2 /5 Zackary Chua: Have been visiting the Melbourne store for a while and didnt realise it came to Sydney, so decided to give it a go. Weve become fans of North Vietnamese pho.
However we were severely disappointed by the huge difference between the Sydney and Melbourne outlets. The taste is completely different - Sydneys tasting like any other generic South Vietnamese pho and even being served with the bean sprouts and mint/basil leaves - not typical of North Vietnamese pho or our experience in the Melbourne store.
We both asked for extra coriander, and instead found no coriander at all in either of our bowls.
To top it all off, the huge price discrepancy is also unjustifiable given the taste. Whilst we paid $17.50 in Melbourne, were paying $22.80 in Sydney. Thats almost a 30% markup to have a considerably worse meal.
Not to mention, tea is free in Melbourne! No such service is offered in Sydney - which many other Vietnamese restaurants also offer.
The girl who helped served us our food and get extra utensils was extremely nice, no issues with her at all, but the rest of the staff looked so disinterested in being there. When we entered the store we were met with blank looks, so we had no idea whether we were supposed to wait to be seated or not. We had no choice but to take a bet and seat ourselves. When we left there was also not a word said from the staff, who seemed more interested in doing anything but actually providing good customer service.
Overall, ufortunately our excitement has been replaced by severe disappointment and I dont think we will return to the Sydney store. If we wanted South Vietnamese pho we would have gone to a number of other restaurants that have this place beat in both taste and price. Well stick to Melbourne instead.