TruBroth Coffee & Vietnamese Cuisine — Restaurant in Travelers Rest

I am a Vietnamese girl and lived in West Coast where I have tasted the best pho restaurants has to offer. As a true Vietnamese, if we don't like something, we keep it to ourselves and not come back. We honestly don't like to make a big fuss or get any attention. But the experience I had at Trubroth was better than most Vietnamese pho places I went to. Traveling to different cities, I tend to shy away from pho restaurant because I tend to get disappointed. However, I had a craving to satisfy my taste buds given the cold weather here in South Carolina. So I went searching on Google and found Trubroth to be the highest rated. However, I was still skeptical after looking at the picture. Of all the Vietnamese pho restaurant I have went to (100+), the décor seems too nice and sophisticated for an authentic Asian restaurants. Like they said, "don't judge a book by its cover." So I dove into the reviews carefully, the positive and negative. It seems the majority of the positive reviews emphasized good broth and good service. I can tell you this personally, I would go back to a restaurant that has mediocre food but great service; rather than good food and bad service. I eat out lots of times, but I go for the overall experience of dining, not just for the food alone. Good food and bad service = never again. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, like garlic. As far as the negative reviews, you can't please everyone. Everyone has preferences, and they have opinions, and they have good and bad days before they step into someone's business. But negative review is great to have for any business, as it helps the business improve. So I thank you for those negative reviews to Trubroth, if they are willing to improve. I believe they will, as the owners are young and adventurous. I give to guts for opening a Vietnamese restaurant in the South, where comfort food remain supreme. As for my experience, I ordered the Beef pho. First, looking at the price, it is around the same price as in California's best pho restaurants. But I think its actually a deal for what they used to make this broth. In the West Coast, you get the same size broth with non-organic, non grass-fed beef broth, or conventional beef broth for the same price. Now, I have never tasted grass fed pho before. I imagine all cows should taste the same. Also, I imagine grass fed bones and meats are pricier. So the verdict after tasting it: the best pho I ever had. As a Vietnamese, we eat Pho for the broth flavor, and it tasted better than some of the best pho restaurant in the West Coast and Vietnam. As for the condiments, they only had 1 selection of meat, which is the slices of beef sirloin. I was disappointed because I am used to the wide selection, like meat balls. They also require you to ask for the extra vegetables, like basil, lime, and sprouts. I am used to having them as a side dish. After speaking to the owner, they had good reason not to bring the side dish of vegetables for every pho order because not all patrons eat them and they don't want to waste vegetables. Vegetables that are brought out on the table cannot be used again for other customers, which seems to be the case for many Vietnamese pho restaurant. So If you don't want others left over vegetables, don't expect the side dish to come with all pho order. Please ask. I also tried the Vietnamese ice coffee and Thai Tea; both very excellent and better than most Vietnamese pho restaurants in the West Coast. Overall, my experience with the Beef pho was 4/5; the broth flavor was spot on. Service: great; you rarely see the owner, but the owner came out and waited on me and attended to all my needs. The atmosphere was warming and uniquely different to any Pho restaurant I went to. It has a mix of wood, metal and earth feel. Like I said, I dine for the experience, not just the food. Therefore, my final experience food, decor, and customer service is a 5/5. I will definitely recommend this restaurant to my Vietnamese friends and my...

Tldr: chef Mike was working overtime in the back

This was my second time at Tru Broth. I wanted to give it a second chance before I reviewed.

The first time I went the pho was ok. It tasted watered down, and was just mediocre.

The second time it was the same, though both times the meat was already precooked which is weird for a traditional pho. Typically the raw meat is added to the broth that has been simmering for hours, and you see it cook in front of you. A little weird, but I can't see what they're doing in the back.

But with how oppressively quiet it is, I can HEAR what happens in the back. And before our food (including our dumplings) came out, I heard the telltale sounds of a microwave being set, and going off.

I decided to break social norms, and ask one of the gentlemen how they made the dumplings, wondering if they'd own up to it. I believe the son of the owner was the one who came over, and started explaining how dumplings were made. Not how THEY made them. Finishing with "we steam them".

Now I could be wrong, they could have some weird power steamer with a timer that sounds like a microwave and is somehow able to steam a dumpling in less than 5 minutes.... But I'm not holding my breath.

Also I heard the telltale beeps once again for a to-go order that came out, and I heard at least two cycles so... Unless they are getting a lot of dumplings...

As a side note I had to ask about bean sprouts and lime and they were a bit bothered which was weird, since typically they come with pho. I know they were bothered because again, no one talks in the restaurant, and voices carry.

In conclusion: it seems from last reviews they used to be a lot better, but have since declined, and if the emptiness of the restaurant is any indication -they continue to do so.

BUT: their drinks are pretty good. Little heavy on ice but who isn't these days? In my completely unprofessional opinion, they should drop the food and just make it more like a hang out and work...

Let me preface Walking in the place smelled great and the broth was clear and tasted just fine. It just lacked the deep flavor I'm used to with vietnamese soups. It came out with just the bowl.. No sprouts, no basil, no lime, no peppers and no sriracha or hoisin sauce on the side. The chicken was a bit dry and the rice noodles(flat vermicelli)were fragile and breaking apart. It was hard to eat them with the fork and spoon I got. I doubt that even if I was offered chopsticks they wouldn't have worked well either.. The soup did have Cilantro, a few sprouts, and some onion... I understand they use higher quality ingredients there, so the bowl was a bit smaller than I'm used to also. I'm not trying to knock them for quality because the soup was good it just wasnt what I'm used to. I've been to many different vietnamese restaurants and have eaten with viet families.. This just wasnt the experience I was looking for or have had. In a nutshell if your looking for the quintessential giant bowl of pho with a darker deeper broth and a pile of accessories to throw into it.. This place isnt for you . Buuut if you want to enjoy a good bowl of Chicken soup with friendly people this is your spot. Thank you for the experience.... If there was some indication that you had to "request" the vegetables that are an intricate part of the meal that would be helpful. There are people out there that havent had meals like this and will miss out on the full experience because yall dont want to waste quality ingredients. :( wish yall best of luck. I will not...