Pho 88 Cafe — Restaurant in Renton

I’ve been here a lot over the last 5 years but never left a review because nothing positive or negative really stood out until today. The pho is okay, the staff is rude. They chit chat a lot while watching you eat. But that’s always the experience here. I just ignore them. I like the pork chops here which is what kept me coming back, until today. What made me leave a review today was their lack of empathy. I normally sit at a small table and I understand because it’s a business and they need the bigger tables for larger groups. But I got injured yesterday and needed to elevate my foot on a chair but they wouldn’t let us sit at a bigger table. The restaurant wasn’t even half full. There were two free large tables and four free small tables. We could have made it work. Instead they watch me wiggle in my chair trying to figure out how to sit comfortably and reposition my leg over and over again the entire time. This repeat...

Maybe I have high standards, but the pho was horrible……there was no depth to the broth and flavor was frankly not good. The veggies come with the dish was wilted and did not look fresh. The phở (noodle) was overcooked and too soft.

We ordered Phở Đặc Biệt, bún thịt nướng nem and bún thịt nướng chạo tôm nem. The best item was definitely the Chao Tom Nem (Shrimp sugar cane skewer), the rest were meh.

For the vermicelli bún, I understand that it is a “salad” type of dish when you aren’t in Vietnam, but doesn’t mean the vermicelli should be cold, or lukewarm. Often time, people would reheat by dunking it into hot water but here, you can tell they probably microwave it for 30 secs and call it good.

At least for the price, I didn’t feel like it was price gauging like a lot of other Vietnamese restaurants around greater seattle, that’s definitely a plus. Customer service was GREAT! Food came out very quick. But favor wise, I...

I have eaten pho at numerous restaurants all over the United States and Canada. So, I have a baseline of what a bowl of pho should taste like. So, when I ate into a bowl of pho dac biet, a bowl of pho with everything in it, I was shocked at how poorly cooked this bowl of pho was. As a matter of fact, I think this is the worst bowl of pho I ever tasted in my life. Even after putting numerous amount of hot sauce and hoisin sauce, the soup tasted plain. It was as if I was drinking plain water. There is only one meatball in my entire order. The beef tendon is not slice thin but come in big chunks as if it is too hard for the kitchen staff to slice the beef tendon. Also, where is the beef tripe? Isn’t beef tripe comes with beef special? Also, the cashier wearing glasses is rude and arrogant. She has a very unsmiling and grumpy face. She probably just got dump by her boyfriend for her attitude. I regret I...