Pho Vi-Vi Pasadena — Restaurant in Pasadena

I eat Vietnamese at least once per week and here I am comparing Pho Vivi with Pho Central because they’re only a few blocks away: the chicken Vermicelli is more tasty at Pho Vivi’s. The regular Vermicelli is a better value there too, because it has more beef than in Pho Central. Same with the Bhan Me, it’s better stuffed at Pho Vivi, although the flavor is better in Pho Central. I don’t like the Pho in Pho Vivi because personally I like veggies in my Pho and they don’t have a version that includes lots of vegetables like broccoli and carrots + tofu, so I always order that dish from Pho Central. The matcha smoothie with tapioca (bobba tea) is better tasting at Pho Vivi although not bad in Pho Central. Lastly, the service is good in both places, nice attentive servers, clean space, but they often mess up my order in Pho Central (forget my egg roll but charge for it, don’t give me the extra cucumber I requested or forget the fish sauce). They had never messed up my order at Pho Vivi. I go more often to Pho Central due to the distance from my place and it’s also usually more busy...

Plenty of parking out front and our large group of 10 was seated very quickly. They took our orders very fast and brought the food in a timely manner. The servings here are huge. Enough for 3 separate meals honestly!

I would 100% eat here again. The servers were friendly. They charged an 8% service fee for the large group! So just know that is automatic.

I got the Supreme Vermicelli because it has shrimp, beef, and pork. I added the fried egg and 1 egg roll. Delicious and very filling. Only critique is the meat I think was overcooked or cooked earlier and not fresh. They were cut in large pieces and a bit tougher than I'd like.

I would come back to try other things on the menu. For how close it is to my school I'd give it another shot.

I recommend this restaurant to people...

Okay I am reposting..a new message.ive been going here since this place first opened.well today I arrived the family.2 adults 3 kids.After the meal I went to go pay....well didnt you know they stood there and informed me that they were adding 15% percent gratuity automatically to my bill.cause of us being 5 persons.the thing is I always tipped in cash.well this is no longer a place to eat,for us.when a place decides to start adding to make up for lost revenue. That is a big mistake.so my advice to you is to start being carefull when you eat here as a large group,or forced gratuity will be placed on ticket .the sad part is I never complained about lack of service from wait staff and lack of communication cause of them not speaking good english.sad what greed does with...