Joe’s Pho — Restaurant in San Leandro

I’ve been a loyal customer here for years, previously rating this place 4 stars. Unfortunately, after my most recent visit, I can confidently say I will NEVER return. I rarely give 1 star reviews so I urge you to not support this place.

The service we received was truly unacceptable. Our particular server—an older, shorter Vietnamese woman—was especially rude and dismissive. When we politely requested no ice in our drinks, we were told that wasn’t possible. We then asked for less ice, but not only did we receive the wrong drink, the replacement was loaded with ice and tasted terrible.

The food quality has also plummeted. The side of basil and bean sprouts that came with our meal was clearly spoiled—soggy, discolored, and inedible. When we asked for fresh vegetables, the server acted like we were being unreasonable, responding with a hostile attitude. The pho here also has been tasting more like MSG over the past years.

To make matters worse, we were left waiting over 10 minutes for basic items like water and the complimentary fish chips, which we only received after asking. Meanwhile, the table next to us was promptly served and even received a second helping without having to ask.

This level of service and quality is completely unacceptable, especially from a place I once held in high regard. I strongly urge management to address these issues, because at this point, they’ve lost a long-time customer.

If you want a bowl of noodle soup, check out Hanoi Chicken Noodle Soup closer to Marina Park. Their soup is much better and more flavorful.

Previous review: the server who took our order was a bit rude and they give you a very tiny portion of bean sprouts so we had to ask for extra twice. The free shrimp chips were not crispy and was slightly soggy (they maybe left it out for too long). The soup here used to be good but it's gotten saltier and it tastes like there's a tiny bit of msg. It's on the pricier side but you get more meat and the soup is better than...

I don’t even know where to begin with how much this place fell off. Used to come here all the time, thought it was solid. Not anymore. Not even close.

Right when we sat down, I could already tell something was off. Our server—older, shorter Asian lady with zero warmth or hospitality—acted like she couldn’t be bothered. No smile, no greeting, just straight-up attitude. We asked for no ice in our drinks (pretty normal, right?) and she said, “can’t do that” like it was some huge inconvenience. Ended up bringing us the WRONG drinks anyway, and they were filled to the brim with ice water and tasted like sewer juice.

The food? Horrific. What they served with the pho looked like it came out of a trash bin. Basil and bean sprouts were all limp, wet, and turning brown. I wouldn’t feed that to a goat. We asked for a fresh plate and got hit with a death stare like we just cussed out her grandma. No apology. No effort. Just a whole lotta attitude.

The broth used to have flavor, now it just tastes like salt and chemicals. It’s like they just dumped a scoop of cheap bouillon powder into hot water and called it a day. I legit felt gross after eating it.

And don’t expect fast service unless you're one of their “regulars” or maybe just got lucky. We waited like forever just to get water, and only got the lame stale shrimp chips after having to ask. Meanwhile, the table next to us? They got extra chips without even saying anything. What a joke.

This ain’t the spot anymore. The whole vibe is off, the food is trash now, and the staff straight-up does not care. Used to be a go-to, now I wouldn't eat here if you paid me. Seriously.

If you're craving noodle soup, just go to Hanoi Chicken Noodle Soup near Marina Park. They actually give a crap, and the food there still tastes like someone made it with love. Unlike here, where it feels like you're being punished...

I loved this place. I used to go here every now and then with family. The food is pretty good, little bit pricey but worth it in my opinion. However, there was an incident that happened where one staff member was EXTREMELY rude. All I had asked was for clarification about 2 drinks we got that I believed were part of the 1 dollar thai tea special but nope! It was actually 6 dollars. My friend said specifically “1 dollar thai milk tea” (keep in mind, my friend had only tried thai tea twice and the first time was at this restaurant and he loved it) However, they gave us a 6 dollar thai milk tea instead but my friend was sure he said “1 dollar” (and he did) so we assumed they just gave us a bigger cup. It wasn’t until we got the check when we realized.

I was PERFECTLY fine with paying for the drinks but I wanted to clarify with the server quickly. He was IMMEDIATELY rude with me. Using a loud tone while the store was packed and there were people seated tables near us. While I spoke with him quietly about it. It was extremely humiliating and I decided there was no point talkin with this guy about my order and my friend agreed to just drop it. I’m going to keep coming here but avoid getting the server at ALL costs. I won’t mention the server’s name here because MAYBE they were having a bad day and I don’t want them to get bashed by others from my review.

At the end of the day, I ate their delicious food and enjoyed a delicious drink. Yes, the service was not the best but I’m there to eat and hang out with friends, not be friends with the server. There are still workers like another lady working was being really nice to me/my friends. She gave me the rude server’s name and apologized for his sake which made me decide not to mention their name...