Pho Hoa + Jazen Tea (El Camino) — Restaurant in Santa Clara

Extremely Unhygienic — Never Coming Back

My partner and I used to eat here every week — it was our go-to pho spot. But over time, the hygiene issues became too much to ignore, and we’ve stopped going altogether. There were a couple of times when my partner found long hair in his pho. We were uncomfortable saying anything back then and just quietly discussed it between ourselves, but it definitely made us feel uneasy. Then came the incident that crossed the line: I found a large, chopped-off fingernail in my pho. At first, I thought it was a piece of old onion and tried to chew it — until I realized what it actually was. I was horrified. I brought it up to the front counter, explained what happened, and the staff looked shocked. They went back and forth to the kitchen, loudly discussing something. When they returned, they kept trying to convince me that all of their kitchen staff wear gloves — implying the nail couldn’t have come from them. I even showed them my own nails and my partner’s, trying to make it clear that it wasn’t ours. Eventually, they offered to comp one bowl of pho — which didn’t come close to making up for the experience. I felt nauseous for two days afterward. We’ll never return, and I absolutely cannot recommend this place to anyone. Hygiene matters, and so does how you handle situations when things go wrong. This place failed on...

I rarely leave negative reviews but this store really pissed me off.

I walked in in 10:35pm and there're still long line to wait. I definitely understand so I waited in line and ordered. I waited in store for my drink for like 20 minutes after the guy ordered before me got his drink I asked is my drink ready. I totally understand it's busy in store but there attitude is horrible, the person found they probably got my drink wrong and let me ask the person I ordered with. Then they started argue in language I don't familiar with and no one explains or apologize to me for such a long wait and it was their fault to made the wrong drink. In few seconds they had someone's order ready, they decided to let me grab mine first. The person was mean and slapped on my drink. In the end, they don't even care about my feelings but keep arguing in their own language. I walked out the store and it was 11pm for one bubble tea. I'd say the taste of the tea is ok but a big zero on service. This is the first time and the last time I...

I have been looking forward to the pho here after over a decade. I used to come here back in '08 quiet often for dinner after work. They were fast and inexpensive.

The speed of the service was still there. They quickly sat me down, took the order, and the food came out fairly promptly.

I always taste the broth without adding anything first to appeciate the hard work that goes into making it. (Tried to make pho at home, and it is a lot of work to get a great broth!)

But unfortunately, I found the broth to be a bit subpar... It was too light and didn't have the richness that I found in other pho restaurants. I couldn't taste the different spices that go into the broth.

The dish was piping hot, but that wasn't what prevented the taste from coming out. Maybe my palate has changed over the course of a decade and after visiting many different pho restaurants.

However, I appreciated the fast service and clean sprouts and basil leaves as some other places don't seem to...