Pho is one of those small local family run restaurants which I LOVE to support. Being run by a Thai staff it brings a nice personal touch to the service. Unfortunately that's as far as it goes. The restaurant itself is nice. It is very clean. The reality though is it could be anything. A coffee shop, a thrift store, a doctor's office waiting room. The walls are a coffee with cream kind of brown with nothing that would indicate what it is hanging on the walls. It was full throughout the night which is good. I would like to see improvements in creating a unique dining experience instead of going out of business. I ordered Thai Tea, one of my favorites and it is brought out in a plastic to go cup with a lid on it. Am I a 3 year old? I wasn't ordering my drink to go. Is this a subtle hint for me to leave. I am an adult, and as such ask that when I am dining in I be given a glass for my beverages. It's not too much to expect. I asked for one of my favorite Thai appetizers and unfortunately they don't make it. The waiter looked at me like I was ordering sliced baby seal. I wasn't. It is a standard in every single Thai restaurant I have ever been in throughout the world. That's ok though. It gives me an opportunity to dive deep and I consider that a win/win. The server suggests the calamari. I also ordered the Pad Thai Combo and ask that he picks his favorite thing on the menu and surprise me. I love doing that at new restaurants. It really shows their creativity.
The calamari arrives. Beautifully breaded pieces, not too tough, not too soft with just the right amount of seasoned flour. It is tossed with grilled rough cut red pepper, sautéed jalapeño slices and sautéed dough cut onion. It laid on a bed of leaf lettuce that looked like it was man handled and tossed with absolutely zero care. It came with no sauce to dip in. I am not a fan of jalapeños so I pick them out, yet enjoy the hint of spice they left behind in the dish. Just a whisper of heat. The dish was very nice. It could have used a sause of anything and the presentation was below standard.
The waiter then brought out my surprise item. It was a Filet diced and tossed with the same onions and peppers used in the calamari dish. The dish tossed in a really nice brown sauce. It was very good! Served with a side of fried rice it was flavorful and filling. It had grilled slices of tomato set on top of the rice, totally unnecessary. It was a bit too much rice, but the exact right amount of filet. I asked the server what exactly the sauce was and he said he did not know, the owner made it and had left for the night. Too bad. It would have been nice too know. Once again the presentation was unoriginal, boring, and simply piled on with as much pride as a factory line machine screwing in a bolt.
The Pad Thai came out next and things took a turn for the worst. The presentation was horrible. The noodles over cooked, the veggies over cooked and it had broccoli in it. A first for me. It looked tired, sad, worn out, uninspired and quite honestly like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for several days. Yikes! While flavorful, the broccoli added just a hint of bitterness which detracted from the sweet savory combination found in other restaurants. It was missing chopped peanuts and was a real miss. There were nice pieces of chicken, shrimp and beef but the entire reason why I live Pad Thai was just not there. It was positively the worst serving of Pad Thai I have ever eaten. Very disappointing.
I finished up my filet and calamari. Boxed the Pad Thai and left. The service was very good. The staff attentive, friendly and efficient. They were very good about treating customers as they entered and thanking you and sending you off with a smile as you left. A real mix of things done well with thing done mediocre or just poorly. Thus a three star review. Far from the best, overall far from the worst, but that Pad Thai needs serious work. Seriously! If you aren't going to do it right, then put it into the we don't make it pile with your missing angel wings. I don't think I would recommend this place. I can think of several other Thai Restaurants in the area that are substantially better in every category. Unfortunately, I think this will be the first and last time at this place. Too bad. As I said, I love a good local restaurant. read more