Chef Papa Vietnamese Kitchen — Restaurant in New York

[FOLLOW-UP REPLY IN RESPONSE TO RESTAURANT'S REPLY BELOW]:

I appreciate your detailed response to my review. I want to clarify that my intention was not to insinuate any form of discrimination but rather to share my observations upon entering the establishment as the front-of-house staff I usually encounter in Vietnamese restaurants in NYC tend to be Vietnamese. It was not a statement about discriminatory hiring practices.

On top of that, thank you for informing me about what the typical Bún Bò Huế dish entails. I am also aware of this and the reason why I mentioned it was to set expectations for those who may not be familiar with its strong mắm (fish sauce) flavor and that it might differ from other "Americanized" versions as a result. It wasn't a critique rather an effort to provide helpful information. Of course, everyone has different preferences and is free to express their opinions accordingly hence why I provided a personal anecdote.

I also want to specify that my comment about the taste was not referring to the BBH but to the summer rolls which I had previously emphasized in my review in parentheses, since it carried unique ingredients like mangos that as I've stated, aren't usually found in traditional summer rolls. Hopefully, this clarifies any confusion and provides a clearer understanding of the review I left.

Thanks for the recommendation. If I find myself in the area again, I may consider trying phở on my next visit.

Visited this restaurant a few months back as we were recommended Viet food here. I initially spoke in Viet to gauge if the workers were Vietnamese, but unfortunately they were not. The owners are Vietnamese I believe.

For lunch for my entire party, I ordered some sandwiches (the House Special Sandwiches, Chicken Sandwiches, etc. were $10-$11 each), the Summer Rolls ($11), the bowls of Bún Bò Huế ($15 each) and Vietnamese coffees ($4 each). Unfortunately, the sandwiches were not much of a standout and the summer rolls contained certain crunchy vegetables that aren't typically found in traditional summer rolls. As for the BBH, it had an overwhelming amount of mắm in the broth, making it incredibly strong. As I am Viet myself, I am familiar with the taste and was able to eat it though I prefer the mắm at a minimal amount or just not at all. However, those unfamiliar with the taste might find it a bit challenging. In my opinion, this restaurant seemingly caters to the Korean tastes of the Korean community. It didn't provide the authentic Vietnamese taste I was hoping for (especially with regards to the summer rolls). Overall, the experience fell short of my expectations and it's highly unlikely that I'll be returning.

As a side note, there is a surcharge for those using a credit...

We came here as a group of 9 adults 2 small kids and a baby (for lunch due to the great google reviews totaling almost 700 reviews with a 4.7/5.0 rating. It's questionable how they got 700 reviews in the first place. We sat down and noticed it is clearly written on their menu that group of 6 or more that an automatic gratuity of 20% is applied to the bill which was no problem. We ordered 2 spring rolls, Vietnamese pancake, salt & pepper squid, grilled pork chops, grilled lemon grass chickens, signature phos, beef stew soup and Vietnamese coffees. We asked the waitress to simply cut the spring rolls in half for us so it's easy to share as a group and they indirectly said no and gave us 2 knives for us to cut it ourselves. I mean I specifically asked them to do it and not me. I didn't ask for a knife to cut it myself they could have easily used kitchen scissors and quickly did it but they couldn't and no explanation and handed me back the spring rolls with knife on the side. I mean 20% gratuity was already there. That made a sour taste for the remainder for our lunch there which started with the spring roll appetizer. Super small restaurant can't handle more than 1 large group at a time. When it comes to the Vietnamese Pho it is not up to standard. Go to Namson or Thái Sơn in Chinatown Manhattan and you'll see the Pho flavor difference. Chef Papa's Pho soup base was super light and not rich in flavor of the broth that we were looking for it lacked that. Their grilled chicken and grilled pork was ok. The grilled pancakes was interesting. But overall this place is over priced for what they are serving. The Pho side garnishes like the Lemon or lime, bean sprouts, basil was next to nothing. Served on a small plate. The other 2 placed mentioned they give you a lot probably 4x the amount of bean sprouts this place gives. The restaurant is too small they had to turn away some patrons and told them to come back later. Overall, definitely won't recommend and will not be...

4 for the food, 0 stars for the service. There was a misunderstanding with the pho order. The waiter didn't understand the corrected order. We ended up with 1/3 the meat on two of their large pho bowls. We pointed that out twice to two waiters when they came to check on us. The waiter acknowledged the misunderstanding. Instead of either waiter proposing to bring the extra meat that was part of the dish, the waiter simply asked if we were alright. I made the mistake of saying something to the effect "oh well, that's alright". Comes the bill, we were charged the full price. The waiter didn't want to discount the phos by a few dollars, suggesting I should have spoken earlier. The waiter was a young man who didn't read the situation well and ended up being confrontational. I mentioned we wouldn't come back, to which he replied he didn't want us to come back. I escalated saying not only I wouldn't come back but that I'd write a review of my experience. They should have handled the mistake differently (remember we paid full price). The fried calamari was exceptional. The broth was flavorful. The noodles were al dente but we missed most the meat (tendons, tripes, meatballs). We were seated in an outside/heated booth which was very adequate. I cannot recommend the place for the very poor handling of the situation. I wasn't asking for the dishes to be comped but instead for the price to be reduced based on what was actually served, based on their mistake. My only mistake is that I didn't speak up soon enough or suggested to them that they should serve us the missing meat...