Golden Flower — Restaurant in Reno

The food was good. (+1)

I came here because I saw they were open till 10p and my other dinner plans fell through. I arrived at the restaurant at 845p and was seated shortly thereafter.

The place was PACKED at 845p, a Sunday night. The waitress came to take my order at 9p.

(I had a favourite Vietnamese restaurant back home and although much smaller, they had a much business and better service and made everything by hand.)

There are plastic reusable chinese style chopsticks, spoons, and dipping saucers on the tables, which is something I loved and missed about the Vietnamese restaurants back home. (+1)

Golden Flower disappointed me. I really wanted spring rolls as an appetizer. I hate cilantro, so I requested a sub to basil instead. The waitress said that was not possible. Upon inquiring as to why not, I was informed that they buy them pre-made so there is no way to appease substitutions. (-1)

But, no biggie much, I ordered dumplings instead, along with a large bowl of Pho, a bowl of rice, a Vietnamese unsweetened iced tea, and a Vietnamese iced coffee.

My food arrived at my table at 950p, just ten minutes until closing. (-1)

Anyone who has ever chowed down on Pho knows it is not a meal you can quickly eat. Once the clock hit 955p, the waitress brought out my check and pushed it to me across the table, then left. My face was full of noodles and spicy broth.....attempting to enjoy my meal, which was hella late, not by my doing mind you....

Every 2 or 3 minutes the waitress came by to tell me I had to pay. (-1)

Well, duh.. of course I have to pay, i didn't think it was free. On her 4th visit to my table, she waited until I had a break to drink a sip of tea.

"You have to pay right now, we are closing!" (Sorry, but whose fault is that?) I had cash on me so I just handed it over.

The dumplings were soft, full, and delicious. Although the Pho seemed a little void of seasonings, I thoroughly enjoyed the flavour of the food. Nothing was too hot or too cold. (+1)

What I didn't appreciate was that the restaurant chose to serve more customers than they had the means to do within their hours of operation, then inserted their pushiness into my dining experience.

Having said that,

I will return for food, but I won't be returning to...

Not Vietnamese Cuisine! I have eaten at this restaurant probably 20 times since moving to Reno last year. These are probably Chinese owners and employees serving "fake" Vietnamese food. Sometimes the food is OK by Reno standards ( it is hard to find authentic ethnic food here), but many times it is inconsistent, especially when they are busy. The last time I ate there they served me "pho" with basically noodles in boiling water and meat that was so un-fresh I could barely chew it. Even if they are not taking the time to prepare real pho (which takes hours to make) they should at least use the flavor powder. I was served "soup" with no flavor whatsoever. My wife ordered Vietnamese beef stew and was served some Chinese style beef noodle soup. I complained to the manager and she just acted like I was looking for a discount. I would have been fine if they offered to re-make the dish or at least say sorry. No apology, just attitude and straight up told me she doesn't care. I would recommend SK Noodle in Sparks or SF Kitchen in Reno. I think they are Chinese as well but they have much better service and Vietnamese food that tastes like the real thing. Try 101 Taiwanese and Kwok's Bistro for good Chinese/Taiwanese food. They are both legit and 101 is open late on weekends. Don't waste your time on Golden Flower unless it is really late and you are desperate or go to Pho 777 for pho (I think they might know what Vietnamese food is and open pretty late). I'm not one to usually complain but someone has to or they will just keep taking advantage...

Went here with some friends for dinner, We had a party for 10, we ordered our food got our drinks, but some people didn't get what they ordered or didn't get their appetizer before there meal. My fiance ordered fried rice instead of steamed rice, he never got his fried rice, my friend sitting next me ordered an order of Crab Ragoons but didn't get them till after her meal, Service was ok we got our food got refills on water cause it's the only thing on the menu that you can a refill on, but never once they they come check on us to ask if everything was or even how our food tasted, I have had better Vietnamese food at other Vietnamese Food places for cheaper and even better tasting, the food here is mediocre the Pho broth is bland it doesn't not have any taste to it. We finished our food and went up to pay at the counter, we all paid separately our bill came out to 38 and some change but then the lady gave us the true total which was 44 dollars and some change so we asked how did it go from 38 to 44 and she said there was a 15% gratuity charge, how is ok for you to charge some one a 15% gratuity charge when "The Service" was mediocre, You make customers play at the counter, and to top it off the 15% gratuity is not even listed on your menu or your menu online (and yes I checked). Also I have been here previous times and only once I got sick, but I decided to give this place another try, and yet again I got sick from eating here. Maybe I will this place another try but for now I...