Tran Noodle

I am NEVER coming back! The service was horrible! When I went inside I was waiting for someone to come for 6 min and I did see the waiter but she ignored me. There was only 1 other family there besides that I had to tell her I want to order something and she had an attitude with it then she didn’t even greet me or give me a menu I had to ask for one. Then when I did order the food took forever to come. I also ordered a boba drink and it tasted very weird from when I would get them from other places. I asked the waiter if she can switch it to a different flavor and she rolled her eyes at me. When she brought me my boba she roughly placed it on the table behind me didn’t say anything and walks away. The summer rolls. All I taste is lettuce. I was so disappointed! I wasted $ 30 for half of my meal to taste like shit! The only thing that was good was my phở.

Staff was extremely friendly. Phở was just what I needed… not the best I’d ever had, but there are limited choices for this area. Got the job done!

Yay! Finally a Vietnamese place in town. Delicious phở and excellent customer service! Come with an appetite and leave happy! :)

Driving through town and saw their sign for fresh fruit smoothies. We stopped in and ordered a mango pineapple and strawberry passion fruit. They just use fresh fruit– so delicious! They were so friendly and the service was great. Highly recommend!

I grew up eating phở all my life living in San Jose to the OC. I decided to try this place out before work and it was just not that good. I don’t like giving bad reviews, but I have to say one of the worst phở noodles I have ever had in my entire life. The broth did not have that beefy bone flavor, it was too sweet and tasted only like beef stock. I had to add soy sauce, vinegar, a lot of hot sauce to counteract the sweetness In addition to that, it was way overpriced. $ 10 for a large phở?! Sorry I will not be coming back here again…
The only positive part of my experience is that the owner was a very nice lady.

I had no idea what I was in store for, other than a great review from family and friends. Service was great, food was OK. I’ve never had Vietnamese food before especially that type of food. I wasn’t sure how we were supposed eat and what was garnish. What I was supposed to do with all the garnishes was a never really explained. Again service was great, I was expecting better food though my wife and I thought it was pretty bland.

Good service. The phở meat isn’t as good as I have had before and seemed skimpy in comparison to other places. The broth is pretty good. Since it is the only Phở place in town its better than nothing. The salmon rolls were excellent! In one of the drink fridges there were some moldy young coconuts. I would have gotten one if i hadn’t seen that. Terrible watered down thai tea.

I was so excited to try this place and I’m just so disappointed about my visit. The menu has great items but I was a little surprised at how expensive it was for lunch specials. The food all tasted pretty decent, aside from our beef and chicken being cold. Our lunch specials came with soup which they never even brought out until we were half way done with our food. We were never offered refills for our drinks. I actually had to go up to the front to pay and the person working there made a snarky remark about how we ate so fast. Well I had a crying baby and I was just trying to be considerate of others trying to enjoy their meal so I asked for a to go box, which she told me she’d bring out and never did. It would have been nice to take our food home since we paid $ 42 for 3 people. (1 of them being a 7 year old) I will most definitely not be back.

I grew up in the San Jose area which tends to lead to a phở habit. Very few options in this area to quell the craving, or help with a hangover.
This place does the job, kind of. The broth is passible and the ingredients have always been fresh in my experience. Steak is a bit scant, the tripe was okay. They give you lemon wedges instead of limes which is kind of weird and messes up the flavor profile: I’m seriously considering bringing my own limes next time.
I also usually get the spring rolls which are are also ok. The peanut sauce is on the salty side and for some reason the carrot is always bitter so I tend to pull it out.
Prices are a little higher than what I would expect, and climbing. But hey, monopoly on the phở habit.
Service depends on who you get. The owner lady (?) is pretty good and attentive and checks in. You have to be proactive, walk up to the counter to ask for things. Don’t wait by the door when you come in, go make yourself known.

Front door wide open and flys galore. I just ordered a smoothie. The taste is so bland and not worth the $ 4.36 paid.

I used to work here when they had just opened under new management, was fine at first, but they expect too much I had to be a waitress, busser, cashier, hostess, and boba maker all in one, always tried to give people the service I would want to receive but it got too stressful to be left alone to manage a restaurant on my own with two cooks for hours at times so I quit, I went back after a couple months thinking things would Improve and they didn’t, stood up to my boss but instead of taking my constructive criticism she fired me
I still go eat there but the service is so slow and the waitresses aren’t as friendly and attentive as they should be

Today I went to one of my favourite Phở spots, Tran Noodle. To describe the event as a disaster would be an understatement. Arriving at noon we received water at 12.15 and orders were taken. At 12.50 the lunch was delivered… no napkins, chopsticks or water refills. My lunch was not what I ordered and on pointing this out to the barely sentient waiter, he inquired what I would like to do about that. I asked for the correct size and was promised it. By 1.05 nothing had arrived, neither the promised Phở nor water. Eventually the bill was delivered with the incorrect meal included. This «oversight» was quickly remedied and we left, probably never to return.
The food was excellent as always but the zombie waiter made the experience unpleasant.

So today I went in with a friend to get lunch (a soup) and a boba. We spent over 30 minutes waiting. After not getting the food the «manager» Jackie didn’t even apologize for the delay just told us oh you don’t want your food here is your refund ! We were not the only ones waiting !! This is ridiculous the level of service is beyond disrespectful. the staff is so disrespectful!!! I do not recommend going there !

Horrible service and the food ain’t much better. Sat near the front windows and got to watch the wonderful collection of garbage flies (live ones) perched on the window sill waiting for our food to arrive. Strike one.
The menus prices are all crossed out with higher prices WRITTEN in with a Sharpie. Yeah, now that’s class. Couldn’t tell what the price of the various bowls of Phở were as the prices were blackened out by the Sharpie squad. Ordered the salmon rolls (appetizer). Those actually had prices. Meh. Skimpy.
Also got the Thai Iced Tea. $ 3.50. Shave a buck off of that and you may be in the ball park. Waiter spilled the iced tea a bit and never brought any napkins to clean up.
Literally sat there for about 1 hr 20 min before getting our food. Mind you, there were only three other tables being served at the time.
Strike two.
Got the seafood bowl and there was hardly any seafood. Couple of shrimp, a few thin cuts of squid and pathetic looking, micro-​sized pieces of fish. It was supposed to come with basil and didn’t. They put lettuce (small amounts) in the soup. Lettuce? Really? No.
When we got the bill, I noticed they charged me for the transaction service fee.
Strike three. We’re outta here!
This place has all the earmarks of a business on the brink of closure. When the business owners start pinching pennies on things like menus and the food they serve and raising prices, these are all acts of desperation. Another sign is when they only accept cash. That ALWAYS limits how much people spend. Always. Even successful businesses shouldn’t do this. This place only keeps the card option because they charge you, the customer, their service fee.
No Phở no mo. Not here.

THE FOOD — 5 Stars!
I drive from Santa Cruz to eat here because the food is delicious. Besides, this place is the closest to good phở in this area! It’s about a 20 min drive I’d be willing to make, even in traffic! They have different phở bowls (as well as other entrees and food selections), but I like that they have a vegetable-​based broths for the non meat-​eaters!
THE SERVICE — 2 Stars
I have met the owner personally and see her every time I visit the restaurant. She is a sweet asian lady that always remembers where our conversation last ended so that we can pick up right where we left off. The only downside though is that I have had poor experiences with the waitresses. I have seen 3 different ladies now who seem very unknowledgable about the menu and what kind of food goes into a specific order. Every time I have asked a question, I get the same response: «I don’t know. I think so. I can check if you want». Because of that, I either order the same thing every visit or I just play Russian Roulette and take my chances with the food.
So Why 3 Stars?
Tonight, I Unilocaled this place and found that they close at 9pm — they have recently started serving on Sundays. I arrived at 8:30pm and found that only 5 tables of the 12+ tables (not including the empty bar seating) were filled. My friend and I asked to be seated to which she interrupted and said that there are too many people and she can’t do it. I did not ask for her name, but she has an orange shade of hair and darker skin. She is working tonight (⁷⁄₂₆) at this night shift prior to closing. In the time that we were talking, the 2 largest parties left and we watched her ring them up. She had such difficulty counting cash and doing the calculations. Unfortunately, the owner was not present at this time.
In my opinion, customer service plays a large role in the overall quality of an establishment as this. I am starting to wonder if the food is enough to offset the time, effort, and gas it takes to get here.
If you are hungry, yet extremely patient, then this just may be the place for you!

Today was a terrible experience which will cause me to jot return.
I called in an order for takeout and the girl was so rude on the phone, then when I get there she was just as rude in person! I’m not going to go into details to everything that was said but that customer service was horrible. Now the food I received was not the correct order it was made wrong so not sure if it was the incompetence of the girl or the cooks not paying attention I will not be returning
Waste of money!!!

Tried this place 6 months ago and it was great. Tried it today for take out and it was horrible. They raised their prices and lowered the food quality. Will not be eating here ever again.

Stopped here for some Phở during a trip and was pleasantly surprised. It seemed that they hadn’t been opened for too long as it appeared they were still working out a few kinks in their system, which is why 4 out of 5 stars. Either way, the waitress was nice, I was seated immediately, got what I ordered and there was always someone to help if something was needed. The Phở was good and hit the spot. I’d go back when in that area again.

It’s with somewhat of a heavy heart I’m writing as what follows is a very negative review. I’ve been coming here since they opened about 3 – 4 years ago, and it really is the only decent Phở place in the Santa Cruz area, but here it goes. I get the impression ownership changed hands sometime in the past year or two, but I’m not really too sure. Either way, the service has gone downhill. I remember the original owner coming out to personally ask us how his phở was (read my last review of TN from ⁴⁄₂₀₁₁).
I came here this evening with my girlfriend, and we ordered 2 small beef phở bowls for $ 7.95 each, and an order of egg rolls for $ 3.75 (pay attention, these prices will come in handy later). The service was good initially, and the food was tasty, as it usually is. Fast forward to the end of the meal, the girl brings a to go box, and we assume that we’ll get our bill so that we can leave. Wrong.
We waited for at least 5 minutes with no sight of a server. One guy came out of the kitchen. I waved at him. He nodded and them walked away. Okay. Maybe he’s going to get our waittress. Another few minutes. He comes out again, ignores us this time. Comes back again a few more minutes, I wave him down and say we need the check. While we’re waiting, my girlfriend and I play the «guess how much the bill will be» game to kill the time. Being pretty adept at math, I quickly sum the two totals and deduce it should be about $ 21.45 (adding totals above gives $ 19.65, plus 9% sales tax which is about $ 1.80).
Anyways, we finally get the older of the two waitresses to bring a check, and the total is $ 23.92, with no other numbers written on the check. I asked the waitress to explain the bill, and she says «hold on» and goes back to confirm the bill. Meanwhile, I grab a nearby menu and do my own calculation, $ 21.42 (I was 3 cents off, not bad). She comes back and now she’s filled in prices and is charging me for one small bowl of phở, one large bowl of phở, and now 50 cents for water.
First, I told her no way in hell she’s charging me 50 cents for tap water. Then she says «oh, wait, that’s for the to go container, they’re really expensive now!». Well that’s another first, I’ve never been charged for a to go container. She’s just making stuff up now. But still, that doesn’t explain being overcharged for a larger size of phở when we ordered two smalls. So I continue to bring this up with her, and she says «oh, #13b is more expensive». Then I point to the menu, where #13b is the VERY FIRST phở under where it clearly lists the two prices for small and large. She continues to insist it’s more expensive, except, that, well, the menu doesn’t show any indication it’s more expensive. When I order food, it’s based on prices specified on the menu, not the price the wait staff feels like writing down on the check.
She continues to babble something, but it’s clear she was trying pull a fast one on us and we called her out on it. If it was an honest mistake, and I even did the simple calculations very quickly for her, why didn’t she just go change it in the first place instead of continuing to justify why she overcharged us, in which case she just started making up charges to save face. So she says okay, pay the amount you say, to which she still insists on the extra 50 cents for to go, but whatever, she can consider it her tip.
In the end, two dollars is not going to make or break my wallet, but it’s the fact that she was trying to swindle me that angers me the most. It wasn’t a simple mistake or she would’ve just fixed her calculations. She lost a regular customer by trying to cheat us for two measly dollars. And if she’s not the owner, I hope they’re reading this and deal with her (an older woman with short hair) appropriately, because the food is good. I’m not coming back again, I’ll just drive the extra 20 minutes to go over the hill and have my choice of great phở. I recommend you do the same.

I would give this a two star just coz so far the food I ordered like chicken teriyaki and combination soup satisfied my cravings.
On the other hand, there isn’t much enough helpers there, last time we came here, the cook also our waiter and I can understand why he took so long to at least bring us a glass of water or why it took a loooonnng time for our orders to come up because he was also assisting other customers, some I saw left the place coz they were waiting for a long ass time, I was thinking, why open the restaurant on the weekends when your gonna be only one doing ALL the works.
I suggest not to come on the weekends here.