Pho Factory

Had lunch here yesterday, spring rolls, chicken phở, filet phở, grilled pork rolls… Restaurant very clean and updated. Restaurant was pretty empty and we were seated right away. Waitress took our order fast and we got our food fast as well. Everything tastes really good! The waitress never smiled and wasn’t friendly at all! Maybe she was having a bad day, but try and smile and be friendly! Otherwise this place was great! There’s no difference except price whether you get a small or large there literally the same size which is pretty big.

I have not written any bad review on any restaurant, but I must warn fellow customers about the bad service at this place.
I started going to Phở Factory since it was first opened about a year ago. The food is quite decent. I like the phở broth which is on the lean side. But the service was on the bad side. My last visit was back in October 2015 when the owner told me «…this restaurant is not suitable for you».
During the many times that I went there, I noticed that whenever they are busy, they tend to get things mixed up, which is in some ways understandable. But when things get mixed up, their goal is to prove that they are right and the customers are wrong. They don’t try to understand the customers’ needs or hear the customers’ concerns. This attitude is exhibited by all staff — from the waiter to waitresses to the owner.
Our first visit there: we had a family of 8. We ordered «phở tai nam (rare)» and they brought out «phở chin nam»… something like that. So we sent it back and asked for the right order. When I got the bill, I noticed that they charged me for 8 bowls instead of 7 bowls. The owner told me «I charged 8 bowls because I counted 8 bowls on your table». This got me really upset. She didn’t even bother to look at the order or ask the waiter/​waitress to find out that the 8^th bowl was just an extra bowl so the 7-​year old kid can share with his mom. The owner fixed the mistake and said sorry, so I let it go and continued to come to the restaurant.
About 2 months ago, we went there. Again, family of 8, ranging from 8 years old to 84 years old. We ordered 2 big bowls, 4 regular bowls and 3 appetizers and more drinks. When the 2 big bowls came out, my sister noticed that they are just the same size and same amount of food as the regular bowl. So she asked «how are the 2 sizes different? how can you tell?» One waiter said «they are different because if you look at the bottom of the bowls, one has the letter C and the other has the letter D». Another waitress said «the 2 sizes are only 60 cents different. What do you expect?» When my sister asked the waitress to bring out another regular bowl so she can show them that they are not different, the waitress asked «will you pay for the extra bowl?» My sister got upset and said «just bring it out… if I pay for it and don’t want to eat, I can throw it away».
The owner came over and insisted «sorry, we will not bring you the bowl of phở so you can throw it away…» My brother asked «I have a problem. I ordered phở tai nam and you brought out chin nam, will you do anything about that?» The owner gave him an angry look and did not say anything to my brother and continued to argue with my sister. I put the 2 bowls together (one on top of the other) and took a picture; they are just the same. (I uploaded the picture onto Unilocal,but not sure if the picture will be attached to my review; it is picture 209)
My 84-​year old father was getting frustrated waiting for his food while the owner and my sister were arguing. My sister returned the bowl of phở to the owner. I took it back, set it back down on the table, saying that we can sort this out later. After we finished eating, my brother paid for the meal, and even gave $ 8 in tips (he is always concerned about waiters and waitresses who rely on tips). I went to talk to the owner, and offered to come back at a later time when she is not so busy. She told me «I am the owner… you can say whatever you want to say with me now…» I wanted to tell her that customers don’t care if she charge $ 2 extra for the big bowl; customers just want to see the visible difference between the 2 sizes. But before I could say that, she told me «well, if you don’t feel that comfortable with the size and cost of our phở, then perhaps this restaurant is not suitable for you». I replied: «OK, I will take my business elsewhere, and I will also tell others how Phở Factory treats customers»
As we entered the restaurant, I asked «how come this place is not that crowded, even though the food is decent?» When we left the restaurant, my sister said «well, you got the answer to your question» (I would have written this review earlier but got sidetracked with other urgent businesses).
If you experience similar bad service from this page before, please like my review and feel free to forward it to your friends and networks. The owner needs to know that customer service is top priority if she wants her restaurant to succeed.

First time was good. Came back again today to try fresh fat noodle. Noodle is too thick. Soup tasted inconsistent compared to last visit. Waitress had bad facial attitude and impatient to confirm the order. Price is way expensive than other phở places. Hope these inputs help the owner to keep this business survive. Good luck!

Time: Sunday @ 12:30pm
Vacancy: Full with 5 empty 2 seat tables and 2 2-​seat tables outside
Wait time: 11 mins, party of 4
Time to order: Immediately
Time for food: 2min phở and 6 min rice dish
Food: Typical good phở, meat has more fat than I’m used to.
Overall good, came for the other phở place across the street but there was a huge line so came here instead.

Food: 5 stars
Service: 5 stars
Cleanliness: 5 stars
I usually don’t gush over any restaurant like this… but I think I’m in love *sigh* :)
I love them for the quality of ingredients that they use. The beef has a higher quality than most other phở restaurants because no matter whether it’s served medium rare or well-​done like the way I like it, it is still tender and delicious. I usually get phở tai and chin and with fresh noodles not dried. And what makes their broth stand out is how fragrant and rich it tastes. I’ve never had a problem coming in here. They all are very friendly and accommodating to me and my family.
The only downfall to it all is that with higher quality ingredients come a higher price. $ 10.00 out-​the-​door for a small bowl.
But nevertheless, I would highly recommend it to anyone who will not mind paying a little more for what they really want.
Hallelujah to a good bowl of noodle!

I came here on a Sunday afternoon around 1:30 PM with a party of 3 others. We were planning on going to Phở Kim Luong but the line was wayyyy too long. And besides, what’s a true Unilocaler if you don’t scope out a new place?
Phở Factory is located across the street from Phở Kim Luong, next to another phở place down the street. It might be hard to miss, since it’s in a small business plaza with a Dog Salon and dentist office.
We ordered:
–Shrimp spring rolls: 2 full spring rolls cut into 4 pieces, with a huge bowl of peanut sauce.
–Three bowls of #11 (small): Rare filet mignon, well-​done flank, brisket, tender, tripe. /​/​This bowl had a huge variety of things, but I feel like compared to other places, they give way too much tripe but not meat-​meat.
–One bowl of #7 (small): Rare filet mignon, brisket /​/​Full of meat and no fat on the meat! Yay!
–Hai Nam Style with steamed chicken Rice dish: I THINK that’s what we ordered. The saltiness was just rice, and vegetable to chicken ratio is good! I would eat this again next time!
Pros:
–Good service! Quickly helped with, and waters brought. Waitress seemed a little rushed though… and not sure about what. Either way, she was helpful in answering our questions.
–Clean environment! Upon entrance, everything is very well organized and tables were super clean. Restrooms are also super clean and so is the kitchen! (It’s huge!)
–Good selection on menu! I like that for the soup base, you can choose beef or chicken base! I’m used to beef broth, but maybe next time I’ll try chicken! Maybe they have a different menu for lunch, but for now everything seems fine for dinner or for lunch.
–Nice portion sizes! Small size is definitely enough for me. I like that their meat: noodle ratio is good! I hate eating mouthfuls of noodles near the end and this place did not disappoint!
–YAY for clean broth! I like that their is minimal MSG. I didn’t leave this place thinking I had to drink a gallon of water when I got home.
–Decent prices! Smalls are $ 8.35-$ 8.95 and large is $ 8.95-$ 9.55. Pretty standard now, especially in San Jose. But overall, not too bad for a hot bowl of phở!
Cons:
–Rice is kind of cold and stale, but eh. What can I do about it?
–Servers/​waiters were a little «slow». They definitely want to do the job right, but they just seem clumsy. They don’t really know how to put the bowls in front of you, so just be ready to grab it from them.
Tips/​Observations:
–Parking is pretty tight here! There is probably street parking, or you could always park in the spaces behind the buildings.
Overall, this place is not bad if you are craving phở but don’t want to wait in the ridiculous lines. Nothing is bad bad, but nothing that stood out. Definitely more pros than cons though!