keep in mind that she has eaten here many times and enjoyed the food and we have had this dish at many other places and it never smelled this bad. My mom very kindly asked the server to take it back and send her the spicy beef noodle soup instead. He comes back and says the cook says that they're out. It's barely 3:30 on a Monday, they close at 9:00 PM and they're out? I don't think so. My mom then proceeded to request another dish and then this time the server comes back and tells my mom that the cook said if she doesn't like how they cook here then don't eat here. Wow. Talk about a arrogant sense of self-entitlement. Try working at an American ran restaurant and see if that flies with management. The chicken pho was also sub-par, bland and not very flavorful.

As if that wasn't enough, my mom returned a few minutes later because she forgot something and then one of the owners proceed to ask her outside to harass her for about 15 min. about the last time she was here and how she kindly requested to return a chicken she bought that was bad. She bought a chicken along w/ a bunch of other groceries and put it in the fridge, when she got it out to cook, it was damaged, she brought it back to exchange and was rudely yelled at about how he wasn't gonna exchange it and how she should have called the day she bought it. Disgusting. This guy and the cook need to grow up and learn some manners, this isn't Vietnam where you can treat your customers however you want.

On top of that, the place did not look very clean, the dining area looked like it was under renovations and the little store connected to it looked the same and rather dirty. The dining area had poor lighting.

Obviously, I will never be going here again and highly advise everyone else to...

Good reviews of this place got us interested in this place.

The common entrance with the grocery section of the store is not a good idea, in my opinion. Somehow the view of produce and other items decreases my appetite. The restaurant side is bright & clean though, with its minimalist decoration.

The waitress was polite. She gave us the menu promptly, and brought water to us quickly.

The spring rolls (goi cuon) were made with very fresh ingredients. They were shorter than those of other restaurants, but they were "fatter", full of tasty herbs. The dipping sauce was very thick and concentrated. We had to dilute it with water.

The Pho Dac Biet (house special beef noodle soup) was typical. Nothing outstanding.

The Bun Mang Vit (duck & bamboo shoot noodle soup) was fair. Its broth could be more savory. The rice noodle was overcooked and too soft. The duck meat was fresh and tasty though, as well as the side dipping sauce.

Obviously, the chef or chefs of this restaurant has / have access to the fresh poultry & other produce from the grocery side of this business. But I am unsure the chef / chefs know(s) how to take advantage of this freshness.

The main appeal of the grocery side of the business is the fresh poultry. They only slaughter so many chicken, duck, etc. for the day. So it is possible they may run out of certain type of meat at the end of the day.

The items on sale could be better organized and displayed for better appeal. The items on sale have the feel of just being "dumped" there. I understand this business is small and probably has very limited resources; but the owner(s) could pose quite a challenge to the bigger stores (Mekong Market, etc.) if he / they would try to...