Pho 400 — Restaurant in New Brighton

My husband have been seeing videos on Facebook and wanted to try out this spot. We got there on a Sunday. There were already several cars in the parking lot as we were all early. At 11 am, people started going in the restaurant. It shares the same entrance as Mirage but it's a quick left turn into the restaurant. I made the mistake of driving around the building since I only saw one entrance 😅

As people start to enter the building, my family got out of our car to enter the building. As we approach the door, 2 ladies were also approaching the door from the opposite side of the sidewalk. A staff with glasses walked out the door. Greeted the girls and moved aside to let the girls in. Because the outside door was propped open, he removed the Stopper to close th3 door while my family stood there 😂. We thought he was going to remove the Stopper but hold the door open for us but nope, he remove the Stopper and then proceed to wall back into the restaurant.

After entering the restaurant, he told us to sit anywhere. Once we had placed our order, he came to give us our plates and food. We had ordered the appetizer sample earlier... as he was giving us our plates and drinks, he set an order of spring rolls on the table. So naturally, my kids and husband would push food towards the other side of the table to make room for more food. And this same staff, the one with glasses, he said "not your food".

Ok then, why you set it on my table? 🤦🏻‍♀️

I knew I ordered a sampler but putting food on my table indicates that it's mine so naturally we would move things away from the edge where the staff leaves the food so there would be more space.

I felt the pho wasn't salty enough to my liking. The Bahn mi sandwiches are great! Fresh bread. Nice and crunchy. The app sampler tastes great! The vietnamese coffee is good.

Overall, food is 5/5.

Service could be better 4/5.

Environment is 4/5. Normal noise level. It was very smoky in there. Like other reviews I saw, the place needs better ventilation. Lots of parking spaces. The lot just has a lot...

We were driving back from the Eagle's Nest Kid's playground when we ran into this place off Old Hwy 8. What a little gem! We're from Nordeast, and I can confidently say we have found our new favorite Pho joint close to home!

When we walked into the non-descript strip mall, I started to feel real pumped as those are usually the best mom/pop joints. Well it totally felt like Pho Tau Bay lol minus the goofy mirrored booths and bamboo plants. It felt very familiar though and I could almost taste the Pho! Lol.

I ordered Bun Bo Hue and my wife got the Bun salad with Pork Chop and grilled shrimp.

Bun Bo Hue: first of all, we're sitting in New Brighton people. For the un-initiated Bun Bo Hue is a specialty noodle soup that features a strict broth and different cuts of pork along with a standard green plate with cabbage/lettuce, basil, sprouts and lime. Even the fact that I can order Bun Bo Hue, and on top of that it came with pork hock that was super meaty was crazy to me. It also came with slicked beef and sliced meat pie. Yum! So I would have to say I have had better Bun Bo Hue, as the broth was standard Pho broth with added spices, instead of a totally different broth with stewed meats ala Quang (Eat Street) or iPho (Frogtown). BUT, like I said, NEW BRIGHTON people. It was tasty nonetheless, and hit the spot with the right amount of heat floating on top of that broth too.

Bun salad with pork and shrimp: my wife was grinning ear to ear, as she was in disbelief that we found this joint, and didn't have to drive to Frogtown to get her favorite dish. The meats were perfected grilled, and tasted every bit as good as the standbys in the city.

This place is hands down going to be our go-to for Vietnamese near home. There's really nothing like this place in NE, Columbia Heights, St. Anthony, New Brighton, Shoreview, or Roseville. You would need to get to Eat Street, Maplewood, or Frogtown to get this quality. If you're further up north the equivalent would be Pho Tan Phat in Spring Lake Park. Skip Viet Noodles. Go...

I was really excited about it when I drove past. We decided to come back the next day. It's in an unassuming building, that looks updated from the outside. The moment you walk in, the damp musty/moldy smell hits you. At this point I'm already contemplating turning around leaving. But I figure it has 5 stars.... we wait a few moments before the waitress comes out and seats us. There were only 7 tables with people. She's the only waitress. Running food, taking orders, answering the phone.... she's over worked is for sure. She finally comes out and tells to sit at a table. We sit down and wait.... and wait. I'm still thinking about leaving. I can't get over the musty smell of the place. She finally throws a couple of menus our way, while she's on the phone taking an order. I think again to myself, how the hell does this place have 5 stars?! We finally decide what we want and wait again. Finally she takes our order. The cream cheese wontons were pretty good. The egg rolls are different but good. They were coated in penko for extra texture, I guess? I ordered pho #20 and my husband pho #18. He enjoyed his. The meatballs were formed and had the texture of hotdogs. My flank steak was super fatty, to the point I ended up pulling it out and discarding it. What little bit, of meat I tasted, wasn't very good. Very bland and questionable. The broth and veggies were ok, but I just couldn't get over the musty smell of the place. We finished and I couldn't wait to get out of there. I told my husband I needed fresh air and got up and left. As I was leaving, there was a customer unhappy with what she ordered as well. It seemed they don't take substitutions to dishes. I felt nauseous all the way home. So far, neither of us got sick. Most definitely will NOT...