Pho Ha #7 University Ave — Restaurant in Riverside

This place was disappointing to say the least. I would never recommend this place to anyone. I love Pho and I've been to many other Pho restaurants that were nothing less than perfect but I can't eat pork (I'm allergic) so I ordered a number 1 that was rare steak and noodles and possibly cow stomach (although cow stomach/tripe was not in the description of the dish) but it was in the photo and I was okay with that. When I received the dish the first thing I noticed is that the beef was cooked to shoe leather but I figured I'm probably just being picky. I started to stir my soup and I couldn't help but notice there were pigs feet in the soup. Again, another ingredient that was not in the description of the soup on the menu. I smelled the broth and it wreaked of pork. I gave the dish to my mother who ate three to four bites before she just couldn't stand the flavor anymore and pushed it aside. She later told me she was trying really hard not to vomit while eating the soup. I also got the shrimp appetizers with veggies on the side. The shrimp was edible but not the greatest and the veggies on the side were herbs not veggies. The herbs were not edible by themself. There were several different waitresses that thought our table was theirs to serve instead of just one. After we ordered our meal there were two other ladies who asked us if we were ready to order. I had no idea who worked there because everyone that worked there were wearing casual clothing from home. No two outfits were the same. For all I know some random person could have walked in the restaurant and asked me what I'd like to eat. No one asked how the food was or if we liked it, no one came to see how we were doing at all after we were given our food. I ordered a boba tea and a water to drink and I was given a straw both times without asking (that is illegal in the state of California). Also my boba tea had no tapioca balls at all whatsoever. And lastly we were never given the check. We sat around for a few minutes before we finally just got up and went to the front counter to pay so we could just get out of there. We both lost our appetites completely and went home hungry. We didn't eat for the rest of our night due to loss...

Overall: 4.4/5 (delivery)

We ordered 3 items for lunch on Ubereats to be delivered to our hotel. The portion sizes are smaller than expected and what they were a couple of years ago based on the Yelp pictures.

Banh Hoi Thit Nuong ($17.60): They gave us a full separate bag of veggies (pickled carrots & daikons, lettuce, mint). Wish they gave a bit more banh hoi. The thit nuong was really good though.

Tau Hu Ky (+$3.50): Their shrimp cake is delicious & crunchy. Recommend.

Banh Beo ($10.98): This was a hard pass. The banh Beo was too thick and tasteless. There's barely any of the shrimp floss & green onion oil toppings. They do give you big pieces of the fried pork fat but that makes it harder to it eat it with the banh beo which is the whole point.

Mi Xa Xiu Hoang Thanh ($15.43): This comes with a small soup and the xa xiu sauce on the side. Make sure to mix the contents in the bowl first before pouring the sauce on. The sauce is strong so you might not need all of it or you can use it as a dipping sauce. I found the soup was best to sip on in between than to dip the noodles in. The fried wontons were crispy even after being sealed in the bowl for awhile which was surprising. The xa xiu is really good with the sauce. The entree overall was really good but you can get this for less & more flavorful at a...

In short, come here if you want fresh Pho/Vietnamese Food. I can be very picky when it comes to food and customer service and I thought this place was great, 😆

My order: the #12 Pho and #45 Spring Rolls. This was my first time trying Pho and I can see why people are addicted! The pho was exactly what I needed! I'll be returning to this place!

PROS: FRIENDLY STAFF (Greeted when I came in, I had questions about the menu and they were answered politely, one of the staff members saw me struggling to pack up my food and she stopped cleaning to help me, :] ) Food tasted fresh and pho and spring roll were full of flavors. Tables and floors were clean! The restaurant looked clean overall. A nice size dining area.

CONS: NONE🤗 (at least during my visit)

I do wanna address some of the comments that stated it was hard to talk to staff. I did not have that problem during my visit. I think it depends on how patient you are and how well you hear. When I didn't understand I just asked the question again and listened very attentively. Last thing, the staff's English seemed fine to me, so I'm not sure if the other reviewers had interactions with different...