Head up: 18% charged for the restroomEverything was nice except the tips. There’s a default 18% tips on the check, but the waiter said that 18% is actually the charge of using restroom. He asked me politely that if I could give extra tips for him and others. No I did not.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
M P
18% service fee for parties of 1 or more. They close at 10pm but kitchen closes at 9. They came around at 9:20 and asked that I pay the bill. They are STINGY with the basil. They gave me a soy sauce dish with basil and jalapeños. Had to ask three times for more, they were annoyed. I thought the 1lb meat would be softer, I was digging with it, too tough. Lastly, $78 for dinner for two? A bit much for soup. Anyway, I would skip this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Nicholas Pun
Pretty darn yummy, definitely coming back to try out other dishes on the menu!Got the kui fei chicken with crispy sticky rice (S5). Not a 100% on board, so I won't recommend it, but it tasted good nevertheless. Bit messy and tricky to eat. I think you'd be better off getting the non-crispy version. The chicken was flavourful and despite the rice needing some force to break apart, it was overall a fun dish to eat.Service was quite quick, but I was here early 5:30p. It did get pretty busy as I was leaving.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Andrew Chen
The soup is too salty for me to enjoy.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Lien Nguyen
Pho could be better.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Suryeon Kim
Food is great! But service is mediocre. For example, I had a basic question about the menu (“is this roll with the crunchy thing in the middle”) and 2 separate servers had no idea. Finally the 3rd person knew. I mean if servers can’t even answer simple questions about the food they’re serving, what is that 18% charge even for?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 2
Sayana
We came here on Easter Day with a group of six. Although we had to wait about 30 minutes due to larger parties being seated, they were turning tables for smaller groups fairly quickly. It's a pretty spacious restaurant. The food arrived fast, and while everything was good, it wasn't mind-blowing. The service was decent, similar to what you'd expect at a fast-food restaurant.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Avanti London
They have very limited vegetarian options and the chefs / staff are unwilling to even make menu-items without meat.Vegetarian options: Very limited. Avoid if you are strict about your diet
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Richard
Autogratuity but poor service. Doesnt make much sense.
Vinícius Lepca
Pretty good, though some of the meat was kinda chewy, I feel like it would’ve been better to have it cut into slightly smaller pieces
I went to the first store in San Jose and it was one of my top to go places to eat! And when I knew that they opened another in Palo Alto, I wanted to try this location out and it didn't disappoint! It was as amazing as the one in San Jose and the portions are really big and the taste is amazing. I was surprised how much I liked the beef with tomato rice. It's really different than other Vietnamese places I went before. But my to go dish is definitely the fried sticky rice with chicken! The sticky rice is so good and the chicken has amazing flavor but I wish there was more meat. However they charge you 18% service charge in the bill right away even if you don't have a big party. So the overall price is higher than you're normal meals!
Alex M.
(Overall: A) - Overall, I continue to be impressed by Pho Ha Noi as their pho meets a high and well rounded standard for taste, presentation, and price. The restaurant sits comfily and has some clean decorations with an open kitchen. Additionally, despite a fixed service fee, their service actually exceeds the service bar for the 90th percentile of restaurants I've gone to. Highly recommend. (Vietnamese Shrimp Rolls: C) - These shrimp rolls were quite disappointing as it managed to layer four different flavors of blandness together -- rice paper, rice noodles, romaine, and shrimp all have very subtle natural flavors so the combination of which all is bland since none of them are seasoned. The peanut sauce is quite flavorful and makes up for some of the taste, but I think it would be better if there was multiple layers of flavor development rather than dousing four different notes of blandness with a singular peanut sauce. (Beef Short Rib Pho: A+) - Unlike with the shrimp rolls, I was very impressive by the presence of spices that were thoughtfully infused to develop a complex and rich broth. When I visited, this short rib pho was on special and was quite a valuable deal too. Their fresh noodles and large portion size add to the high praise of this dish as it sets an impressively high bar for pho at an affordable price, especially by downtown Palo Alto standards. -- Food: E Presentation: +1 Price: +1 Atmosphere: +1 Service: +1 Menu: +1 Overall: +5 A Insta/Beli: @amei_eats
Elizabeth H.
Overall experience was not the best. It started with the gentleman that seated us at the table trying to force me to sit in a seat with my back facing the door because they have to go food on the counter next to the table. I told him no that I didn't want to sit there since I dont like having my back facing the door, and he kept pushing for me to sit in that seat. My suggestion is don't have a table next to where you have all your to go orders. It makes no sense. Hannah was really great, the only reason i gave this review 2 stars. I can't say the same about the manager, I believe I heard someone call him Michael. He needs to work on his customer service skills. If you're going to talk about someone at least walk away where they can't hear you. Food quality definitely doesn't compare to their san jose location. Pho was on the salty side and something I ate definitely had me throwing up when I got home. I won't be back here and makes me not want to go to their other locations anymore either. It left a bad taste in my mouth. They also add an automatic 18% service charge on all the checks.
Faith G.
I've been trying to find a good vegetarian pho and was really excited by their option. Unfortunately, it really did not meet my expectations at all - the broth was pretty flavorless and the veggies were hard. The interior was cute with some murals and flowers. Service was good as well - heads up they close at 3 before dinner if you go for a late lunch.
Jeffrey S.
Lied to me when I asked for more hoisin sauce, saying that it's there. Now I disappointed my gf on her bday, she only likes pho with hoisin sauce.
Head up: 18% charged for the restroomEverything was nice except the tips. There’s a default 18% tips on the check, but the waiter said that 18% is actually the charge of using restroom. He asked me politely that if I could give extra tips for him and others. No I did not.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
18% service fee for parties of 1 or more. They close at 10pm but kitchen closes at 9. They came around at 9:20 and asked that I pay the bill. They are STINGY with the basil. They gave me a soy sauce dish with basil and jalapeños. Had to ask three times for more, they were annoyed. I thought the 1lb meat would be softer, I was digging with it, too tough. Lastly, $78 for dinner for two? A bit much for soup. Anyway, I would skip this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Pretty darn yummy, definitely coming back to try out other dishes on the menu!Got the kui fei chicken with crispy sticky rice (S5). Not a 100% on board, so I won't recommend it, but it tasted good nevertheless. Bit messy and tricky to eat. I think you'd be better off getting the non-crispy version. The chicken was flavourful and despite the rice needing some force to break apart, it was overall a fun dish to eat.Service was quite quick, but I was here early 5:30p. It did get pretty busy as I was leaving.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The soup is too salty for me to enjoy.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Pho could be better.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Food is great! But service is mediocre. For example, I had a basic question about the menu (“is this roll with the crunchy thing in the middle”) and 2 separate servers had no idea. Finally the 3rd person knew. I mean if servers can’t even answer simple questions about the food they’re serving, what is that 18% charge even for?
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 2
We came here on Easter Day with a group of six. Although we had to wait about 30 minutes due to larger parties being seated, they were turning tables for smaller groups fairly quickly. It's a pretty spacious restaurant. The food arrived fast, and while everything was good, it wasn't mind-blowing. The service was decent, similar to what you'd expect at a fast-food restaurant.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
They have very limited vegetarian options and the chefs / staff are unwilling to even make menu-items without meat.Vegetarian options: Very limited. Avoid if you are strict about your diet
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Autogratuity but poor service. Doesnt make much sense.
Pretty good, though some of the meat was kinda chewy, I feel like it would’ve been better to have it cut into slightly smaller pieces
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
I went to the first store in San Jose and it was one of my top to go places to eat! And when I knew that they opened another in Palo Alto, I wanted to try this location out and it didn't disappoint! It was as amazing as the one in San Jose and the portions are really big and the taste is amazing. I was surprised how much I liked the beef with tomato rice. It's really different than other Vietnamese places I went before. But my to go dish is definitely the fried sticky rice with chicken! The sticky rice is so good and the chicken has amazing flavor but I wish there was more meat. However they charge you 18% service charge in the bill right away even if you don't have a big party. So the overall price is higher than you're normal meals!
(Overall: A) - Overall, I continue to be impressed by Pho Ha Noi as their pho meets a high and well rounded standard for taste, presentation, and price. The restaurant sits comfily and has some clean decorations with an open kitchen. Additionally, despite a fixed service fee, their service actually exceeds the service bar for the 90th percentile of restaurants I've gone to. Highly recommend. (Vietnamese Shrimp Rolls: C) - These shrimp rolls were quite disappointing as it managed to layer four different flavors of blandness together -- rice paper, rice noodles, romaine, and shrimp all have very subtle natural flavors so the combination of which all is bland since none of them are seasoned. The peanut sauce is quite flavorful and makes up for some of the taste, but I think it would be better if there was multiple layers of flavor development rather than dousing four different notes of blandness with a singular peanut sauce. (Beef Short Rib Pho: A+) - Unlike with the shrimp rolls, I was very impressive by the presence of spices that were thoughtfully infused to develop a complex and rich broth. When I visited, this short rib pho was on special and was quite a valuable deal too. Their fresh noodles and large portion size add to the high praise of this dish as it sets an impressively high bar for pho at an affordable price, especially by downtown Palo Alto standards. -- Food: E Presentation: +1 Price: +1 Atmosphere: +1 Service: +1 Menu: +1 Overall: +5 A Insta/Beli: @amei_eats
Overall experience was not the best. It started with the gentleman that seated us at the table trying to force me to sit in a seat with my back facing the door because they have to go food on the counter next to the table. I told him no that I didn't want to sit there since I dont like having my back facing the door, and he kept pushing for me to sit in that seat. My suggestion is don't have a table next to where you have all your to go orders. It makes no sense. Hannah was really great, the only reason i gave this review 2 stars. I can't say the same about the manager, I believe I heard someone call him Michael. He needs to work on his customer service skills. If you're going to talk about someone at least walk away where they can't hear you. Food quality definitely doesn't compare to their san jose location. Pho was on the salty side and something I ate definitely had me throwing up when I got home. I won't be back here and makes me not want to go to their other locations anymore either. It left a bad taste in my mouth. They also add an automatic 18% service charge on all the checks.
I've been trying to find a good vegetarian pho and was really excited by their option. Unfortunately, it really did not meet my expectations at all - the broth was pretty flavorless and the veggies were hard. The interior was cute with some murals and flowers. Service was good as well - heads up they close at 3 before dinner if you go for a late lunch.
Lied to me when I asked for more hoisin sauce, saying that it's there. Now I disappointed my gf on her bday, she only likes pho with hoisin sauce.