Pho Citi

Okay this location doesn’t exist anymore but I was just recalling how horrible it was and had to Unilocal it.
Every single thing was disgusting and incorrect. It’s like someone who had never had Vietnamese food or taste buds saw pictures and thought hey I can do that.
We came here late night after a game in a big group. No one ate their food. Gross.

Phở-​Get-​It!
This place was the only place open 24 hours and I needed a bite to eat after some heavy drinking and a concert.
This place is gross. Seriously. Don’t go here.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they get shut down soon.
You’ve been warned.

The only thing I have tried was the Eggroll Vermicelli (I’ve been there three times) and it’s DELICIOUS. They have the best eggrolls I’ve ever had from a Vietnamese place in Orange County. The noodles were yummy, they give you big portions (and it’s still only $ 6.75) and it’s just my favorite. I took my friend there, as well, and she had the Beef Vermicelli — she also loved it!
Also, they have BOGO on their Thai Tea with Boba ²⁴⁄₇. So if you and a friend are craving some, that’s a good place to go :)
I also haven’t had any problem with the staff. They’re always very nice and I get a seat as soon as I walk in.

I’m a huge fan of phở and ate it quite regularly when I lived in NY. «Phở Sundays» my friends and I called it. So in an attempt to quench my phở cravings, I went to Phở Citi. Open 24 hours, it lies at the foot of the Burbank AMC 16 – perfect if you want to grub after a late night movie.
The thing is, this place was far from perfect, and the service was abhorrent. Don’t get me wrong, even my favorite phở restaurant in Queens had shoddy service but the phở made up for it. Phở Citi on the other hand has bad service AND mediocre phở. Clearly, our server did not want to be there. He tossed our menus on the table, slammed our thai iced teas down. Took forever to take our order. Just a bad taste all around.
The broth was bland, the brisket was tough. And by the looks of the plate of wilted basil, it wasn’t too thrilled to be at Phở Citi either.

It’s really cool to have a phở place in town that’s open ²⁴⁄₇. However, the phở is just OK. The broth is watery and I’m not too keen on the texture of the vermicelli noodles. I also ordered crispy noodles, but it wasn’t anything spectacular.
Good place to come eat at when everything else is closed, but not my most favorite. Oh and if you like thai iced tea, there’s buy 1 get 1 free.

The service here could be a bit better, but the phở was actually decent. Nothing to rave about, but I left satisfied. It’s a good place to grab a bite if you have some time to kill and a belly to fill (hey — that rhymed!!!).

If i could give this restaurant no stars i would! i have given this place about 5 chances to prove me right and each time they are even more terrible! the service is slow and terrible, everyone that works there seems to be un happy and last night was my last straw! My friend and i went to go get some phở. The first thing that happened was they blonde waitress who looks about 16 got my order wrong and then cocked an attitude when i told her it was wrong. then when she finally brought me some cold vegetables on the side (instead of just getting me a new phở) i felt a tickle on my neck. i figured it was just my hair falling off my shoulder, but then i felt a tickle on my side!
IT WAS A COCKROACH CRAWLING ON ME!!! i jumped up and screamed and one of the staff chased it and killed it. after being scarred for life i of course didn’t finish my food. and the best part they still made me pay in the end. i had to pay for my soup that i didn’t even eat because a COCKROACH crawled on me in their restaurant. this place needs new owners or just needs to be shut down. that was my last time at phở citi

I came here after watching a movie. My family and I had:
Appetizer combo (2 egg rolls, 2 dumplings, 4 shrimp spring rolls): The egg rolls were crispy. That’s the only good thing about it. The filling was dry. The dumplings were fried and that was also dry. The shrimp rolls were mostly lettuce and 2 pieces of shrimp in each. I didn’t care for it much. It would be cool if we were able to make our own instead.
Spicy Beef Rice: This wasn’t that spicy. It was more sweet like a sweet and sour sauce. The beef was really tough and not fatty at all. It had some onions in it too and a side salad with a tomato and cucumber. The rice was really dry as well.
Rare Steak Phở: This one is a decent dish. At least they gave a large portion, enough for 3 people. They gave a good amount of steak and it was thinly sliced. Maybe about 12 to 15 pieces of meat and some were fatty. The broth was ok but I would prefer a stronger broth.
Service was good. I’m guessing they get a lot of customers who order a dish just for themselves and not sure but we ended up sharing all of the dishes so they gave extra plates and bowls.
The restaurant is a good size. It has a fast food or food court feel to it. It’s nothing really fancy.
Overall, it’s an ok place. I don’t know if I’ll come back here again but if I’m in the area or watched a late movie, I might.
Note: Open 24 hours.

Not bad Phở Citi, don’t get a complex from your reviews, people are just frustrated with their own problems, and looking for a place to heap on the dung.
My wife and I went here during her lunch break on a Friday. The place was fairly empty, the service came with smiles, and the Phở was hot and tasty.
My expectations regarding Phở have dropped since I went pescetarian with my diet, and dropped further still when I went vegetarian a few months ago, but the fake meat at this place was pretty tasty, and the veggies were crunchy and fresh. All we got on the veggie plate was basil, soy sprouts, and lime, so perhaps that could be «beefed» up a bit with some cilantro, mint, and other greens, but hey, the entire bill for two was under $ 20.
The music is pretty terrible, but that’s just a matter of opinion, you might’ve loved it (it was your run of the mill Pop station).
and that’s all I have to say about THAT.
JayBizzle

Excellent egg rolls.
Probably the best I’ve had.
Ready to try more.

FYI,
County of Los Angeles: Public Health
Phở Citi Bubank, 346 N First St, Burbank, Ca, 91 502
Date closed: November 28,2012
Date Reopened: November 30, 2012
Reason for Closure:
Vermin Harborage

Vermin Infestation

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE service.
This review may be biased; I say this because I was never actually able to try the food. I went in, sat down, waited for a good 20 minutes and no one ever came over to take the order…
So 20 minutes of people busing other tables around us & them not even able to bring us a menu = us walking out.
I wouldn’t ever go back, they are the epitome of bad customer service.

Pros: Its 24 hrs
That list is pretty short.
Cons: Oh boy here we go!
Service is below average. Was greeted by an angry looking viet man. However, when we asked for extra amenities, they were quick to deliver.
The phở did not satisfy my craving. There was something missing from the soup-​lacking the particular phở flavor. The rare steak was not rare at all but actually overcooked and very tough.
Overall I would not come back again.

A group of us went to the AMC to see Skyfall last night. The theater had an advertisement for this place before the movie. I said to the folks in our group … «those spring rolls look pretty tasty. We will have to try that spot some time».
Well, after the movie on a Saturday night we walked over to this spot which is next door to the AMC 16. It was full but there was no wait.
We waited for service… and waited. We looked at the menu. I noticed the price for the Pork Vermicelli was more expensive than a place within walking distance that I have reviewed in the past. Why the extra money here I asked myself. This place is smaller, the service is poor. the atmosphere is fast food ville with small free standing tables and cheap chairs.
We waited for service.
I checked out the place on Unilocal which is something I now do very often.
People said the service was slow. They said the food was not very good. They said the meat was tough. I shared my information with our group. We left and walked to the other Vietnamese restaurant in the area and ate there.
I posted one photo at the place we walked to after we left Phở Citi and walked to another spot where the service is better, the décor is nicer, the food may or may not be better (as we left this spot and did not eat here) and the prices are better.

Food is mediocre.
Meat is tough.
Service is horrible.
Tables are sticky.
Dining area is messy.
They were rushing us to order.
we’ve only been eating for about 15 min then the waitress came back and said, «here’s the check, but no rush»
seriously lady, pack my food, im ready to go.
this is my first and last visit here.

Our family likes their food, but good food by itself isn’t enough for 5 stars.
The service is mediocre, not rude and not anything to give a standing ovation over. The price is ok considering the area.
So one star less for ho-​hum service.
The second star gets taken away because of their boba.
I don’t know when they added boba to their menu, but they should have perfected it first.
I went in, ordered my food and a taro boba drink. I don’t care if you call it a milk tea or a snow bubble or a whatever, but it should at least taste good.
The girl behind the counter (who didn’t seem to fully understand the words I was using– not because of language, but because of comprehension) asked the guy who was clearly a busboy if he could stop cleaning tables and make my taro boba milk tea. He repeated some of the words she said, «boba…taro…boba». She then repeated her request and he said «ok».
When I got my drink, it was brown (taro drinks should be purplish). I tried it and it tasted gross, so I informed the girl. She said, «maybe he put too much tea in it». Then she said, «I’ll just make it». And then she disappeared in back for a while. The other two workers from the kitchen were looking at me and smiling. Perhaps they were being nice, but I’ve watched too many episodes of «Caught on Camera» to feel good about the situation. Honestly I was nervous about what might be going on in the back room to the complaining man’s drink…
She finally returned with a purple boba drink. I sipped it and nearly gagged. It was so thick, like a nasty dose of pepto. I was way too nervous to ask for a third attempt. I’ll go back for phở, but to their disgusting excuse for boba, I’ll always say «no».

I’ve been here a few times, it is time to review!
I can understand the lower reviews since this isn’t exactly the best Phở out there, but they get 5 stars from me only for service alone.
Their portions are huge, they are quick and they are very nice.
I’ve been here a couple of times after a good night of partying and nothing hits the spot better than some hot phở…
Their eggrolls are amazing by the way.
I’ll admit I have had better, but nothing beats Open 24 hours and so close to home.

We thought of giving this place a try since i was craving phở at 1 in the morning.
Phở was okay. I didnt really like the eggrolls though. For some reason it tasted like it was defrosted and microwaved. My boyfriend didn’t like his porkchop. He said it was hard and he couldnt really chew it.
We waited foreverrrr getting our change back. Though we were debating if we should just leave the change as tip since it was only $ 2. The waitress then came up to our table and asked us if we wanted our change back… Uhm… Having our change would be nice! -.-” soo. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. We waited there longer then we ate. Ridiculous. She wasnt even really doing much. Giving our change would only take less then a minute! So. We got tired of waiting, just got up and dipped. As we passed her she had the nerve to say «thank you!». Yeah whatever. Basically she kept our change. Not really trippin about it though. It was only $ 2 anyway, and that was probably the only tip she got the whole night from the poor service. Haha. Jk. It was understaffed though and she was serving like 3 other couples there.

I am so disappointed in this place. It just keeps getting progressively worse each time I come in.
It was on ¹¹⁄₆ when I went w/​my sister to get some phở. I just had lasik surgery a few days prior so I was basically blind during my entire experience at PhoCiti.
We wanted the rare steak but they were all out so I ordered the brisket & thai iced tea and my sister had some butter rice and spring meat (i think that what the small meat cubes were called) — which the cashier was insisting was a pricey cut of meat and very good.
While we were waiting for our order. I heard a woman speaking to one of the staff and then she announces to the entire restaurant «I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW THAT I FOUND A HAIR IN MY SOUP & THEY WILL NOT REFUND MY MONEY. JUST LETTING YOU KNOW.» And she left.
Naturally, when our food arrived, we checked and there were no foreign objects in it (or so I thought).
We get home, and realized that the cashier forgot to give me my thai iced tea!
Its ok, I still had my phở to look forward to… Unfortunately, that too was messed up beyond belief. The meat was soooooo strange! It looked like pre-​cooked, cut deli meat or leftovers or something (see photos). It did NOT look like the brisket I’ve had before there. I took all the meat out and just had broth & noodles, which the noodles also seemed to have degraded in quality. That’s not all tho, my sisters dish was also quite questionable. I didnt know what i was biting into, was it supposed to be meat (in that case what the hell kind of meat was it cuz it sure as hell wasn’t beef) or a rubber chew toy for dogs? Disgusting!!!
I will for sure say that I will never step foot in this restaurant again, not until some changes are made. The quality is just BAD BAD BAD. Save your money and go try another phở place.

Phở Citi is to Vietnamese food as Panda Express is to Chinese food.
I reluctantly went here even though I KNEW that the phở was going to be crap. The franchise is Americanized Vietnamese food and service. The only good from this is that there is a soda machine which is usually unheard of in traditional Vietnamese places.
The regular phở bowl is $ 6.45. The phở was like a bowl of hot water with overcooked rice noodle and meat. Even though they had tendon, it didn’t make up for the sad excuse for phở.
The place in nicely decorated but it was like a typical Vietnamese restaurant in that it was pretty dirty for an Americanized establishment. There was dirt and trash hidden under the chairs and tables, with a slight mysterious film on the seats/​tables possibly as a result of constant use since they’re open 24 hours.
The only time I would come back here is to pick people up to take them to a real Phở place.