Phonation - Laguna Hills

I had not been here for a few months so I stopped by Pho Nation today for a bowl of pho. Unfortunately it was closed. Everything looked normal inside, but there were no people inside. A small sign on the window said that it had closed. However, a large banner was draped over the entrance. It said OPENING SOON PHO.SAIGON.

Best pho ive ever had. The broth is unique and unlike any other pho broth ive tasted. Meat quality is great. Bowl size is plentiful. The owner changed the recipe of the thai ice tea and OMG is it divine. Like the pho broth, the thai ice tea is truly unique. Im SO SAD that i went by a few days ago and saw they were closed and had a banner hanging saying Pho Saigon Gem opening soon This might sound dramatic but, pho will never be the same again after having here. Id come once a week to get my fix. Ive eaten at SO many different places and the flavors here were just perfect. I hope the new ownership doesn 't change the menu or recipes!

Yummy and delicious too! Loved the pho and the iced coffee was lovely! I went during lunch and the service was fast, the servers were really nice, and the restaurant was clean. I like the vibe. I'll be back soon.

I wasn 't going to review this place because it is a family owned restaurant, and they are the ones doing the day to day operations. The owners are courteous and hardworking, and I respect that it 's their livelihood, but we 're all living through a pandemic, and they need to step it up. I try to make the places around me work instead of going out of my way to other locations further away but unfortunately, when I am craving Pho, I have to drive to Irvine, or if I 'm feeling adventurous, Garden Grove because Pho Nation serves flavorless Pho; it 's nothing special it 's actually below average compared to other places. The restaurant has an attractive, modern looking interior; it 's almost out of place. Nonetheless, it 's clean and grey inside. I 've been twice before, but this last time it was raining, and it was surprisingly empty. Hmm. We were one of the first tables and ordered right away, anticipating a wave of people coming in! The owner scribbled away, and off she went. I thought we ordered during the calm before the storm but didn 't know that the storm was the operation of this place. While waiting for someone, anyone, to walk by to ask about our appetizers, I noticed two other people running, well walking back and forth, juggling between tasks. They seemed relaxed, and I thought maybe others were on break. Customers were gathering at the entrance with no host insight. They have big windows, which is nice but also allows you to see the delivery guy coming by, and if you didn 't see him, you certainly heard him as the driver knocked on the window to get the owner 's attention and signaled him to the door...I started getting worried because I had only seen 3 people multitasking around. While I am guilty of multitasking, too, we all know that it increases room for errors and leads to deficient execution. After a few more minutes, the server finally returned to drop off the egg roll appetizers, we kindly asked for utensils ignoring the fact that we had to ask for them in the first place and she forgot to bring them. Grrr, lucky it was egg rolls. We ended up asking the person who brought us our Pho for utensils and garnishes because they forgot that too. It was challenging to get their attention since they were busy juggling incoming customers, cleaning tables, getting orders, running to the kitchen, preparing food, returning to check in, and delivering people 's food. All while communicating by raising their voices at each other. It was a bit funny. At last, I thought I have utensils, garnish, and pictures!However, the broth was missing something x( and I immediately remembered when I tried ordering the other broths, and the owner suggested the beef it 's better, she said. I thought maybe it is better now wrong. In the end, it 's not the worst Pho, but for me, at least the broth is the essence of the Pho, and it was mediocre. I enjoyed the egg rolls; they were decent! I hope that they fixed their broth and have hired a host and at least one waiter/waitress by now because it 's impacting their business.

You know... I really do believe this restaurant has potential. We have been coming to this restaurant for a while now and their food quality has just gone down, it's like they don't care anymore OR they need to hire more staff to make the restaurant flow easier. Their spring rolls were great until I realized they don't devein their shrimp. The pork Bahn Mi used to be great but now they just give you a LOT of fat and not so much meat. It's not flavorful either. And when they tell you they are busy and your food will be ready is 40 it will take an hour (literally). I believe in this place but man, they need more staff to pay attention to these details.