V Lotus — Restaurant in Thompsons

I didn’t really care for it. I was with a party of 10 mostly young people. I am not young people though I expect a little more. It appeared as though we were not getting the same service as the tables around us. One person in our group ordered a drink and only received it after asking for a fourth time, about 35 minutes later. My spouse waited patiently to get a second drink as no one was checking on us. If we are willing to give you $12 for a drink I would think it’d be a good idea to ask if we’d like another. One waiter came and refilled the water of half the group then disappeared. No other refills were offered.

I’m no expert on Vietnamese food. I ordered roasted duck vermicelli - didn’t like it at all. I picked the duck out and eat the some of everything else. The duck tasted to me like fatty chicken flavored pork. That’s the best way to describe it. Some of the pieces looked dried out. The skin was chewy. 😵‍💫 It was a little hit or miss with the opinions of the food. Some liked it, my spouse thought his was great. The person sitting across from me didn’t think he’d come back again. Our friend who asked 4 times about her drink and who is a Vietnamese food expert said it wasn’t the best food and for the price someone should not be saying that.

I not sure how many waiters where waiting on us it seemed they were taking turns waiting on the table of young folks paying automatic gratuity. There was one that was good when it was his turn. Friendly and accommodating. He is the one that eventually got our friend her drink and my husband’s 2nd drink. But he didn’t come back after that until the end of the meal and helped with the picture taking.

My favorite thing was the pineapple tea I ordered. $5 but very good. My favorite part of this whole experience.

We were there 3 hours with long stretches of no one checking on us. Far to long in my opinion. The chairs are hard and 3 hours was entirely too long. I think at least an hour could have been shaved off that time.

Anyway, it was $90 for the 2 of us including the tip for 2 vermicelli bowls, 2 drinks, and 1 pineapple tea. This place is kind of far from where we live and we had to pass by dozens of Vietnamese places on the way there. I doubt that we will ever be back. It’s just not worth the drive and price. In my...

Went here for a group date with my friend with high hopes of authentic but reasonably priced food, the restaurant had glowing reviews about this hidden gem. And like a gem, this restaurant was extremely expensive for the size of the meal we received. But it was charming nonetheless!

The meal initially started well, with a kind waiter greeting us at the door and warmly welcoming us into the restaurant. And initially, the meal was going well! For appetizers, I had the tofu ball and my friends had the shrimp spring roll. The tofu ball was a delight! Visually, I enjoyed the presentation of the dish and the inclusion of lettuce and other vegetables elevated the other flavors of soy and ginger in the dish. As for the shrimp roll, my friend who usually hates shrimp enjoyed the preparation of the shrimp in the dish. She explained that the shrimp tasted fresh and paired well with the peanut sauce.

And then it all went downhill.... at least for me as a vegetarian. I had ordered the veggie pho which I found to be poorly flavored with the vegan broth tasting oddly similar to water and had to add several dabs of sriracha sauce. And as a tofu enthusiast, I found the tofu to be the only positive aspect of the dish but even the tofu was incredibly bland. BUT for the V Lotus vermicelli, my friends ordered turned out to be amazing. The lemon grass pork with the vegetables and noodles blew us away and was aesthetically presented! Not only did the flavors dance in our mouths, the texture blended together beautifully and created a more enjoyable experience.

The dessert... OH MY GOD, the dessert. My group of friends ordered the Creme Brulee and the Mango Sticky Rice. It was incredible, I would honestly come back to this restaurant JUST for the Creme Brulee. I couldn't stop thinking about it. The Mango Sticky Rice was amazing as well! Surprisingly, while it wasn't mango season, the mangoes were incredibly ripe and tangy. The coconut milk brought the meal together. We love...

Liked Pho Ben better:

We ordered 3 Pho’s and their Banana Mountain dessert. Their decor is nice and their hard bench seats with the slipping and sliding cushions were actually comfortable. Though, while their flair of pouring the hot broth from a thermos at table side was interesting, it took more time than necessary and also meant that the noodles felt a little undercooked if eaten right away (not ideal when you have hungry kids). The meatballs in the Pho are a little peppery and the tender brisket is cut thick at almost a 1/4-inch but is slightly dry and the same with the sliced chicken breast in the chicken pho (but you can’t help chicken breast). I ordered the V Lotus Pho which had a combination of meats. I am blaming the variety of meats though U am not entirely sure, but my broth was very oily. What really irked me was that for 3 bowls of pho at $10-$12 each, we only got one side plate portion of bean sprouts and red chili slices, 4-5 small sprigs of cilantro and 2 wedges of lime to SHARE! And this was during dinner service! Maybe I’m used to a different kind of pho, but I need my Thai basil, which they served none of. I was also disappointed at their sparse condiment selection of a Siracha sauce, a Lee Kim Kee bottle of hoisin sauce and ketchup! I suppose that’s for the fries. Their cinnamon Banana Mountain with walnuts had an impressive presentation and was tasty, but the fried dough skin on the banana was tough and could not be easily cut with the spoons they provided, and the small scoop of vanilla ice cream was good but not enough to have some with every bite of banana. The walnuts on the plate were a nice addition and made you feel less guilty while eating this dessert while also adding more crunch as the tough skin soaked up the melting ice cream. For the price you pay, though, I prefer the faster service and full range of accompaniments and less oily broth at Pho Ben for less than $8 for...