Pho 95 — Restaurant in St. Charles

We have been wanting to try this place for years. Mediocre. First, there was some unidentifiable "things" floating in our ice waters. Yuck. The server, who was quite an old guy, seemed like he didn't understand much English and he wanted you to point to what you wanted on the menu. Because of that we didn't try to explain the floaties in our water and just ordered sodas. The crispy egg rolls were overdone and I found gristle in mine. Yuck. The spring rolls were wrapped in such a way that the wrapper was so thick in spots it was like chewing a wad of gooey unflavored gum. It also contained a halved shrimp and under that was some weird grayish fatty type meat. NEVER have i seen that in a spring roll. Yuck. We both ordered the vermicelli bowl with shrimp, chicken and beef. There were only 2 shrimp in each entree and wayyy overcooked. The chicken was ok. The beef was very fatty and I spent several minutes picking the fat out. Yuck. The fish sauce was good and I liked the crispy green onions and peanuts on top of the meat. The veggies in our bowls were good and fresh. I cannot stand trying to enjoy a meal and having to fish weird meat gristle out of my mouth or having to pick out fat before I can even eat my food. Total turn off. We...

Meh. 3.5/5. Food was good enough. We happened to be in the area, so it was convenient. The part I wasn't thrilled about was the service. The service was lacking to the point that I'm not inclined to return. Orders that aren't pho take a long time to receive. The place looks family-owned (part of the appeal), so I realize they are doing the best with what they have.

Ideally, it would help if they had another employee outside the kitchen to tend to guests, like getting them water, taking payments, and creating a welcoming space. My partner received her food right away, while my appetizer meal took almost 30 minutes. Guests who had arrived ahead of others were growing impatient at the abnormally long wait time.

The owner forgot to come back for my card. Even though it's a sit-down restaurant, I learned that if I need to pay, it's best to go up to the front. Things happen and these are just minor annoyances, but not a great first impression. I would rather go somewhere else for...

This restaurant continues to go down the slope for me. It started like most establishments. Great service and food! However, the last few times I’ve ordered take-out (which is probably every three months) the food continues to lack any kind of flavor. No flavor stands out in their dishes. And it’s disappointing when remembering how good it could be. Tonight I ordered the Spring Rolls. They have become smaller and the peanut sauce, could swear, was literally watered down. It was not like peanut sauce at other Asian restaurants where it is thick and has a good note of sweet to it. This was runny and remote of taste. I also got the “Special” Rice. Not sure what is so “special” about it other than there’s literally nothing to it. Which in some way, does kind of make it special. Even when I cook a dish at least there is something that my tastebuds pick up and either enjoy or dislike. Nope! Not here! It is impressive. Think I’m...