Pho Spice - New Haven

Attempted to dine in shortly before our train we had to catch. We walked in and it was a very nice, kind of upscale dining area, and there were only two other parties dining in, since it was on the earlier side of the evening. We placed our order and planned to eat for a few minutes, but also get to-go boxes and the check as soon as the food came out.But 20 minutes later, our food still hadn't come out and we weren't going to be able to dine in at all. We asked to have our food packaged in to-go containers instead of plated, and paid the bill so we could just leave with our food once it came out. Another 10 minutes later, still no food and it was coming down to the wire.Finally, we couldn't wait any longer and we needed to be on the way out the door to get to our train. Just as we were getting up to tell our server to just cancel our order and issue me a refund, she came out with our bag of food. Relieved that we would still have dinner and be able to make our train, we thanked her as we took the bag and made our way to the train.We ate our food on the train. My boyfriend said his Pad See Ew was decent, but I wasn't terribly impressed with my Drunken Noodles. It was greasy and overcooked. The noodles were one mushy pile. And barely any flavor except just spicy (it's supposed to be a spicy basil sauce, but I could not taste any basil).I didn't see any reason our food should have taken that long to get out to us when they didn't seem too terribly busy. Maybe they had a lot of to-go orders, too, but there was only one person who came in to pick up a to-go order while we were there. Our server was very nice and understanding, and she did her best to get the kitchen to get our food out sooner, but I guess there wasn't much she could do. (One review here said something about how good food takes extra time, but this wasn't good enough to warrant that long of a wait. I've had better Drunken Noodles and only needed to wait 10 minutes at peak dinner rush.)We should have picked another place for dinner.

Another 10 minutes went by with still no food, and we were running out of time. Just as we were about to ask our server to cancel our order and refund us, she finally appeared with our bag of food. We were relieved to be able to take dinner with us and make it to the train on time, and we thanked her as we headed out. On the train, my boyfriend mentioned that his Pad See Ew was decent, but I was not impressed with my Drunken Noodles. They were greasy and overcooked, clumping together into a mushy pile, with a lack of flavor aside from spiciness. I was expecting a spicy basil sauce but couldn't detect any basil at all. I’m not sure why our food took so long to arrive, especially since the restaurant didn’t seem too busy. They might have been handling a lot of to-go orders, but only one person came in for a pickup while we were there. Our server was friendly and tried her best to expedite our order, but ultimately there wasn't much she could do. One review I read mentioned that great food takes time, but in this case, it didn't justify the lengthy wait. I've had better Drunken Noodles with a much shorter wait even during peak hours. In hindsight, we should have chosen a different place for dinner.

I absolutely love this Pho restaurant in New Haven! The food is delicious, and the service is excellent. I ordered the lunch special, which included pad Thai and spring rolls, and I must say, it tasted fantastic. If you find yourself in the area, I highly recommend checking it out. As for parking, there are street parking spots available, and the restaurant is wheelchair accessible.

The management of this eatery did a great disservice to two lone waitstaff to attend to the multiple diners. We never got to order food and left without eating. On a day like Night Market, it is utterly ridiculous to expect two people to manage a place this large. I don't blame the workers at all for this horrible experience.

This place is literally like my second home. Always so warm and welcoming. The amazing lovely waitress always remembers my order and it’s just an amazing place overall. I bring my family from NY here and hopefully getting all my coworkers here soon!