Phở Best III — Restaurant in New York

We were so excited to see that this restaurant was finally going to open and made sure to plan a visit on their opening day. Luckily, we came early and were seated quickly. I thought the overall décor was cute and kitschy with all the bamboo and wood accents.

We ordered the Vietnamese Crispy Spring Roll appetizer, Filet Mignon Cubes over Rice, Pho with Ribeye and Beef Stew and a side order of bone marrow.

And as part of their grand opening, they were offering the patrons a free order of the Crispy Shrimp Spring Roll with any single order of $8 or more. The Crispy Shrimp Rolls were very good. Not too oily and had a nice curry flavor.

The Filet Mignon cubes over rice was wonderful. The meat was tender, juicy and tasty. I would say the portion wasn’t as large as the other two locations, but I didn’t mind too much. The spring rolls were okay. They had a nice crunchy texture and stood up well when wrapped and dipped in the sauce. My main gripe with this dish was that the rolls were extremely small. I have never had Vietnamese Spring Rolls this small. Luckily, the bowl of Pho was huge! I like the way they present it on a wooden tray. I thought the broth was great and quite flavorful. I also liked the noodles in this dish and wished they put more.

Unfortunately, they served me the wrong Pho dish and I did not realize this until after I was already eating. I suspect they gave me the Pho with brisket and tendon instead of what I ordered. And as for the bone marrow, we had to ask three times for it. By the time they delivered it to our table we were done eating.

There were quite a few opening day mishaps that I’m hoping they fix.

As I was eating my big hearty bowl of soup, I could really feel the lack of air conditioning inside the restaurant. And by the time I was done eating, I was really sweating. And it feels spacious inside the restaurant except that the tables were butted right next to each other. I had to stand up a couple of times from my seat to let others around me pass through.

It’s quite evident that they were unprepared for the large amount of people on their opening day. They probably could have used two or three or five more wait staff to help with orders. I know some reviewers complained of food getting to their table slow, but I don’t think this was due to the kitchen. I think it was most likely due to the front of house staff getting overwhelmed by the number of patrons that day.

Their food is good enough that it does warrant a return visit. Hopefully, after the crowds have died down and they have fixed the air conditioning,...

I spotted this restaurant during its grand opening. I had a sneak peak at its impressive interior decors and made a mental note (as it was too new to be bookmarked) to try it out some day. Well I finally got my chance 2 months later.

It was 1 pm on a Saturday. The restaurant was at "equilibrium" -- all but one table was open and we were immediately seated. The waitress was eager to take our orders but I was too busy taking pictures. I mean, I've been to dozens of Vietnamese restaurants but this is one of the few that really got my attention with its decors.

The menu items were competitively priced. I haven't seen $8.25 pho noodle soup in a long while. And the size of the bowl and the amount of protein served were eye popping. We ordered B1 No 1 Pho Noodle Soup. D1 Filet Mignon & Shrimp Rice Vermicelli. D3 Spring Rolls & Grilled Beef Rice Vermicelli. The taste was all on par and the serving size was generous. The only negative was the broth wasn't hot enough temperature-wise.

Noodles and soups were served on wooden trays and trivets. They are going extra mile to elevate the presentation and experiences. Everyone also received a complimentary pudding dessert at the end of the meal. I certainly appreciate that.

Service was great. We didn't need any help for the dishes we wanted, but we saw the wait staff patiently explaining to the tables next to us. Now it's a bit of a suspect that most staff could converse in Chinese, or perhaps it's good customer service based on demographic?

Regardless, it was a solid 4.5 experience for me. I'm rounding it down just in case we were just lucky that we were spared of the...

I will the say the food is 5/5. Onto the main issue: I’m always a person that tips. One day I tipped a dollar because that’s all I could offer and one of the serving ladies had the audacity to ask for more tip whilst trying to guilt trip me into doing so. Mad weird.

At that point I don’t tip that specific lady because I’ve worked in the servicing industry and I’ve never stooped as low as that lady did.

Fast forward to more interactions of her asking for more tip - it’s uncomfortable. I’m a student who works for free, I don’t have a job that pays. My money is my parents money - it’s not reasonable for me to tip using my parents money. Nonetheless I gave what I could, but even than that’s too nice for these people.

Today I did not tip because I can tell the ladies are giving me dirty looks, rolling their eyes and talking crap in chinese while looking at me from a distance. I don’t tip the ladies because they’re too greedy.

First off - tip is optional. Second - even when I did tip what I could, they wanna guilt me into giving more? Please…

The sheer audacity for the lady to chase me down outside to get me to tip them is insane. Brought her manager out like he was able to force me to GIVE YOU MONEY. Get out of here.

I’ve worked in the service industry and never in my life have I ever asked for tip. Tipping is optional - otherwise it would have been automatically charged mind you, I’m in and out with my food - I don’t make anyone jump hoops for me

The bowls in Vietnam are 5$ - just let that sink in when these hoes know they’re ripping people off and then wanna demand for...