Midtown Pho — Restaurant in Raleigh

This is the second time I visited, the first time I only got the beef pho and it was just okay. I wanted to give it another chance since I was craving pho on a rainy day and I’m so glad I did. My bf and I went all out for dinner and got the fried spring rolls, banh xeo (asked for rice paper to make wraps and they gave us a lot), original banh mi, combo beef pho, and flan for dessert. I was so happy and pleasantly surprised with the entire meal. Fried spring roll was flavorful and crispy, although thin, it was a good app. The banh xeo platter was huge, this could easily feed 2-3 people as an app and can be a meal on its own for 1. Generous filling and decent, not crazy crispy as I’d like, but the edges and one side was crispy — so still good. The banh mi was what surprised me, the bread was crispy, but soft inside and they were sooo generous with the meat and veggies! It was a big boi. The pho was much better than the first time I went. Extremely rich and flavorful broth that isn’t too oily, not too salty, and generous with the meat toppings and noodles. Although pricey for a bowl and it didn’t have the tripe and tendon, the broth was what I mostly cared about and I can taste the care that went into it. Lastly, what sealed it together was the flan. It was chef’s kiss. It was the Vietnamese-style flan I grew up eating. Very light, smooth, not too sweet, and not condensed-milk heavy (different from Spanish style). It tasted homemade and again, the portion size was generous! The texture is more akin to Japanese pudding - the kind that’ll be perf as a topping in boba drinks. I’m so glad I gave this place a second try and I’m not one to post reviews often. If you had an “ok” pho at this place, please try it once more or try the other items...

Tl;Dr food good, service shit.

Response to owner: he came twice and didn't bother coming back and wasn't busy. Also there is a sign at host table that says something along the lines of "Servers are paid a reasonable wage and any tip is shared amongst kitchen staff, wait staff and host." Essentially everyone benefits from the tip so shouldn't the restaurant do a team effort for good service? Shame for the servers to complain.

My Viet girlfriend and I have been here a total of 2 times together, but during her lunch break she stops by whenever she craves vietnamese food. The food is always good, fresh, hot, and comes out within a reasonable time frame. The to-go order she puts in food just the same as dine in per her words. But every time we are there in person, the experience leaves a lot to be desired. So the first time we were here, the service was fine but apparently they had a large group reservation and the table they seat us at would be where the group should be at so suddenly the party and the servers were staring us down the entire time making us feel rushed for their placement of us. And our recent experience, the server came to us for the drinks order, he came over the moment my girlfriend had a call from her mom which I requested for him to come back in a few, but then we never saw him again to our table. It's like the other recent review, there's a bunch of servers sitting or standing around some on their phone, we make eye contact with them nothing for them to aid in trying to get us service to place our meal that we ended up paying for the drink and leaving to eat elsewhere. She plans to return but maybe we will try again another time and maybe the review...

While eating at this restaurant with my boyfriend and friends my boyfriend suffered a medical emergency in which we ran out of the restaurant and called EMS. The owners and workers of the restaurant came to the doors laughing and pointing at us outside. Our food was served to our friends after my boyfriend and I exited the restaurant. My friends paid in full for the food in oder to leave and assist us but only theirs was allowed to be taken to go. My food and my boyfriends food was taken back to the kitchen immediately. The workers then sat in their car in the parking lot staring at us with the EMTs until the ordeal was over. This is highly disrespectful and unprofessional. I am disgusted by their behaviors as they offered NO assistance in packing our food and would not let us even take what we paid for. Please do not go to this restaurant where the owners have such disgusting attitudes.

Reply to owner: I find it very unprofessional to call a customer a liar. This happened Saturday night (10/7) and you can check your cameras to see a firetruck and ambulance in the parking lot. I was in no way assuming that the staff was laughing as I saw them with my own eyes. I also observed the staff of your restaurant crowding the door looking out and also exit the restaurant to get in a car and continue to watch from the parking lot. I am not thinking negative, this is the facts of what happened. We also paid for expensive food that we were not able to leave with. My friends stayed at the table after my boyfriend and I exited the restaurant so they could pay and get the food. I am extremely dissatisfied with the continued lack of empathy from you and...