Love Peace & Pho — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

TLDR version; Overpriced and under-delivered, terrible host, where’s the server?, cold soup, whatever you want to drink isn’t available but the egg rolls were good. Almost good enough to cover up the bitter taste the terrible service put in my mouth.

The long version: —————————————————————- I was going to give this place a single star, but the egg rolls were really tasty, so I’m giving them an extra one.

First things first, the host at the door was a total... well, let’s just say I don’t know how he’s still employed. Looked at us, went back to playing on his phone. Ignored us for a while. Finally he looks up and says “ugh, just seat yourself.” I don’t expect much, but come on dude. Literally your only job is to smile, greet people, and sit them down. But apparently he can’t be bothered. 🤷🏻‍♂️

The two of us tried to order Chai boba tea (on the menu) but they didn’t have it. Asked for red bean instead (on the menu) but they didn’t have it. I forget what the third flavor they didn’t have was... Settled on Thai tea, which was good, but it comes in a packet so idk how you could mess that up. The boba was undercooked though and... idk how to describe it; powdery in the middle?

We each ordered a beef pho, pretty basic stuff. They gave us one small plate of toppings to share, which is fine I guess. Normally you each get your own though. The broth was lukewarm - like not warm enough to cook the noodles. They remained a stiff mess in the middle of the bowl. The bean sprouts weren’t softened by the heat either... no worries, we’ll just ask them to heat it up a bit. Easier said than done! The host continued to stand up front ignoring people, the waitress walked by our table five times or so and I wasn’t able to flag her down, then when I tried to wave at her she coughed all over the table, lol.

Went up to the bar to ask her to heat it up, told her she could microwave it or whatever, no problems - just wanted the noodles and sprouts to soften up so we could eat them. She seemed a little put upon and I hate sending stuff back anyway so I already felt bad... it came back hot. Prob microwaved. Whatevs, at least we could eat the noodles now. Mediocre broth. Barely any beef. Three bite size pieces by my count. The basil was.... off. Not sure how else to put it. The broth was bland and had been waayyyyy over seasoned with that star anise stuff. Tasted more like black licorice broth than beef broth.

Took ~15 minutes for them to bring us the check to leave, and that’s after we finally flagged her down again. Even if it wasn’t already annoying that the food was cold and she never checked on us or even refilled our water glasses, at least let us pay! 😂

A Vietnamese guy came out from the kitchen to ask us if everything was ok (chef or owner maybe idk) - we told him the egg rolls were great. They were. Buts that’s literally all that was great. That’s all that was even decent, really.

Pho was ehhhhh, service left a LOT to be desired. Like, a lot. Unless you’re into terrible service and getting coughed on... in that case you’ll...

A hidden gem in Nashville! Vietnamese to rival any I had in the US (and I've had a lot)! Meet up with some buddies looking for some other than the normal Nashvegas scene. Incredibly surprised with Love, Peace & Pho.

The upscale yet still personal feeling of the space is very welcoming. Greeted and sat by a lovely hostess we picked a spot near the bar. OMG the apps kicked it off and LOVE came to mind right away. We tried STEAMED SHRIMP AND PORK DUMPLINGS (BÁNH BT LC) - little bites of chewy, sweet, and a hint of spice that created an amazing texture/flavor combination. Highly recommend this app.

Wife rolled the dice going away from her normal choice of Pho, and rewarded herself with LEMONGRASS CHILI CHICKEN (CM GÀ XÀO S T) - her statement was "this is better than what I had at Prima".

After loving every app we tried, I asked the chef to order for me. Full of nervous excitement, my risk paid off with THE BEST ASIAN DISH IVE EVER TASTED. I won the lottery with SPICY SEAFOOD HOT POT (LU CHUA CAY) - when reading it on the menu, the write up just doesn't do it justice. Starting with an incredible broth that brings together the whole dish, sweet, spicy, and something from another world. Oh man, I could have just drank the broth all night.

Word of caution, don't overlook your seafood if you are unfamiliar with Hot Pots. The fish, shrimp, and mussels cook very fast. Rookies can easily turn the best meal into a chewy meal with overlooking the seafood.

In conclusion, my NOW favorite restaurant in Nashville! Everything we had was a reason to drive...

I'm only rating this by my exp this particular night. Was still hungry and was in mood for some Pho. Read reviews on this place and was pretty good reviews. I happen to be out on a Friday night so this might have an effect on why things happened they way they did on my visit. Im not from Nashville so I took Uber to this location and met a friend there. My Uber driver was raving about this place too, so I was real stoked about my choice. If an Uber driver says it's their go to place for Pho I take that as a good recommendation. Anyways it's March Madness, so we wanted to watch the games on TV. We get there, the TV's aren't on at the bar area. Took a bit for someone to seat us, it was Friday so it was busy, no big deal. We asked if they could turn TV on, they said no, no one watches the TV so they just turned off. Guessing by that statement that it meant maybe no cable? So we get seated looking outside at the street. Not my choice of a view, but was willing to give it a chance. Im a patient person, but took too long to get waited on, we were trying to be respectful and order something. I lost my patience and looked for other places to go. By time we got waited on I had already made the choice to leave. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stay and try out their Pho. I'm not sure if I'll return to try it to give better review. Tonight was based on service and what I thought would be offered but wasn't. A working TV I know might sound pitty. Maybe take the TV's...