Pho Son — Restaurant in Oswego Township

I’ve frequented Pho Son around 10 times, spending between $25–$40 per visit, and generally enjoyed the food. However, my last experience left me feeling unwelcomed and less valued than other customers. As an African American customer, my family and I were asked to sit right at the door. I politely declined, only to be asked to sit one table behind the one right at the door. I declined again, as I’ve noticed this establishment doesn’t assign or reserve tables, and it was clear that the seating arrangements didn’t prioritize customer comfort.

To make matters worse, I spent $36 on my meal but was charged an extra $1.00 , $0.50 each for small portions of hoisin sauce and Sriracha garlic sauce. This felt unreasonable, especially since dining in would have allowed me to use as much sauce as I wanted without additional charges.

Additionally, the meat portions in the dishes were smaller than expected, especially considering the price. The restaurant also no longer honors their lunch prices, and instead, they’ve taped up new prices to the menu, which feels unprofessional and suggests sudden, unchecked price increases. Despite all of this, I still tipped generously for my dine in and pickup order, out of respect for the staff.

Unfortunately, this experience left me feeling like my business wasn’t valued. The seating arrangements, additional charges, smaller portions, and pricing policies suggest poor customer service.

I hope the management at Pho Son takes these concerns into account—such as how the seating practices, additional charges, and unprofessional pricing updates impact customer satisfaction. I want to support local businesses, but I also expect to be treated with fairness and respect.

Historically, marginalized groups, including Black people, have faced systemic segregation and discriminatory practices in public spaces. Assigning them to specific, often less desirable areas (e.g., near the door, kitchen, or bathroom) can echo these injustices, whether...

I think this establishment may be under new management or ownership now. The restaurant layout and menu are all slightly different than usual, and the flavor of the food was just not the same.

This used to be my favorite pho spot, it had food even better than most places in Chicago city limits or anywhere else in the Chicagoland. When they first opened, I would go there every other day for lunch and dinner. I really enjoyed the aromatic flavor that the broth had compared to most pho places. It tasted almost like star anise, fennel, and a variety of spices, giving it a unique, rich body to the broth. You could tell it was made fresh daily, with quality ingredients. What was always nice, even if it was later in the evening, the broth seemed almost more flavorful as it simmered throughout the day. So, no matter what time of day it was, the broth was always delicious.

When I had went recently, that very flavorsome broth was not the same. Immediately, I could tell this was a completely different recipe. This time the flavor was a more salty-savory broth, as opposed to the original refreshing balance of various spices, an almost slightly sweet-spicy-savory combination of flavor. I had been here only a few months ago, which still had the original recipe and also more familiar faces, which I believe were the previous owners. The flavor just was not as outstanding as it previously was. The pho I had just gotten was still fresh and the portions were still good, but the flavor just was the typical savory broth like any other pho place; it just wasn't special like it once was.

It is still a solid Vietnamese place in the area, but if you are looking for the flavor that Pho Son used to offer, it's...

I have a five star review of this place up and now I am putting this one up. This place is horrible to it’s loyal customers of two years. I used to get a basic drink and the same every time. So as usual. I ordered my drink yesterday and it tasted odd. My past experiences(only once) has been if something was wrong. I told them and they fixed it. I ordered a sandwhich and said no mayo. They gave mayo. They fixed it and even gave me a free voucher for another!(Which I tried to refuse! I saw no need but they insisted) Another time they gave me the wrong drink. I simply had it replace and we moved on

This time however. The waitress (the Asian one. There’s two. The smaller one is the one who’s usually there and there’s this one) She got smart with me and started trying to accuse me(????) I don’t understand. I wasn’t asking for a refund. I was asking for a remake at the very least(or an apology? I would have been okay with that and then BOUGHT another one. Yes I was that loyal) She started accusing me of making it up and brought up the previous time.

At this point. The other waitress(the white one. Who was so sweet and looked horrified. Don’t blame her please) was just standing there.

I was just already done and I told them I wanted no refund. No remake and I was just going to leave and the Asian waitress rolled her eyes and told me okay while she sighed dramatically.

I left and I now retract my previous review. If you don’t listen to any other review. Listen to mine. Pho Son is not loyal to their customers of many years. They are willing to throw that to the side for a waitress to look cool in front of the new employee and to make herself feel better. For...