Special Pho — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

First time trying this place, we enjoy Vietnamese food, however, we are not experts. But we can tell good from bad flavors. The first thing we noticed was a sign at the door, “Masks Required” that is perfect!!! Once inside, another sign that said that their fryer was broken and they didn’t have Spring Rolls or Wings. We sat on our booth, the place was busy , everything looked clean, and organized, waiter came to get us menus and drinks, we noticed that he was wearing his mask, on his chin all the time we were there and serving all the tables, he even said to us that he was the only server and that they were short staffed. We ordered one Special Pho Beef, one grilled Pork Chop, and one Grilled Pork, he told us that the grilled dishes will take up to 20 min. We also wanted to get dessert while we wait, but he said there was NO deserts at all. After a while, food came out, they look good, Pho was tasty, however I had to add some more seasoning to get that personal flavor I enjoy, not biggie. Grilled Pork Chop look good and tasted good too, the BIG issue was the Grilled Pork (Based on the description in the menu, the pork is thin sliced) We order this for my 8 year old, when he got his dish, it was a whole pork chop, not sliced at all, he wasn’t able to cut it in small pieces to eat it, that is when we notice that the chop was completely raw inside!!!.. We notified the server and he took it away and told us that they will re-fire another one for him, 10 min later, they brought us another dish, again with a full pork chop (not Sliced) at least this time it was cooked. The server told us that he was having issues with the chef explaining the dishes since he did not speak English and could not understand the way it was supposed to be cooked. A lady also approached us apologizing for the raw meat (She was also wearing a mask but had her nose uncovered). When it was time to pay, the server told us they would take care of us, and they gave us a 20% discount because of their mistake. I got to say, Food was OK, other than the raw meat, and the lack of items, Customer Service was OK as well, other than only one server, and no masks being worn correctly by the staff. They also offer you a Free drink or desert if you showed them proof that you did a review, as far as I know, that goes against Google Reviews policies, since as a bussness you should not ofer rewards for reviews,...

This time I ordered a “Mien Ga” (chicken soup with glass noodles). The portion is extremely small, not worth the price of $15. The price is average for a soup bowl anywhere else. The issue is at the portion and the quality of this specific bowl. In the photo, you can see the amount of meat. There were a few more piece underneath, but I can tell that the whole amount does not add up to a small thigh. The glass noodle, I’m surprisingly upset with the quality of the noodles. It’s very soft, broken, no level of “chewiness” that the “Miến” noodles should have. It feels like some kind of low quality instant glass noodles. This dish should be served with “Rau răm” not regular green onions and cilantro.

When we go to a restaurant, we want something that we can’t (or not conveniently) make at home, with some decent quality. The value, I say value, not price, of this bowl of “Mien Ga” is about $3-4 as I can open an instant glass noodles, at some shredded chicken meat, in maybe 10 minutes.

The good thing is they put the agreement on the wall, “try at your own expense.” I saw it and took the risk. So I can tell you now, it’s not worth it for the “Mien Ga”. Don’t do it here. The restaurant can either adjust the portion, quality, and accuracy of the ingredients, or just REMOVE this from the menu.

The pandan waffle is not good. Please either learn to make better batter or again, just remove this item.

Pho should be good here. I will try next time.

Excellent service. Staff are friendly and efficient. Atmosphere is similar to other Vietnamese restaurant. All good. I didn’t try Pho this time. I will next time as my family recommend this place...

I stopped in to order takeout here after getting over a pretty nasty stomach bug that had me craving Vietnamese egg rolls! I loved the look of their menu, and found some other items geared toward gut and internal health that I tried out. Obviously the egg rolls were delicious. I devoured the first one before even taking a pic. Still hot when I got home. The artichoke drink was pretty good, kind of like a barley tea lightly sweetened and with a hint of artichoke. But anything sweeter would have been too much for my stomach. The menu says it’s a detox, and my kidneys were feeling the strain of the sickness. The star of the order, however, was the bone marrow soup. I do my tried and true bone broth when I have stomach or gastric issues, so wanted something similar to nourish my gut. My goodness was this just 110% spot on! Super gelatinous, the most unctuous, velvety smooth tonic you could ever taste. I got a side of rice to dip with my spoon and 🤌🤌🤌. The staff was super friendly and helpful, the food came out in less than 5 minutes, and boy am I a satisfied customer! They seem to know what they’re doing, and orders kept coming in for takeout/delivery while I waited. I can’t wait to go back when I’m back to 100% health because their boba drinks and pho bowls look divine. Thanks, Special Pho! You have a satisfied...