Overrated and Disappointing: I Don't Understand the Hype

My boyfriend and I went here for dinner last night because the Google reviews were pretty good—over 5,000 of them—but I honestly don’t get it. The food was awful and the service was only okay. Our server was nice enough, but he made mistakes on top of the food issues.

We started with Chả giò, which was cold on the inside, and the flavors were okay at best. I’m a Phở aficionado and was excited to try their Phở tái. It looked good, but it was so heavy on the onions that it was like eating onion soup, not a beef Phở.

My boyfriend ordered the sliced grilled pork with fried egg over rice, but he was served a bone-in pork chop. He sent his back for the sliced pork, and before I could tell our waiter that my Phở was just onion soup, he walked away. I finally got his attention and asked for the same dish my boyfriend ordered.

When the correct dish came out for my boyfriend, he found it overly salty (though I thought it tasted okay). Mine took forever to come out, and when it finally arrived, the grilled pork was burnt. I sent it back.

We ended up giving my boyfriend’s leftovers to a homeless man on the street, and I had to find somewhere else to eat. All in all, it was a huge disappointment, and I don’t understand the hype or why they were so crowded.

I recently visited Pho Kim Long with my family and appreciated the thoughtful service — especially the small details they paid attention to for our child.

I ordered the rare beef pho (small size) for $17, and it was genuinely delicious — especially the broth. The flavor tasted about 70–80% similar to authentic Hanoi-style pho in Vietnam, which was a pleasant surprise. One difference was that the noodles were more like dried rice noodles instead of fresh pho noodles, but honestly it didn’t affect the taste too much. The pho also came fully garnished with Vietnamese coriander, bean sprouts, and lime, which made the experience feel very complete.

I also want to mention that many of the 1-star reviews here might come from people who aren’t familiar with Vietnamese flavors. If you’re Vietnamese or a traveler who misses real pho, I definitely recommend giving this place a try at least once.

Overall, we are not very happy with this establishment. Foods are very mediocre with the broths being warmed instead of hot. The ice coffee that costed $8 is full of iced instead of actual coffee.
Waiters and waitresses are rushing us. Not recommend this place based on my experience here.

We went here for Christmas Eve because some of my cousins like the pho, which was good, and my husband and I had some "clay pot" dishes, but all in all it was just ok. Let me start with the positives: the place was clean, the brown rice was hearty with a nice, nutty flavor, and the white rice was good. The beef pho was good, the chicken in my "clay pot" was tender, the hot tea & hot coffee was good, the atmosphere was lively, and servers were friendly, but... The negatives: everything was WAY too salty! I've been to other Vietnamese/pho places where the food was NOT this salty and was very good. The chicken curry and seafood "clay pot" dinners we got looked like Chinese seafood delight and chicken with vegetables. Where were the clay pots? Seriously, I was excited because I thought we were going to get food sizzling in pots, like other places I've been to. This food wasn't even sizzling, as described in the menu. My husband actually sent his seafood "clay pot" back and got the beef pho instead. As for my dish, I guess it tasted like curry, but I'm not sure. Moving on, people cleaning up around us were tossing things in bins so loudly as they were clearing off tables, we thought they were dropping things on the floor or breaking glass. I also thought everything was way too overpriced for what we got. We ended up having a good time regardless, but we could barely stomach our leftovers because they were so salty, so we threw the rest of them away. I do have one last positive thing to add: they were super nice about letting one of my cousins sit at a table for six by herself until the rest of us got there because she wasn't feeling well. The man that seated her even came by a few minutes later to ask if she was okay. They do have good customer service. ❤️

The pho was a solid 10/10. Rich, flavorful broth and super fresh. The spring rolls were pretty good too, and everything came out fast with no wait, which is always a win. Service was friendly and efficient. Definitely adding this spot to my regular rotation whenever a pho craving hits.