Pho Lover

Everything was delicious. The service was good, We really liked the cherry blossom tree and the robot was just too cute!

Gonna guess that Yelp will take my review down, seems if you write anything but a stellar review, you get a note telling you to be kind, business is hurting because of the plandemic.Anyhow.Had high hopes for this one, but no joy. I've about lived on Pho in S.E. Asia and the States, so have a decent appreciation for what makes a good bowl.And this ain't it.My wife and I both had the Phở Dặc Biệt, and in a first for either of us, left most of it uneaten. There was a decent quantity of meats in it, but they were for sure nothing special. Frozen meatballs and beef slices that could have been from any era, from the Cold War on up. Couple strands of tripe, and one or two pieces of jellied-tendon, and that was about it. The broth...the broth is really the heart of Pho, if it isn't good, forget the rest. This broth was, I hate to say it, lousy. Tasteless? I've accidentally gotten dishwater in my mouth that had more taste. But the noodles were okay.Ate the meats and some of the noodles, but the rest? Walked out with almost a full bowl left on the table.In short, I wouldn't eat here again on a bet, and the only recommendation I can honestly give it is to stay away. The poor food would have been balanced by friendly, efficient service.It wasn't.

So far, we've tried this place twice for carry-out, so I can't speak to what the atmosphere of the restaurant is like. What I can say is that they are very kind and do their best to provide good customer service. Of no fault of theirs, a Door Dash Delivery person took our order without confirming with them first. So they scrambled to remake our entire order. And while they were remaking ours, they were on the phone with the poor folks who received the wrong order because of their bad delivery person. So they had to rectify that issue as well. 3 losers in this episode, and only Door Dash made out. Also, that do-do of a Door Dasher took our Korean hot dog, which happened to be their last one. Our daughter was very disappointed. I feel like Door Dash owes us, the restaurant, and their customer some compensation. I digress! The food is so tasty. What we got: Bun Bo Hue - She's spicy! But it's rich and round, and if you like seafood and fermented shrimp paste, then this is for you! This is not a dish for vanilla tastebuds. Pho with beef tendon- I've had this twice now, and both times the tendon is just cooked so well. Tender but still some chew. And the portion is so generous. Our two kids share this with me and they wolf it down! The broth is perfect warm-your-soul but not weigh-your-belly. If you haven't had tendon, it's still beef but less heavy meat, and has the texture of maybe gnocchi but it's protein and not a carb. Try it once in your life! There really isn't any texture quite like it.Taro milk tea- This was a bit too sweet for our taste. But maybe someone else prefers it that way. Please give this place some love! The food is seriously so great. It doesn't seem right that Door Dash can make such a terrible mistake yet the business is the one that has to bear the consequences of a customer having a bad experience, as well as lose money on the order and ingredients.

Pho Lover is a great Vietnamese restaurants. This restaurant is relatively new and deserves to be visited if you enjoy Vietnamese food. The first thing that you will notice is how beautiful this restaurant is. A lot of attention went into the decor. There are two very very big trees in the middle of the restaurant near the entrance. The walls are also very gorgeously decorated. The food was just as fancy. We ordered the Jumbo Pho Dac Biet (with a braised bone in beef short rib, extra meat and noodle). The short rib was fall off the bone tender. The broth was fantastic. Add the fresh bean sprouts and basil and it is super flavorful. We also ordered the Bun Combo and Egg Roll (with beef, shrimp and lemongrass pork). This was also a hit. The fish oil dressing was great. The shrimp and pork were amazing. I highly recommend Pho Lover. I will be coming back to try more of their menu.

Revisited this favorite spot after the "remodel" (sale), and it's okay... all they did was add some decor... don't get me wrong, the cherry blossom trees and ivy walls are nice, but the old furniture, desk, and meh bathroom walls and floor have not changed an iota... so lipstick on a pig.Divey vibes are acceptable when the food is good and cheap. Not so much when the food is not good and no longer cheap... and their servers need training on how to bring out Pho with more sprouts, and the utensils (spoons not just ladles) and flavoring (chili oil missing) in a "spicy" seafood pho. Need a real chef here if you're upping prices. There are much better options around, even if it's another 10m drive to get yummy vs. mediocre Pho. Legit Costco has better in microwave bowls.Dinner for 2 people, one app 2 Pho entrees with a $7 tip = $50... after all the corrections. p.s Cool robot, though it never came to our table.

Formerly "To Pho" this restaurant now boasts new management and a new menu. I had hoped to order fried tofu, a dish I enjoyed often when I lived in China, but it's off the menu. I went with some fresh shrimp spring rolls, which were huge and excellent, and some steamed dumplings, also flavorful and well prepared. My tablemate had the chicken pho, and the serving is so large, she took more than half of it home to enjoy later.Service was top-notch, and the restaurant, including restrooms, was immaculate.Next time, I'll try a bahn mi, as I am a fan of this sandwich which fuses Vietnamese and French cuisines.

This place used to be To Pho. We were informed the restaurant was under new management. This is Pho Lover's second location. Their other location is in Galesburg, IL.As you walk in, you're greeted with a front host counter/pay area with a greenery background that was recently updated. The new owners thought it would be nice to stick a pink tree in the middle of dining area on the right. They also updated the walls on each side of the dining area with greenery as well. The bathroom is the same as previous owner (not so great).We ordered the following:Fresh Shrimp Spring Roll - $5.95Crispy Veggie Egg Roll - $5.45Com Dia Rice Plate - Marinate Grill Pork Chop - $13.55Add Fried Egg - $2Add Honey Sausage - $2Banh Mi Sandwich (Grilled Chicken) - $8.95P09 Pho Tai Nam, Bo Vien - $13.95The presentation of the Fresh Shrimp Spring Roll could use some finesse. I've seen other restaurants roll spring rolls much better than this. I wish there were more herbs added to the Spring Roll to bring out the flavor. The peanut sauce was good, but not great.Crispy Veggie Egg Roll seemed they were factory made and purchased frozen. It was also good, but not great.The Com Dia Pork Rice Plate came with (2) pieces of pork, pickled daikon/carrots and cucumbers. The pork was good. The fact they charged $2 to add a fried egg and $2 for Honey Sausage seemed over the top. This plate ended up at an $18 plate, which was definitely worth it. We can order the same plate at a different restaurant and the price is much less.The Banh Mi Sandwich definitely was not worth $9. I've had Banh Mi sandwiches 100x better for $6.50. The bread was over toasted and hard. The chicken was good, but not great. It didn't hit the spot.Pho was a 3 on a scale of 5. The only great thing that about the pho was it came with a decent amount of steak beef slices and meat balls. I was hoping for the broth to hit the 'WOW' factor, but they missed their mark.When I walk into a Vietnamese restaurant, I expect the menu to be entirely dedicated to Vientamese food. Their menu included Korean Dog & Fries, Hibachi items, and other Japanese noodle/rice dishes. That is a major let down.Service: 5 stars (staff was nice)Food: 3 starsPrice: 3 starsDining area cleanliness: 3 starsBathroom: 1 starOverall average: 3 starsWill I be back? 10% chance

This place used to be To Pho, which was one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants. The service at To Pho was not always the warmest, and the interior resembled an old diner, but the food was varied, plentiful, and delicious. Moreover, To Pho's Taiwanese chef brought some unique offerings, like bao, to the menu. "Pho Lover" is not just a new name. This is basically a brand new restaurant, with a new chef, new owners, and a different menu - and no more bao. :( However, life giveth and it taketh, for where bao has gone missing, there are some new additions to the menu that may make for interesting substitutes. One thing to notice right away is that the presentation game of the restaurant has gone WAY up. From the garden-like decor, to the stylish chopsticks, custom-branded dishware, and even scenic bubble tea plastic toppers, the aesthetic is on a whole other level. This really hyped us up for our food.We each ordered a combo meal - pho tai for each of us, along with a bubble tea. Hubby got a taro smoothie (one of the best I've tried in a long time!), while I got a Thai milk tea. Both were really good, with the texture of the tapioca pearls being a particular highlight. Also, a pretty good value - about $17 bucks for a large bowl of pho and big cup of bubble tea.All that said, nothing else matters as much as the quality of the pho. When it arrived at our table, I was feeling a bit cautious - I hadn't really read the online reviews yet, but at a glance, they seemed guarded. I took a thoughtful sip of the broth with the giant spoon they give you. My first impression was: this broth is AMAZING. Complex. Flavorful. Multi-dimensional, with discernible components. But it didn't stay that way. After a few bites, for some reason, those bold flavors disappeared and coalesced into only one flavor - really salty. I am not sure why or how that came to be.The 1975 "Pepsi Challenge" came to my mind: during a blind taste test, participants overwhelmingly preferred Pepsi to Coke, due to Pepsi's higher sugar content. However, while all that sugar makes for an impressive first sip, it overwhelms an entire glass. Thus, more people prefer Coke overall. I wonder if it was something like that - if the saltiness of the broth was there all along, and built up over time until it became overpowering. Or else, maybe as the beef, et al. simmered, it just changed the flavor of the bowl?Salty broth wasn't the only problem. Something about the texture of my noodles just wasn't right. It's like they were too limp. My husband did not have that complaint, so maybe there was some inconsistency in how our bowls were made. I also noticed his beef was a bit more rare, and mine a bit more well-done, so more evidence to that point.Speaking of the beef, it was different than the cuts I usually get in pho tai. These were thicker, rounder, and leaner-looking. That said, they were still tender and tasty, so not really a problem (though I do prefer mine a bit rarer).I am sticking with 4 stars for now, because our meal was mostly a good one. I feel like I can get a better bowl of pho somewhere else right now, but am hopeful that the flavor and consistency will improve over time as this restaurant gains experience.

I have been going to To Pho for several years since I live down the street. It was a go to pho spot for the burbs. So when it went under new management and had a complete 180, I was skeptical.But oh my gosh, this place is so good! I haven't had broth this delicious since Pho Lily in Viet Town closed! I also went ahead and tried their seafood version. Not really the traditional pho, but I crave it just the same!The service here is actually above the service of the previous owners. The young man is really on it! I have to catch his name next time.If you didn't know, get the combo! Pho plus a bubble tea for under $20!I posted a silly photo of my brother enjoying their massive bowl. They limit it to about 20 servings a day. Worth it! This guy can EAT, and he said it was filling.

Had a pick up order today for pho and spring rolls. Outstanding!!!! The spring rolls were fresh and stuffed with beef. The pho was amazing ! The packing was perfect, everything in separate bags - neat and amazingReally enjoyed it and will be back