Pho Lotus — Restaurant in Penn Township

Manheim, Spread the News, I have to tell You about a Very Special New Restaurant that Makes spectacular food, has customer service that’s beyond compare, and excellence in every measure of Every one of their dishes I’ve tried, Pho Lotus, Manheim, across from the Manheim Auto Auction, Tonight, I stopped in after weeks of reading Love letter after Love letter after Love letter In the form of their reviews all over Facebook, Google, and Any other foodie forum, even a couple of local friends have told me through word of mouth “You have to Try Pho Lotus” And I’m Here, first as a Local Resident and friend to everyone Here in Our community, But also as an award winning chef (You May remember My “Queens Soup” and Dans Paper Plate” Restaurant) ….to tell You, please, Support Pho, We are so fortunate to have them, and They Have the single best Flavors I’ve had in The Area in Ages, From their super precise prep work, to their recipe concepts, to their Spectacular sauces…. (try the peanut and their fish sauces! They could seriously bottle and mass produce both of them they were so good!) ….Their Servers Andy and Minh were all stars tonight, proving everything I’ve been reading about their superb customer service has been true, they Treat you like family, And are more than happy to recommend dishes to your taste and Offer Helpful suggestions so you enjoy each bite as much as I did, I can also say that if You’re looking for authenticity, This is it, A lot of times Restaurants will sacrifice quality for quantity, Not Here at Pho Lotus, You get Quality, and Quantity to spare, The pork egg rolls are Out of this world, super savory and full of deliciousness, the Shrimp Spring rolls were so special, I Loved the fresh floral Thai Basil, and Peanut sauce, They were both the two best Appetizers I’ve had in a long time and Will never be able to get one over the other and will have to get both! The pork vermicelli bowl I had was Out of this world, The noodles were perfectly prepared, the Fish sauce (They offer for you to substitute Peanut sauce if you’d like, I tried both, the Fish sauce was “Traditional” I thought it was bright Non-fishy at all, and Well-rounded with Proper Seasonings, and the Peanut sauce was also unbelievable in it) the pork was marinated and grilled to perfection and I Loved every bite, Trust me, there wasn’t a morsel remaining by the time I was done with all My Plates of Fresh, Flavorful, Delicious Food From Pho Lotus, So, I just wanted to stop by tonight to give the very rare “Chef Dan Endorsement” to the Great Food, and Very Special, Hard working people at Pho Lotus, Manheim, They have a lot to be proud of, and we should be very proud to have them, As a former restaurant owner, I can tell You, It takes a lot of Noodle bowls sold to stay in business, And if we want to remain as blessed as we are now to have them, We’ve got to support them, And tell everyone to Help Keep them in Business successfully, The next time I Visit I will try the Pho which I Have Heard rave reviews about, the bowl is Massive, I saw two of them pass by tonight and While I will be Re-Ordering the Pork Vermicelli Bowl again and again, As My Favorite New Dish in Town, I have to try the Pho and Hope Whatever You Pick, You’ll read this and feel them deserving of the opportunity to earn your business and Support, As they have More than deserved every one of these kind words I’m so pleased to come out Here and share with all of You tonight, I also Have to say I met The owner, she was lovely, And Her Husband Was Working away in the back, this is a Family owned Business, I Hope You and Your Family will Show Your Support, and warmest Manheim Welcome for them!

-Chef Dan

Creator of “The Queens Soup” and “Dans Paper Plate”

(For More of My Work, And Local Food and Lifestyle Blog, Send Your friend requests to My “ChefDaniel Lancaster Pennsylvania”...

Edit to original review below!

I am Viet and originally from Harrisburg area, which has a lot of great Viet options. So when I heard there was a new Viet restaurant right in Manheim and basically down the road for me, I was very excited. The flavors here are great and authentic. It is not a bad food establishment by any means. The place looks clean and organized and the service is great. I would have given a 4-5 star rating, BUT the main complaint I have is that I’ve consistently noticed, on different occasions, that they skimp on the proteins. When I got Pho, there wasn’t nearly enough beef for my liking. The Bun Bo Hue also had only a few slices of thin beef that, halfway through, I was left with just noodles and broth. The Banh Mi was also very bare and thin when it came to the meat. My friend’s Bun Dac Biet had a few pieces of pork and only 2 shrimps! I really want to like this place but you can’t charge $12-15 for a noodle bowl and then almost $7 for a banh mi and barely have enough meats. I am not typically a person to complain or be picky but that’s the most important part of the dish, especially a Viet dish! Again the flavors are good but, please improve on the amount of protein you serve. Thank you very much and, as a fellow Viet, I wish your company a lot of success!

Edit: I recently ordered from Pho Lotus a good bit and they have definitely improved upon the protein portions and the flavors have gotten even better! Service is also great and I can tell they are putting a lot of care into their food and service. Changing my review to a full 5 Stars! So happy I have this delicious Viet place right...

We came in 30 minutes before close and were seated right away, super friendly and attentive. We started off with an order of grilled pork spring rolls (the pork was still hot from the grill so you know they are made to order) they were delicious and the peanut sauce was better than I’ve had at other places. Also got both the Thai tea and just normal unsweetened Asian style tea, both were brewed fresh to order and were excellent. The real star of the show was the phó, I got the b5 and added tendon and my lady got the b4. Mine was phónonenal, and she loved hers aswell. I don’t care for broth clarity, and this place did it perfect, a super rich and beefy broth, the spice was great aswell, you could taste the cinnamon, cardamom, and anise all prevalent but not overpowering. The broth also has a nice sweetness to it. I normally add a good bit of hoisin, but this didn’t need it at all. Was super balanced from the start. Also I love when places do a house chili oil and theirs was awesome. Not overpowering at all and had a slightly fermented taste to it similar to sambal. Was the perfect heat level. They also aren’t scared of the onions like a lot of places can be and I’m a huge fan. The garnish plate was as big as I’ve seen for 4 people at a pho restaurant for even just two of us. All in all I will be back and this competes with pho places in Denver and D.C. all while being in the middle of no where. Please give this place a try you won’t be...