Pho Tai — Restaurant in Tukwila

I brought my grandparents here on a last minute decision because Bai Tong next door had a waitlist, and while they were very efficient and kind I had to decline the wait because I didn’t want to keep my grandma standing. We ventured to Pho Tai and I was relieved to see one person eating inside, which at the moment to me meant no waiting. In hindsight I should have taken this as a bad sign. The waitress took one look at us, pointed hastily to a table near the door and walked away toward the back. We excused her demeanor to perhaps regrouping after a dinner rush, but things only got worse from here. Not long after we were seated another group, this time a family with three kids, arrived. She came out and treated them even worse. The family had a little girl with them and when she changed seats to sit with maybe the mother or grandma, the waitress stopped and literally rolled her eyes. After catching this I immediately just felt uncomfortable. We gave our orders and because my Grandma is hard of hearing, she asked the waitress one time if she can repeat her explanation of what was in the sandwich, and if the jalapeños can be removed - but the waitress reiterated her words loudly and slowly, as if my grandma was stupid. At this point I had to take over because the interaction was so disrespectful. I told the waitress exactly what my grandma wanted and quickly changed the topic once she left with our orders so my grandparents would feel more settled. They hardly eat out, so when they wanted to accompany me to look for furniture near the Southcenter area I just wanted to treat them to a nice meal. Our experience in Pho Tai Southcenter was so bad. Eating out is a luxury these days but it’s worth it if you’re sharing a meal with family, and a huge plus if all people involved were just kind. I regret not waiting for Bai Tong, honestly. They seemed more genuine and it felt like our experience there would have been better. Later I checked the reviews for both restaurants and sure enough I could see why one was highly rated while the other was so-so. Now about the family that came in - I overheard the Mom asking the same waitress if she could take a picture of her family - the waitress replied, “no, we’re too busy.” My grandpa literally laughed out loud and had to finally say there were only three parties in the entire restaurant, then offered to take a picture for the family instead. I would not recommend this place to anyone. Go somewhere...

I really wanted to love this place - reminds me of my own family restaurant. Food’s allegedly good (only ordered takeout for my girlfriend), but it was death by a thousand cuts in all other aspects.

I ordered #22. The item reads grilled pork with egg. The lady at the register asked “what meat?.” Dumbfounded I asked “what would you recommend, cô?” to which she said “No idea. You choose.” Then you know I went with it and said “I’d love grilled pork please.” It was 7:05p after all (they close at 8p), and perhaps it’d been a long day. She then said “eggs or no eggs - eggs extra.” Alright? I reiterated that I ordered #22 which includes a fried egg. The POS system then showed a laundry list of add-ons - what stood out were a container fee, a bag fee, and an item price higher than what’s listed on the paper menu. I didn’t confront about it, only a few dollars extra after all.

The lady said “10 minutes” and walked away. It took them 15+. Keep in mind, there were only 3 tables occupied at the time - all 3 already had food out.

What struck me the most is that the ultimate sign of respect as a Vietnamese is to speak Vietnamese to an older person, to which I did to the lady at the counter. She insisted on speaking English - no problem, but she looked at me as if I belittled her by speaking Viet and then treated me worse for it. When she brought the food out, she put it on the table & slid it across to where I was seated & turned away to the other table to clean up. No words exchanged. No thank you.

Writing this review as I’m waiting for the food because it’s bewildering to see this behavior in 2024. Reading other reviews, it seems that other people were prejudiced against in other ways.

The rice plate stands on its own merit - I hope the owner here understands the business could go far simply with better customer service, already facing stiff competition being next to Bai Tong &...

“Wow,” I had to edit my review. You don’t know what you’re missing until you try something new. I went to a different restaurant for pho last night and realized what I’ve been missing. When you become a regular is easy to become complacent. At my new spot I get an extra large for the same price I would pay for a large at pho Thia. The toppings are fresher and they don’t skimp on them. When pho thi begin raising prices, and lowering quality and quantity of food, I thought it was the price of doing business during Covid. I realize now that I was wrong. I’m a satisfied customer so I left a larger tip. That’s how tips work. “Change is good!” I usually get takeout, steak pho at least three days a week. The broth is very good. The girl that normally checks me out is very pleasant. I normally get everything uncooked, and I prepare it myself when I get home. I’ll leave a dollar tip because I believe that’s all it really is worth on a take-out order of uncooked food. Lately, I’ve been getting different people at the checkout counter, who sneak in their own tips without asking. It has happened a few times and I have to catch it. I’m not sure if it’s accidental or not, but I find it troubling, because trust is all we have when it comes to doing business. If I can’t trust you, I don’t want you serving me my food. I hate the idea of not going there, because it’s so convenient. And the young lady at the front counter that I normally deal with is very nice, but I have been pondering the idea of making my own broth. After that the...