Pho @ Dickson - Kaleen

This is probably one of those, constantly busy places. It was packed when I got in. The smoke from the kitchen was spreading through the dining room. I was excited to try their beef Pho! And it was good, however, I have had better. The initial taste was a bit salty and the meat was not thinly sliced. Instead, Pho is made with large slices that included too much fatty bits, at least for my liking. It was ok, but I won't be back in a hurry.

To be honest, the food is above average for Vietnamese cuisine for Canberra anyway and I can appreciate the bit of effort they put in. I would know, being of Vietnamese descent. However, after my partner had a few bites of her pho, she noticed a long hair in the bowl. Now, we all make mistakes and not everything at a restaurant or any workplace can run perfectly smooth every time, but when things go wrong like this, it is the opportune time to show what the restaurant can do for customer service. The waiting staff dealt with the situation well and allowed us to order a different replacement meal. However, the head waiter came out letting us know that the manager has a policy that if we were to order a different meal, they would charge us, and that in order to be free it would have to be the same meal. The look of disbelief and utter dismay fell on our entire table upon hearing this news. My partner lost a bit of her appetite and did not want to have the same meal, and who's to say they won't just take the hair out and reserve the same bowl. This really does show what type of restaurant they are running - a shameful, money-grubbing one with no self-respect for even the manager to come out, show her face and say sorry. As I said, these moments can be a time to shine for restaurants, so it is disappointing that our first visit here will also be our last. So keep your hairy pho and the few dollars you save and as a tip, have a few poor reviews on us.

To be honest, the food is above average for Vietnamese cuisine for Canberra anyway and I can appreciate the bit of effort they put in. I would know, being of Vietnamese descent. However, after my partner had a few bites of her pho, she noticed a long hair in the bowl. Now, we all make mistakes and not everything at a restaurant or any workplace can run perfectly smooth every time, but when things go wrong like this, it is the opportune time to show what the restaurant can do for customer service. The waiting staff dealt with the situation well and allowed us to order a different replacement meal. However, the head waiter came out letting us know that the manager has a policy that if we were to order a different meal, they would charge us, and that in order to be free it would have to be the same meal. The look of disbelief and utter dismay fell on our entire table upon hearing this news. My partner lost a bit of her appetite and did not want to have the same... read more

A very light pho with deep dark broth colour. The broth is also light in spice flavour but elegant. Good meat-noodle portion. Good and fast service.

Not exceptional but good, reliable food. I'd put it into the same category as Timmy's in Manuka for food quality. That is you get Vietnamese food rather than Chinese-Malaysian.