Pho Ha — Restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga

Several years as customers at the Pomona location we were thrilled when this location opened and we didn't have to take our kids to the sketchy neighborhood in Pomona. We have been going on average once every three weeks since this location opened but recently noticed a marked drop in service and quality after the opening of their newest store in the City of Industry. Keep in mind there is not much to service at any Pho restaurant. They just need to be quick, somewhat friendly, refill water and serve a fresh, brightly flavored and consistent product. For years they have done this but no longer! I mentioned this to the owner one day as we have developed a very good rapport over the years and I was genuinely concerned that the very thing that has allowed them to succeed and expand is in jeopardy. She was genuinely upset and determined to get on it but it is clear that she and her husband are stretched thin and have not or can not do much to solve the problem. The half Vietnamese lady mentioned in another review is not the owner. I believe she is a manager and is really terrible. In our last four visits, mistakes have been made on orders every time. Water is no longer refilled without having to flag someone down. Broth in the Pho is inconsistent as well as portion size on things like the Spring Rolls. On a recent visit my wife made it clear three times she did not want garlic chips in her chicken soup. Of course it came with the chips, the server simply skimmed the chips out and gave my wife the bowl back. Although usually very quick to take your order, on our last visit, the servers and the tall girl manager were having a nice chat at the register. An Asian couple came in and were served immediately, then their conversation resumed until they finally came over to our table 8 minutes later! Maybe the friendly happy servers have moved to the City of Industry location and what they have now is really disappointing. Coming from the restaurant business I always leave a generous tip even for mediocre service but my last two visits here I left nothing.

Sadly, after 7 years as a customer at their two locations we are now moving on. On the plus side it has motivated me to learn the nuances of Pho and I now make a killer...

Update (02/27/2021): Utter shock that left me and my family speechless after visiting this place again in two years. We were looking forward to a good dine-in experience, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. They do offer outdoor dining now. Before you are self-seated, you need to go into the restaurant to make an order and pay. Because we were going to be dining in, we paid for tips as well in advance. We ordered two pho noodles (i.e. one regular and one XL) and spring rolls. What happened afterwards was really shocking. After a reasonable time, we were given our appetizer, but without napkins, chopsticks, and water. We had to wait another five minutes before we can even ask for these missing items. I believe water is essential part of Vietnamese cuisine, and we asked for it many, many times. Of course, we never got our water. The service was extremely uncoordinated, as they brought out materials like redundantly and VERY LATE. When we got our pho noodles, our bowls were of the same size, rather than two different sizes of one regular and one XL. We asked for an explanation, but the lady who was serving us told us, “it is okay” and just walked away. We do not mind if workers do not speak English, but they should be able to at least explain if we got regular size or XL size. Horrible. This is not what we expected from our first dine-in pho experience after the reopening began. If I can give zero or even negative star for this place, I would. We originally decided to visit this place because we had a very favorable memory from two years ago. It is now ruined, and we will NEVER, EVER visit again.

Original (two years ago): If you want a taste of a typical Vietnamese noodle found in the US, this is one of the places to go. Pricing was appropriate, but if you are sitting in a non-chair table, you will find yourself squeezed into an oblivion. I am new to the area, so I probably will not return before I check out other Vietnamese restaurants in...

Service was pretty crummy. 1st guy doesn't even know how to greet us as his guests. Not sure if i should care but wears giganto gauge earrings. He take our order and goes off. 5 minutes later 2nd random waitress comes and asks if we ordered yet but proceeds to check her hand-held anyways clearly showing our order. We confirmed order with her and she assumes first guy got it all wrong. Starts chasing first guy around and doesn't come back. We assumed she fixed it. 5 minutes later wife receives her plate no problem. (Hooray......) Even after everything going on they still got my order wrong. Asked for a side of squid and they give me a full plate of Squid, shrimp, and vegetables. Notified 1st guy and he apologizes and takes it back. I assume to fix it. 15 mins later neither my side OR my Entrée showed up. I ask 3rd guy and he runs off to grab a 4th person only to tell me my Entrée couldn't be made since the beginning because it was too difficult for the cook to make the Broccoli for the dish.... I request a replacement chicken fried rice. Received it and I'm not sure if this is traditional or not but cuts of Chicken were complete TRASH both for my Entree and my wife's Pad Thai. Never saw my side of Squid. Give up and decide to go pay. Lady wouldn't hand over handheld to my wife to adjust tip to $0. Pressures my wife into putting in the 15% of her own accord. Even so, my wife did enjoy the dessert macaroons and Ice Cream. They should just open a dessert shop or something instead....