Great lunch spot, especially for how quickly the food came out and variety in their menu. Service was great and gave me good recommendations for what I liked. I ordered the wonton soup cup and the Spring Fried Rice. Enjoyed both! read more

Clay Pot Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Waco, Texas

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We went to the new location on Franklin near 5th St. today and had a craving for warm soup on a cold day. It was really good. We had both noodle soup and Stan's Clay Pot. Both were really great and filling. The new location is much brighter than the previous place. We got seated right away after church and service was also good. Still highly recommend. Also, if you are more of a casserole person, the Stan's clay pot is kind of like that with cheese on top. I put a little Sriracha on to take it up a notch. read more

Clay Pot Restaurant - Clay pot special soup with side of fried rice. - Vietnamese Near Me - Waco, Texas

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More than your average pho place! Don't get me wrong, pho is good and the pho here is good, but this place has so much more to offer on the menu. The Hai phong - Bun Ca Cay is my absolute favorite. Traditional Vietnamese style seating as well as western style seating options are available. read more

I will forever dream about their Vietnamese coffee. Also, leftover pineapple fried rice is just as life-changing as a lunch item than it is as a leftover midnight snack. 100% noms. read more

Clay pot is a great little place downtown to grab lunch! Food is great and they have large portions! The Thai and Vietnamese tea is great!!!

This place is sooooo good. I've had pho at quite a few different places but this by far is the best. I got the ginger tea with no sweet milk, shrimp spring rolls and the Hue - Bun Bo Hue( it's spicy). The sever preawarned me that tea wouldn't be sweet without it. Tasted perfectly fine to me. It's got honey in it so it was sweet enough to me. The peanut sauce that comes with the spring rolls was a bit watery but I added red pepper oil and a bit of hoisin and was happy. The pho broth tastes so fresh, I could taste the beef bone it in. Definitely will visit again before I leave town. read more

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Been to the old location several times, do miss the food and the atmosphere. New location has an alright selection of foodstuff, with very mediocre to below average service. Went to the new location twice and it's safe to say that we aren't planning on going back. read more

I was so disappointed. Our Appetizer didn't come until we were halfway through with our meal. Two orders of spring rolls full of cilantro. It was overpowering. The rice was very dry. I asked for some sesame or peanut sauce but he manager said if it wasn't a sauce that came with the meal it was extra. I didn't get it because I had already paid and did not want to use my credit card for such a small purchase. I returned later and asked for some extra sauce from the entrée that I already had. Then she told me that that would cost extra too. And she was very rude about it. My niece ordered a Boba tea and had to ask for it several times throughout our meal. I finally told them we were ready to leave, we had finished eating and we still had not gotten her drink. When the manager brought it to our table I started to ask her why it took so long and that wasn't acceptable. I did not get the words out because she turned her back on me and walked away. She was so rude. I will never go back. read more

I recently went there, the food was really good, you have to have your phone to post your temperature as you walk in and look at the menu, good customer service, clean, really enjoy the experience, a must go if you haven't tried the Vietnamese cuisine. No refills on lemonade. read more

Clay Pot Restaurant - 8 oz. Cup of Pho Broth - Vietnamese Near Me - Waco, Texas

Beautiful little place with an true ethnic feeling. Great food I had the Stan's specialty crockpot and then had the viatnamese coffee as a desert. Comes with condensed sweetened milk... Yumm! Great place for dinner, dates or a cultural experience! Highly recommended read more

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People must not know what good is if they think this place is good. The entry way smells like bleach, but the inside of the restaurant smells like stinky feet. Probably since they let people eat sitting on the floor but require them to take off their shoes. It's awful smelling in there. I came to just order a smoothie and it must have been made all from powder and not real fruit. It tasted like dirt and it was expensive too. The teapoica was over cooked and hard. I would absolutely not recommend this place nor would I return here. read more

Clay Pot Restaurant - Bubble Tea - Vietnamese Near Me - Waco, Texas

Guys. This was offensive. A vermicelli bowl is not soup. How can you fill up the entire bowl with fish sauce? I had to dump all of this out of my bowl. Literally over one cup! As a Viet person, this was pathetic. Two stars because the waiter made things right and agreed that this was seriously not okay. read more

Clay Pot Restaurant - Vietnamese Near Me - Waco, Texas

UPDATE I don't know whether it's a new location, or what, but I after hearing some good testimonies about their pho, and after driving by and seeing how nice the place looks, I finally decided to give it another try. And boy, am I glad that I did. First, the place is very clean looking, modern, light, and airy. A definite plus. Servers are attentive and sweet - another plus. Second, I have ordered green tea, and when I saw it, I knew that I made the right decision to come: it arrived in a minimalist-looking individual pot, accompanied by a neat piala bowl - and the tea was delicious! None of the Lipton green tea for this place - they are using Mighty Leaf tea. This small touch alone completely won me over. I was now really looking forward to my food. I ordered shredded chicken pho, and when it came, I did a little happy dance. The medium portion (what I ordered)is very generous, there were lots of veggies and green herbs, and a good amount of chicken. And the broth was so delicately and well flavored, that I thought it would be a sin use Sriracha and/or soy sauce on it. Absolutely delicious! All of this to say, I am sorry that I have waited so long to give it another shot, and I will be returning here again and again. And, who knows? I might even try their other dishes in time. read more

The food was good, the service was terrible. I found a bug in my soup and when I went to go give it back the waitress started talking bad about me. I was very apologetic when I asked for a another order of soup but I guess the waitress thought I left and I heard them talking about me giving the food back and how I should have just expected the bug in my food. Anyways food was good at best people suck. read more

Clay Pot Restaurant - Pho - Vietnamese Near Me - Waco, Texas

Three words: best. Pho. Ever. I kid you not! I have had it all, and they make the best pho. Pho-nominal. I had the vegan pho last time and the only thing I was upset about was that there were only like three prices of tofu in my pho. It was made up for in great tasting soup though. The spring veggie dumplings were also amazing! My boyfriend loved the sauce that came with them. I have to say, I really like the authenticity of the old location compared to this one. At the old place, you were able to choose to sit on the ground on pillows. The new location seems like your typical Asian food takeout place. It's slightly bigger, but I understand why they moved. Location is key, I suppose! No draft beer and just not a lot of beer choices in general. Definitely will be going back for more pho! read more

I have been coming to this place since I was a little kid, when my mom would bring me for a bowl of Pho and a pot of chrysanthemum tea. A guy named Quan owned the place then. Then Quan left and the shop changed for a while. I just returned after several years to try the new location and WOW! This place has really gotten back on track. I got the Bo Bun Hue. It was aromatic and spicy, and the rare beef was some of the most tender I have ever had at a Vietnamese restaurant. I love the mango and shrimp spring rolls with apple and cilantro. I think it's a really good fusion recipe. So glad I gave this place another chance! Chrysanthemum tea really hit the spot on a blustery and rainy Halloween day. Well done, y'all. read more

Stopped by with a few friends to get pho. The pho is definitely not traditional, the broth was very bland and prices were steeper then a lot of typical pho places. And the portions were small. The pho comes pre garnished with white/green onions, very little bean sprouts and cilantro. Where's the onions, lime or Thai basil? We kept having to ask for condiments that are traditionally served with pho (siracha, hosin sauce etc) I would never come back for pho. read more

I have been coming here for the last couple of years. They recently moved to a nice new location. I have joked with the owner many times at lunch time - funny guy!. I have never seen so many smiles then on this wait staff. On my most recent visit I was delighted with my service from Michaela. She made sure my drink was always full, and quick as a bullet at everything else. I love coming in here for their Pho soup. I usually have either the tofu or rare beef. I love it! Some complain that all Pho should come with a side plate of things to add. Differences in style and taste is what makes the world go around! What I want in a bowl of Pho is love. I can taste the care and love this chef put into his recipe. What's important to me? Fresh ingredients? Check. A blend of flavors that make my mouth water? Check. They have vegetarian dishes that actually taste good and are not just thrown in to check a box. I happen to be a vegan who also eats meat (just kidding, relax everybody). For dinner I usually add an appetizer. My favorite is "Goi Cuon Chay" which is made from fried tofu with bell pepper and herbs. It has a great, clean, snap to it. So fresh! The chicken fried dumplings are also very good. Tonight I had Pho soup a little different, "Bun Bo from Hue" which i s made from lemongrass, paprika, and ginger. Something nice and a little different. I would recommend this restaurant as one of the friendliest in Waco. Don't be afraid to ask questions about the Vietnamese cuisine. So good for you! Come for the friendly atmosphere and stay for the great, healthy food! read more

Menu was hard to follow with no descriptions. Out teapot smelled like mold. Food was inedible. We ended up having to buy dinner at a second restaurant. read more

1st visit: On my first visit to Clay Pot, in its new location on Franklin, I almost gave it a bad Yelp review because the hostess was unfriendly and there was an hour wait. However, that was a Friday night and they were crazy busy. So we ate elsewhere that night. 2nd visit: Yesterday, I returned to try again. It was 6:00 on a Tuesday and the restaurant was not very busy. Seating is not comfortable--hard benches and wooden chairs. The service was a little brusque/bossy, but the food was great! I had lemongrass chicken which was super flavorful and perfectly cooked. My daughter had a beef stir fry dish that she really liked. While the spring rolls were great, be careful! There are bits of apple and fried wonton tucked in and these require a different type of chewing than the way you normally chew a soft spring roll. Just saying, so you don't choke. (I know that's a weird thing to write, but it was actually an issue for both of us!). We ordered two pots of hot tea, the ginger and also the chrysanthemum. Both were delicious and served latte style with milk already added. A single pot is plenty for one person. As a Waco local, I tend to avoid downtown on the weekends due to HGTV tourists and Baylor game crowds. This would NOT have been a great experience on a weekend because it is a very small place and simply can't seat large crowds. But on a slightly slow weekday evening, Clay Pot was a nice, mom and pop style place to get a flavorful and very inexpensive dinner. ($22.00 for spring rolls, two entrees and two pots of tea.) Minus one star for hard chairs and bossy service, but overall a great dining experience. No pictures this time because I was too hungry to stop and snap some! read more

Finally tricked a friend to come back here with me. I opted for the Pho Ap Chao - it came with asparagus. Interesting since Vietnamese cooking doesn't really have asparagus. The noodles were way too saucey and salty - over soaked in soy sauce. I poured a little of my cup of iced water into my noodles twice, and they were still too salty. Decided not to drown the dish in Waco water because the noodles were getting cold. The iced coffee with tapioca was good! It tasted like my G7 instant coffee I buy at Asian supermarkets. And I'm pretty sure that's what it was. On careful examination, there were undissolved coffee powder at the top of my cup near the cap. It highly resembled G7. My friend got the sesame chicken, and it honestly seemed like they forgot to give him half of the chicken serving. It was good though - better than Panda-like places, but I'm still mad at him for going to a "Vietnamese" restaurant and ordering Chinese takeout-like food. Overall - good addition to Waco, but definitely not authentic. read more

Clay Pot Restaurant - Pho Ap Chao (front) & Sesame Chicken (back) - Vietnamese Near Me - Waco, Texas

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Great Pho place. They do things a little differently than I'm used to but I liked it. The shrimp egg rolls were a little greasy but the flavor was good. The Pho, what I came for was delicious. I like to add my own veggies usually but they do that for you here. I ordered pho with everything. A typical combo Pho, they don't do that. They up charged for the extra ingredients, I got more than I paid for. Good meal. I'll be back. And a free cheese cake with check in. read more

We drove to Waco on a whim to visit Magnolia Market. Not wanting BBQ or chicken fried steak we opted to eat at Clay Pot. It was so good! We sat in the back patio which had heat lamps for winter and a super impressive marble dragon fountain. The chicken egg rolls, steamed dumplings and clay pot were delicious! Highly recommend. read more

Disclaimer** This is my first time ever eating Vietnamese Cuisine, so I have nothing to base it from. We started with the fried dumplings. I assume they were premade frozen dumplings, nothing special but not bad. We ordered the medium size Pho with rare beef, Lemongrass chicken, and Bun Xao Tom (sautéed shrimp noodle bowl) each of these dishes were good, but the lemongrass chicken was our favorite!!! I would get these dishes again! They do not have a Bar menu, their regular tea is unsweetened only and their soda is can. It's a Saturday night and the people kept coming in the door so go early or expect a wait. Can't wait to go back to try other dishes! read more

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There's a pho place in Waco! Came here yesterday after the Baylor game. It was fairly busy but we were seated quickly. Got the chrysanthemum tea - highly recommend. It was milky and sweet and delicious. Our server was attentive and offered excellent suggestions (the chrysanthemum tea, chicken spring rolls, rare beef pho). My pho was really good (beef and chicken) - note the bean sprouts and such come in the soup there (normally you put them in yourself). We did have to ask for sauce (hoisin and siracha) when our soups came, and my friend's combination pho only came with one meat. We did feel a little rushed at the end (coming back to clear smaller plates and empty tea pots as we were still finishing cups of tea) but I will acknowledge it was pretty busy and they were low on tables. All in all, our experience was very good. Plus, it was affordable ($8.99 for a 2 meat combo medium pho, 2 shrimp spring rolls were $4). I will definitely be back to try more of their fairly large menu! read more

If you're in Waco and looking for a great place to eat, stop here! Our food was delicious! Our fixer upper tour guide recommended this place and it didn't disappoint. read more

update 10/23/2017 we came back for banh khot. this time we called to order to go and of course their employees still had a hard time to find banh khot on their own menu. they asked for the name and phone number, said the dish would be ready in 20min. after 30 min, my sister came in to pick up. it took them a couple min to check on the dish, then gave my sister 3 boxes. later when we came back home, we found out they are all veggies and dipping sauces came with banh khot, no banh khot to be found. we had to drive back to the restaurant, then we learned that they knew the problem but couldn't catch my sister as she walked out the door fast. they took our phone number but didn't bother to call, all we got was, a lot of so "sorry" (but maybe not sorry?) and "do you still want these?" we took the banh khot with us and left. while eating them we found out 5 out of 8 banh khot in one portion were burnt, to black. like charcoal. I was so too tired and annoyed to drive back and talk to them by then. ----------- original review more like 3.5/5 stars. I gave Claypot a try today, after years in Waco. ordered bánh khot, bún moc from Saigon (though I believe bún moc is a northern dish), pho combination (with rare beef, brisket and tendon), fresh soy milk, and bubble tea for to go. bánh khot is more like mini bánh xèo, small portion, ok dipping sauce. bún mc and ph aren't bad, but not great. they put all the veggies into hot broth, not a side. and no lime, chili, hoisin sauce or herb included. rare beef isn't rare at all, and tendon is overcooked too. fresh soy milk is ok but on the expensive side ($2.99 for small/regular size), bubble tea isn't bad but not that good (but better than other places in town). The price for foods is reasonable and nice decor at their new location. I might come back for bánh khot and soy milk. p.s. the menu doesn't have number for each item, that makes it hard to order since the waitress I ordered with today wasn't familiar with some vietnamese dishes on the menu. read more

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I do not recommend the pho. It's definitely different from most places in that the sides are mixed in already. Not bad just different. The issue was that the broth was like warm sugar water. There was not a lot of flavor and it wasn't salty in the slightest. It's peppery when you first see it but it smells very sweet. You can really smell the star anise and maybe some cinnamon when you get it. There's probably better options on the menu this was not for us. read more

Some of the best fried rice I've ever had. Head down and try it, then grab a drink next door!

This is not authentic Vietnamese place. I ordered 2 deluxe pho with uncooked noodles on the side and an order of chicken fried rice. The noodles came cooked top with a mixture of green onions, cilantro and few pieces of bean sprouts. No basil, lemon or jalapeños. The broth was not clear and lack the spices like ginger, star anise, cinnamon etc. I can not speak of the chicken fried rice but the person I ordered it for only ate a few spoon full. Best wishes and hope you find an authentic Vietnamese cook. read more

LOVE the new Clay Pot location! Staff is very friendly and well versed in the menu. I had many questions regarding their vegan options and the waitress was able to accommodate every request. I enjoyed the curry clay pot with veggies (no fish sauce) and I ordered veggie vegan pho to-go and that was also wonderful! I'll say the curry is very different from the typical curry I've had at other restaurants. This curry is uniquely mild and sweet (because of the sweet potato base) --so I usually add sriracha to give it more of a kick. The pho is very flavorful and I highly recommend trying that for first timers. I love the drink options here. The house ice tea is lightly sweet with floral notes--I recommend getting that. Great prices, great location, awesome food, good clean restaurant, perfect place to take friends, family, or a date. read more

Busy place. Bahn Mi was painfully toasted. I like a good baguette but this was like over toasted soft white roll. Nothing stood out with the flavors like I expect from Bahn Mi. The spring rolls and egg rolls were ok but nothing special. Friendly staff though. And a bit chaotic but friendly. I wouldn't go back. Friendly is good but tastey and memorable is better. read more

We decided to try lunch here prior to heading back to Houston. Initially not sure what to think since the restaurant is located between two bars. Very glad we decided to go in. Nice looking clean restaurant. We were immediately greeted by a friendly hostess and had a nice, knowledgeable and engaging waiter. The food was delicious and prices were good. read more

Cute little restaurant with a nice environment. The customer service was phenomenal! Unfortunately the curry dish was not all I had hoped. While the sauce was a savory slow burn, the chicken tasted pretty-boiled and dry - not part of the dish. My husband said the beef sweet stir fry was legit though. Anyway, maybe better luck next time in choosing my dish. read more

Since this place moved downtown they really lost a lot of its charm (funny because being downtown has a lot of inherent charm). Food was very mediocre, as a table we ordered a vermicelli bowl with pork (pork was some what stringy), a curry hot pot (best thing we ordered), and sesame chicken (very so-so). Service was poor as well, with the hostess not really knowing how to seat people and an un-accomodating server. read more

Good Asian, Vietnamese inspired dishes, clean restaurant and attentive service. Adequate selection of beers and wines and for non-alcohol drinkers, a variety of bubble teas. For starters we had the vegetarian spring rolls. They make theirs with a little slice of apple (a first for me) and it was quite tasty. Entrees were Pineapple Fried Rice with tofu and Spicy Broccoli with chicken. Nice sized portions and very reasonably priced. The Spicy Broccoli was as advertised, just the perfect amount of heat for the hubby. I was hoping to take leftovers of the fried rice home, but alas it was too delicious to put our chopsticks down. Ordered a Matcha bubble tea for the road trip back to Austin. Wished I would have asked them to make it without the sweet condensed milk as that made it too sugary, even for my wicked sweet tooth. read more

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I called in an order to go. The person who took my order said our food would be ready in 15 minutes. We arrived about 20 minutes later. My husband went in to get the food and he still had to wait at least 10 more minutes. They did give him a couple of peach teas for waiting, which were pretty good. He got garlic chicken and the sampler, which he said were alright. I did eat some of the sweet potato fries, which were tasty. I got the fried veggie dumplings, which were good. However, the spring rolls were disappointing. They were filled with a lot of noodles, not much apples, lettuce, or tofu-all which were browned and I am assuming no so fresh. Maybe might try again, but don't know. I'll update if I do. read more

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Love their food and how they've handled Covid. I remember during the lockdown they stocked other grocery and paper products so that people didn't go without. Appreciate this business and their family! read more

Amazing shrimp pho. Gorgeous outdoor patio. They also have very friendly staff. I would come here again

We are not very adventurous eaters, but our life group loves to meet here. I love the teriyaki chicken! The service is good and it's always really clean. read more